Often feel like your work & efforts are useless? Learn how to experience shalom every day. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 125 Q. What does the fourth request mean? A. “Give us today our daily bread” means, Do take care of all our physical needs so that we come to know that you are the only source of everything good, and that neither our work and worry nor your gifts can do us any good without your blessing. And so help us to give up our trust in creatures and to put trust in you alone. Summary Notice the word in this short passage that gets repeated three times: vain. Vain isn't a word we use very often, and its definition has different senses. Often times we might refer to a pompous, arrogant person as being vain, but here the word is being used in a different sense, in that people's building, guarding and toiling are useless if they're not done in dependence upon the Lord. It's not that vain projects are deficient in and of themselves. Lots of beautiful developments and construction have been successfully completed, but they ultimately miss the mark. Here's how one commentator describes this: "Vain" here seems to mean “not producing the desired result.” Why do people build houses? Why do people strive to build safe communities? Why do people toil to earn a living? The answer appears to be found in the shalom that is a running motif in the Psalms of Ascent. People want “peace” in the full sense of the term, the absence of harm and the presence of tranquility with prosperity. When people strive for this good end without faith in God and in ways contrary to his principles, God is not “in it,” and they do not experience the shalom they are looking for. Dig Deeper We're generally people who work hard, and often have good things to show for it as a result. We live in prosperous communities, and most of us haven't had to worry about where our daily bread was coming from for a long time. We have a dualistic tendency in us as well, in which we tend to think of our physical needs as being different or separate from our spiritual needs, and that our pursuits to obtain food & shelter is somehow less 'godly.' Certainly there is a distinction between the two, but Psalm 127 helps remind us that true shalom depends upon God's presence and blessing in both the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives. Shalom is a tranquility in which everything - both physical and spiritual - is the way it's supposed to be. This is why Jesus taught you to pray each day for your daily bread, so that you will experience shalom as you're continually reminded of your dependence upon Him in every part of your life. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who builds our house, watches over our city, and grants shalom to those He loves; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask your father each day to grant you what you need both spiritually and physically for this day so that you'll experience His shalom; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 10

Apologies to Vikings fans for this picture from the Lions John 3:16-18 (NIV) 16  For God so loved the Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Grace 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows John is known for his simple eloquence, and this passage is a great example of why. And memorizing John 3:16-18 is a great way to do that!

Jesus is lots of good things, but first and foremost, He's your Savior Gospels: Week 1 - Jesus' Incarnation begin the New Testament by, of course, tracking through the Gospel Narratives - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Bible.com Matthew 1:18–25 (NASB95) 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 29 Q. Why is the Son of God called “Jesus,” meaning “savior”? A. John and Mark start with the same phrase the Bible opens with - in the beginning.

Jonah 1 (NASB95) 1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying, 2 “Arise, go to Nineveh

As someone who grew up in the Reformed tradition, I have heard Ephesians 2:8 preached on many times. The climax of the Bible are the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, because they teach us about Jesus

Reorient your thinking about the good things you do. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 (NIV) 26  Brothers, think many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 (Part 2) Our good works, proceeding from the good root of faith, are good and acceptable to God, since to accumulate, so keep doing these "good works, which God prepared in advance for you to do" (Eph. 2: Today: 1 Corinthians 1

BibleHub.com John 6:60–66 (NIV) CONTEXT: Jesus has just told those following Him the shocking statement Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity John writes that Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Today: 2 Corinthians 5

Isaiah 1:1–20 (NASB95) 1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem , which he saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 Listen They will be like wool. 19 “If you consent and obey, You will eat the best of the land; 20

Stay busy building life even as you expect Jesus to return at any moment. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NIV ) Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2  for you know very Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   37: The Last Judgment (Part 1) that Paul had to throttle them back a little bit in his second letter, since many had quit their jobs (2 with, Paul's prescription for each is remarkably similar - and not just from Paul, but also Peter and John

have given me ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - James 1