Hebrews 11:1–3 (NIV) 11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was creatures from nothing…” We find this theological truth expressed at the beginning of Hebrews 11, in verse 3: Today: Galatians 3

is God, not Baal, but nothing changed, and wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were hunting him down. 3 

His people to worship Him, you are slowly being "renewed in knowledge in the image of your Creator" (Colossians 3:10).

You might be surprised to hear the real reason Christ appeared. 1 John 3:7-10 (ESV) 7  Little children

Listen to passage & devotional: Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 3: The Written Word of God We confess

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

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

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