This is a slow, deliberate process involving the processes we read about here in Titus 3.

John 3:16-17 (NIV) 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes Summary John 3:16 is one of the most beloved verses of the Bible. Not only are the words of John 3:16 reassuring, they also eloquently lay out the key themes of the Gospel

God's name for Himself may seem simple, but it's amazingly profound. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 25 Q. Since there is but one God, why do you speak of three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? A. Because that is how God has revealed himself in his Word: these three distinct persons are one, true, eternal God. Summary We come to the famous story of the burning bush in the context of understanding our Triune (three in one) God. Moses arrived at the burning bush from a far different context: he'd been keeping his head down, doing his job and hoping that the Egyptians wouldn't find and prosecute him for a murder he'd committed 40 years earlier. He's lived a quiet, peaceful life as a shepherd, when out of nowhere a bush erupts into a flame that doesn't fizzle out. As he approaches the burning bush, he hears: Do not come near... the place on which you are standing is holy ground! (v5) The voice proceeds to tell Moses he's been drafted to lead the massive community of Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land, flowing with milk & honey. Dig Deeper It's customary for a royal figure to be announced with what's known as a heraldry, which is often a long and complicated recitation of all of that person's titles. Each of the names read off has meaning, and the more names a royal has, the more important he is. The official heraldry God gives for Himself is neither long nor complicated, yet it is immensely profound: I AM who I AM In other words, GOD IS. God is His attributes; that is, He isn't just good, rather He defines goodness. He doesn't just act lovingly, love exists because God exists. God exists in and of Himself. He had no beginning and will never end. Time itself is one of His creations, and He lives outside of and above it. He always was, is now and always will be. The concept of God being both three and one doesn't easily harmonize with our understanding of logic. But remember, logic, just like time, is God's creation. He wrote the laws of logic, but He's not obligated to conform to them as we are. None of us will ever full comprehend who and what God is. Many people reject God because they can't understand Him. But let these incomprehensible aspects of God comfort you rather than push you away. Afterall, if our God controls rather than conforms to logic, what is there that He can't control? AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Father in heaven, your name is holy and you are above all things; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be able to fully trust God even though you don't fully understand Him. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 24

Paul provides his own response and summary of God’s work of redemption in Ephesians 1:3–14.

God empowers your faith so that Christ's power is at work in you. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 76 Q. What does it mean to eat the crucified body of Christ and to drink his poured-out blood? A. It means to accept with a believing heart the entire suffering and death of Christ and by believing to receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life. But it means more. Through the Holy Spirit, who lives both in Christ and in us, we are united more and more to Christ’s blessed body. And so, although he is in heaven and we are on earth, we are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone. And we forever live on and are governed by one Spirit, as members of our body are by one soul. Summary The first three chapters of Paul's letter to the Ephesians is one of the greatest summaries of Christian theology in the Bible. After expressing these glorious truths, Paul concludes with these beautiful verses that are part intercessory prayer (prayers given on behalf of others), part benediction (a Latin word that literally means 'good words,' which comprise a blessing), and part doxology (a Greek word that literally means 'words of glory,' directed to God). Though an entire book could be written to unpack the awesome truths in this short passage, today we're going to focus on just two aspects. First, notice that Paul prays that God would "strengthen you with power... so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Two things stand out here. First, you're not strong enough in your own power to host Christ in your life. You need God the Father to intervene and provide you the strength to make this possible, since as Paul goes on to mention, Christ's power will be at work within you. Secondly, notice how it is that Christ dwells within you: He "dwells in your heart through faith." It's critical to get this order correct. Conventional wisdom says that if you display enough godly strength and power, Christ will come to dwell in you. But the opposite of that is true. Christ's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9), because a weak person realizes how much they must trust another. Dig Deeper Regular participation in the Lord's Supper is key to both of these important concepts. In the past few weeks we've been reminded that the tiny portions of bread and wine nourish and strengthen your soul for eternal life. In other words, by eating at the Lord's Table, you are being strengthened by your Father through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your heart (v16-17a). We've also seen that the sacraments are one of the ordinary means God uses to give you faith, which is the one thing you need in order for Christ to dwell in your heart. So it quickly becomes clear that participation in the Lord's Supper is not just an optional 'extra' that you can take or leave. Rather, this simple exercise has been commanded to you to strengthen, equip and maintain Christ's presence in your heart. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: We kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you live in such a way that demonstrates you've been filled to the measure of all the fullness of God; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 12

If you feel different than the world around you, realize it's because your head is wet. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 74 Q. Should infants, too, be baptized? A. Yes. Infants as well as adults are in God’s covenant and are his people. They, no less than adults, are promised the forgiveness of sin through Christ’s blood and the Holy Spirit who produces faith. Therefore, by baptism, the mark of the covenant, infants should be received into the Christian church and should be distinguished from the children of unbelievers. This was done in the Old Testament by circumcision, which was replaced in the New Testament by baptism. Summary The grand finale of God freeing His people from their slavery in Egypt was Israel passing through the Red Sea on dry ground. Centuries later, the Apostle Paul would come to understand that this tremendous miracle was a type of national baptism, that as God's people passed through the sea, they came to belong to Him (1 Corinthians 10:1-2). Indeed God understood it this way as well, telling Moses that He had carried His people on eagles' wings and brought them to Himself. Now, at the foot of Mt. Sinai, God once again establishes His covenant with His people: they will be his treasured possession and a holy nation (a people separate from all others). But remember, a covenant is a solemn agreement between two parties based on a contingency. There's a big 'ol if in God's words to Moses: He says they will be a holy nation if they "fully obey me and keep my covenant." In the next chapter, Exodus 20, God expresses these covenantal stipulations in 10 categories we often refer to as the ten commandments, and then much of what follows in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) give laws and regulations that seem really strange to us. Well, they seemed really strange to the Israelites as well, and by design. One of the key purposes in all of those Old Testament laws was to make God's people look really different than the nations who lived around them. Dig Deeper Today we're focusing on one of the key reasons we baptize the children of believers in Reformed churches is to distinguish them from the children of unbelievers. We understand that these are covenant children, and that the same promises the God made to the Israelites in the desert thousands of years ago now apply to them - only now the contingency (the 'if' part) has been fulfilled by Christ. This means that we must raise our children differently than the world does, and that they from the moment they are received into God's covenant family must live holy lives - that is, lives that are separate from the world. Thankfully on this side of the cross, we no longer need to abide by strange dietary regulations or participate in all sorts of ritualistic ceremonies as we worship. Nor does being a holy nation mean that we ignore the rest of the world, and we must also realize the word nation here has nothing to do with a particular country or geographic borders. But we give our children the mark of the covenant, just as God has always commanded His covenant people to mark & distinguish their children. Just as the prince of England is treated as royalty from the moment he's born, so to must we treat our children as princes and princesses of the King, separated from the sinful world by His grace. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who carries His covenant children on eagles' wings; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for including you in His covenant promises, that Christ fulfilled your obligation, and pray that you would live as the holy person (saint) that you've been declared to be; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Luke 8

Matthew 3:13–17 (NIV) 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John Today: Hebrews 3

Genesis 3:22 (NIV) 22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and Sometimes the Council of Nicaea, which met in 325 A.D. and drafted the Nicene Creed, is errantly said Likewise in Genesis 3:22, God says, “Behold, the man has become like one of us”.

Baptism symbolizes you've been washed with the costliest of all detergents. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 70 Q. What does it mean to be washed with Christ’s blood and Spirit? A. To be washed with Christ’s blood means that God, by grace, has forgiven my sins because of Christ’s blood poured out for me in his sacrifice on the cross. To be washed with Christ’s Spirit means that the Holy Spirit has renewed me and set me apart to be a member of Christ so that more and more I become dead to sin and increasingly live a holy and blameless life. Summary In his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul writes of the redemption we have through the blood of Christ. Redemption is deliverance through a price or ransom that is paid. The redemption to which Paul is speaking is the deliverance from the guilt of sin which has been paid by the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross. Redemption is not free; there is a price that must be paid. That price has been paid by Jesus and is offered freely to those who believe in Him for salvation. Dig Deeper When Katie and I were first married, she worked for a ministry out of Sioux Falls, SD named LifeLight. LifeLight’s claim to fame is being the largest outdoor free Christian music festival. Being a free music festival there was no required entrance fee, however that does not mean that there were no costs. As you can imagine, it can be quite expensive to hire some of the best Christian bands in the world to come sing at the festival, plus all the other costs (electricity, water, etc.) that come with hosting a festival. And while entry was free, these costs still had to be paid. LifeLight ran on donations. While many enjoyed a free experience, others would donate above and beyond to make sure there was enough to cover the festival. Essentially, some people gave more than the value they received in order that others could come for free and hear the gospel proclaimed. In this case, some paid for the many. When it comes to redemption it is not some, but the one who has paid for all. The people of God receive this gift via the grace of God seen in the blood of Christ poured out for us in his sacrifice on the cross. In baptism, we are reminded of Christ’s death on our behalf. This sacrament points to the redemption found in Christ and the price paid for our deliverance. Recognizing the price that has been paid on your behalf, live as one who has been forgiven, turning away from the vices of this world and living a life full of gratitude for the gift of grace found in Christ. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who lavishes grace and forgiveness of sin upon us, His children; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will understand more and more the cost of your salvation so that more and more your life will reflect the necessary gratitude for such a gift; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Philemon

Jesus came to both save and destroy. Be sure to pray for both. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 122 Q. What does the second request mean? A. “Your kingdom come” means, Rule us by your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to you. Keep your church strong, and add to it. Destroy the devil’s work; destroy every force which revolts against you and every conspiracy against your Word. Do this until your kingdom is so complete and perfect that in it you are all in all. Summary In this letter John is writing to a church during a time of struggle to encourage them after a time of doubt brought on by false teachings. John reaffirms what the false teachers tried to deny: the full divinity and humanity of Christ. In the third chapter of this letter, John addresses how to respond to what had occurred. In verse 7 he gives a gentle reminder to not let anyone lead you astray. The devil and his forces are at work against the truth of the Gospel. However, Jesus came into the world to destroy the devil’s work. Listen to those that align with Christ, not those who are aligned with the devil. John gives a means of testing to see where one’s allegiance lies, writing that “anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child.” Do not be led astray, verify what you hear against the Word of God and consider the source and what their actions say about their intent. Dig Deeper John lays out the difference between those whom he labels the children of God and the children of the devil. The children of God practice righteousness while the children of the devil do not. And while the choice between the ways of righteousness and the ways of the devil seems like an easy one, keep in mind that the devil cheats. It is not always a decision between doing something righteous and doing something unrighteous. Sometimes the devil works to simply present an easy way out of doing what you know to be right. As the catechism teaches, praying “your kingdom come” is a way of asking God to destroy the devil’s work by destroying every force which revolts against him and every conspiracy against his holy Word. You must pick a side in this conflict: either you align with Christ, or you align with the devil. Where your allegiance lies will be seen in the choices you make. Take to heart John’s encouragement from today’s scripture passage by living lives of righteousness because you are the children of God. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent His Son to destroy the devil's work; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will not be led astray, and pray that God's kingdom will come; ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Revelation 1