Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 21:1-4.

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.  And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins.  And He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them;  for they all out of their surplus put into the offering;  but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.”  Luke 21:1-4.

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“Thus says the LORD,

“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
2 “For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the LORD.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.”  Isaiah 66:1-2.

“But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him;  for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7.

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”  Psalm 51:17.

“10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 “I know every bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is Mine.
12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the world is Mine, and all it contains.
13 “Shall I eat the flesh of bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 “Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And pay your vows to the Most High;
15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”  Psalm 50:10-15.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 20:41-47.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+20&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation.”  Luke 20:46-47.

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In sharpest contrast to the proud scribes and Pharisees who burdened the people, Jesus was humble and gave His people rest.

The Pharisees lay law upon law on the people:  “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders;  but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”  Matthew 23:4.

But, Jesus humbled Himself by taking on Himself the yoke of the cross to carry away the sins of His people.

Jesus tied up the heavy loads of the law and laid them on His own shoulders and gave us His Spirit as a yoke:  “in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit”.  Romans 8:4.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 20:27-40.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+20&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.  Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living;  for all live to Him.”  Luke 20:37-38.

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The importance of this Scripture, even after death we are raised to life, and even then, we live to “the God of the living” to Whom we belong, can be seen from the following Heidelberg Catechism Question and Answer.

Q. 1.  What is thy only comfort in life and death? 

A.  That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ;  who, with His precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil;  and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;  yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto Him.  Heidelberg Catechism.

“For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;  for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord;  therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.  For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”  Romans 14:7-9.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 20:10-26.

“The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people;  for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.  They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”  But He detected their trickery and said to them, “Show Me a denarius.  Whose likeness and inscription does it have?”  They said, “Caesar’s.”  And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”  And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people;  and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.”  Luke 20:10-26.

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“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.  Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God;  and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.  For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil.  Do you want to have no fear of authority?  Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;  for it is a minister of God to you for good.  But if you do what is evil, be afraid;  for it does not bear the sword for nothing;  for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.  Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.  Render to all what is due them:  tax to whom tax is due;  custom to whom custom;  fear to whom fear;  honor to whom honor.”  Romans 13:1-7.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 20:9-18.

“And He began to tell the people this parable:  “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time.  At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard;  but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  And he proceeded to send another slave;  and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed.  And he proceeded to send a third;  and this one also they wounded and cast out.  The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son;  perhaps they will respect him.’  But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir;  let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’  So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.  What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard it, they said, “May it never be!”  But Jesus looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER STONE’?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces;  but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”  Luke 20:9-18.

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Like the vine-growers thought that they were free to kill the son and receive the inheritance, man is proud and thinks that he is free.

“2 The kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”  Psalm 2:2-3.

And, like the owner of the vineyard came and destroyed the vine-growers, God is sovereign and does not tolerate rebellion.

“4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The LORD scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger
And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”  Psalm 2:4-9.

“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces;  but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.”  Verse 18.

Either we will come to Christ in repentance (“broken in pieces”) granted to us through God’s grace alone, or Christ will come to us and punish us (“scatter him like dust”).

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”  Psalm 51:17.

“6 “Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power,
Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.
7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.” Exodus 15:6-7.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 19:41-44.

“When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace!  But now they have been hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”  Luke 19:41-44.

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This is Jerusalem!  

“6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.
7 “May peace be within your walls,
And prosperity within your palaces.”  Psalm 122:6-7.

“The LORD bless you from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.”  Psalm 128:5.

“The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.”  Psalm 147:2.

No wonder Jesus wept over it!

If God would do this to Jerusalem, then what warning should we take today!

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’  And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;  DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”  Matthew 7:21-23.

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said:  “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.”  And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Hebrews 10:26-31.

This Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture speaks about those who, so to speak, received knowledge of the truth and were sanctified but nevertheless denied the power of the blood and insulted the Spirit of grace. They denied the power of Christ’s blood, because they consider Christ’s blood as ineffective by itself, that it does not actually “save”, “purchase”, nor “redeem” anyone without the most important factor, namely, man’s free-will choice of Christ to make Christ’s blood effective to save themselves.

They consider their own faith as their own free-will gift to God;  they insult the Spirit of grace by denying that their faith was produced by God’s gift and grace alone to them.  They deny that “the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation” as taught in the Canons of Dordt (Article 8 of SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby).

And, because they talk about the blood of Christ all the time, it is true that in a sense they are trampling it, not in the sense of being hateful to it but in the sense of treating it as ineffective by itself, like the description in Matthew 5:13:  “… if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

Many today, like the people of Jerusalem, have had a time of visitation.  They received knowledge of the truth.  They have heard of God’s miracles.  They read Scriptures and attended church.  They have received the witness of other people like those in the immediately preceding Scripture who “began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen”.  Luke 19:37.  But, they have not received the love of the truth.    

They may seem righteous by claiming they love Jesus and others.  They claim that they only need the Bible, but they really don’t have a love of the truth.  They don’t diligently search for God with all their heart and soul.  They rest on their desire and image of God and show no or little desire to search the Scriptures to learn more about God and His works.  They are more interested in their own wisdom, their own alleged free-will, and their own works.  In summary, “… they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.  And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”  2 Thessalonians 2:10-13.

“For we know Him who said:  “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.”  And again, THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Hebrews 10:30-31.

Today’s devotion comes from Luke 19:28-40.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+19&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting:

“BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”  But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”  Luke 19:37-40.

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“22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief corner stone.
23 This is the LORD’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the LORD has made;
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25 O LORD, do save, we beseech You;
O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
27 The LORD is God, and He has given us light;
Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You;
You are my God, I extol You.
29 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”  Psalm 119:22-29.