The Bible doesn't just tell us what God did, it tells us why He did it. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) 21 God

Colossians 3:5-11 5  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality

Dig Deeper We come to Psalm 5 today in the context of a warning, being reminded that God will not permit descriptions of evil people not being welcome before God, and that they in fact are hated by Him (v4-5)

Proverbs 30:5–6 (NIV) 5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 5: The Authority of Scripture We

John 17:1–5 (NIV) CONTEXT: As His crucifixion draws near, Jesus prays to His Father. 1 After Jesus said Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. 5 

adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman Adoption in ancient Roman times was different from how we practice adoption today in North America. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Galatians 5

You were created to worship. But don't trust your instinct as to how to worship. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 103 Q. What is God’s will for you in the fourth commandment? A. First, that the gospel ministry and education for it be maintained, and that, especially on the festive day of rest, I regularly attend the assembly of God’s people to learn what God’s Word teaches, to participate in the sacraments, to pray to God publicly, and to bring Christian offerings for the poor. Second, that every day of my life I rest from my evil ways, let the Lord work in me through his Spirit, and so begin already in this life the eternal Sabbath. Summary Any astute twelve year old Biblical scholar will quickly point out that nowhere in the ten commandments is weekly church attendance mandated for Christians. And they're right! It's not really 'commanded' anywhere in the Bible! It doesn't need to be. It's been said that man is incurably religious, a phrase I don't like because it makes religion seem like a disease, but which nonetheless accurately describes the innate drive seen in that people in all times and in all places have always worshipped something. So God didn't need to issue a command to attend religious gatherings at specific times in the week, because we do that instinctively (which is why so many people are so miserable in our exceptionally secularized society since they're suppressing a deeply embedded instinct to worship). What God needed to command, and command often, was that His people not worship like their pagan neighbors. Sin has twisted the innate desire to seek and worship God that we were created with and turned it into a driving desire to do as we see fit (v8). The Canaanites were wicked and evil, but they were quite religious. God had created them as well in His image, but that image was barely flickering, and their instinct to worship was no longer seeking God, but had become fixated on deifying nature (that is, making natural elements and processes into gods) and was highly sexualized in its expression. Do not worship the LORD your God in their way (v4). The first step necessary to properly fulfill your instinct to worship is to separate yourself from the world, as God commanded His people Israel. Dig Deeper Quoting a passage from Deuteronomy in order to demonstrate the need for Christians to gather for corporate worship on the Lord's Day may seem a bit anachronistic (out of place). After all, didn't Christ's sacrifice on the cross eliminate the need for all of the animal sacrifices mentioned in this passage? Didn't Jesus set us free from the law? The sacrifices we just read about were not sacrifices of atonement meant to symbolize payment for sin. God's people were to regularly gather to offer all sorts of sacrifices, tithes and offerings meant to show their thankfulness and to acknowledge God's claim upon their lives. This command has not been set aside by Christ's victory; in fact if anything, the need for you to demonstrate your gratitude and commitment to God has intensified! This is one of the primary reasons you are called to gather with the saints each Lord's Day. The Tabernacle worship God commanded for His people broadened out over time into weekly gatherings in local synagogues. The early Christians followed this model and established the weekly Lord's Day services that we continue to this day. While it is admittedly tough to cite a specific Biblical command for you to come to church this coming Lord's Day, it would be even tougher for you to page through the entire Bible and then formulate a good excuse for why you don't need to. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who calls us to gather our families to worship and rejoice with all of God's people on the Lord's Day; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength to fight temptation and fulfill your instinct to worship the Lord your God as He has commanded. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 2 Timothy 1

Killing sin is a matter of life and death. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 89 Q. What is the dying-away of the old self? A. It is to be genuinely sorry for sin, to hate it more and more, and to run away from it. Summary The prophets in the Old Testament brought God’s Word to the people of Israel, warning the people against impending judgment due to their sins and the consequences of breaking their covenant with their Lord. Yet the message always included a statement of deliverance and salvation for God’s people who repented. One of the most frequent imperatives the prophets give is to “return,” a rightful return to God. It is very similar to how we understand the word “repent:” to turn away from sin and back to God. In line with the message of Joel, the old Puritan, John Owen, famously said, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” Joel begins his message with the immediate judgment of locusts destroying the land, but follows up with a call to repentance. In chapter 2, he proclaims a more distant yet terrifying day of judgment. And at the end of this, he poses the question, “The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?” (Joel 2:11b). And Joel follows up with another call to the people to prepare for that day by turning back to their Heavenly Father. The call to repentance in our text begins with a promise declaration from God: “even now, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” The repentance Joel describes is a comprehensive change in direction that includes an inward transformation that shows itself visibly. Esther 4:3 also describes these elements: “In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.” However, the Lord wants more than an outward display of how sorry you are, but to be genuinely sorry for the sin, so Joel writes, “Rend your heart and not your garments.” Dig Deeper Another common thread in the Old Testament prophets is a revelation of God’s purpose behind communicating the message of doom: God has provided an alternative route. God sent the prophets to remind the people of God’s covenant promises. Their disobedience would lead to curses, but returning to their covenant-Lord would only serve to their benefit (see Deuteronomy 28 for a listing of covenant blessings and curses that come up in prophetical books). Just as Jesus showed in the parable of the lost son, the Father desires a return to Him and is eager to bless and restore those who run to Him in repentance and faith (Luke 15:11–32). You can know this because of how God's character is described throughout Scripture, including here in Joel 2:13, “for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” Those are things a life embracing sin and temptation can never promise. The promises of being sorry for sin, hating it, and running from it are always worth embracing because God is faithful and just and will forgive our sins (1 John 1:9). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Confess your sins and remember what a faithful Savior you have to forgive you for them; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Corinthians 11

The Bible's absolute, authoritative truth is exactly what you need in this deceptive world. Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 3: The Written Word of God We confess that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of men, but that holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as Peter says. Afterwards our God— because of the special care he has for us and our salvation— commanded his servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit this revealed Word to writing. He himself wrote with his own finger the two tables of the law. Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scriptures. Summary You've likely be told dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands of times that you need to read your Bible and stay rooted in scripture. It's not unfair to ask why, though. Why is it that reading a bunch of ancient words, written by men who lived in vastly different cultures with really weird customs, why should this be a central part of your daily routine? Paul tells you exactly why in this short passage. The primary purpose of Scripture is to "make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." Certainly God's self-revelation - both His book of creation, and the clearer and fuller revelation in His written Word - teach us all sorts of things about Him and how to best navigate this world He's created, but the primary purpose of it all is so that you might understand how it is you are saved through Christ alone. These words that are to be the mainstay of your life are not ordinary words. Millions of pages have been written over the course of history, some better than others. But the words of Scripture stand alone in that they are the very words of God, breathed out by the Holy Spirit through ordinary men comprised of vastly different cultures and personalities. Because its divine origin makes Scripture so much different than anything else ever written, it is the world's only source of authoritative, objective truth. Certainly God's Word brings you grace, mercy and peace, but it also uncomfortably prods you at times. It's designed to teach, rebuke and correct you. Most of us don't like experiencing rebuke and correction, or even being taught for that matter. But this "training in righteousness" is exactly what you need as the Spirit sanctifies you into the righteous person God has declared you to be. Dig Deeper We're entering a phase of history that will likely be far more hostile to Christianity than it's been for several generations. Although you and I probably won't be risking our lives to profess Christ like our brothers and sisters in some parts of the world, verse 13 accurately describes our society: "Evildoers and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." Today's opening verse seems like something that applies to Christians in far off countries more so than it does to us, but as our society devloves, it will become much easier to personally understand that "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (v12)." You need to prepare yourself to stand firm in the midst of this persecution. The key to doing so is "continuing in what you have learned and become convinced of..." Do this by staying rooted in the Holy Scriptures, which, like Timothy, many of us have known from infancy (v13-14). Understand that you must know scripture well not just so that you can survive in a world that's hostile to Christianity, but so that you can thrive in it! Let the Bible teach, rebuke, correct and train you so that "you may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (v17)." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father in heaven, who breathed out the words of Scripture through His Holy Spirit; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and resolve to "continue in what you have learned and become convinced of" in this increasingly hostile world; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 4

Galatians 5:1-6 (NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5