days of their lives. 4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. 5 In all this my wisdom stayed with me. 10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. 11 Yet when I surveyed All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. 18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under Westminster Shorter Catechism Q. 1. What is the chief end of man? A.

Know that whatever happens today, nothing can thwart the purposes of our Sovereign God. Read / Listen Listen to passage & devotional: Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 26 Q. What do you believe when you say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth”? A. That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and Father because of Christ his Son. I trust him so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul, and he will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this sad world. He is able to do this because he is almighty God; he desires to do this because he is a faithful Father. Summary The story of God's covenant people in the Old Testament is one episode after another of their pagan neighbors threatening their security. While it's true that at times God enabled these nations to rise up against His sinful people in order to punish them, God would consistently answer the Israelites' prayers for salvation when they finally came around. This section of the book of Isaiah is full of God's promises for deliverance, containing oracles against powerful enemies like Babylon and Moab. This particular passage concerning God's promise to crush Assyria is one of the shortest passages in this section, but it's also one of the most pointed and significant. God, through His prophet Isaiah, reminds His people - Israel then, and us now - that whatsoever God plans and purposes will happen, because there is no created being powerful enough to thwart Him or turn back His outstretched hand (v24 & 27). Dig Deeper We refer to this doctrine of God's absolute dominance using several different terms, but among the most common are the words omnipotent, meaning all powerful, and sovereignty. Sometimes we refer to a king or other head of state as being a sovereign, meaning they have total control over their domain. Simply put, God always gets what He wants. Understanding the concept of God's sovereignty is essential to properly understand Christian theology. We see it in every major theme in the Bible: yesterday we saw that God powerfully spoke reality into being through His Son; God demonstrates His righteous authority by cursing Adam's sin; God's omnipotence is made clear by raising Christ from the dead; and the Bible ends with God sovereignly establishing a new heavens and earth. People tend to be skeptical of promises, because they are so easy to make but hard to keep. Know that you can absolutely trust the promises God has made to you, because passages like this one in Isaiah demonstrate that He not only has the desire to make good on the promises He made, but the omnipotent ability to follow through on them as well, just as He did for Israel time and time again. AAA Prayer (About) ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our powerful, omnipotent, sovereign God: no one can thwart Him; ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Thank God for reminders like today's passage that build up your trust in His sovereignty. ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED: Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - Acts 26

, being hated and hating one another. 4  But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5  Canons of Dordt Point 1 - God's Unconditional Election Point 2 - Limited Atonement Point 3 - Total Depravity Summary Today's Summary & Dig Deeper posts are a repost from May 10, 2024 Enslaved .

2nd John (NIV) 1 The elder, To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 John's not writing to any one woman in particular, he's writing to the Lady (lit: curia) that is the Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work" (v10-11). Today: 1 John 4

While those present were likely expecting a quote from one of the 10 Commandments, Jesus instead answers the question by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 “5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and They posed a question hoping he would pick one of the 10 Commandments as greatest, but instead Jesus Instead of picking one commandment, Jesus picks what could be considered a summary of the first 5 commandments

Exodus 20:18–23:33 After God spoke the Ten Commandments, the people saw the thunder and smoke on Sinai Exodus 24:1–18 (NIV) 24 Then the L ORD said to Moses, “Come up to the L ORD , you and Aaron, Nadab and the foot of the mountain and set up twelve stone pillars representing the twelve tribes of Israel. 5  Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. 11  But on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16  and the glory of the L ORD settled on Mount Sinai.

A psalm of David. 1   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? the one Israel praises.  4  In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. 5    From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God. 11  Do not be far from me encircle me. 13  Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14  I am poured stare and gloat over me. 18  They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment. 19  But

A Psalm of David. 1      I waited patiently for the L ORD ; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. man who makes the L ORD his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5        14       Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion Who seek to destroy my life; Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor Who wish me evil. 15       Let them be confounded because of 17       But I am  poor and needy; Yet  the L ORD thinks upon me.

Joshua 3:1–17 (NIV) 3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits  between you and the ark; do not go near it.” 5   Joshua out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11   See, the ark of the covenant of the L ORD  of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12   Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13  And as soon as the

Gospels: Week 5 - Jesus' power over creation, demons, hunger and unbelief Photo: Matt Hardy, via Unsplash This would have been a night journey of at least 5-7 miles across a lake - fairly described as a sea