John 6:37-40 (NIV) 37  "All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God

BibleHub.com John 6:60–66 (NIV) CONTEXT: Jesus has just told those following Him the shocking statement Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity John writes that Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray

John 3:16–17 (ESV) 16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Articles 1- 4 Article at the start of its article on The Mandate to Proclaim the Gospel to All takes up this language from John On the playlist she was listening to, there was a song where someone put these words from John 3 to music

BibleStudyTools.com John 8:30-44 (NIV) CONTEXT: Jesus has been talking to a somewhat hostile group of Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Summary Once again John torpedoes the pervasive idyllic image so many people have regarding what Jesus course no matter His demeanor He never acted sinfully, but notice how often in the gospels (especially John's

John 6:47-57 (NIV) CONTEXT: We began this passage yesterday. So it's no surprise whatsoever that John tells us just a few verses later that from this time many of Today: 1 Thessalonians 4

John 6:25-40 (NIV) CONTEXT: After spending days teaching people, during which He had fed the 5,000, Jesus Today: 1 Thessalonians 3

The sacraments are a participation in Christ. How much participation would you like? Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 65 Q. It is by faith alone that we share in Christ and all his blessings: where then does that faith come from? A. The Holy Spirit produces it in our hearts by the preaching of the holy gospel, and confirms it through our use of the holy sacraments. Summary Our faith is brought about by hearing the gospel preached. The Holy Spirit works through God’s holy Word to bring about faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit confirms this faith by our use of the holy sacraments. Jesus tells us in the Great Commission (Matthews 28:19-20) to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says that by eating the bread and drinking from the cup of the Lord’s Supper we are participating in the body and blood of Christ. When celebrating the Lord’s Supper and baptisms, the Holy Spirit works through these two holy sacraments to confirm your faith in Jesus Christ. That is why the sacraments are referred to, along with the preaching of God's Word, as means of grace. By celebrating these two sacraments, you receive God’s grace through the work of the Holy Spirit. The sacraments (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), point us to Jesus and His saving work and deepen your relationship with Him. Dig Deeper When I was a kid, my mother would only use her good plates on special occasions like Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. They were ornately decorated, and were only for important events. Otherwise, they would sit in a hutch. Is that how the Christian Church views the Lord’s Supper? Is it something that is so special, it can only be brought out occasionally? We think, “we cannot celebrate communion too much, otherwise it is no longer special.” How often does your church celebrate the Lord’s Supper? Is it quarterly? More frequently? The Lord’s Supper and baptism are a blessing given by Jesus to confirm our faith in him. While we can only celebrate baptisms when there are children or new unbaptized converts to baptize, we can celebrate the Lord’s Supper more frequently. If the Holy Spirit confirms our faith through the sacraments, shouldn’t we want to celebrate them more often? As followers of Christ, Jesus places the Great Commission before us. We are to go and make disciples. By making disciples we will get to celebrate baptisms, and there will be rejoicing in heaven! The Lord’s Supper is given to us by Jesus to celebrate and confirm our faith in him. Your elders and pastor oversee the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, so if you wonder why you celebrate it when you do, be sure to ask them. We will spend more time on Wednesday and Thursday digging into what it means to receive grace from the sacraments. For now, know that the Holy Spirit works through the Lord’s Supper and baptism to confirm our faith in Jesus. While both are holy, we can celebrate them often to help confirm our faith. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: God of grace, who sends us, His people, out with the good news; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Draw me closer to you through celebrating baptism and the Lord’s Supper; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philippians 4

Don't let the comforts in this world distract you from the true Comforter. 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 It might seem odd in the midst of a week in which we've been focused on the person and work of the Holy Spirit to read from a passage that doesn't seem to mention the Holy Spirit at all. Paul here certainly makes reference to God the Father, as well as the Lord Jesus Christ, but he seems to just ignore the third member of the Trinity. Earlier this week we noted that the Holy Spirit is often referred to as the 'shy' member of the Trinity, since His role is to often focus our attention on the work of the Father and the Son, and in doing so the Spirit often stays in the background. So it's not all that surprising that the Spirit seems set to the side in this passage. But we also were reminded that the Holy Spirit really isn't all that shy, since He's the member of the Godhead we hear from the most, in that every word of the Bible was breathed out by Him. In fact, the verses we read today are all about the Spirit! We read one reference to the Father, three references to the Son, and at least six references to the Holy Spirit! The reason you didn't notice Him right away is because He's camouflaged: He was never directly referred to, but He was described with the repetitive use of the Greek word paraklēsis, the word Jesus often uses to refer to the Holy Spirit, which is translated here as comfort. The Holy Spirit is the "God of all comfort (v3)." Dig Deeper You probably think of 'comfortable' as being a condition in which you have no pain or discomfort. The chair you fall asleep in is comfortable, whereas the one that hurts your back is uncomfortable. One dictionary defines comfort as 'freedom from pain or constraint." So when hearing that the Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as the Comforter, you might be tempted to think He's not really present in your life because of how many uncomfortable aspects there are. A life filled with the Comforter ought to be filled with comfort, right? But keep in mind the literal meaning of the Greek word paraklēsis: the para part means alongside (like a parapro, paralegal, and paramedic work alongside a teacher, lawyer and doctor), and klēsis means to call out. So the Holy Spirit is the one who comes alongside you in "in all your troubles" and calls out to you words of "comfort and salvation." The reason people like us don't feel like we're experiencing the Holy Spirit as often as we'd like is because we're so distracted by the comforts we have in this world that we don't feel a need for "the God of all comfort." Make a habit of pushing those distractions away, so that that you can hear the Holy Spirit coming alongside you reminding you that your only comfort in life and in death is that you belong to your faithful Savior, Jesus Christ (keep reading v8-11 to see how the Holy Spirit brought this comfort to Paul when he "despaired of life itself"). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort (v1) ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for the physical comforts He's given you, but pray that they don't distract you from the Holy Spirit coming alongside and calling out to you. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Romans 3

God has said yes to you in Christ, He means yes, and He will not change His mind! Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 49 Q. How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us? A. First, he pleads our cause in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven— a guarantee that Christ our head will take us, his members, to himself in heaven. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a further guarantee. By the Spirit’s power we make the goal of our lives, not earthly things, but the things above where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. Summary While it's difficult to determine precisely, it's estimated that God makes well over 5,000 promises in the Bible. What an astounding number, showing the love, care, compassion and mercy of our Father! All of those promises were stamped FULFILLED when Christ ascended into heaven. It's no wonder that the angels that suddenly appeared to the stunned disciples were surprised that the disciples were longingly looking up rather than celebrating victory! Yet we often wonder right along with the disciples where Jesus went and when will He return. As human beings, our reality is best defined by what we see, touch, taste, smell and feel, and as it is, we don't experience God in those ways. That often leaves us, just like the disciples, feeling deserted and alone. But this week's passages have reminded us that we are very much not alone. Psalm 139 reminded us of God's omnipresence, and that even though Jesus' body is in heaven, in His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is not absent from us for a moment. Now today we read that not only is God always with us, He - though the power of the Holy Spirit which he put in our hearts as a deposit - makes us stand firm in Christ. In other words, although you will be rocked over and over by challenges, disasters, trials, and losses in this sad world, nothing will ever completely knock you down and out of Christ's hands. So, yes, all 5,000 promises of God are all fulfilled in Christ, but there are many that we're still waiting to see exactly how they've been fulfilled. But as you wait, be comforted that God has guaranteed those promises by sending you His Holy Spirit, so make every effort to come to know and recognize Him more and more. Dig Deeper Psalm 24 is a Psalm David wrote about 1,000 years before Jesus ascended into heaven that describes what Jesus' ascension was like from the perspective of the other side of the cloud which hid Jesus from the disciples' sight. Jesus is the one with clean hands and a pure heart who may ascend the holy mountain of the Lord. Jesus is the King of glory, the Lord, strong and mighty! What a celebration unfolded in heaven as the angels welcomed Him home! David writes, "He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God His Savior." Blessing and vindication. In other words, as Paul puts it, God looked at Christ and said "Amen" to the promises He made. Remember, the New Testament's favorite expression for your relationship to God is that you are in Christ, so since Jesus received these blessings and vindication from His Father, so have you. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who has fulfilled every one of the thousands of promises He's made; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you set your mind and heart on things above that you will recognize more and more how God has fulfilled His promises in Christ. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Matthew 22

God's name must only be attached to that which is absolutely true. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 99 Q. What is God’s will for us in the third commandment? A. That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In a word, it requires that we use the holy name of God only with reverence and awe, so that we may properly confess him, pray to him, and praise him in everything we do and say. Summary Leviticus 19 forms the basis for much of the New Testament book of James. James, the younger, half-brother to Jesus, would preach to new Christian converts by taking a portion of God's Word they knew well and unpacking it in the light of Christ. We'll see an example of this in tomorrow's reading. This section of the law, given to Israel through Moses, directs the Israelites to not thwart justice. The people are directed to not lie, steal, or profane the name of God by swearing falsely by it… something we call perjury. This command draws upon the third commandment, to not misuse the name of God. To commit perjury using the name of God is to bring the name of the Lord into your lie, and it is about as clear of an example of the misuse of the name of God as there is. Sin often starts small but quickly grows big. The transition from lying to perjury in verses 11 and 12 demonstrates how one sin can lead into more and greater sin. Notice the how each of these actions God prohibits quickly leads to the next if unchecked: steal → lie → deceive → blasphemy. Lying, under the right circumstances, can be something more than deceitful words but an act of blaspheming the very name of God. Dig Deeper In a courtroom, when you are sworn in under oath, it is tradition to place your right hand on the Bible. The symbolism on display in this action is that you are swearing by God that you will be honest in your testimony. To make such an oath, and then speak dishonestly, is perjury. Swearing falsely by the name of God is a means of profaning the name of God. In being sworn in under oath, you are calling upon the name of God to witness to the truthfulness of your testimony. But when you willingly lie under oath, you are instead calling upon God to bear witness to your lie. And while God will not bear witness to your falsehood, so calling upon our Heavenly Father to bear false witness is a blasphemous way to use the name of the Lord. We should all be careful not to misuse the name of the Lord through perjury. Also, do your best to avoid using lies and deceit in your dealings with others so that these sins will not lead into a larger web of sin, which might quickly end up including blasphemous perjury. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father is holy, so we must be holy; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for His law and pray for the strength to keep it as a new creation in Christ; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 2 Corinthians 10