Relax: God omnipotently controls all of history as He pleases. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 1 We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God— eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good. Summary Most of the book of Isaiah was written to warn God's rebellious people that if they did not repent God would send them into exile, which of course did happen when God used the Babylonians to defeat Israel. But this final section of the book is written to be an encouragement to the people once the exile has occurred. God tells His people of their coming salvation, even before their exile had begun! History records that one of the most powerful men to ever live, King Cyrus, would be the one to defeat the Babylonians and subsequently return Israel's remnant back home seventy years after they had been taken away. God reminds His people - both then, and now - that He is omnipotently controlling history (Cyrus is the "bird of prey" from the east that God has summoned in v11 to "fulfill His purpose"). God calls His people to two specific actions in today's passage: First He calls the "rebels" to remember who He is (v9): to know He is God and there is none other like Him, and that He will "do all that [He] pleases (v10)." Secondly, He demands the "stubborn hearted" must "listen to me" (v12). Of course all of God's Word is worth listening to, but the next few words that come in v13 are key to understanding the message of the gospel. God is not coming to bring salvation just to make life a little better for His people. Rather, He's bringing salvation to those "far from [His] righteousness" by "bringing [His] righteousness near" (v12-13). In the immediate context, God would use mighty King Cyrus to bring salvation to Israel, but it's not hard to see how this passage illustrates that all of God's omnipotence is focused on one goal: restoring the righteousness of His rebellious, stubborn people (us) through His Son so that we can once again be in a right relationship with Him. Dig Deeper The Latin-based word, omnipotence, literally means all-power. So it's not really wrong for you to understand that your omnipotent Father can do all things. But that's not really technically correct when it comes down to it. Every kid has pondered the age old question: can God make a rock so big that He can't lift it? The paradoxical question is silly for sure, but it does help us understand God's omnipotence correctly. There are limits to what God can do: God constrains Himself by Himself. In other words, God can not do that which violate His own attributes. He can not show anger in a way that violates His love, just as He cannot show mercy in a way that infringes His justice. God explains exactly how you ought to understand His omnipotence in v10 when He says, "I will do all that I please." As you begin a new year, find peace by keeping these two commands God gives you in Isaiah 46: Remember who God is and that He has an unblemished record in controlling history in the way that He pleases, and, listen to Him as He builds you up in the righteousness won for you by Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our omnipotent Father, who will do all that He pleases; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that in this new year you will remember who God is and listen to His Word; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Mark 7

all, Jesus met "the righteous requirement of the law" on our behalf and so "set us free from the law (Romans 8:2-4)."

was with His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, and Peter had testified that Jesus is the Christ (Mark 8:

Luke 2:8–14 (NIV) 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their this many times throughout Scripture, but especially we see it at the birth of our Lord, in Luke 2:8-

He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8  “Then he said to his servants Today: Romans 8

You can't produce fruit if you're disconnected from Christ. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 64 Q. But doesn’t this teaching (that our works do not contribute to our salvation) make people indifferent and wicked? A. No. It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. Summary There are two words the Bible uses to describe how to live a fruitful life. The word used most often to describe successful Christians is the word Jesus uses in the example of a grape plant which bears fruit. This word has a passive feel to it. Jesus explains that as long as a branch remains connected to the vine, it will bear fruit. In other words, the fruit is going to come as long as the connection is maintained, just like a grape branch, when given the proper inputs, can't help but bear fruit. Sadly this isn't the case for every branch. Some grow off as long, wild shoots with lots of stem but no leaves or flowers. Others bury themselves under other branches, hidden from the sunlight. Still others seem to be in just the right condition, getting plenty of water, nutrients and sunlight, but for whatever reason nothing comes out of them. In each of these cases the unfruitful branches are cut of and thrown into the burn pile. In the second half of this passage, Jesus puts 'flesh' on this metaphor so to speak. He is the vine, and you and I are the branches. As long as we remain connected to Him - that is, as long as His Word and Spirit are flowing into our lives - He assures us that we will bear fruit. But some people are not content with this relationship, and shoot off on their own. Many bury themselves in the busyness of life, and although connected to the nutrients, do not absorb them. Apart from me, Jesus says, these people can do nothing, and their unfruitful lives will be cut off and thrown away. Dig Deeper Our instinct is to prefer the other word the Bible uses in regards to fruitfulness. We want to be people who produce fruit in our lives. Produce is a much more active word, and conjures up images of hard work, resourcefulness, and downright determination. Those are all good things, but most of the time the Bible uses the word produce, it does so in a negative way. Pharisees are quite often the people the Bible speaks of in connection with trying to produce fruit. They work super hard to impress their neighbors and appease their own consciences, but their reliance is totally on themselves, disconnected from the nutrients of the the true vine. The result is often like a Red Delicious apple: it looks really good and shiny on the outside, but not very appealing when the skin is peeled back. You've been created to be fruitful - to do and make things that reflect and glorify the image of God that you've been created in. Most of this world, separated from the vine by sin, is either desperately expending energy trying to produce fruit on their own, or they've given up trying and consequentially have very little meaning in their lives. So stay connected to the Vine - Jesus Christ. As you immerse yourself in the nutrients that flow from His Word, your life will naturally bear fruit. NOTE: The English Bible translations often use 'bear' and 'produce' interchangeably (even the Catechism uses the word produce). The contrast is much more noticeable in the Greek. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the gardner, who cuts away unfruitful branches; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you remain connected to the vine so that your life bears the fruit it was designed for. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philippians 2

is interceding for us in prayer just like the priests would pray for the people in the holy place (Romans 8:34).

they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8  13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman then passed the buck to the deceptive serpent. First, God mentions the "offspring" of both the serpent and the woman. Today: Romans 8

If you're a Christian, you're a born-again Christian. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 70 Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit? A. To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for me in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life. Summary Nicodemus was a Pharisee who had shown respect for Jesus because of the signs, also known as miracles, that Jesus had done. It was during this discussion that Jesus explained to Nicodemus how he needed to be born again. This rebirth was not a second physical birth, but a birth of water and spirit. Jesus makes this spiritual rebirth an absolute necessity, proclaiming that “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Unless is a strong word, setting an absolute condition that must be met for one to enter the kingdom of God. This spiritual rebirth is not an optional addition to one’s faith, instead this rebirth has been set apart by Jesus as an essential part of following Him. Without this spiritual rebirth, one cannot enter God’s kingdom. Dig Deeper Regeneration is the theological term we use to describe this spiritual rebirth. Much like how Jesus’ physical body had died and was raised to new life on the third day, regeneration points to one’s spiritual death and new life in Christ. This is not an action you take as a believer, since regeneration is the work of the Holy Spirit. This regeneration, or rebirth, is more than a change of heart; it is an entrance into a new life. Where you were once spiritually dead in your trespasses and sins, you are now made alive. This spiritual rebirth is your entryway into a new life, one receptive and inclined towards God. Regeneration originates with God, it is not something we can initiate for ourselves or for others. While this lack of personal control may spark different feelings in various individuals, I feel an appropriate response to this regeneration is to turn to God in prayer. For those who have either a long held or newly formed faith in Christ, we pray out of gratitude for God’s work of regeneration in their lives. For those who do not yet have faith in Christ, we pray that God may work in their lives, planting a desire for Christ where there previously was none. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the King, whose kingdom we long to enter into; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will recognize and live into the regeneration (rebirth) you've been given by the Holy Spirit signified and sealed in your baptism ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 1

It's easy to accept just the blessings you like, but that's not the way it works. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 20 Q. Are all saved through Christ just as all were lost through Adam? A. No. Only those are saved who by true faith are grafted into Christ and accept all his blessings. Summary In this text from Luke we hear Jesus requesting to go to the other side of the lake. The text says the other side, because that was the side of the Gentiles. That was the side that the Jews didn’t go. Standing on the shores of life we can either appreciate the waves that God brings as beautiful or breaking. Yet it is never the water that changes. This was certainly the case with the disciples in the gospel of Luke. They had been on the sea of Galilee all of their life. They knew this water. It had been their source of livelihood for generations. Yet, when Jesus requested to go to the other side, They knew they were going to the edge of their comfort zone... Because decent Jews didn’t go to the other side. The other side was the gentile side. It was unclean. It was uncouth. To go there was to invite judgment on yourself. At least that is what they had been told. And sure enough as they crossed out of familiar waters and got close to the other side, it seemed that God’s judgment was coming on them. As the waves began to rise and enter their boat these seasoned sailors thought they were going down. Stumbling to reach Jesus in the stern of the boat they woke him and said, “Master, Master, we are going to drown!" Jesus stood up, rebuked the wind and the raging waves and the storm subsided. Where is your faith? He asked his disciples. Jesus asks you this same question: Where is your faith? Is it in your blood from Adam that brought the curse of sin, or is it in the Son of God who brings you life? If your faith is in Christ then blessing will abound in your life; but some blessings will seem better than others. Dig Deeper In our teaching lesson from the Catechism we see the word all repeated three times. “Are all saved”, “are all lost” and “grafted into Christ we accept all his blessings.” We like to speak using all because we want to be inclusive. We want all to go to heaven, so we say... except maybe the most wicked tyrant or ungodly neighbor. So if we want to carve out some, it's not so difficult to see why God would want to select as well; to chose or carve out his chosen from the the unrepentant. It quickly becomes clear that it's not feasible to have all in heaven. What is the deciding factor then? It certainly can’t just be a particular people or language. It has to be something outside of who you are. As the Catechism says, salvation comes from being grafted into Christ, who reveals that you are chosen and who feeds you with his Word and Spirit so that you would accept and live in His blessings. Even when those blessings bring about unexpected struggle. What blessing from God do you struggle to accept the most? Silence? Reflection? Wealth? Often the blessing that you struggle the most to accept is the very blessing that God giving you the most often. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Triune God, who commands the winds and the water, and they obey Him. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Open my heart and hands by your Holy Spirit to accept your gifts, as the seashore accepts the waves. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 15