Brace yourself like a man as God takes you on a poetic tour of His power. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 121 Q. Why the words “in heaven”? A. These words teach us not to think of God’s heavenly majesty as something earthly, and to expect everything for body and soul from his almighty power Summary God addresses Job from "out of the storm." This may be a metaphorical reference to the storm that had enveloped Job's life, or it may just be the way God's people often experience theophanies (the localized presence of God on earth): A storm enveloped Mt. Sinai as God spoke His commandments to the Israelites; the temple was filled with a cloud when God's presence came into it; and the room shook with a violent wind as the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. But the storm was only the first indication that Job was dealing with something very otherworldly. God proceeds to take Job on a poetic tour of the universe He created and oversees that goes on for multiple pages. God's speech ends with Job humbled and repenant four chapters later. "Then Job replied to the LORD, 'I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.'" (Job 42:1-2) Dig Deeper Most of us will never endure a storm like what Job suffered through, but yet many people often begin to doubt God's existence when bad things happen. On the other extreme, our view of God becomes diminished when we begin to think of Him just as a friend when we need one, or the 'man upstairs.' One thing that's for certain, none of us want to hear God speak to us from a storm beginning with the words "brace yourself like a man," because somehow we've come to an inaccurate understanding of Him. One of the best ways to continually remind yourself of God's other worldliness, authority and power is to open your prayers to Him with the words 'My Father, in heaven.' These simple words teach you not to think of God's majesty as something earthly, and set the tone for the fear, reverence and awe that you should be praying with. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who is in heaven, who laid the earth's foundation and gives orders to the morning; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Humble yourself before the LORD as Job did and God will hear your prayers; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Thessalonians 2

By addressing your prayers to your Father, you're reminded of His love every time you pray. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 120 Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”? A. At the very beginning of our prayer Christ wants to kindle in us what is basic to our prayer— the childlike awe and trust that God through Christ has become our Father. Our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life; God our Father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith. Summary Jesus gives two examples of how, even as fallen, sinful people, we still have the ability to meet the needs of people around us. The first one showcases the "shameless audacity (v8)" of the one doing the asking. Even though the need was real and significant, the fact that it was the middle of the night and the friend's tiny house was full of sleeping children shows the desperateness of situation. In their middle eastern culture, to not have any food to share with travelers - even ones who drop in without warning - would have made the entire village look bad. The persistence of the one who needed help overcame the friend's annoyance at being woken up at midnight and the need was met. Jesus next appealed to the fathers listening to him. Even though we are evil, Jesus says, a father would never substitute something that would hurt his children when they asked for something nutritious. The key words in this passage come at the very end of it: "How much more..." If even in our messed up world we still can count on people to meet our needs when we ask them, then "how much more will your Father in heaven give you the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Dig Deeper The reason it's so important for you to begin your prayers by acknowledging who God is, is that doing so tempers the rest of the prayer that follows. This is why it's especially important to follow the pattern Jesus set by opening your prayer to our Father in heaven. Doing so helps remind you that you're not just phoning a friend at an inopportune time who may be really annoyed by you, but rather that you're approaching your loving Father, who happens to also be the sovereign, omnipotent ruler of all things! So don't be intimidated! Jesus tells you - commands you, even - to ask, seek, knock and find. Your Father will not leave you out in the cold, and He will not give you something that will hurt you when you've asked Him for something good. This is not to say that your Father will give you everything you ask for. Like any loving father, He knows far better what His children actually need than what we do. But don't miss the guarantee that Jesus makes here: Our Father will always give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who knows how to give good gifts to His children; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask, seek, and knock so that you will receive, find, and have the door opened by your Father who loves you; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Thessalonians 1

The simple words "Our Father" pack in a ton of comforting theology. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 120 Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”? A. At the very beginning of our prayer Christ wants to kindle in us what is basic to our prayer— the childlike awe and trust that God through Christ has become our Father. Our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life; God our Father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith. Summary We can't speak of God as our Father without mentioning the ḥěʹ·sěḏ love of God. Isaiah begins this beautiful passage on God's Fatherliness with a proclamation of the kindnesses (NIV; ESV - steadfast love) of the Lord. These English words are examples of how Old Testament word ḥěʹ·sěḏ is translated; they are words that describe the unfailing covenant love of God. This is the love that our Father has legally obligated Himself to in adopting us as His children. In just a few verses Isaiah summarizes the story of God's people. He chose them to be His own, and to make that happen, God Himself "became their Savior... In his love and mercy He redeemed them and carried them all the days of old. Yet they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit, so He turned and became their enemy and He Himself fought against them (v8-10). It would seem having the sovereign, omnipotent Lord God Almighty set against these people would be the end of the story, but it can't be. It's not possible, because of the legal obligation God voluntarily took upon Himself. He cannot, and will not ever abandon His covenant people. Sometimes God, like all fathers, must discipline his insubordinate children, but unlike many fathers, God's discipline is fully rooted and carried out in love. It's this ḥěʹ·sěḏ love that Isaiah appeals to: "Your tenderness and compassion are withheld from us, but you, LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from old is your name (v15-16)." Every time you open your prayer to your Father in heaven, you are appealing to that same ḥěʹ·sěḏ love that Isaiah claimed. Dig Deeper You've likely heard God described as a 'father' so many times that you never think twice about it. But take a moment and realize what must be true in order for you to legitimately be able to address God as your Father. First of all, it's a recognition that you are created in His image. This is what the Bible means when it calls God's people sons of God: they look, talk, and act like He does. So make sure your conduct always properly reflects your Father. As Jesus commanded you, "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48)." Second, realize the tremendous price God paid for you to be His child. Just as God the Father "became their Savior" when Israel needed to be set free from slavery in Egypt, Jesus the Son became your Savior by giving His life to set you free from the slavery to sin and make you a child of God. Finally, remember what the catechism says here every time you pray to your Father in heaven: "Our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life; God our Father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith." AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, our Redeemer from old is your Name (v16); ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you "will tell of the kindnesses (ḥěʹ·sěḏ love) of the Lord, the deeds for which He is to be praised (v7)." ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 21

Don't get bogged down praying long prayers. Follow Jesus' short pattern instead. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 118 Q. What did God command us to pray for? A. Everything we need, spiritually and physically, as embraced in the prayer Christ our Lord himself taught us. Summary I wonder if the disciples were underwhelmed at first. Here they had just asked one of the best, most important question they ever ask: "Lord, teach us to pray." Not only is this one of the best things they could have asked, but there's nobody better to ask how to pray than the Son of God Himself. I'll bet that after the question was asked, a hush settled over the group in eager anticipation as to how Jesus would answer, and they sat back a bit, preparing themselves for a long and detailed explanation of how it is mortal men should speak to the Lord God Almighty. We might expect Jesus' answer here would end up making Psalm 119 look short. But instead, Jesus fully answered this all important question in just 38 words. We often refer to this passage as The Lord's Prayer, but it would be much more accurate to describe it as The Disciple's Prayer. It's not necessarily the prayer the Lord prayed, but one He gave to us, His disciples, to pray as we live for Him. We'll spend the final six weeks of this year coming to understand the pattern these 38 words set for us to pray, by Acknowledging who God is, Aligning our lives with His will, as we Ask God for "everything we need, spiritually and physically." Dig Deeper We often value things by size. If something's heavy, it's probably expensive (you might recall the fifth commandment calls us to value our parents by letting them be 'heavy' in our lives). We assume that big businesses are more profitable than small ones, and even that large churches are healthier than fellowships with just a few people. So it's not surprising to understand our instinct is that if we really want to impress God and convince Him to give us what we want, that longer and more and verbose prayers will be more effective. There is a time and place for longer public prayers filled with pious language. The Puritans perfected this art form in a way that continues to bless those who read and pray their beautiful prayers. But most of us don't have the capacity to pray this way in our day to day lives, so we don't pray as often as we should because we're intimidated by our perceived need to pray long, eloquent, prayers chock full of holy sounding words. The truth is that bigger is not always better in any aspect of life. Nearly every prayer written in the Bible, just like this model prayer that Jesus gave us, is fairly short. This is what makes it possible for you to fulfill the Bible's command to pray constantly (1 Thessalonians 5:17, Colossians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18). This isn't a command to pray one massively long prayer, but to continually pray lots of short prayers all through the day. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, hallowed be your name. ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Your Kingdom come; lead us not into temptation; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 20

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

Learn how to make big asks in short prayers. 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 Yesterday we saw that Daniel, who was facing execution along with the rest of Babylon's 'wise men,' prayed a model prayer thanking God for giving him wisdom enabling him to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. What we noticed was that although Daniel's prayer was relatively short, the bulk of it was spent acknowledging who God is. Today we meet up again with Daniel, who is now in the service of a much different king named Darius, as one of the top three governors over the Babylonian kingdom. Certainly such a position kept Daniel busy, but notice how he makes reading scripture and spending time in prayer his top priority. It's as he reads the prophet Jeremiah that Daniel sees the good news: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you... (Jeremiah 29:10-11)" Daniel realized that the seventy years were up, and that the time had come for God to "fulfill His good promise to bring them back." Certainly it would have been appropriate for Daniel to pray a psalm of celebration, praising God for His faithfulness, but that's not what Daniel does here. Rather, he puts on sackcloth and ashes, and prays a prayer of confession. What a lesson Daniel teaches! Even when we claim God's most rock solid promises - promises that are not conditioned upon our good behavior but are guaranteed by the very character of God Himself - we must make those claims humbly and with a healthy dose of contrition. In other words, we must align ourselves with God's will. Dig Deeper Daniel is making a huge ask in this prayer: that God's people would be set free from one of the most powerful kingdoms in all of history. Two thing stand out about this prayer that can help you drastically improve your own prayer life, even if the things you're asking for are not as significant. First, although this prayer is longer than the one we looked at yesterday, it still is relatively short, especially given the magnitude of what Daniel is praying for. One of the biggest lessons we need to learn about prayer is that our prayers do not need to be long, rather we need to be praying short prayers often throughout the day. Second, although the context of this prayer indicates that Daniel is clearly praying for the freedom of his people, he never specifically asks God for that. In fact, throughout most of the prayer, he really doesn't ask for anything! It's not until v16 that his first petition is made, and that is that God will turn away His anger and wrath. Daniel is assured of the promise God made to free His people after 70 years because Daniel knows he can trust God's Word, given long before through the prophet Jeremiah. Daniel makes the emphasis of his prayer acknowledging who God is (v4, 7, 9, 12, 15) and making sure that both he and his people are aligned with God's will. So pray lots of short prayers today, reminding yourself who God is, what He's promised, and aligning yourself with His will by confessing your sin. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Lord, the great and awesome God. who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments (v4); ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Confess that you have sinned and done wrong in turning away from God's commands and laws (v5); ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Lord, listen! Lord forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your people bear your Name (v19). Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 18

You can either worry about your problems or pray short prayers acknowledging who God is. Which one will bring you true peace? 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 One of King Nebuchadnezzar's problems is that he was surrounded by dozens of 'yes men' - guys who kept their spots at the king's well stocked table by simply telling him what he wanted to hear when he wanted to hear it. But just a year into his reign, God sent dreams to Nebuchadnezzar which troubled him so much that he couldn't sleep. Suddenly the sheen of his army of 'yes men' began to wear away as the king began to see through their charades when these supposed magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers couldn't even explain a simple dream. This chorus of fakers had wasted Nebuchadnezzar's time for long enough now, and he was done with them. And when the king had no more use for them, he made sure nobody else would either. The problem was that Daniel and his friends were considered part of this cadre of wise men, even though they didn't utilize the same gimmicks the other ones did. Even so, they were set to be executed with the rest. Daniel utilized true wisdom as he spoke to the king's commander, and was able to gain audience with the king so that he might interpret the dream for him. As Daniel gathered his faithful friends, they didn't spend any time at all strategizing as to how to weasel their way out of the predicament they were in. Rather, Daniel urged them to "plead for mercy from the God of heaven." As the Heidelberg Catechism would put it thousands of years later, they knew they "must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, who has revealed Himself in His Word." Dig Deeper The Bible doesn't record the words Daniel and his friends prayed initially. Only Daniel's prayer of thanksgiving he prayed after God gave them the interpretation they'd asked for is recorded. But my hunch is that as they "pleaded for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery," that their prayers of petition were structured very similar to this prayer of thanksgiving. Over the next couple of months, we'll be be referring often to the three components that nearly every Biblical prayer includes: Acknowledging who God is, Aligning our life with God's will, and then finally Asking God for what we need. What we'll notice is that so many of the Biblical prayers that we're called to emulate are like Daniel's: they're fairly short, and they put the bulk of their emphasis on the first two A's - Acknowledging who God is and aligning their lives with God's will. Imagine the peace that swept over Daniel and his friends, even as they faced imminent doom, as they acknowledged who God is: All wisdom and power are his, He deposes kings and raises others, He gives wisdom to the wise, and He reveals deep and hidden things. Be sure to experience this peace for yourself. Pray lots of short prayers all through the day, with the emphasis on acknowledging who God is, reminding yourself in the process that all things - even your biggest problems - are under His control. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Open your prayer the same way Daniel did: pray the words in v19-23; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to make it your instinct to plead for mercy from the God of heaven when you face challenges, rather than worrying and fretting about them; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 17

Don't get so consumed in your daily battles that you forget your primary orders. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 116 Q. Why do Christians need to pray? A. Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us. And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking him for them. Summary This passage, often entitled The Armor of God, is familiar to most of us. I was a bit surprised to notice that we'd not yet covered this passage in our readings this year, but it makes sense we come to it now, as we've been focused lately on living out the salvation that's been won for us. Today we're not going to focus as much on the particular pieces of armor we must put on, but rather on the specific orders we've been given to fulfill as soldiers of the Lord. To understand your mission, you must first identify the enemy that you'll be struggling against (literally: wrestling with). It might be surprising to be reminded that the daily problems you wrestle with - which certainly are real and may be very painful - are not the enemy that you've been called to struggle against. The real enemy - who very well may be the source of your daily problems - are the "rulers, authorities, and power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (!!)" who are shooting "flaming arrows" at you. Your orders are as follows: to put on / take up your armor, to stand your ground, and to extinguish the flaming arrows. But your primary tactic is quite surprising: it's not to engage in hand to hand combat, but to be praying in the Spirit on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests... for all of the Lord's saints (v18). Dig Deeper We're beginning the final section of our catechism today, which is focused on prayer. We'll be going through the Lord's prayer over these next couple of months, but before we can do that we have to stop and ask a question that we don't stop to ask enough in life: Why? Why must we pray? You're likely inundated with things that need to be done, both good things that will bring God honor and glory, and things that need to be taken care of to keep your world from collapsing in upon itself. Maybe you've got a couple of these pieces of spiritual armor on but feel ready to go nonetheless, or maybe you're fully suited up and ready for battle. Why waste time praying? Two reasons. First, and foremost, because your King has ordered you to do so. This ought to be reason enough. "Prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us." But there's more! "God gives His grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly." In other words, no matter how awesome your armor is (and it is!), it won't do you one bit of good unless you use it on your knees. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who rules all things through our Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords and calls us to battle; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to keep you from being distracted by the fog of daily battle so that you fulfill your orders to pray continually; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 16

Do you feel like you're lost in the wilderness? Find peace as you anticipate returning to God's sanctuary in a few days. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 115 Q. No one in this life can obey the Ten Commandments perfectly: why then does God want them preached so pointedly? A. First, so that the longer we live the more we may come to know our sinfulness and the more eagerly look to Christ for forgiveness of sins and righteousness. Second, so that, while praying to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, we may never stop striving to be renewed more and more after God’s image, until after this life we reach our goal: perfection. Summary Psalm 63 presents some of the most beautiful language ever written, conveying what our attitude ought to be towards God: I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water (v1) Your love is better than life (v3) [In God] I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods (v5) Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings (v7) All who swear by God will glory in him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced (v11) One of the reasons David longs for God is that David has seen God (v2). Not very many people have; certainly Adam & Eve saw God before their sin required they be put out from God's presence. Men like Moses and Isaiah experienced God's presence upfront and personally, but it was very much in a limited way. But there's no Biblical record of David being in the localized presence of God, so what is David referring to here? David saw God in the same way you do: in the sanctuary (literally: the holy / separate place). It's as David joined with his people coming before God in worship that David beheld God's power and glory. Dig Deeper Too many people think of their salvation as a one time event, as the song implies, I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see. A person wanders around in the dry and parched land where there is no water, stuck in sin and misery, but then prays a prayer and just like that it's nothing but happily ever after. Certainly the moment you believed you were instantly transformed from being lost to being found, and your blindness instantly gave way to sight, but it's critical for you to understand that that was just the beginning of your salvation! You don't get to spend every moment in the sanctuary, and often, like David, you'll need to wander through the dry and parched land, with sleepless nights and persisting enemies. This is why you need to develop a craving for God like David's. Notice in v6-7 how thinking of God carried David through the insomnia, and enabled him to sing while being sheltered from the surrounding pressure under God's wings. To experience this peace, keep yourself as close as possible to God's sanctuary. As you enter alongside other struggling saints each Lord's Day to behold God's power and glory, you'll be refreshed by His presence. This will cause you to, as the catechism says, "never stop striving to be renewed more and more after God's image" as you go back out into the dry and parched land for another week. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose love is better than life (v3); ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God you can be filled with His presence in the sanctuary, and pray for an increased longing for Him which calls you back to worship; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 15

Want straightforward, practical advice on how to live a blessed life? Just open the Psalms. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 115 Q. No one in this life can obey the Ten Commandments perfectly: why then does God want them preached so pointedly? A. First, so that the longer we live the more we may come to know our sinfulness and the more eagerly look to Christ for forgiveness of sins and righteousness. Second, so that, while praying to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, we may never stop striving to be renewed more and more after God’s image, until after this life we reach our goal: perfection. Summary "The Bible just isn't very relevant in this day and age..." What a lousy excuse so many people give for not digging into God's Word! As if the Bible is nothing more than page after page of ancient history, obscure laws, and meaningless religious rituals! Quite the opposite is true! This is the second day in a row now that our passage has given us pointed, specific and actionable instruction as to how you can live a blessed life; that is, a life filled with happiness, joy and shalom. What could possibly be more practical and relevant? Like the other Psalms we've looked at this week, Psalm 32 is divided up into strophes (stanzas / verses). Notice how these strophes progress: Dig Deeper David demonstrates the two primary uses of God's law here in Psalm 32. To the unrepentant, God's law feels like a heavy hand on them, sapping their strength with bone crushing guilt (v3-4). As ugly as this seems, this is God's redemptive power at work, causing us to "more eagerly look to Christ for forgiveness of sins and righteousness (QA 115)." This makes sense. Without the law bearing down on us, we'd never know of God's holy wrath until it was too late to repent! Guilt is a gift of grace that drives us to the cross! When you confess your transgressions to the Lord, He will forgive the guilt of your sin (v5). But God's Law becomes even more valuable on this side of the cross. Through it, God "will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go," so that you don't get sucked into the many "woes of the wicked (v9-10)," but instead live a blessed life, rejoicing and being glad in the Lord (v11). AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose ḥěʹ·sěḏ love surrounds the one who trusts in Him (v10); ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God that His Law exposed your sin and pointed you to the cross, and pray that you will be instructed and taught by His Law in the way you should go (v8); ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - John 14