Articles 1-10 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive 15-21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept Psalm 33 - God's Control, Today: Hebrews 9

The warning Jesus shares in Matthew 7:15 is to be aware of false prophets.

The Holy Spirit may seem mysterious, but He has lots to say to you if you know where to look. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 53 Q. What do you believe concerning “the Holy Spirit”? A. First, he, as well as the Father and the Son, is eternal God. Second, he has been given to me personally, so that, by true faith, he makes me share in Christ and all his blessings, comforts me, and remains with me forever. Summary John 16 comes in the middle of one of the most intense conversations in history, as Jesus spoke to His frightened disciples hours before He'd be led off to crucifixion. These chapters in John's gospel form the basis for much of our theology and understanding of God's Tri-une (three / one) nature. This isn't just dry, irrelevant theological fluff that was optional for His followers to know. Jesus explained exactly why He spoke of these things as the disciples intently listened to each word He said. They (we) needed to hear and know this theology so that they would not fall away. Though the disciples couldn't understand it at the time, Jesus' departure was for their good, since the Advocate-Comforter-Helper (the Greek word is Paraklētos which literally means to call out from alongside) would come in Jesus' place (v7). Jesus here introduces the disciples to the Holy Spirit. Jesus doesn't speak of the Spirit as simply being another version of Himself. This is an ancient error that many have fallen into, that the God of the Old Testament morphed into Jesus, who later turned into the Holy Spirit. Although it's in this chapter late in Jesus' earthly life that we're formally introduced to the Spirit, He's been present from the very beginning. He hovered over the waters as God spoke the world into existence, He's quite active in the Old Testament, and He had made a physical appearance in the form of a dove descending upon Jesus as He was baptized. But even though the Spirit is clearly a unique individual person, He's also an inseparable part of the three-in-one God. Jesus speaks of that difficult to comprehend relationship, saying that all that belongs to the Father is His, and all that the Spirit makes known has been received from Him Dig Deeper Some have been critical of the Heidelberg Catechism in that it only has one relatively short Q/A regarding the Holy Spirit. On one hand that's true, but on the other, it will take us this entire week to chew on this answer, and even that won't be enough time to fully digest all that it communicates. The Holy Spirit has often been referred to as the 'shy' member of the Trinity, because His entire purpose is magnifying the glory of the Father and the Son and not in focusing attention on Himself. That may seem to be the case, but this isn't necessarily an accurate description. Certainly the Bible doesn't tell us as much about the Spirit as what it does about the Father and the Son, but remember that every word you read in the Bible was breathed out by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16), which guides you into the truth. As we look at the sheer volume of information that the Spirit has spoken, we see that the Spirit isn't shy at all! This is tricky stuff that transcends logic: that God is both three and one. But the best way to experience the peace of God that is your only comfort in life and in death is to listen to the very expressive member of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for speaking to you through the words breathed out by the Holy Spirit and pray for a growing desire to listen to Him more and more. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 28

Articles 1-10 Article 1: God’s Right to Condemn All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15 -20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive 15-21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept Psalm 33 - God's Control, Today: Hebrews 5

God's expectations have been clear since day one: Obey Him and live. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 40 Q. Why did Christ have to go all the way to death? A. Because God’s justice and truth demand it: only the death of God’s Son could pay for our sin. Summary When Adam was placed into the Garden of Eden to work the land, God commanded him to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of all the fruit of the trees in the garden, only the fruit of this one tree was forbidden. This was a choice God did not have to give Adam. God could have hidden the tree of the knowledge of good and evil away from Adam, or created Adam without an ability to choose. Yet God did neither of these. Instead, God gave this command and Adam was given a choice between obedience and rebellion. The cost of rebellion was steep, for Adam and all whom he represented, disobedience meant that he would surely die. This consequence would not be an immediate physical death for Adam, but that death would become a certainty. Dig Deeper In Genesis 3 we find the account of the fall, where Adam and Eve as the first humans “fell” from grace through the first act of human disobedience. Despite God’s clear command that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was off-limits and the warning of the consequences of rebellion, they chose to partake of it. With this act of disobedience death began its reign in mankind. The only remedy for the fallen state of mankind is the supervening grace of God. This is why Jesus was born into this world and suffered death, to intervene in the fate of a fallen humanity. With this first act of rebellion came the certainty of death. God’s justice and truth require payment for our debt of sin. And nothing else could pay for our sins except the death of the Son of God. Because of Jesus, the fall is more than the origin story of the misery of mankind and how we came to be in a state of rebellion against God. The fall is part of God’s larger plan of redemption. God certainly didn't want Adam to fail, yet He knew that Adam and Eve would disobey in the garden. This is why a means of grace was already part of God's plan of redemption. Jesus is God’s intervention for a fallen humanity. Only the Son of God could pay our debt of sin. Thank God that Jesus intervenes in humanity’s state of misery, rescuing us from the consequences of our rebellion of sin. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our covenant God, the creator of all that is who has called us to a life of righteousness. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that through Christ you've earned everlasting life, and pray for wisdom to fulfill your purpose of ensuring God's creation reflects His holiness. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 8

land was filled with them. 8  Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. 9   more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” 11 with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. 15 But the Hebrew text begins with a tiny one letter conjunction. The new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, viewed these Hebrews as an existential threat.

Paul adds some clarification in v12-15.

All People Romans 5:12-14 - Mis-Markmanship Deuteronomy 28:15-20 - Not A Tame Lion Genesis 2:15-17 - Or Else Luke 15:11-16 - Prodigious Deprivation Psalm 143 - Aggressive Prayer Pattern ​ Article 2: The 15-21 - God's Mercy, Not Your Effort 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 - Love The Truth Psalm 81 - Call To Worship Romans 4:18-25 - Faithfully Face the Facts Hebrews 11:39-40 - Promises Kept Psalm 33 - God's Control, Today: Hebrews 4

The world is NOT a mass of randomly evolving atoms. God created all that is for a purpose! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 26 Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. Summary Most people know the opening words of the Bible: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Last week we were reminded that God exists in a Trinity - He's one in essence and three in person - so it makes sense that God created the universe in a triune manner. Often when the Bible refers to God, we understand it to mean God the Father. So when we read in Genesis one "And God said, let there be...," we properly conclude that creation is primarily the actions and design of God the Father. But as He inspired the Apostle Paul to write the letter to the Colossians, the Holy Spirit pulls the curtain back, so to speak, and we get a fuller sense of the creation process. Here we learn that God created all things in and through His Son. As the Father powerfully called things into being that were not (Rom. 4:17), the Son was right there, transforming those words into the physical reality that continues to astound us today. What a thought! The partnership between Father & Son didn't end upon the completion of creation. In this coming week we're going to be reminded that God sovereignly and providentially controls all that happens. But just like in the work of creation, the Father doesn't work alone, rather it is "in the Son that all things hold together (v17)." Dig Deeper Sometimes things just sound better in Latin, so we stick with the old language. Such is the case with the important phrase that God created all things out of nothing. It just sounds way more elegant to say that God created all things ex Nihilo (besides the beauty of it, this is good phrase to know as you'll encounter it often as you read & learn more about creation). But the creation narrative in Genesis doesn't exactly describe an ex nihilo creation; we read of the earth being formless and empty, and the Spirit hovering over the waters. Does this mean God made the world out of pre-existing stuff? Not at all. That's just where the story in Genesis picks up. We know this because of several passages in the Bible like Colossians 1:16. God the Father, through His Son, created all things, in heaven and on earth, both visible and invisible. As you go about your work today, know that you and everything you see, and even more that you can't see, was created by your Father, both through and for your Savior. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the invisible God, who spoke the world into being ex nihilo; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live as you've been designed to live: for God's glory! ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 25

Christianity doesn't just offer you warm fuzzies, it promises you confident knowledge of your salvation and a Father that hears you. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 117 Q. How does God want us to pray so that he will listen to us? A. First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, who has revealed himself in his Word, asking for everything he has commanded us to ask for. Second, we must acknowledge our need and misery, hiding nothing, and humble ourselves in his majestic presence. Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation: even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what he promised us in his Word. Summary As John begins to close his letter, he makes clear his intention in writing it: so that those who read it might know that through faith in Christ, they have eternal life. Not only is this the theme of John's first letter, it's the theme of the entire Bible: that you might know and have certainty. God performed miracle after miracle so that the world might know that He is God; right before He went to His death on the cross, Jesus prayed that His people would know His Father, and thus know eternal life. Contrast the confidence Christians have compared to those lost in the dark world. Society cannot tell you how life began or what happens after it ends. Nobody, this world tells us, can confidently delineate between right and wrong for anybody but themselves, or even know the difference between something as basic as male and female. And you certainly can't bow your head and talk to a God you can't see and truly know He hears you. This is the wonderful Good News the Bible proclaims: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God [whom we know with certainty!]: if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us." Ah, but there was a caveat there! God only hears and grants those things which are according to His will. This is why most of the prayers we read in the Bible focus on the first two A's: Acknowledging who God is, which reminds you of God's awesome power, grace, mercy, and peace, and that He receives our prayers because of His Son, and Aligning our lives with His will. When you follow this pattern and make acknowledging and aligning the bulk of your prayers, you can be confident that God hears that which you Ask for. Dig Deeper Certainly it can often seem like the prayers you pray simply float up into the ether and never reach listening ears. Maybe you've been praying for something good and godly for years on end, but haven't experienced any sort of result or even an indication that God even hears or cares about what you've prayed so earnestly about. Let passages like this one here in 1 John build your confidence that "God will surely listen to your prayer because of Christ your Lord." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whom we can confidently approach in Christ; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the confidence to know God is listening to your prayer, and that you will ask Him for things according to His will; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 19