Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 15.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+15&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“20 “The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,
And numbered are the years stored up for the ruthless.
21 “Sounds of terror are in his ears;
While at peace the destroyer comes upon him.
22 “He does not believe that he will return from darkness,
And he is destined for the sword.
23 “He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’
He knows that a day of darkness is at hand.
24 “Distress and anguish terrify him,
They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,
25 Because he has stretched out his hand against God
And conducts himself arrogantly against the Almighty.”  Job 15:20-25.

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“11 God is a righteous judge,
And a God who has indignation every day.

12 If a man does not repent, He will sharpen His sword;
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
13 He has also prepared for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he conceives mischief and brings forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His mischief will return upon his own head,
And his violence will descend upon his own pate.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord according to His righteousness
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.”  Psalm 7:7-11.

“4 The Lord is in His holy temple;  the Lord’s throne is in heaven;
His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness;
The upright will behold His face.”  Psalm 11:4-7.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 14.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+14&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Man, who is born of woman,
Is short-lived and full of turmoil.
2 “Like a flower he comes forth and withers.
He also flees like a shadow and does not remain.
3 “You also open Your eyes on him
And bring him into judgment with Yourself.
4 “Who can make the clean out of the unclean?
No one!
5 “Since his days are determined,
The number of his months is with You;
And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.
6 “Turn Your gaze from him that he may rest,
Until he fulfills his day like a hired man.

7 “For there is hope for a tree,
When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
And its shoots will not fail.
8 “Though its roots grow old in the ground
And its stump dies in the dry soil,
9 At the scent of water it will flourish
And put forth sprigs like a plant.
10 “But man dies and lies prostrate.
Man expires, and where is he?
11 “As water evaporates from the sea,
And a river becomes parched and dried up,
12 So man lies down and does not rise.
Until the heavens are no longer,
He will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep.”  Job 14:1-12.

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“Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, in Your righteousness!
2 And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is appalled within me.

5 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land.  Selah.

7 Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning;
For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.

10 Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
11 For the sake of Your name, O Lord, revive me.
In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, cut off my enemies
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Your servant.”  Psalm chapter 143.

Other doctrine meditates on its own doings and its own works.

But, Reformed Doctrine meditates on God’s doings and God’s works as stated above in Psalm 143:5:  “I meditate on all Your doings;  I muse on the work of Your hands.”

Other doctrine pins its hope on improving its self and its situation.

But, Reformed Doctrine pins its hope on its relationship to God as stated above in Psalm 143:12:  “For I am Your servant” and its trust in God as stated above in Psalm 143:8-9:  “For I trust in You.” and “I take refuge in You.” 

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 13.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+13&version=NASB

I quote only the following verse.

“Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him.
Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him.”  Job 13:15.

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“As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;
When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember and I pour out my soul within me.
For I used to go along with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God,
With the voice of joy and thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

5 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him
For the help of His presence.
6 O my God, my soul is in despair within me;
Therefore I remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls;
All Your breakers and Your waves have rolled over me.
8 The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime;
And His song will be with me in the night,
A prayer to the God of my life.

9 I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries revile me,
While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
11 Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why have you become disturbed within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God.”  Psalm chapter 42.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 12.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+12&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“9 “Who among all these does not know
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
10 In whose hand is the life of every living thing,
And the breath of all mankind?

…

13 “With Him are wisdom and might;
To Him belong counsel and understanding.
14 “Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;
He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

…

17 “He makes counselors walk barefoot
And makes fools of judges.
18 “He loosens the bond of kings
And binds their loins with a girdle.
19 “He makes priests walk barefoot
And overthrows the secure ones.
20 “He deprives the trusted ones of speech
And takes away the discernment of the elders.
21 “He pours contempt on nobles
And loosens the belt of the strong.
22 “He reveals mysteries from the darkness
And brings the deep darkness into light.
23 “He makes the nations great, then destroys them;
He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
24 “He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth’s people
And makes them wander in a pathless waste.
25 “They grope in darkness with no light,
And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.”  Job Chapter 12:  Verses 9-10 and 13-14 and 17-25.

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Today’s Scripture describes God’s sovereignty.  In verses 9-10, Job refers to God’s sovereignty over “this”, namely over himself and his sufferings.  In verses 14 and 23, Job describes God’s sovereignty more generally over all, such as nations and “He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt.”  In verses, 17-25, the longest section of today’s Scripture, Job describes God’s sovereignty over whom I will classify as “the wise”  (counselors, judges, kings, priests, elders, nobles, and chiefs).

It is this last section of today’s Scripture which describes God’s sovereignty over the wise which will be the focus of today’s Scripture.  The following Scripture summarizes God’s action and purpose:  “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise  …  so that no man may boast before God.”   

“19 For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.”

20 Where is the wise man?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.  22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom;  23 but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God.  30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God,  and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:19-31.

Other doctrine boasts in its wisdom, works, and alleged free-will.

But, Reformed Doctrine boasts in the LORD and His wisdom and His works and His will from “Unconditional Election” to “Limited Atonement” to “Irresistible Grace” to “Preservation of the Saints”, the Five Points of “TULIP”, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 11.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+11&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“7 “Can you discover the depths of God?
Can you discover the limits of the Almighty?
8 “They are high as the heavens, what can you do?
Deeper than Sheol, what can you know?
9 “Its measure is longer than the earth
And broader than the sea.
10 “If He passes by or shuts up,
Or calls an assembly, who can restrain Him?
11 “For He knows false men,
And He sees iniquity without investigating.”  Job 11:7-11.

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“13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men;
14 From His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who fashions the hearts of them all,
He who understands all their works.
16 The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have hoped in You.”  Psalm 33:13-22.

Other doctrine hopes in its works and its alleged free-will and also hopes that the LORD will not see its sins.

But, Reformed Doctrine hopes solely in the LORD from “Unconditional Election” to “Limited Atonement” to “Irresistible Grace” to “Preservation of the Saints”, the Five Points of “TULIP”, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 10.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+10&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

” I loathe my own life;
I will give full vent to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.
2 “I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me;
Let me know why You contend with me.
3 ‘Is it right for You indeed to oppress,
To reject the labor of Your hands,
And to look favorably on the schemes of the wicked?
4 ‘Have You eyes of flesh?
Or do You see as a man sees?
5 ‘Are Your days as the days of a mortal,
Or Your years as man’s years,
6 That You should seek for my guilt
And search after my sin?
7 ‘According to Your knowledge I am indeed not guilty,
Yet there is no deliverance from Your hand.

8 ‘Your hands fashioned and made me altogether,
And would You destroy me?
9 ‘Remember now, that You have made me as clay;
And would You turn me into dust again?
10 ‘Did You not pour me out like milk
And curdle me like cheese;
11 Clothe me with skin and flesh,
And knit me together with bones and sinews?
12 ‘You have granted me life and lovingkindness;
And Your care has preserved my spirit.”  Job 10:1-12.

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Despite all the great physical and mental suffering that Job experienced, such that he loathed his life, Job recognized that God’s care preserved his spirit.  Verse 12.

There is only one explanation for Job’s endurance and for our endurance:  “Preservation of the Saints”, the “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Here is what the Canons of Dordt state about it in part about “Preservation of the Saints” in FIFTH HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Perseverance of the Saints.

Article 3.  By reason of these remains of indwelling sin, and the temptations of sin and of the world, those who are converted could not persevere in a state of grace, if left to their own strength.  But God is faithful, who having conferred grace, mercifully confirms, and powerfully preserves them herein, even to the end. 

Article 6.  But God, who is rich in mercy, according to his unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from his own people, even in their melancholy falls;  nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption, and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit sins unto death;  nor does he permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.

Article 8.  Thus, it is not in consequence of their own merits, or strength, but of God’s free mercy, that they do not totally fall from faith and grace, nor continue and perish finally in their backslidings;  which, with respect to themselves, is not only possible, but would undoubtedly happen;  but with respect to God, it is utterly impossible, since his counsel cannot be changed, nor his promise fail, neither can the call according to his purpose be revoked, nor the merit, intercession and preservation of Christ be rendered ineffectual, nor the sealing of the Holy Spirit be frustrated or obliterated.

“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely;  and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”  1 Thessalonians 5:23-24.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 9.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+9&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Then Job answered,

2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a man be in the right before God?
3 “If one wished to dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 “Wise in heart and mighty in strength,
Who has defied Him without harm?
5 “It is God who removes the mountains, they know not how,
When He overturns them in His anger;
6 Who shakes the earth out of its place,
And its pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the sun not to shine,
And sets a seal upon the stars;
8 Who alone stretches out the heavens
And tramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the Bear, Orion and the Pleiades,
And the chambers of the south;
10 Who does great things, unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 “Were He to pass by me, I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 “Were He to snatch away, who could restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘What are You doing?’  Job 9:1-12.

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Yet, other doctrine tries to question God all the time:  “Man has free will!  What are you doing, God?”

But, Reformed Doctrine refutes such alleged free-will of man.

“But our God is in the heavens;
He does whatever He pleases.”  Psalm 115:3.

“Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker—
An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’

…”  Isaiah 45:9.

Reformed Doctrine teaches “Unconditional Election” that God elects those whom He will save, not based on any condition supplied by man such as man’s works or man’s will to be saved, “…  so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls,”  Romans 9:11.

“For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?”  On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?”  Romans 9:15-21.

And, it also makes logical sense.  Because man’s natural condition is “Total Depravity”, man can not supply any condition that would motivate God to save him.

“10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 And the path of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”  Romans 3:10-18.

Simply put, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,”  Ephesians 2:1.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:4-7.

Thank God for this, His “Irresistible Grace”! 

Thank God for His sovereignty!

There are those who deny these Five Points of Calvinism.

There are also those who ignore or belittle these Five Points of Calvinism.

They are also those who may not directly confront God’s sovereignty, but they will pass by these points by stating, in the language of today’s Scripture and title for this devotion, that God is doing a lot more. 

But, there are those who delight to sit at the foot of the cross, so to speak, and study and treasure and diligently teach “Limited Atonement” and these other Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 8.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+8&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“11 “Can the papyrus grow up without a marsh?
Can the rushes grow without water?
12 “While it is still green and not cut down,
Yet it withers before any other plant.
13 “So are the paths of all who forget God;
And the hope of the godless will perish,
14 Whose confidence is fragile,
And whose trust a spider’s web.
15 “He trusts in his house, but it does not stand;
He holds fast to it, but it does not endure.
16 “He thrives before the sun,
And his shoots spread out over his garden.
17 “His roots wrap around a rock pile,
He grasps a house of stones.
18 “If he is removed from his place,
Then it will deny him, saying, ‘I never saw you.’”  Job 8:11-18.

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Although Bildad, like Eliphaz, wrongly inferred that God was punishing Job for something bad that Job did, there is general truth in his statement that the hope of the godless will perish.  “So are the paths of all who forget God;  And the hope of the godless will perish, Whose confidence is fragile,  And whose trust a spider’s web.”  Verses 13-14.

“4 … You have sat on the throne judging righteously.
5 You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;
You have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6  The enemy has come to an end in perpetual ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very memory of them has perished.”  Psalm 9:5-6.

“… the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.”  Psalm 37:20.

As Bildad points out in verses 15-18, the wicked may appear to temporarily prosper (“He thrives before the sun, And his shoots spread out over his garden.” verse 16), but his house will not endure.  The wicked grasps at security (“His roots wrap around a rock pile, He grasps a house of stones.” verse 17), but he will soon be removed and forgotten.

The following Psalm 37:35-40 has a similar theme and figurative description of how the wicked may appear to temporarily prosper but passes away, and this Scripture adds the sharp contrast of how the righteous are saved.

“35 I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil.
36 Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
40 The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.”  Psalm 37:40.

No one (or few) intends to forget God.  But, we are tempted to trust ourselves, rather than to trust God.   We have the right financial retirement savings number.  We have the right health weight.  Our children are all doing well.  We have it all and are proud and we forget about God. 
 
Although such trust may appear as beautiful and enticing as a spider’s web, such trust is also as weak as a spider’s web. 

Today’s devotion comes from Job chapter 7.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job+7&version=NASB

I quote only the followng verses.

“1 Is not man forced to labor on earth,
And are not his days like the days of a hired man?
2 “As a slave who pants for the shade,
And as a hired man who eagerly waits for his wages,
3 So am I allotted months of vanity,
And nights of trouble are appointed me.
4 “When I lie down I say,
‘When shall I arise?’
But the night continues,
And I am continually tossing until dawn.
5 “My flesh is clothed with worms and a crust of dirt,
My skin hardens and runs.
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
And come to an end without hope.

7 “Remember that my life is but breath;
My eye will not again see good.”  Job 7:1-7.

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Although such thoughts of the shortness of life and the troubles of life are sad, God causes such thoughts to arise for our good.

We should pray:  “Father, what are You teaching me?” 

God may be teaching us to set our mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”  Colossians 3:1-4.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”  Philippians 3:20-21.

God may also be teaching to use our days on earth wisely, doing what is most important to seek His kingdom.   

“9 For all our days have declined in Your fury;
We have finished our years like a sigh.
10 As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow;
For soon it is gone and we fly away.
11 Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
12 So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”  Psalm 90:9-12.