Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 60 Q.

If you feel different than the world around you, realize it's because your head is wet. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 74 Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Summary The grand finale of God freeing His people from their slavery in Egypt was Israel passing through the Red Sea on dry ground. Centuries later, the Apostle Paul would come to understand that this tremendous miracle was a type of national baptism, that as God's people passed through the sea, they came to belong to Him (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Indeed God understood it this way as well, telling Moses that He had carried His people on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself. Now, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God once again establishes His covenant with His people: they will be his treasured possession and a holy nation (a people separate from all others). But remember, a covenant is a solemn agreement between two parties based on a contingency. There's a big 'ol if in God's words to Moses: He says they will be a holy nation if they "fully obey me and keep my covenant." In the next chapter, Exodus 20, God expresses these covenantal stipulations in 10 categories we often refer to as the ten commandments, and then much of what follows in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) give laws and regulations that seem really strange to us. Well, they seemed really strange to the Israelites as well, and by design. One of the key purposes in all of those Old Testament laws was to make God's people look really different than the nations who lived around them. Dig Deeper Today we're focusing on one of the key reasons we baptize the children of believers in Reformed churches is to distinguish them from the children of unbelievers. We understand that these are covenant children, and that the same promises the God made to the Israelites in the desert thousands of years ago now apply to them - only now the contingency (the 'if' part) has been fulfilled by Christ. This means that we must raise our children differently than the world does, and that they from the moment they are received into God's covenant family must live holy lives - that is, lives that are separate from the world. Thankfully on this side of the cross, we no longer need to abide by strange dietary regulations or participate in all sorts of ritualistic ceremonies as we worship. Nor does being a holy nation mean that we ignore the rest of the world, and we must also realize the word nation here has nothing to do with a particular country or geographic borders. But we give our children the mark of the covenant, just as God has always commanded His covenant people to mark & distinguish their children. Just as the prince of England is treated as royalty from the moment he's born, so to must we treat our children as princes and princesses of the King, separated from the sinful world by His grace. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who carries His covenant children on eagles' wings; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for including you in His covenant promises, that Christ fulfilled your obligation, and pray that you would live as the holy person (saint) that you've been declared to be; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 8

Then let go of your stuff. 1 Timothy 6:17–19 (NIV) 17 Command those who are rich in this present world Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 6: The Difference Between Canonical The first verse makes a great elaboration of passages like we read in 1 Timothy 6, but the final two

Wouldn't it be awesome if all your relationships were modeled after the fifth commandment and Ephesians 6? like this, but it's worth it, because "the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do," no matter

In other words, no matter how awesome your armor is (and it is!)

us - acknowledging who God is and then aligning our lives with His will - and jumping right to the matter you go to read the Lord's Prayer in the accounts where Jesus first taught it, which are recorded in Matthew 6 and Luke 11.

You're not just 'sort of' God's child, in Christ you've been fully adopted! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 33 Q. Why is he called God’s “only begotten Son” when we also are God’s children? A. Because Christ alone is the eternal, natural Son of God. We, however, are adopted children of God— adopted by grace through Christ. Summary Yesterday, we looked at the divinity of Jesus. Since he is the eternal, natural Son of God, that is why we say he is God’s “only begotten Son” in the Apostles’ Creed. So where does that leave us, since we are also God’s children? In Ephesians 1, the Apostle Paul states that we are adopted through Jesus Christ. The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. Adoption in ancient Roman times was different from how we practice adoption today in North America. The upper-class citizens of Rome would want a male heir to pass on their wealth, titles, and property to. If they didn't have a male heir, they would adopt one. Then when the boy would grow up, he would become their son in all respects, receiving the inheritance of his adoptive family. Dig Deeper When the Apostle Paul says that God predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, he is saying that we are children of God in every sense. We are not God, like Jesus is God, but we are God’s children through adoption. We get all the benefits of being a child of God. There is no formal legal process that we go through, like filling out adoption papers. Our adoption is through Jesus Christ. When we repent of our sin, and turn to Jesus for forgiveness, we become children of God. The benefits of being a child of God are amazing. First, we receive forgiveness of our sins. We are cleansed by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Second, we are adopted into the Body of Christ, the Church. We become a part of the family of God. Third, the Holy Spirit is sent daily to renew and cleanse us. We are not left on our own, but have the Holy Spirit with us daily renewing our minds. Finally, we have the promise of the resurrection. When Jesus returns, we will be resurrected to eternal life with God. That is what it means to be a child of God. We get all those gifts from God through Jesus Christ. While Jesus is God’s only begotten Son, all who call on Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior become adopted children of God. We truly become children of God. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Lord, you my true Father, the giver of life and grace; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: May I trust in the power of Jesus Christ, and know that I am your child. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Galatians 5

Everyone wants to enjoy long life, but few people truly know how. 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 What a perfect passage to begin a another year of reading through the Bible with! Moses spoke these words to Israel just as they were about to cross the Jordan river to posess the Promised Land. In these words, God speaking through Moses gives His people (both Israel and us) the key to enjoying long life: that you, your children, and their children "may fear the LORD your God... by keeping all of His decrees and commands (v2)." These promises of enjoying a long life in which things "go well" and in which "you may increase greatly" clearly are made in general terms. Normally, blessings will follow obedience, but not in every specific situation. Sometimes faithful saints will experience long periods of frustration or even early death, while other times those who have no fear for God will seem to prosper. What's really interesting about these words is that the key to enjoying the good life doesn't just involve blindly following commands, but rather the good life is rooted in theology. Truly successful people must fear God; that is, they must know both who and what God is, as well as how we as people relate to Him. Today we begin our year long study of theology with this basic truth that God's people have been reciting since they stood on the banks of the Jordan: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Dig Deeper You may not be on the cusp of settling into a new land, but we are beginning a new year, so it's a good time to take stock and reset your course where needed. Notice here that as Moses prepares Israel to move in that he mentions nothing about the hard work or logistics that will be needed to feed and house all of the people. Certainly these things are important and necessary - in fact, if you keep reading this passage, God promises to provide these things (v10-12) - but housing and food production are not the top priorities. The priority God gives us, His people, is to first of all know Him (which is a lifelong endeavor). This priority is the one which must "be on your hearts." The second priority then is to teach this theology to the subsequent generations. How will your new year reflect these top priorities? This first, foundational theological lesson - that God is one - doesn't seem complicated or even profound, but understanding this is critical. Sin seeks a multiplicity of gods, all of which have the intent to derail you from these top priorities of knowing the true God and helping the coming generations to know Him. Sin wants to dominate all of your heart, soul and strength. The best way to stay focused is to do what you're doing right now - learning theology directly from God's Word as you study it throughout the week and hear it preached on the Lord's Day. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you end 2023 and begin 2024, that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 6

How would you act differently if you knew a lion was seeking to devour you? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 127 Q. What does the sixth request mean? A. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” means, By ourselves we are too weak to hold our own even for a moment. And our sworn enemies— the devil, the world, and our own flesh— never stop attacking us. And so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory. Summary Peter's tremendous benediction begins with a call to humility, to literally put yourself under God's mighty hand. You're not to do this out of a sense of groveling, as if putting yourself down low will somehow enhance the chances of God giving you what you want, rather, it's as you yield your will to His that you will be lifted up when the time comes. Verse 7 is well worth memorizing: "cast all of your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you!" But these words of comfort are followed by a stark warning: a reminder that you live in the midst of a great spiritual war, and your enemy is on the hunt. Perhaps these words seem a bit over the top here, as if Peter's getting a little carried away with his rhetoric. But he's not; if anything, Peter is using quite restrained language here, compared to the vivid war scene John reports in Revelation 12. The last thing Peter wants to do in this passage is frighten you. Yes, the devil is prowling around seeking to devour you, but you can and must resist him. What Peter wants you to know here is that although this roaring lion can hurt you - even rip off an arm or leg, so to speak, if you stand still long enough - but ultimately all the beast can do is seek to devour you. The devil can not completely devour you because of what Peter teaches us in his first four chapters, and accentuates in today's final verse: you've been called by God to belong to Him, so you can be certain that the God of all grace will Himself fully restore you and complete the work He's begun in you. Dig Deeper Certainly we'd all be much more alert if we could actually see the devil prowling around us like a lion. The distractions the world throws at us wouldn't divert our attention one bit if we could see its sharp teeth and smell its acrid breath as the hellish creature roared at us. Just remember that even though the spiritual realm is beyond what we can sense, it is no less real than the physical things you can see, touch, hear, smell and taste. So take Peter's warning/blessing here seriously! You're given three instructions you must follow to keep the devil at bay: Humble yourself and cast your anxiety upon your Father, which we've already reviewed; Be alert and of sober mind: This lion rarely relies on brute force. His most effective strategy is to lull his prey to sleep with worldly distractions and anxieties. Keep your mind sharp (sober) by reading and thinking about God's Word every day. Let go of the distractions you can't avoid by casting the anxiety that results from them onto your Father! Resist him: Ultimately you are stronger than the lion! But certainly not in your own strength; you must stand firm in the faith! Remember that it is God who makes you strong, firm and steadfast in Christ. This is what you're praying for when you pray the simple line, "Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the evil one." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The God of all grace, who lifts you up in His mighty hand; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God for the strength to be humble and alert, so that you can stand firm in the faith and resist the devil; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 19