Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah 26:1-10.

“In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;
He sets up walls and ramparts for security.
2 “Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,
The one that remains faithful.
3 “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.
4 “Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.
5 “For He has brought low those who dwell on high, the unassailable city;
He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He casts it to the dust.
6 “The foot will trample it,
The feet of the afflicted, the steps of the helpless.”

7 The way of the righteous is smooth;
O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level.
8 Indeed, while following the way of Your judgments, O Lord,
We have waited for You eagerly;
Your name, even Your memory, is the desire of our souls.
9 At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
10 Though the wicked is shown favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.”  Isaiah 26:1-10.

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“Trust in the Lord forever,
For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”  Verse 4.

Those who trust in themselves have reason to worry.

“Though the wicked is shown favor,
He does not learn righteousness;
He deals unjustly in the land of uprightness,
And does not perceive the majesty of the Lord.”  Verse 10.

But, those who trust in the LORD, even though they may experience trials and tribulations, will be kept in perfect peace by the LORD and learn righteousness.

“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You.”  Verse 3.

“At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”  Verse 9.

“For what does the Scripture say?  “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”  Romans 4:3.

“… For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”  Verse 4.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
Says the Lord who has compassion on you.”  Isaiah 54:10.

“Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
3 Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”  Isaiah chapter 12.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 25.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+25&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“O Lord, You are my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have worked wonders,
Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
2 For You have made a city into a heap,
A fortified city into a ruin;
A palace of strangers is a city no more,
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore a strong people will glorify You;
Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
4 For You have been a defense for the helpless,
A defense for the needy in his distress,
A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
5 Like heat in drought, You subdue the uproar of aliens;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.

6 The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow,
And refined, aged wine.
7 And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,
Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said in that day,
“Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”  Isaiah 25:1-9.

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Other doctrine waits for what it will contribute to its own salvation.

But, consistent with verse 9, Reformed Doctrine waits for the LORD that He might save them.

Other doctrine teaches that God loves everybody and Christ died for everybody and the only distinction between the saved and the unsaved is that the saved contributed their own works or at least their own alleged free-will choice of Christ to save themselves.

Other doctrine boasts in themselves for what they contributed to save themselves.

But, Reformed Doctrine waits for the LORD to do everything necessary for salvation from the beginning to the end:   from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” through “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Reformed Doctrine boasts only in the LORD.  As stated below in verse 9, it is “His salvation”.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

“And it will be said in that day,

Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”  Verse 9.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 24.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+24&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“3 The earth will be completely laid waste and completely despoiled, for the Lord has spoken this word.  4 The earth mourns and withers, the world fades and withers, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.  5 The earth is also polluted by its inhabitants, for they transgressed laws, violated statutes, broke the everlasting covenant.  6 Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live in it are held guilty.  Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men are left.

…

“17 Terror and pit and snare
Confront you, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 Then it will be that he who flees the report of disaster will fall into the pit,
And he who climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare;
For the windows above are opened, and the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken asunder,
The earth is split through,
The earth is shaken violently.
20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard
And it totters like a shack,
For its transgression is heavy upon it,
And it will fall, never to rise again.
21 So it will happen in that day,
That the Lord will punish the host of heaven on high,
And the kings of the earth on earth.
22 They will be gathered together
Like prisoners in the dungeon,
And will be confined in prison;
And after many days they will be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed,
For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
And His glory will be before His elders.”  Isaiah 24:3-6 and 17-23.

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“9 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
To make the land a desolation;
And He will exterminate its sinners from it.
10 For the stars of heaven and their constellations
Will not flash forth their light;
The sun will be dark when it rises
And the moon will not shed its light.
11 Thus I will punish the world for its evil
And the wicked for their iniquity;
I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud
And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”  Isaiah 13:9-11.

“The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.”  Psalm 97:1-5.

Reformed Doctrine sees the theme of Scripture that the LORD reigns.  Reformed Doctrine embraces and joyfully proclaims the sovereignty of God over all people and all things.

Other doctrine resists and rebels and clings to its imagined and desired free-will.  But, God laughs at them and does not loosen His tight grip. 

“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!”

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.’”

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”  Psalm 2:2-12.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 23.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+23&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“The oracle concerning Tyre.

Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor;
It is reported to them from the land of Cyprus.
2 Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland,
You merchants of Sidon;
Your messengers crossed the sea
3 And were on many waters.
The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;
And she was the market of nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon;
For the sea speaks, the stronghold of the sea, saying,
“I have neither travailed nor given birth,
I have neither brought up young men nor reared virgins.”
5 When the report reaches Egypt,
They will be in anguish at the report of Tyre.
6 Pass over to Tarshish;
Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland.
7 Is this your jubilant city,
Whose origin is from antiquity,
Whose feet used to carry her to colonize distant places?

8 Who has planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,
To despise all the honored of the earth.
10 Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish,
There is no more restraint.
11 He has stretched His hand out over the sea,
He has made the kingdoms tremble;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strongholds.”  Isaiah 23:1-11.

———————–

The LORD of hosts shows His sovereignty over all the nations and His destruction of the pride of the wicked.

“The Lord of hosts has planned it, to defile the pride of all beauty,
To despise all the honored of the earth.”  Verse 9.

“He has stretched His hand out over the sea,
He has made the kingdoms tremble;
The Lord has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strongholds.”  Verse 11.

And yet, we are too eager to point at the wicked pride of others without noticing the pride within ourselves.  We think that we deserve to be saved by something that we think we contribute whether it be our works or our inherent goodness or at least our alleged free-will choices.

But, our pride is humbled as we come to realize that we cannot earn our salvation by anything that we contribute.  Reformed Doctrine teaches that our natural condition is “Total Depravity”.  We are dead in sin, hostile to God, and enslaved to sin and Satan.  We need a Savior to provide all that we need for salvation from beginning to end:   from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” through “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

The LORD humbles us and puts us in our place as He did with Job.  The LORD reminds us that He alone is God.

“6 Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said,

7 “Now gird up your loins like a man;
I will ask you, and you instruct Me.
8 “Will you really annul My judgment?
Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?
9 “Or do you have an arm like God,
And can you thunder with a voice like His?
10 “Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity,
And clothe yourself with honor and majesty.
11 “Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
And look on everyone who is proud, and make him low.
12 “Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him,
And tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 “Hide them in the dust together;
Bind them in the hidden place.
14 “Then I will also confess to you,
That your own right hand can save you.”  Job 40:6-14.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 22.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+22&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“5 For the Lord God of hosts has a day of panic, subjugation and confusion
In the valley of vision,
A breaking down of walls
And a crying to the mountain.
6 Elam took up the quiver
With the chariots, infantry and horsemen;
And Kir uncovered the shield.
7 Then your choicest valleys were full of chariots,
And the horsemen took up fixed positions at the gate.
8 And He removed the defense of Judah.
In that day you depended on the weapons of the house of the forest,
9 And you saw that the breaches
In the wall of the city of David were many;
And you collected the waters of the lower pool.
10 Then you counted the houses of Jerusalem
And tore down houses to fortify the wall.
11 And you made a reservoir between the two walls
For the waters of the old pool.
But you did not depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.

12 Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing,
To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.”  Isaiah 22:5-12.

———————–

The people of Jerusalem did not depend on the LORD God of hosts:

“…  But you did not depend on Him who made it,
Nor did you take into consideration Him who planned it long ago.”  Verse 11.

The consequence was punishment:

“Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing,
To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth.”  Verse 12.

And yet, other doctrine neglects this warning (and other warnings throughout Scripture about trusting man) and continues to depend at least partly on its own works or its own will to be saved.

But, Reformed Doctrine depends entirely on the works of God and the will of God to be saved.

Reformed Doctrine sees the “Total Depravity” of man and does not trust nor depend on itself at all.  Rather, Reformed Doctrine depends entirely on God from beginning to end:   from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” through “Limited Atonement” through “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“9 …  This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Your vows are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You.
13 For You have delivered my soul from death,
Indeed my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of the living.”  Psalm 56:9-13.

We notice in Psalm 56:12 that the vows that are binding to save us are not our vows but “Your vows” (that is God’s vows).

“For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you.”  And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.  For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.  In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.”  Hebrews 6:13-18.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 21.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+21&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.

As windstorms in the Negev sweep on,
It comes from the wilderness, from a terrifying land.
2 A harsh vision has been shown to me;
The treacherous one still deals treacherously, and the destroyer still destroys.
Go up, Elam, lay siege, Media;
I have made an end of all the groaning she has caused.
3 For this reason my loins are full of anguish;
Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in labor.
I am so bewildered I cannot hear, so terrified I cannot see.
4 My mind reels, horror overwhelms me;
The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
5 They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink;
“Rise up, captains, oil the shields,”

6 For thus the Lord says to me,

“Go, station the lookout, let him report what he sees.
7 “When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,
A train of donkeys, a train of camels,
Let him pay close attention, very close attention.”

8 Then the lookout called,

“O Lord, I stand continually by day on the watchtower,
And I am stationed every night at my guard post.
9 “Now behold, here comes a troop of riders, horsemen in pairs.”
And one said, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;
And all the images of her gods are shattered on the ground.”
10 O my threshed people, and my afflicted of the threshing floor!
What I have heard from the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel, I make known to you.”  Isaiah 21:1-10.

————————

“I will stand on my guard post
And station myself on the rampart;
And I will keep watch to see what He will speak to me,
And how I may reply when I am reproved.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said,
“Record the vision
And inscribe it on tablets,
That the one who reads it may run.
3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time;
It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail.
Though it tarries, wait for it;
For it will certainly come, it will not delay.”  Habakkuk 2:1-3.

“Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.”  Psalm 27:14.

“For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed.  It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it,” declares the Lord God.’”  Ezekiel 12:25.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 20.

“In the year that the commander came to Ashdod, when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him and he fought against Ashdod and captured it, at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.”  And he did so, going naked and barefoot.  And the Lord said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and token against Egypt and Cush, so the king of Assyria will lead away the captives of Egypt and the exiles of Cush, young and old, naked and barefoot with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.  Then they will be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and Egypt their boast.  So the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, such is our hope, where we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria;  and we, how shall we escape?’”  Isaiah chapter 20.

——————-

“Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
And rely on horses,
And trust in chariots because they are many
And in horsemen because they are very strong,
But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord!
2 Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster
And does not retract His words,
But will arise against the house of evildoers
And against the help of the workers of iniquity.
3 Now the Egyptians are men and not God,
And their horses are flesh and not spirit;
So the Lord will stretch out His hand,
And he who helps will stumble
And he who is helped will fall,
And all of them will come to an end together.”  Isaiah 31:1-3.

“5 Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.”  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

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

I quote only the following verses.

“The oracle concerning Egypt.

Today’s devotion comes from Isaiah chapter 18.

“Alas, oh land of whirring wings
Which lies beyond the rivers of Cush,
2 Which sends envoys by the sea,
Even in papyrus vessels on the surface of the waters.
Go, swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth,
To a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation
Whose land the rivers divide.
3 All you inhabitants of the world and dwellers on earth,
As soon as a standard is raised on the mountains, you will see it,
And as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will hear it.

4 For thus the Lord has told me,

“I will look from My dwelling place quietly
Like dazzling heat in the sunshine,
Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”
5 For before the harvest, as soon as the bud blossoms
And the flower becomes a ripening grape,
Then He will cut off the sprigs with pruning knives
And remove and cut away the spreading branches.
6 They will be left together for mountain birds of prey,
And for the beasts of the earth;
And the birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,
And all the beasts of the earth will spend harvest time on them.
7 At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts
From a people tall and smooth,
Even from a people feared far and wide,
A powerful and oppressive nation,
Whose land the rivers divide—
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.”  Isaiah chapter 18.

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Although the nation of Ethiopia too would be punished and cut back like a trimmed plant (verses 5-6), there is hope for Ethiopia.

“At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hosts From a people tall and smooth, … To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, even Mount Zion.”  Verse 7.

“Envoys will come out of Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.”  Psalm 68:31.

In summary, the Lord of hosts is sovereign over all the nations and has given authority over the nations to God the Son, Jesus Christ.  It is in the best interests of those nations, their leaders and the peoples, to do homage to Christ.

“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.’”

10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;
Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”  Psalm 2:7-12.

Other doctrine is all about alleged free-will, being independent, and honoring man.

But, Reformed Doctrine is all about submitting to the will of the LORD, being dependent on the LORD, honoring the LORD, and worshipping the LORD with reverence.