How often do you give thanks for what God has given you? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86 Q. We have been delivered from our misery by God’s grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it: why then must we still do good? A. To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But we do good because Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself, so that in all our living we may show that we are thankful to God for all he has done for us, and so that he may be praised through us. And we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruits, and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ. Summary During Jesus’ travels between Samaria and Galilee he came across a group of ten lepers. The lepers mentioned in Luke 17 are individuals who had contracted leprosy, a rash like skin disease. In addition to the medical concerns affiliated with leprosy, according to the ceremonial law, this made one unclean. Included amongst the consequences of being considered unclean under the ceremonial law was being unable to enter God’s sanctuary and not being allowed around other people who were ceremonially clean, including one’s own family members. For this reason, groups of lepers were known to congregate together, forming a sense of community amongst those who had been cast out of society on account of their skin condition. The rules regarding distancing oneself from those considered ceremonially clean likely explains why the ten lepers yelled toward Jesus instead of approaching him with their request for healing. Fortunately for this group of lepers, the distance between them and Jesus was not an issue, as Jesus offers healing. The command to “go and show yourselves to the priests” carries the implication that by the time they reach the priests, the lepers would be healed. Among the other duties of a priest, it was also their responsibility to verify that those who had an ailment considered unclean, like leprosy, had indeed been healed before they could be declared ceremonially clean. Understanding Jesus’ instruction for what it was, each of the ten obeyed and were healed along the way. However, only one returned to Jesus to give his thanks. Dig Deeper Kate and I (Pastor Alan) have been married for 13 years, which hopefully makes it safe to admit that my least favorite part of the wedding was writing thank you notes afterwards. Part of my struggle was in trying to avoid having them all sound the same, that and the occasional hand cramp. Despite our family and friends knowing that we were grateful for them, we still made sure to write out thank you notes because actions matter. This can be seen in the parable of the ten lepers. While it is likely that all ten lepers felt thankful that Jesus had healed them, only one cared enough to return to Jesus to express his gratitude. Jesus’ rebuke of the other nine shows that he expected more than feelings of gratitude, he expected them to return and express their thankfulness as the Samaritan had done. When it comes to the grace of Jesus and other blessings bestowed upon us by God, his expectation is likewise more than feelings of gratitude. Our gratitude is meant to lead us to action. The good works that we do in the name of Jesus are not a means of earning God’s favor. Instead, these works are a way for us to express our thankfulness to God for what has already been done on our behalf. Which of these lepers’ example have you been following - the nine who were healed and went about their lives, or the one, who upon being healed, took action to show his gratitude to Jesus for what he had done for him? AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who takes pity on His children and heals our diseases; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to help you make gratitude the primary motivation in your life; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 5

ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 11

Which would you rather have: the anxiety of this world or the peace of God? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 51 Q. How does this glory of Christ our head benefit us? A. First, through his Holy Spirit he pours out his gifts from heaven upon us his members. Second, by his power he defends us and keeps us safe from all enemies. Summary This is a wonderful and familiar passage, and one that we're likely to come back to before the year is out. But for today, let's concentrate on v7: And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The first thing that jumps out is that peace is not just a fringe benefit of Christianity, rather it's the active agent by which Jesus preserves you in your faith. What a comforting thought, knowing that our risen Savior has control over all things, and that He's continually "defending us and keeping us safe from all enemies," as our catechism stated. This guarding that Christ does on your behalf has two aspects. First, it's defensive; just as the guards at Buckingham palace keep the riffraff out, so to Jesus keeps the wolves in this world from harming you. As you increase your knowledge, understanding and trust in Jesus, he tunes your mind to recognize truth and reject falsehood. Secondly, Christ guards you in such a way that keeps you from escaping. This sounds dark and ominous, but it's really quite the opposite. Our old sinful nature wants nothing more than to get as far away from God as possible (an impossible quest, since God is everywhere as we were recently reminded), but Christ helps you overcome that nagging temptation by "guarding your heart." He does this in conjunction with the Holy Spirit by causing your regenerated heart to long to be closer to Him. As Jesus said in John 10:28, no one - not even Sarx, your nagging sinful nature, can snatch you out of His hand! Dig Deeper This means, as we see so often in God's Word, that you must make every effort to follow the instructions that come in v6 - instead of stewing in anxiety, in every situation you face present your needs to God in prayer with thanksgiving. What a thought that even though the glorified Christ guards you omnipotently from heaven He does so in such a way that utilizes your action. Certainly Christ will guard you despite your own passivity, but if you truly want to trade your anxiety for the peace of God, the only way to do it is to continually live in God's presence, bringing your needs to Him while you simultaneously thank God for all that He's given you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the great and holy God, is near. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Do not be anxious about anything; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 25

Learn how to deal with the toxic people in your life. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 104 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fifth commandment? A. That I honor, love, and be loyal to my father and mother and all those in authority over me; that I obey and submit to them, as is proper, when they correct and punish me; and also that I be patient with their failings— for through them God chooses to rule us. Summary In general, we're accustomed to the New Testament reducing the burden of the law upon those of us who are in Christ. After all, Jesus met "the righteous requirement of the law" on our behalf and so "set us free from the law (Romans 8:2-4)." In looking through all of the strange requirements in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), it's relieving to know that most of the instructions we read were meant to make Israel look separate and distinct from the people around her (the definition of holiness), and are not ongoing expectations for people made holy in Christ. But here, near the end of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, Paul does the opposite of what we've come to expect. Just like Jesus before him did in the Sermon on the Mount, Paul expands the implications of Old Testament law rather than restrict it. Not only must you honor (give weight to) your parents, you must honor all those in authority over you! Even slaves must respect their masters (most people were slaves of some sort in the first century, so the relationship is akin to our modern relationship between employee and employer). And the respect you show to those you work for must be sincere, not just the plastic smile you put on when you're being watched! This new understanding of the fifth commandment doesn't just have implications for children and employees! Those who have been given authority - fathers and masters (bosses/supervisors) - have even greater responsibility: Fathers must nourish their children in such a way they come to know the Lord and employers must honor God, who is Master over all. Dig Deeper Let's face it. Some people are way easier to honor than others. Some people treat you so well that honoring them is just a natural reaction. Wouldn't it be awesome if all your relationships were modeled after the fifth commandment and Ephesians 6? But they're not. It's so easy to let toxic people make you miserable. Sure, it's best to avoid toxic relationships whenever you can, but ultimately you're going to have to deal with people who drag you down, whether you work for them or they work for you (or whether you call them mom or dad, or they call you that). So hold tightly to the Holy Spirit's instruction in v7 and "serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people." It isn't easy to look past the miserable immediate situation and instead see the Lord, who seems all the more invisible in times like this, but it's worth it, because "the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do," no matter what role you play in the relationship! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who defines goodness in His law and then rewards us for doing good; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and patience to submit to those in authority over you, even when it seems impossible, and to nurture those you're responsible for; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Titus 2

By addressing your prayers to your Father, you're reminded of His love every time you pray. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 120 Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”? A. At the very beginning of our prayer Christ wants to kindle in us what is basic to our prayer— the childlike awe and trust that God through Christ has become our Father. Our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life; God our Father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith. Summary Jesus gives two examples of how, even as fallen, sinful people, we still have the ability to meet the needs of people around us. The first one showcases the "shameless audacity (v8)" of the one doing the asking. Even though the need was real and significant, the fact that it was the middle of the night and the friend's tiny house was full of sleeping children shows the desperateness of situation. In their middle eastern culture, to not have any food to share with travelers - even ones who drop in without warning - would have made the entire village look bad. The persistence of the one who needed help overcame the friend's annoyance at being woken up at midnight and the need was met. Jesus next appealed to the fathers listening to him. Even though we are evil, Jesus says, a father would never substitute something that would hurt his children when they asked for something nutritious. The key words in this passage come at the very end of it: "How much more..." If even in our messed up world we still can count on people to meet our needs when we ask them, then "how much more will your Father in heaven give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Dig Deeper The reason it's so important for you to begin your prayers by acknowledging who God is, is that doing so tempers the rest of the prayer that follows. This is why it's especially important to follow the pattern Jesus set by opening your prayer to our Father in heaven. Doing so helps remind you that you're not just phoning a friend at an inopportune time who may be really annoyed by you, but rather that you're approaching your loving Father, who happens to also be the sovereign, omnipotent ruler of all things! So don't be intimidated! Jesus tells you - commands you, even - to ask, seek, knock and find. Your Father will not leave you out in the cold, and He will not give you something that will hurt you when you've asked Him for something good. This is not to say that your Father will give you everything you ask for. Like any loving father, He knows far better what His children actually need than what we do. But don't miss the guarantee that Jesus makes here: Our Father will always give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who knows how to give good gifts to His children; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask, seek, and knock so that you will receive, find, and have the door opened by your Father who loves you; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Thessalonians 1

Don't get bogged down praying long prayers. Follow Jesus' short pattern instead. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 118 Q. What did God command us to pray for? A. Everything we need, spiritually and physically, as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord himself taught us. Summary I wonder if the disciples were underwhelmed at first. Here they had just asked one of the best, most important question they ever ask: "Lord, teach us to pray." Not only is this one of the best things they could have asked, but there's nobody better to ask how to pray than the Son of God Himself. I'll bet that after the question was asked, a hush settled over the group in eager anticipation as to how Jesus would answer, and they sat back a bit, preparing themselves for a long and detailed explanation of how it is mortal men should speak to the Lord God Almighty. We might expect Jesus' answer here would end up making Psalm 119 look short. But instead, Jesus fully answered this all important question in just 38 words. We often refer to this passage as The Lord's Prayer, but it would be much more accurate to describe it as The Disciple's Prayer. It's not necessarily the prayer the Lord prayed, but one He gave to us, His disciples, to pray as we live for Him. We'll spend the final six weeks of this year coming to understand the pattern these 38 words set for us to pray, by Acknowledging who God is, Aligning our lives with His will, as we Ask God for "everything we need, spiritually and physically." Dig Deeper We often value things by size. If something's heavy, it's probably expensive (you might recall the fifth commandment calls us to value our parents by letting them be 'heavy' in our lives). We assume that big businesses are more profitable than small ones, and even that large churches are healthier than fellowships with just a few people. So it's not surprising to understand our instinct is that if we really want to impress God and convince Him to give us what we want, that longer and more and verbose prayers will be more effective. There is a time and place for longer public prayers filled with pious language. The Puritans perfected this art form in a way that continues to bless those who read and pray their beautiful prayers. But most of us don't have the capacity to pray this way in our day to day lives, so we don't pray as often as we should because we're intimidated by our perceived need to pray long, eloquent, prayers chock full of holy sounding words. The truth is that bigger is not always better in any aspect of life. Nearly every prayer written in the Bible, just like this model prayer that Jesus gave us, is fairly short. This is what makes it possible for you to fulfill the Bible's command to pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Colossians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18). This isn't a command to pray one massively long prayer, but to continually pray lots of short prayers all through the day. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, hallowed be your name. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Your Kingdom come; lead us not into temptation; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 20

God knows what you know whether you know it or not. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 102 Q. May we swear by saints or other creatures? A. No. A legitimate oath means calling upon God as the one who knows my heart to witness to my truthfulness and to punish me if I swear falsely. No creature is worthy of such honor Summary One of the key characteristics that you have as an image bearer of God is your ability to make plans for the future. Certainly animals have an instinct - especially around this time of the year - to begin squirreling away resources for the coming winter, but as a human being you can do much more by developing hopes and dreams for things that will make your life better. But like everything else related to your human nature, this God given ability to desire improvement has been wrecked by sin. Maybe you started off asking God to help you accomplish something, but after days, weeks, years or even decades of waiting, you've given up on Him and have set out on your own. Maybe what you want is incompatible with what God has ordained, but it doesn't matter, since "all of the ways of man are pure in his own eyes." This passage makes it clear that no matter how hard you attempt to camouflage and hide your ideas from God, He knows your true desires: your "motives are weighed by God." These verses here in Proverbs are a textbook example of the need to align your life plans with God's will: Commit your work to the LORD and your plans will be established (v3); The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps (v9); Dig Deeper When you take an oath, you are calling God as a witness to testify that what you've just reported is the full truth, or that it is your sincere desire to do all that you can to fulfill a promise you've just made. There's no higher authority you can call in to validate your claims than God Almighty. But take caution in doing this! The testimony you are swearing to may seem "pure in your own eyes" and convincing to everyone else, but God knows the truth. To use God as a character witness to make a lie seem more believable is the height of arrogance, and as v5 says, "everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished." You make more oaths than you think. Certainly the times you'll testify under oath or make vows to your spouse are limited, but how many dozens or even hundreds of times have you stood up and promised in God's name to help raise a newly baptized child to know Christ? And how many thousands of times have you ended a prayer with the oath in Jesus' name, amen ('amen' literally means let what has just been said be true or be done)? As a Christian, you are always under oath; even more so, you are in Christ. So keep all of your ways - your work, your plans, your dreams - committed to the Lord and aligned with His Word. In doing so God will bring the proper answer from your tongue (v1) whether you're formally under oath or not. When your ways are consistent with His ways, all of God's answers to you will be 'amen' in Christ! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who weighs our motives and and detests arrogance; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Timothy 3

(About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The one who is above all things and to whom all glory is due (v9 & 11

power" and "mighty arm" that "tends His flock like a shepherd and carries them close to His heart (v10-11

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: