Colossians 1:15–20 (NIV) 15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20

God's law is simple, but step one in salvation is confessing you can't keep it. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 5 Q. Can you live up to all this (God's Law) perfectly? A. No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor. Summary A sinful nature is part of the human condition, as part of our inheritance of original sin from the first human, Adam. To say that we are without sin is a falsehood. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin, has granted us forgiveness, and made us a new creation; yet we are not without sin. God enables spiritual growth in the life of the believer, however none of us will reach a point of complete righteousness in this life. It is part of our condition to continually battle our fallen nature. Those who deny their sinful nature do more than fool themselves. Not only would such a claim betray the truth, but it would also suggest a belief that you were not in need of the grace of Jesus. The truth is that we have all fallen short and are in desperate need for the grace of Christ. To claim otherwise is to disregard, or at minimum misunderstand, the Gospel. Dig Deeper While Jesus calls us to love our God and our neighbor, our natural tendency is to do the exact opposite. Respect, manners, and sharing are all things that are taught to children either in the home or at school. None of us teaches a child to be selfish, hit when angry, or throw a fit when you don’t get your way; yet these behaviors are still commonplace. These tendencies are ingrained in our very being. Part of living as a Child of God is battling our fallen nature. While the Holy Spirit does empower believers to do good; the faithful remain locked in combat with our fallen nature. This battle will continue to rage on until the end of the age when our sanctification is complete. As you acknowledge your natural state of sinfulness, lean on the Holy Spirit for the strength to do what you cannot do on your own, which is to love God and love others. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father God, you are faithful and just to forgive my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Help me to recognize and confess my own sin, and strengthen me with the Spirit to trust in the righteousness of my Savior. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Mark 10

Daniel 12:1-3 (NIV) CONTEXT: Daniel has been experiencing "a prophetic (and very selective) vision of But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2  Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article   37: The Last Judgment (Part 1)

John 1:6-14 (NIV) CONTEXT: This is part of the famous prologue that introduces John's gospel. 6  There Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity

Thou shalt not bear false witness... unless you need to. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 112 Q. What is God’s will for you in the ninth commandment? A. God’s will is that I never give false testimony against anyone, twist no one’s words, not gossip or slander, nor join in condemning anyone without a hearing or without a just cause. Rather, in court and everywhere else, I should avoid lying and deceit of every kind; these are devices the devil himself uses, and they would call down on me God’s intense anger. I should love the truth, speak it candidly, and openly acknowledge it. And I should do what I can to guard and advance my neighbor’s good name. Summary King Saul knows what's at stake when he said to his son Jonathan, "As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established (v31)." It would have been in Jonathan's best interest to let his father eliminate David, so that Jonathan would inherit the throne. It would have been so easy for Jonathan to rat David out, let Saul do the dirty work, and be all but guaranteed that the kingdom would be his. But Jonathan both honored God's will and loved his friend David, and he demonstrated that love and commitment by not only sacrificing his own future, but putting himself in grave danger to defend David's honor. When Saul demanded that David be hauled in and killed, Jonathan lied in order to, as the Catechism teaches us, "guard and advance his neighbor's good name." Any curiosity that David & Jonathan had regarding Saul's intentions were settled when Saul's spear went hurling across the room towards Jonathan. Jonathan continued to put himself in danger by secretly messaging David that he needed to flee. Dig Deeper It's ironic that in this particular incident, Jonathan needed to lie in order to ultimately keep the 9th commandment to not bear false witness. Being truthful about David's whereabouts would have not only ended David's life, but would have put an end to the line that would ultimately lead to Christ. It would have been a greater betrayal of truth for Jonathan not to lie in this situation. But Jonathan is not the only righteous liar that helped usher in our redemption. When Pharaoh ordered the midwives to kill the Hebrew newborns, the midwives lied and said the Hebrew moms always gave birth before they arrived. Rahab lied to her fellow citizens about the Jewish spies she hid, which led to Jericho's defeat. The wise men didn't report the location of baby Jesus to murderous King Herod as they'd been ordered to do. Christian ethics are not always simple. Sometimes doing the right thing forces a person to do what would otherwise be considered the wrong thing. When you find yourself stuck between an ethical rock and a hard place, don't try to figure it out on your own. Spend much time in prayer, study God's Word, and lean on the wisdom of the Christian community God has placed you in. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the King of kings and the Lord of lords; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for wisdom in dealing with complicated ethical situations; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 10

Romans 1:18-32 (NIV) 18  The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and   Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24  Therefore Amen. 26  Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity

Romans 5:1-8 (NIV) 5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now from the end of v2 to the beginning of v6: You've been justified and therefore have peace with God (v1-2) Today: Matthew 24

John 3:1-7 (NIV) Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come Today: 1 Thessalonians 2

Isaiah 45:1-7 (NIV) “This is what the LORD says to his anointed ( mā·šîaḥ ), to Cyrus, whose kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: 2   for the good of those who love the LORD, who have been called according to His purpose ( Romans 8:28

God's ordinary means of grace ordinarily produce extraordinary people. 1 John 4:11-17 (NIV) 11  Dear Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 29: The Marks of the True Church Dig Deeper Article 29 of our Confession is well known for the three marks it gives for identifying the did in Paul's miraculous conversion), but ordinarily He works in ordinary ways (as He did in raising Timothy Today: Titus 1