Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 14:22-29.

“22 “You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year.  23 You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.  24 If the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.  26 You may spend the money for whatever your heart desires:  for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires;  and there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household.  27 Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.

28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town.  29 The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”    Deuteronomy 14:22-29.

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“Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  2 Corinthians 9:7.

We tend to think of tithing as just giving up hard-earned money.  But, today’s Scripture presents four elements of tithing that show there is so much more involved in tithing than just giving up hard-earned money.  Three of the four elements involve us receiving something.

First, in verse 22, we receive a better attitude toward God when we tithe.  We tithe “so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always”.

Second, in verse 26, we receive joy when we tithe.  We “rejoice”.

Third, in verse 29, we share when we tithe.  We help the Levite (who is comparable to a minister or full-time worker in the church), the alien (stranger), the widow, and the orphan.

Fourth, in verse 29, we receive a blessing when we tithe.  We tithe “in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”  In a sense, when we tithe, God becomes our business partner.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”  Malachi 3:10.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 14:1-21.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+14&version=NASB

I only quote the following verses.

“1 You are the sons of the Lord your God;  you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead.  2 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

3 “You shall not eat any detestable thing.  4 These are the animals which you may eat:  the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.  6 Any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat.  7 Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud, or among those that divide the hoof in two:  the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof;  they are unclean for you.  8 The pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you.  You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.”   Deuteronomy Chapter 14:  Verses 1-8.

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At this time of Moses in today’s Scripture, the Jews alone were God’s chosen people.  God gave them very specific laws including what they could eat and what they could not eat as we see in today’s Scripture.

But, it was God’s gracious purpose to include Gentiles in the group of His chosen people, chosen to receive mercy, chosen to be saved and receive eternal life.  God revealed his purpose to the Apostle Peter much later in a trance in which he saw a vision.

“1 Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.  2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, 3 saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4  But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky;  and it came right down to me, 6 and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air.  7 I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter;  kill and eat.’  8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’  9 But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’  10 This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.  11 And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea.  12 The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings.  These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house.  13 And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; 14 and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’  15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning.  16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’  17 Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”  18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”  Acts 11:1-18.

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;  you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:9-10.

How can people bristle against such gracious and precious doctrine?!  Being chosen is the very basis of salvation.  Reformed Doctrine teaches “Unconditional Election”, the “U” of “TULIP, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

Article 7.   Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby, before the foundation of the world, he hath out of mere grace, according to the sovereign good pleasure of his own will, chosen, from the whole human race, which had fallen through their own fault, from their primitive state of rectitude, into sin and destruction, a certain number of persons to redemption in Christ, whom he from eternity appointed the Mediator and Head of the elect, and the foundation of Salvation. …  Canons of Dordt FIRST HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of Divine Predestination

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

I quote only the following verses.

“1 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams;  for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him;  and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.  5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk.  So you shall purge the evil from among you. 

6 “If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him;  and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him.  9 But you shall surely kill him;  your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.  10 So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.  …”    Deuteronomy Chapter 13:  Verses 1-11.

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As Christians, we are certainly not called to purge the evil by killing anyone.  Only unbelievers would try to cut this page out of the rest of Scripture to vainly try to argue how ridiculous and antiquated Scripture is.

But, believers seek understanding and consider other Scripture in addition.

“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom;  to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”  2 Timothy 4:18.

“18 We know that no one who is born of God sins;  but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.  19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.  20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true;  and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life.

21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”  1 John 5:18-21.

“9 Let love be without hypocrisy.  Abhor what is evil;  cling to what is good.  10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;  give preference to one another in honor;  11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;  12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you;  bless and do not curse.  15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  16 Be of the same mind toward one another;  do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.  Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone.  Respect what is right in the sight of all men.  18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.  19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”  21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”   Romans 12:9-21.

“8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;  9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.  10 For,

“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 “He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  1 Peter 3:8-12.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 12:28-32.

“28 “Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

29 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’  31 You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do;  you shall not add to nor take away from it.”  Deuteronomy 12:28-32.

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“For the sake of art, we need to study this religion.” 

“For the sake of history, we need to study this religion.” 

“For the sake of getting something useful that we can use, we need to study this religion.” 

We should not necessarily and hastily agree that for the sake of those things, we should study other religions.  Today’s Scripture should cause us to pause and consider more carefully our study of other religions.  There is the qualifier “that I may do likewise”, which may provide us with the loophole to allow such study, but there is the danger that a study of other religions could lead us to be ensnared by another religion.  Today’s Scripture warns us to “beware”.  Verse 30.

We should remember the verses in the beginning of this chapter.

“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.  You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.”  Deuteronomy 12:2-3.

That does not sound like encouragement to study other religions.

Now, Reformed Doctrine does not state that we should not study other religions.  One good reason to study other religions is to be able to refute the doctrine within that religion.  And, we have previously stated that there is the qualifier “that I may do likewise” in today’s Scripture which may provide us with the loophole to allow such study.  But, at least, we should be careful;  we should be even more than careful, we should “beware” that do we do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that we also may do likewise’.  Verse 30.

Reformed Doctrine does call out “Sola Scriptura” as one of the Five Solas of the Reformation.

“1. Sola Scriptura

a. Meaning:  Scripture Alone

b. Prior to the reformation, other sources of revelation than the Scripture had become the foundation for doctrine.

c. The Reformation was a return to the Scriptures. The reformers said, truth is founded on what is in the Bible. The Bible not only gives us the final answer on truth, but it is the source of truth and gives the complete truth.

Revelation ceased at the close of the canon of Scripture.

d. So, the Bible, 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books, is the only rule for faith and life.”  “The Five Solas of the Reformation”  by Rev. Rodney Kleyn, a minister of the Protestant Reformed Churches.  Here is a link to Rev. Kleyn’s article in full (which is also a tag at the top of my web site) which identifies and describes all Five of the Solas of the Reformation – https://reformeddoctrine.com/the-five-solas-of-the-reformation/

“Sola Scriptura” is also consistent with the concluding verse in today’s Scripture.  “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do;  you shall not add to nor take away from it.”  Verse 32.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 12:4-27.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+12&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“4 You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God.  5 But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.  6 There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.  7 There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.   …

10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11 then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you:  your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.  12 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.  …

18 But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates;  and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings. 19 Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.”  Deuteronomy Chapter 12:  Verses 4-7 and 10-12 and 18.

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Today’s Scripture repeats three times that we shall rejoice about our blessings before the LORD our God in the place of worship.  How providential it is for this Scripture to come to us this Sabbath as we prepare to go to church!          

We certainly should not be loud and proud in speaking of our blessings in our church.  We certainly should not tell everyone in our church all of our blessings.

But, we can reverently and silently count our blessings in our head in church.  We can also sing praises with the congregation meditating and rejoicing on all that God has done for us.

In a setting such as fellowship hour or Sunday School, we can give a praise report to those whom we know have prayed for us, and we can also join others in sharing some of our blessings with those who are also sharing some of their blessings where we know that such sharing is likely to build all of our faith together.

Church is the proper venue for these activities.  “There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.”  Verse 7.

“4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.”  Psalm 100:4-5.

“In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!”  Psalm 116:19.

“But those who garner it will eat it and praise the Lord;
And those who gather it will drink it in the courts of My sanctuary.”  Isaiah 62:9.

“1 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty expanse.
2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness.”  Psalm 150:1-2.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 12:1-3.

“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth.  You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.  You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.”  Deuteronomy 12:1-3.

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This command of utter destruction of altars and idols points us to the destruction of spiritual forces of wickedness and their fortresses and every speculation and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  Ephesians 6:12.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”  2 Corinthians 10:3-6.

“The proud look of man will be abased
And the loftiness of man will be humbled,
And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”  Isaiah 2:11.

“Is not My word like fire?” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock?”  Jeremiah 23:29.

Reformed Doctrine destroys the speculations of man’s alleged free-will and natural goodness through its teaching of “Total Depravity” , the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  Reformed Doctrine humbles this proud look and loftiness of man.

Reformed Doctrine takes every thought captive by teaching God’s absolute sovereignty in salvation from “Unconditional Election” to “Limited Atonement” to “Irresistible Grace” to “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.  Reformed Doctrine exalts the LORD alone.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 11:26-32.

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:  the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today;  and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known.

“It shall come about, when the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.  Are they not across the Jordan, west of the way toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?  For you are about to cross the Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you today.”  Deuteronomy 11:26-32.

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Q. 115.  Why will God then have the ten commandments so strictly preached, since no man in this life can keep them? 

A.  First, that all our lifetime we may learn more and more to know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin, and righteousness in Christ;  likewise, that we constantly endeavour and pray to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to the image of God, till we arrive at the perfection proposed to us, in a life to come.  Heidelberg Catechism.

The blessing comes through faith in Christ, not through our own ability (which is really inability) to obey the Law.

“The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”  So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”  Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident;  for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”  However, the Law is not of faith;  on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”  Galatians 3:8-14.

Today’s Scripture comes from Deuteronomy 11:18-25.

“18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul;  and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.  19 You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.  20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.  22 For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him, 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you.  24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea.  25 No man will be able to stand before you;  the Lord your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.”  Deuteronomy 11:18-25.

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The LORD our Almighty God and Faithful Father continues to do for us what we could not do.  Generally, as the Heidelberg Catechism teaches, He “will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body”.  Question and Answer 26.  Specifically, as today’s devotion shows, He puts His laws upon our hearts and writes them on our minds.  He puts His Spirit within us and causes us to walk in His statutes and to be careful to observe His ordinances.

“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  Jeremiah 31:33-34.

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.  You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers;  so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”  Ezekiel 36:26-28.

“This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”

He then says,

“And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”  Hebrews 10:16-17.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 11:13-17.

“It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil.  He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.  Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.  Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit;  and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.”  Deuteronomy 11:13-17.

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We know from Scripture that, sadly, many times the hearts of Israel was deceived and that they did turn away and serve other gods and worship them, and Israel was punished by famine.  We also know that we too, in our natural condition, have hearts and minds that are often deceived and prone to turn away and serve other gods and worship them.  Reformed Doctrine calls that condition “Total Depravity”.

But, there is hope!

“2 Thus says the Lord,
“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when it went to find its rest.”
3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
4 “Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.”  Jeremiah 31:2-4.

And thus, we begin to see that our hope is in God’s “Irresistible Grace”, the “I” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.  33 “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  Jeremiah 31:31-34.

“25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;  I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;  and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. 28 You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers;  so you will be My people, and I will be your God.  29 Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness;  and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you.  30 I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field, so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations.”  Ezekiel 36:25-30.

“14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.  15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us;  for after saying,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says the Lord:
I will put My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will write them,”

He then says,

17 “And their sins and their lawless deeds
I will remember no more.”

18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”  Hebrews 10:14-18.

“All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.”  Isaiah 53:6.

Today’s devotion comes from Deuteronomy 11:8-12.

“You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and possess the land into which you are about to cross to possess it;  so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.  For the land, into which you are entering to possess it, is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden.  But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares;  the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year.”  Deuteronomy 11:8-12.

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We should have great confidence.  We are not alone.  The eyes of the LORD our God are on us.  He guides us.  He protects us.  He also otherwise blesses us.

“He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness;  He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye.”  Deuteronomy 32:10.

“8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
But he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.”  Psalm 32:8-11.

“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.”  Psalm 33:18-19.

“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous And His ears are open to their cry.”  Psalm 34:15.

“For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”  1 Peter 3:12.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”  1 Peter 5:6-7.