The last thing you want to follow is your sinful heart. Biblia.com Psalm 81 (NIV) For the director of music. According to gittith . Of Asaph. 1  Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! 2  Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre. 3  Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival; 4  this is a decree for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 5  When God went out against Egypt, he established it as a statute for Joseph. I heard an unknown voice say: 6  “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. 7  In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah.  8  Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— if you would only listen to me, Israel! 9  You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me. 10  I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it. 11  “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. 12  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices. 13  “If my people would only listen to me, if Israel would only follow my ways, 14  how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! 15  Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. 16  But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith 6 - God’s Eternal Decision The fact that  some receive from God the gift of faith within time,  and that others do not,  stems from his eternal decree.  For “all his works are known to God from eternity” ( Acts 15:18 ; Eph. 1:11 ).  In accordance with this decree  God graciously  softens the hearts, however hard, of the elect  and inclines them to believe,  but by a just judgment  God leaves  in their wickedness and hardness of heart  those who have not been chosen.  And in this especially is disclosed to us God’s act —unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just— of distinguishing between people equally lost.  This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word.  The wicked, impure, and unstable distort this decree to their own ruin,  but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words. Summary Psalm 81 begins as a thunderous call to worship. There are times when our behavior in worship ought to be reverent and subdued ( God is in His temple, all within keep silent, Hab. 2:20), and then there are times where we're to begin the music, strike the timbrel, and play the melodious harp and lyre. In an age where many have settled for a mere livestream connection to watch others worship, Psalm 81 reminds us that we have an obligation to participate in gathered corporate worship. God's instruction for His people to come together and worship is described as a decree, an ordinance, and a statute. Calling people together for a time of energetic, musically driven praise often isn't difficult, and large crowds eagerly attend. But Psalm 81 paints a far more comprehensive picture of what worship must include. Certainly good, energetic music is a big part of it as we praise God for removing the burden from our shoulders and setting our hands free from the basket , but gathered worship also forms a vehicle through which God's people receive His solemn rebuke for sin that remains in our lives. God has promised to fill our mouths, subdue our enemies, and feed us with the finest wheat and honey, yet our sinful nature sends us looking for those good things from anywhere but God. Yet it's as God's Word is proclaimed over us during public worship, that our Father gently chides and reminds us that we shall not worship any god other than Him.   Dig Deeper  Often critics of the Calvinism (or 'doctrines of grace') taught in the Canons complain that they portray a God who arbitrarily forces people to come to predetermined conclusions about their relationship with Him, making us little more than robots. But the more we begin to better understand this doctrine of Unconditional Election , the more it becomes clear that this isn't the case at all. Obviously, as the name of the doctrine implies, God has for His own good reasons (reasons not conditioned by anything else) decreed that some will receive the gift of faith... and others will not. That's a tough concept to comprehend in and of itself, but let's not make it tougher by misconstruing it. Simply put, God does not compel anybody to do anything. Psalm 81 helps us to understand this. Notice how God's loving call of warning goes out to all people: Hear me... I will warn you... if only you will listen to me! He genuinely wants all people to return to Him ( 1 Timothy 2:4 ). Yet God always gives everybody what they want! When the people failed to respond to His pleas to return to Him, God lets them go. I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, He says, to follow their own devices. Remember, the only reason that you have heard and responded to God's call for you to return to Him is because He has graciously opened your eyes and ears, a gift unconditioned by anything you have done, and which He will never take from you. He has regenerated your heart so that you now truly want to live for Him. But remember to continually participate in gathered corporate worship which reminds and guides you to freely submit to God and follow His ways. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, the LORD our God, who brought us up from slavery; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for calling you to worship Him, and pray that by His grace you will desire to gather with His people to praise Him and be reminded to not worship any god other than Him; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 12

If you don't love the truth, God gives you what you want (and it's not good). Biblia.com 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12 (NIV) [People] perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11  For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12  and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith 6 - God’s Eternal Decision The fact that  some receive from God the gift of faith within time,  and that others do not,  stems from his eternal decree.  For “all his works are known to God from eternity” ( Acts 15:18 ; Eph. 1:11 ).  In accordance with this decree  God graciously  softens the hearts, however hard, of the elect  and inclines them to believe,  but by a just judgment  God leaves  in their wickedness and hardness of heart  those who have not been chosen.  And in this especially is disclosed to us God’s act —unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just— of distinguishing between people equally lost.  This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word.  The wicked, impure, and unstable distort this decree to their own ruin,  but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words. Summary People often recoil from the idea of God's sovereignty in salvation because they misunderstand it to mean that people are nothing more than unwitting pawns in the hands of an all powerful God who foreordained who would accept His grace and who would reject it. Paul anticipated this visceral reaction in yesterday's passage when he introduced the rhetorical question that springs to the front of so many minds: Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will? (Romans 9:19). Paul answers this vexing question in today's passage. God blames those who reject Him because they refused to love the truth . As Robert Thomas puts it, "They lack a positive commitment to the gospel. This is just as blamable as indifference or even antagonism toward the truth." It's true that God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie , but notice this divine action comes in response to people's refusal to love the truth. It's for this reason, Paul indicates, that God sends them a powerful delusion. In other words, since people do not love the truth, God gives them exactly what they want . People will be condemned , Paul writes, not simply because they drew the proverbial short straw before time began, but because they have not believed the truth. This lack of faith doesn't just leave them in some ambivalent gray area, it immediately gives way to them delighting in wickedness. There's no middle ground. You either believe the truth OR delight in wickedness.   Dig Deeper  This passage has profound implications for you and your faith: To love the truth means that it's not enough for you to simply understand the gospel correctly. Robert Thomas writes, " To love the truth denotes a positive dedication to the gospel. One can refuse to love the truth without refusing the truth." John Calvin helps explain how loving the truth means much more than simply knowing the correct answers. He writes, "faith must always be conjoined with a sweet and voluntary reverence for God, because we do not properly believe the Word of God, unless it is lovely and pleasant to us." Spend quality time today thinking about that. Can you truly say that the Word of God is lovely and pleasant to you? If not, realize the jeopardy such ambivalence places you in, for your lack of love for the truth leaves you defenseless against the lies of the devil and you'll often find yourself delighting in wickedness . Do the hard work of determining what factors prevent you from truly loving God's Word - is it a lack of time to read and dwell on it, an inability to understand what you're reading, or maybe even boredom with its content? Once you identify this barrier, you can pray for the Spirit to help you overcome it. All of us in our hyper-distracted society need to learn to love the truth more. The more you love the truth of God's Word, the more protected you will be from the lies of the evil one as you more and more come to understand that God's grace is stronger than you are. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who sends a powerful delusion upon those who refuse to love the truth ; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you can identify things which keep you from more fully loving the truth so that you can pray that God will give you what you need to overcome it; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 11

True peace comes from realizing God's grace is stronger than you are. BibleHub.com Romans 9:16-21 (NIV) 15  God says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16  It [our salvation] does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. 17  For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18  Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19  One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” 20  But who are you, o man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ”  21  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith 6 - God’s Eternal Decision The fact that  some receive from God the gift of faith within time,  and that others do not,  stems from his eternal decree.  For “all his works are known to God from eternity” ( Acts 15:18 ; Eph. 1:11 ).  In accordance with this decree  God graciously  softens the hearts, however hard, of the elect  and inclines them to believe,  but by a just judgment  God leaves  in their wickedness and hardness of heart  those who have not been chosen.  And in this especially is disclosed to us God’s act —unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just— of distinguishing between people equally lost.  This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word.  The wicked, impure, and unstable  distort this decree  to their own ruin,  but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words. Summary We have a deeply embedded sense of fairness and justice here in North America. We understand that those who take risks and work hard deserve to be rewarded, while those who cheat and steal ought to get what they have coming to them. These are good principles necessary for building a solid society, so because they've contributed to success in one sphere of life, we often assume that they carry over into all of the others, such as our eternal salvation. God must be obligated to save those who truly deserve to be saved, we conclude. But in one of the most shocking passages in the Bible, God turns this assumption upside down. Paul begins shattering our notion by quoting the LORD's words to Moses , stating that He will have mercy on those whom He chooses . This means, Paul goes on to conclude, that salvation does not depend upon a person's individual efforts. In other words, none of us can point to our own holy accomplishments and say that we deserve salvation. God, according to His wisdom and good pleasure, has mercy on who he wants to have mercy, and he hardens those whom he wants to harden. It's not that the elect somehow deserved grace more so than those who God has passed over and left in their sin. Paul, as he so often does, anticipates the very question his readers will have upon reading these heavy words. If it's all up to God as far as who repents and who rejects, then how can God blame those who reject Him? How can it be their fault if they're just doing what God in a sense programmed them to do?   Dig Deeper  Paul doesn't directly answer the hypothetical questions that both he and we raise. Instead he hits us with the hard reality that we don't deserve to ask the question in the first place. Remember, Paul tells you, you are God's creation, so therefore God has every right to do with you as He pleases. If God's desire is to preserve you unto eternal salvation, then so be it. If He instead wills you to the eternal punishment (which we all actually deserve!), then so be it. Paul's words seem harsh, cold and unfeeling. Read in isolation, they seem to portray a preprogrammed robotic world - a fatalism in which an uncaring God creates some people just to smite them and arbitrarily saves a few, whether they deserve it or not. But of course these words are not written in isolation. They come directly from God Himself, through Paul, right alongside words that tell us of His unfailing love, mercy, goodness and holiness. These words come in a book, that more clearly than any other book in the Bible, describe how it is that Christ atoned for sin and granted perfect righteousness to those His Father had given to Him; the same book that goes on to tell us how the Spirit's regeneration enables us to obey God's command to freely accept and live in accordance with the grace He gives. These words are not at all written to dent or dull your perception of who and what God is or how He operates. They're written to humble you. The more you humble yourself and understand that your salvation is completely dependent upon God's mercy and not your effort, the more comfort you will experience knowing that God's grace is stronger than you are. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who has mercy upon whom He will have mercy, and has compassion upon those whom He will have compassion; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that through the humility these words bring, you will come to realize more and more that God's grace is stronger than you are; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 10

Your heart transplant has made you an entirely different person. "I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" - verse 26 Ezekiel 36:24-28 (NIV) CONTEXT: God is speaking through the prophet Ezekiel to His people who are exiled in Babylon, promising to restore them. 24  “ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25  I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26  I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28  Then you will live in the land I gave your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith 6 - God’s Eternal Decision The fact that  some receive from God the gift of faith within time,  and that others do not,  stems from his eternal decree.  For “all his works are known to God from eternity” ( Acts 15:18 ; Eph. 1:11 ).  In accordance with this decree  God graciously  softens the hearts, however hard, of the elect  and inclines them to believe,  but by a just judgment  God leaves  in their wickedness and hardness of heart  those who have not been chosen.  And in this especially is disclosed to us God’s act —unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just— of distinguishing between people equally lost.  This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word.  The wicked, impure, and unstable  distort this decree  to their own ruin,  but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words. Summary Ezekiel prophesied at time when the LORD's people, the Israelites, were exiled in Babylon because of their hard-hearted rebellion against God. But here the LORD speaks good news through His servant Ezekiel, promising to take them out of the nations, and that He will gather them from all the countries and bring them back to their own land. But God is promising here to do much more than just bring them back; what good would it do to simply return these sin-stained people back to the seat of their rebellion? So God promises to cleanse them with clean water from their impurities and from all their idols. But this would be so much more than just a surface level, external washing - it would penetrate to their very spirit. Ezekiel is famous for painting vivid word pictures, and this passage is one of his most famous. God would put His Spirit in them, removing their heart of stone and giving them a heart of flesh. This change of heart would transform the lives of the LORD's people as they returned to their land . Now instead of harboring wickedness and idolatry, they would follow God's decrees and be careful to keep His laws . And best of all, the relationship that the LORD created them for would be restored: They will be His people, and He will be their God.   Dig Deeper  It can be hard to properly interpret how the promises God made to His people Israel apply to us as New Testament Christians, and good solid Christians often come to different conclusions as to how to do so. But today's passage helps build a bridge between the two subsets that comprise God's people throughout history. Ezekiel's prophecy of the Spirit transforming stone cold hearts into soft and lively flesh is famous for good reason, which extends far beyond its literary beauty. Ezekiel here paints one of the Bible's clearest pictures of what we call regeneration , which is the process the Canons describe of God graciously softening the hearts, however hard, of the elect and inclining them to believe. If you have faith in Christ, then you've experienced this Spiritual regeneration. For many of us, it came at such a young age we have little to no recognition of what life with a stone cold heart was like. But this transformation fundamentally changed who you are as a person. You're no longer at enmity with God; in fact, the LORD has placed His Spirit in you, who moves you to follow God's decrees. Like the Israelites, God has promised to return you to the land. Only the land God has in mind is so much so than a mere geographical location. We understand the land to represent the new heavens and earth described so beautifully in Revelation ( here and here ). AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who gathers us His people from out of the nations to bring us back to our own land ; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that your words and actions reflect the new heart you've been given by the Spirit; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 9

God's will to deliver and strengthen you cannot be revoked. Isaiah 45:21-25 (NIV) 21  Declare what is to be, present it— let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me. 22  “Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. 23  By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. 24  They will say of me, ‘In the LORD alone are deliverance and strength.’ ” All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. 25  But all the descendants of Israel will find deliverance in the LORD and will make their boast in him. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith 6 - God’s Eternal Decision The fact that  some receive from God the gift of faith within time,  and that others do not,  stems from his eternal decree.  For “all his works are known to God from eternity” ( Acts 15:18 ; Eph. 1:11 ).  In accordance with this decree  God graciously  softens the hearts, however hard, of the elect  and inclines them to believe,  but by a just judgment  God leaves  in their wickedness and hardness of heart  those who have not been chosen.  And in this especially is disclosed to us God’s act —unfathomable, and as merciful as it is just— of distinguishing between people equally lost.  This is the well-known decree of election and reprobation revealed in God’s Word.  The wicked, impure, and unstable  distort this decree  to their own ruin,  but it provides holy and godly souls with comfort beyond words. Summary The LORD here gives instructions to his prophet Isaiah to declare what is to be. (Remember, a prophet is one who represents God to the people, whereas a priest represents the people before God.) The fact that the Old Testament is comprised of so many books written by prophets, plus numerous sections of prophecy embedded into the other books, shows just how much God wants His people to hear of His salvation! As we begin this new week, we're jumping into some deeper water as we work through the Canons, specifically coming to grips with the fact that God has decreed that some receive from God the gift of faith..., while others do not. God makes clear to His prophet that He has foretold this long ago, and declared it from the distant past. We refer God's choice in eternity past as to those He would save as election . It's comforting to know that our righteous God and Savior knew our names and included us in His covenant before the creation of the world ( Ephesians 1:4 ) to find deliverance in the LORD and make our boast in Him. But election has an ugly cousin. We will see this week that God's choice to grant salvation to some necessarily means that He chose to leave others in the sinful condition that we put ourselves in. We call this doctrine reprobation .   Dig Deeper  It's important to understand that although He chose to leave some in their sinful condition, God does not force them to stay there. We've already seen this year in the Canons what the LORD here makes clear to Isaiah: that He announces His salvation to ALL people. He cries out to all, Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no other! Notice also that all people will come to acknowledge and worship God. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will swear allegiance (v23 ESV). But this demonstration of submission will be quite different for all those who have raged against the LORD in their lifetimes. As they come to Him on that day of judgment, they will be put to shame. But those who have been elected by God unto salvation - the spiritual descendents of Israel will find deliverance in the LORD and will make their boast in Him. If you came here longing to be reminded of God's grace in your life, that's a sure sign God is drawing you to Him and that He has extended His promises to you. The question really isn't whether or not you will accept His grace (we'll learn later this year that His offer is irresistable ), the question is how exactly will you make your boast in Him in your actions and words today for the grace and salvation He was already conveyed to you? AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, whose word will not be revoked; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will live in a way consistent with God's irrevocable call in your life; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 8

The LORD is your God, and you're part of the flock He cares for. Bible.com Psalm 95 1  Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. 2  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 3  For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. 4  In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. 5  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6  Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; 7  for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, 8  “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, l as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, 9  where your fathers tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. 10  For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11  So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith The cause or blame for this unbelief, as well as for all other sins, is not at all in God, but in man. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, and salvation through him is a free gift of God Summary Psalm 95 helps us understand two fundamental truths about who the LORD is. First of all, the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. Certainly the psalmist here isn't claiming that there are many gods, but the LORD is the greatest of them all. Rather, the LORD is greater than any of the idyllic gods our sinful minds try to prop up in His place. After all, the LORD holds in His hands both the highest peaks and the lowest depths. Even the chaotic sea we read about last week belongs to Him , and His hands formed the dry land that we call home. But the LORD is not just the transcendent creator, who remains far above all that His hands have made. Quite the opposite: He is our God. At first glance, those four words may not seem profound, but reflect on their immense significance throughout the day—the LORD Almighty, Creator of all things, who rules over and sustains them, is our God! Not only does Psalm 95 give us these two key insights as to who the LORD is, but it next tells us who we are. This world would have you believe that you're just the random - accidental, even - result of space, time and matter crashing together to produce the conditions from which you happened to evolve. Psalm 95, on the other hand, reminds you that we are the people of the LORD's pasture and that as part of His flock, you are under His care.   Dig Deeper  Psalm 95 also gives you two ways you must respond to the LORD, your creator and sustainer. It repeats the first imperative three times: 1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; 2  Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. 6 Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; This command to come stands in stark contrast to your sinful instinct to flee from the LORD as Adam did after rebelling. To come means more than just moving yourself closer to God. It means to humble yourself, realize your complete dependence upon Him, by humbly and joyfully singing praises to Him. Secondly, and a bit more ominously, you must submit to the LORD. After beginning with one of the most joyful calls to worship in the entire Psalter, Psalm 95 seems to come to a screeching halt in v8, sort of like when the bad guy comes into the saloon in an old Western movie. The LORD reminds His people - us! - to not repeat the ugly mistake of hardening our hearts the way the Israelites did during the exodus. That generation missed out on entering the LORD's rest. To ensure you don't miss out, keep your heart from going astray, and be sure to know the LORD's ways . The only way for you to do these things is to fully cling to the Rock of our salvation! AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our LORD God, who cares for His flock; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will come to the LORD in all your ways, and fully submit to Him through Christ; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 7

God grants you faith, but that's not all! DailyVerses.net Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV) CONTEXT: Paul writes this letter to the Philippians from prison, and he doesn't know what the immediate future holds for him. His prayer is that no matter what happens to him, Christ will be exalted. "For to me," he writes in v21, "to live is Christ and to die is gain." 27  Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel 28  without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. 29  For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, 30  since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith The cause or blame for this unbelief, as well as for all other sins, is not at all in God, but in man. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, and salvation through him is a free gift of God Summary Paul's desire for these people he loved so dearly was for them to stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. The clearest indication that they were standing firm would be, as one dictionary defines the word Paul used, for them "to conduct themself with proper reference to their obligations in relationship to others, as part of some community." In other words, they were to live in a way that helped meet the needs of others, especially their fellow church members, but also the entire Philippian community in general. You've been reminded often that living a godly life is a good way to point others to Christ, and that is true ( 1 Peter 2:2 ). But Paul puts an interesting twist on the concept here. When church members conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel, it doesn't necessarily point others to heaven, rather this is a sign to them [the non-believers] that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved! That explains why the world is often so hostile to Christians! There are two clauses in particular here that catch our attention today, as we come to understand that, as the Canons put it, faith in Jesus Christ and salvation through Him are a free gift of God. Your good conduct is a sign both to you and your community that you will be saved, but Paul makes clear that it's not your good conduct that saves you. You've been saved by God. Paul goes on to write that the very fact that you believe in Christ has been granted to you. Understand that your faith is not an indication that you're smarter than the average bear and so were able to see and believe in the salvation that comes through Christ even though so many other people missed it. Rather, you believe the gospel simply because God has granted you the ability to do so.   Dig Deeper  This passage contains two shocking statements. We've already seen the first, that your good conduct is viewed by non-believers as a reminder that they will be destroyed. The second shock comes in the second 'gift' God grants you. Not only has He granted you on behalf of Christ to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him . Paul knew first hand of this suffering. He wrote these words as he waited to be executed while chained to a dungeon wall. Many churches, just like businesses, spend thousands of dollars marketing themselves to their communities hoping to attract unbelievers so they can share the gospel. In doing so, they extol the benefits salvation brings, like peace and fellowship in the community of believers. These are true and worthwhile benefits that are worth sharing! But few churches advertise that just as God grants people faith, He also grants them the opportunity to suffer for Christ . But this too is good news! Paul explains to new Christians on his missionary journeys that we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). As you endure suffering in your life, especially when its on Christ's behalf, be sure to remind yourself that it has been granted to you by God as a means to bring you into His kingdom. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who grants us salvation and the opportunity to suffer for Him; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 6

Grace and faith are free gifts, worthy of your deepest gratitude. bibleversestogo.com Ephesians 2:1-10 (NIV) 2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2  in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5  made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9  not by works, so that no one can boast. 10  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith The cause or blame for this unbelief, as well as for all other sins, is not at all in God, but in man. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, and salvation through him is a free gift of God Summary This is the first of what will likely be several times that we come to this familiar, amazing passage this year. These words are so endearing and powerful because in just a few sentences, they communicate the life restoring effect that the gospel has. There is no life outside of Christ, spiritually at least. Paul frames it ironically: You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live . Everywhere you look, people are living and breathing and carrying on with the busyness of life, but yet spiritually they're dead. They just methodically follow the ways of this world and its ruler as they gratify the cravings of their flesh ( Sarx ). As we've been reminded by the Canons these last few days, we can't blame God for this spiritual deadness; it fully stems from our sin and willful disobedience. Since we've rebelliously wandered so far from God's good design, it only makes sense that we were by nature deserving of wrath. The Good News is that even though we fully deserved this deadness we brought upon ourselves, God made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. That is the very definition of grace .   Dig Deeper  If you haven't already, you really need to memorize v8-9, as they form one of the clearest explanations of salvation ever written. For it is by grace Grace is the gift of undeserved kindness. Instead of receiving the wrath that we deserve, God gives us new life in Christ. you have been saved Notice here the past tense. It doesn't promise that someday, if you clean up your act and behave you might be or even will be saved . It says that you already have been saved. through faith You are not just a passive recipient of saving grace. You must exercise faith . But... - this [faith] is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - Both God's grace and the faith necessary for you to receive it are freely given to you by Him! not by works, so that no one can boast. You did nothing to earn your salvation. The good works you now do, which God prepared in advance for you to do, are simply a token of your gratitude for His free gift of salvation to you. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that as you increasingly understand the value of God's gift of grace and faith you will increasingly respond with good works in gratitude for this gift; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 5

Watch out for the lady trying to seduce you! BiblePic.com Ecclesiastes 7:25-29 CONTEXT: The book of Ecclesiastes contain the life long wisdom of the Teacher , a character modeled after King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live. This passage is shocking at first, but as we view it in the context of the Proverbs Solomon wrote, it will begin to make much more sense. 25  So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. 26  I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare. 27  “Look,” says the Teacher,  “this is what I have discovered: “Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things— 28  while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. 29  This only have I found: God created man ( ʾā·ḏām ) upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes.” Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith The cause or blame for this unbelief, as well as for all other sins, is not at all in God, but in man. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, and salvation through him is a free gift of God Summary At first glance, this passage seems to be full of the misogyny and sexist attitudes that so many people think the Bible is full of. So let's begin here by addressing the elephant in the room: no, the Teacher is not disparaging women as a whole in this passage. With that out of the way, we can begin to make some sense out of it. This passage comes at the end of a section in which the Teacher grapples with the frustrating fact that so often the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Ultimately, the Teacher knows that the wicked will get what they have coming, so remaining in sin and wickedness is foolish. But the Teacher wants to understand why so many people persist in the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. Enter the woman who is a snare . The book of Proverbs, which is comprised mostly of Solomon's collected writings, features two primary female characters. One of these is Lady Wisdom, the lady man ought to pursue. The other is Lady Folly, the woman the Teacher has in mind here, who continually snares men with her seductive schemes . After long investigation, the Teacher identifies the root of the world's problems, and as our Canons explain, it's not God's fault that things are the way they are. God created man upright, but they have gone in search of many [of Lady Folly's] schemes.   Dig Deeper  Let's dwell on the Teacher's conclusion a bit longer. Notice the switch from the singular man to the plural they. The Bible identifies the first man, Adam, as the one who introduced sin into the world . Although Adam stood before God pointing his finger at the woman who ' snared ' him and the serpent, the rest of us are quick to point our fingers back at Adam, as if all of the world's subsequent problems are his fault. But the Teacher reminds us here that all of us have compounded and increased the sin Adam introduced by going in search of many schemes. Notice that we can't even blame Lady Folly for her seduction - we actively go in search of her schemes just as much as she comes looking for us. The Teacher was unable to find one upright woman among them all. Certainly, the Teacher is being hyperbolic here; this passage does not teach that women are inferior to men. It refers to the exhaustive search King Solomon made for an upright woman, marrying and taking in hundreds of women, a search that ultimately caused his downfall (1 Kings 11:3). All of them, to one degree or another, was less than upright and pulled him away from God (again, this reflects the sinful condition of humanity as a whole, not just women). But even our pessimistic Teacher mentions a glimmer of hope. He teaches us that the man who escapes Lady Folly pleases God . In all of human history, there has only been one upright man who successfully resisted her seductions. That man, of course, is your Savior, Jesus Christ. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who is pleased with those who escape Lady Folly; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will realize the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 4

Stop blaming God, the Devil and others for your problems. Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire (James 1:14 ESV) James 1:13-17 (NIV) 13  When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14  but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16  Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election 1 - God's right to condemn all people 2 - God shows His sovereign love in the sending of Jesus Christ 3 - The Preaching of the Gospel 4 - A Twofold Response to the Gospel 5 - The Sources of Unbelief and of Faith The cause or blame for this unbelief, as well as for all other sins, is not at all in God, but in man. Faith in Jesus Christ, however, and salvation through him is a free gift of God Summary I spent twenty five years as a first responder, and in the thousands of incidents I responded to, I noticed a pattern in the inquiries of those who were passing by. At car wrecks they'd ask it sometimes even before we had extricated all of the victims, and at structure fires they wanted to know even as the fire still raged out of control: HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? James here is responding to that same instinct that is woven into our being to want to know who to blame when things go wrong. This instinct is actually a huge evidence for the existence of a good God who created all things and continues to provide. After all, if the universe was simply the random product of time and chance, disaster would be just as likely as blessing, so nobody would be surprised or shocked by it. But when things turn bad, people demand answers, and too often the blame falls on God first. People who've done very little to educate themselves about God by reading and listening to His Word suddenly become astute theologians, opining that since this bad thing happened, God must either not be good or not be omnipotent, because a truly good and powerful God would never let this happen. But James will have none of this. Whether you are being tempted by sin or your world is crashing in all around you, do not blame God! Our unchanging Father is the giver of every good and perfect gift . He is not the author of evil. Though He often allows disaster for His own good purposes, the primary culprit for every bad thing that has ever happened or ever will happen is our own sin.   Dig Deeper  James uses a word picture here that you fishermen will identify with when he writes that each of us is dragged away. Other translations render it as us being lured and enticed , the which is the same thing you attempt to do to unintelligent fish. The fact that James describes our wandering after temptation by comparing us to unthinking organisms driven only by instinct and appetite speaks volumes! At least the fish have an excuse for their foolishness! Fish would never take the bait had you not thrown the lure in the water! James already taught us not to blame God for our failures, and now he designs to cut off the next most popular fall guy we like to pin the blame on: we love to say 'the Devil made me do it,' as if all of the lures in our water were placed there by him. But notice there's not a single mention of the Devil or demons anywhere in this passage! Certainly we know that they can and have wreaked havoc upon God's good creation, but always remember that Satan is neither omnipotent nor omnipresent. Although Jesus calls him the father of lies , he is nowhere powerful enough to be responsible for everyone's temptations. Ultimately you shoulder the blame for your own troubles and temptations. You're dragged away by your own evil desire! You can't solve a recurring problem until you first root out the cause of it. Stop blaming God, the Devil, or anyone else for your problems. Repent of your sin, and cling to Christ who paid for your sin and gives you the power to overcome your ongoing temptations. AAA Prayer (About) A CKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS : Our Father, who does not change like the shifting shadows; A LIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Repent of your sins, and pray that in Christ you will have the strength to fight and overcome temptation; A SK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year! Today: Acts 3