Daily devotional

July 14 - Gleaning (III)

“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.” - Deuteronomy 24:22 Scripture reading: Rut...

Daily devotional

July 13 - Gleaning (II)

“So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.” - Ruth 2:17 Scripture...

Daily devotional

July 12 - Gleaning (I)

“So she set out and went and gleaned…” - Ruth 2:3a Scripture reading: Ruth 2:8-16 This word “glean” appears twelve times just in this ...

Daily devotional

July 11 - She happened to…

“And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And...

Daily devotional

July 10 - A perfectly timed return (II)

“And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.” - Ruth 1:22c Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 There’s more to be said about this perfectly timed return. Stand amazed. God works everything out perfectly. Yesterday we observed that the barley harvest gave rise to the Feast of First Fruits. And that feast is three days after another feast, the Passover! Naomi and Ruth return right in the middle of Israel’s party season, right in the middle of the celebrate-redemption season. Passover also recalls deliverance from Egypt. Moreover, it points forward to our deliverance from sin through our great Redeemer’s death on the cross. And then, get this: on which day did Jesus get hung on the cross to pay for our sins, for Ruth and Naomi’s sins too? Yes, it was the feast of Passover. But what does that mean? It means that the Redeemer arose from the dead on the Feast of First Fruits, the one being celebrated when Ruth and Naomi return! It’s why 1 Corinthians 15:20, which we read, says “Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Perhaps Ruth and Naomi didn’t understand it all. But with the blessing of God’s complete revelation, we can! Ruth and Naomi return on the day that points forward to Christ’s resurrection from the grave. It is to tell Ruth and Naomi, and you and me, that redemption has been accomplished and has been secured. The Feast of First Fruits has been fulfilled too. Christ has been raised. Redemption has been accomplished. What a gospel to encourage each other with! Suggestions for prayer Ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to see how all of Scripture points to Christ. Further, pray that He also works faith in our hearts to embrace the work of redemption as accomplished through his Son. Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

July 9 - A perfectly timed return (I)

“And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.” - Ruth 1:22c Scripture reading: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 The story began with Bethlehem being out of bread. But now the bakers of Bethlehem are doing business again. God’s people are eating the blessings of covenant obedience as promised in Deuteronomy 28. But even if Naomi and Ruth are going to get supper tonight, they are still basically a dead branch of the covenant community. There are no offspring to carry on the family name. And no children means no participation in the line to Christ! But, praise God, there’s more to this story. And that “more” is captured in the perfect timing of this return. The barley harvest gave rise to the Feast of First Fruits as described in our reading. It was a feast designed by God to have His people “rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you,” (Deut. 26:11). And what did God’s people have to rejoice about? A good harvest? Yes! But even more importantly, God’s gift of redemption from Egypt’s slavery as described in verses 5-10. And who was to rejoice in this redemption? Verse 11 says, “you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.” The sojourner… the one not originally from the covenant community. To Ruth God says “Welcome. This story of redemption is now your story too.” To all who did not grow up in the church, to all who are just now coming to know the God of redemption, we say “Welcome! There’s always more room under the wings of our Redeemer.” Suggestions for prayer Pray for those you know, who are coming to faith, and ask God to help you make them feel welcome within the covenant community. Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

July 8 - Surprise! Another return

“… and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab.” - Ruth 1:22b Scripture reading: Ephesians 1:1-10 Interesting, isn’t it? This summary verse says more about Ruth than it does about Naomi. In her bitterness, Naomi hadn’t even mentioned Ruth in her little speech to the town’s people of Bethlehem. She talks about being empty even though she has Ruth at her side. But the divine narrator isn’t ignoring Ruth at all. He calls her “Ruth the Moabite.” Ruth’s roots are in the land of Moab, a godless, covenant-less people. Everything about her background was so anti-God that it’s hard to put into words. But what does our narrator say about “Ruth the Moabite”? Note well, she “returned from the country of Moab.” But, we object, she wasn’t from Israel, much less from Bethlehem, so how can she be said to have “returned”? It’s a good question. Ruth says our text was “with her,” meaning her mother-in-law. God catches up in this story of redemption, Ruth, a daughter of Moab. The two of them are so tied together in this story that they are both said to be returning. This is so beautiful, because in God’s redemptive plan, written before He even created the world, the Promised Land was always Ruth’s real homeland. We read it in Ephesians 1, where it says, God chose His own in Christ “before the foundation of the world.” And so, Ruth was really nothing more than a sojourner there in Moab even though she didn’t know it herself. She returns to where God already had her in His perfect plan. Suggestions for prayer Do you have someone close to you who does not yet know Christ? Pray that they be caught up in the grace that God has shown you, so that they too confess “your God shall be my God.” Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

July 7 - She’s returned

“So Naomi returned…” - Ruth 1:22a Scripture reading: Ruth 1:19-22 Verse 22 is, you might say, the summary verse. The opening words of the summary – “So Naomi returned” – point to nothing less than a miracle of God’s grace. Not that she sees it that way. She doesn’t. Naomi’s little speech to the stirred-up town’s folk of Bethlehem leaves you with the distinct impression that she’s in a pretty dark place with respect to her faith. She says, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara.” Mara means bitter. And that’s exactly how she feels. She goes on, “for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” Have you ever done that? Placing the blame for your difficult circumstances at God’s feet, when it was your own sinful decisions that led to your challenges? Have you ever wanted to change your name to Bitter, even though your bitterness is your own fault? Well, take courage from what God is doing with His covenant daughter who calls herself Bitter. God sees to it that she returns. What she said is in fact true even though she means no compliment by it according to verse 21, “and the LORD has brought me back empty.” It’s true. It was God who brought her back. It was God who returned her to the Land of Promise. It was God who returned her to the covenant community. She has returned! That’s God’s grace! That grace encourages us to call out to God in our bitterness, yes, even when that bitterness is of our own making. Suggestions for prayer If you, or someone you love, is in a place of bitterness ask God to reveal that to you or your loved one. Follow that with a petition requesting God to work a miracle of His grace in you, or your loved one’s life. Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

July 6 - Your God, my God

“But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your p...

Daily devotional

July 5 - Go back

“Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, …” - Ruth 1:6a Scripture reading: Ruth 1:6-14 Naomi is retur...

Daily devotional

July 4 - God visits

“… she had heard in the fields of Moab that God had visited his people and given them food.” - Ruth 1:6b Scripture reading: Deuteronom...

Daily devotional

July 3 - Bad outcomes

“But Elimelech the husband of Naomi died … and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.” -...

Daily devotional

July 2 - Bad choices

“… and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.” - Ruth 1:1b-2 Scripture reading: Ruth 1:1-5 Things are bad. And so, Elimelech makes the decision to take his family and go. Where do you go? To godless Moab. Bad choice. Not just because of where he went, but also because of where he left. He left Judah. That’s the tribe from which God’s ultimate and perfect King will come – Genesis 49:10. But leaving Judah also means leaving the Promised Land. It means leaving the covenant community. Again, a bad choice. Elimelech, which means “God is my King,” isn’t sticking with his King. And one bad choice leads to another. He went to “sojourn in the land of Moab.” He figured on just hanging out there for a little while. But it wasn’t long before “sojourn” turned into “remained there”, and that turned into they “lived there about ten years” (verse 4). He settled down to what he figured was a good life. At least now he and his family had supper on the table. You know it as well as I do. One bad choice far too easily leads to another, and then another, and then another. Abandoning our heavenly King is the worst decision we could make. But be aware, that often comes after a string of sinful choices. Praise God that He sent the King, our Saviour Jesus Christ, to pay for our sinful decisions. Praise God that He gives us His Spirit to guard us against abandoning Him. Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for the gift of His Son and Spirit as we ask Him to give us clarity about the bad choices we make, and also when one bad choice leads to another. Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church near Dunnville, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

July 1 - Introduction to Ruth

We find the story of Ruth between the books of Judges and Samuel. You might say it’s a bridge-book. It is a story that illustrates what it was like to live in the time of the judges while also making clear the need for the leadership of a king. Moreover, the story of Ruth re-introduces into the Biblical story, the biological family line from which the king after God’s heart (King David) was to be born. At the very same time the story of Ruth paints in beautiful colors and vivid detail the contours of the Great Redeemer, Jesus Christ, who came from the very same family line. This story is a story that fits into, and illustrates beautifully, the grand narrative of Scripture, the narrative of redemption. But it’s also a story that is about the nitty gritty of daily life, and the incredible impact that redemption has on every moment of our existence. To say it this way, the story of Ruth is your story; it’s my story. Your story, my story, in that it confirms for us our need for redemption while at the same time holding out for us the promise that redemption is always possible. It also assures us that redemption is a blessed reality. So, as we make our way through this month of devotions, make a point of looking into the mirror of this story and seeing yourself, yes, also your sin. But never stop there. Look closely into the canvas of this grand painting and see the vivid contours of your Redeemer, Jesus Christ. And once you have seen Him and embraced anew, the gospel of redemption, see in this story many little pictures of how to live as one who has been redeemed. Bad days, bad weather “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land…” - Ruth 1:1a Scripture reading: Judges 2:6-15 The verse paints a dark picture. The previous verse in the Bible is Judges 21:25. It reads “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That’s a damning description. Without godly leadership, even God’s own people tend to follow their sinful hearts. So much so, that Judges 2:10 characterized that generation as those who “did not know the LORD.” What’s the result? Verse 11 says, “The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD.” If you really want to know how evil it got, read Judges 17-21. It won’t leave you with a good feeling. Bad days and bad weather! There was a famine in the land. There’s a connection between the behaviour of God’s people and the weather. Deuteronomy 28:15-16 says, “But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD” then “cursed shall be … the fruit of your ground.” Each of us needs to ask ourselves, where in my life am I just doing what’s right in my own eyes? Because living in that way is never going to go anywhere good. It wasn't for God’s people back then, and it won't be for you or I today. In fact, it’ll always turn out badly. Right here in the very first verse of this story we have a clear signal of the need for redemption. And praise God, that redemption happens in this story. But before we get to that, things first get worse. Suggestions for prayer Ask God to show us in what areas of our lives we are living in a way that’s right-in-my-own-eyes, and then thank Him for making that clear to us. Since 2019, Rev. Rodney Vermeulen has served the Attercliffe Canadian Reformed Church, Ontario, Canada. He, his wife, children and grandchildren are deeply grateful for the blessing of daily living under the shelter of God’s wings. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

June 30 - Joy with Jesus

“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, may be with me where I am…” - John 17:24 Scripture reading: John 17:1-26 I want to conclude this month’s topic of joy focusing on one of my favourite verses. John 17 records Jesus’ high-priestly prayer in which we get a glimpse into the heart of our Saviour. In that prayer, Jesus reveals the desire of His heart: that all those whom the Father has given Him would be with Him. It’s one thing to long to be with Jesus. I desire to be with Him and dwell in that place where pain is gone and I will have eternal fellowship with Christ. But what John 17:24 says is that Jesus desires that too! Jesus wants me to be with Him. Jesus wants you to be with Him. It will be the most blessed experience to see our exalted Saviour and Lord in all His glory. To join the angels and that “multitude that no one can number” (Rev. 7:9) and to worship Him before His throne will be unimaginably glorious! And Jesus wants you there. But His desire is not like so many of our desires. We may desire something that will never come to pass. I desire to visit Israel, but I have no assurance it will happen. But do you think there is any prayer of Jesus that the Father will not grant? Is there any desire of Jesus that will go unfulfilled? By no means! That means you and I can have full assurance, 100% certainty that we will be with Jesus! That, dear brother or sister in Christ, should thrill your heart and fill you with great joy! Suggestions for prayer Pray that God would increase your faith to see the blessed future awaiting you. Give thanks that God gives you joy today and for all eternity. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 29 - Future joy

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” - Revelation 21:4 Scripture reading: Revelation 21:1-7 As we have seen this month, the Bible speaks much about joy in the Christian life. But God’s Word does not paint a false picture of life. We also read about pain, hardship and difficulties. Though we don’t always understand why, we know God has His purposes for such trials and that His purposes are always for good. If you are in Christ, you can rest assured that God is for you, not against you! What He does is for your edification and sanctification, not for your destruction. This month’s topic of JOY is not meant to minimize or ignore the reality of pain; it is meant to put hardships into perspective. As Christians, you are pilgrims, aliens and strangers on this earth. Your citizenship is in heaven. You are a child of God and He has reserved for you a future that is without pain. Think of it. When Christ returns in all His glory and the number of the elect is complete, He will inaugurate the new heaven and new earth in which you will live for eternity. This won’t be a temporary respite. God wants you to know that “the former things have passed away.” What former things? Tears. Death. Mourning. Crying. Pain. These will be eradicated, done away with, gone forever! When you recognize and believe this, you will have joy even while you experience hardships. Do you believe? Then you can say with Paul, “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Suggestions for prayer Pray that God would increase your faith to see the blessed future awaiting you and that the Holy Spirit would give you joy even as you shed tears, hurt or mourn. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 28 - Joy in worship

“True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” - John 4:24 Scripture reading: John 4:1-26 Since joy, in some measure, ough...

Daily devotional

June 27 - Angelic wonder

“…things into which angels long to look.” - 1 Peter 1:12 Scripture reading: 1 Peter 1:3-12 I’m curious about angels. Not the fat littl...

Daily devotional

June 26 - Counterfeit joy (IV)

“May my meditation be pleasing to Him, for I rejoice in the Lord.” - Psalm 104:34 Scripture reading: Psalm 104:1-35 I live in Colorado and m...

Daily devotional

June 25 - Counterfeit joy (III)

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” - Mark 8:36 Scripture reading: Mark 8:31-38 C.S. Lewis...

Daily devotional

June 24 - Counterfeit joy (II)

“Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.” - Mathew 13:5-6 Scripture reading: Matthew 13:1-23 Every nation has strict laws against making and using counterfeit money. People who deal in commerce and handle money regularly must learn to distinguish fake money from real money. Banks, for example, have classes to train their employees how to tell the difference. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught about a certain kind of counterfeit joy. When He explained the point about the seed that fell on rocky soil, He said, “This is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy…” But when trials and hardships arise, this person fell away. Far from being true and lasting joy, this was a counterfeit joy because it was contingent on circumstances. When everything is going smoothly in life, when things are going well, it is easy to confuse that sense of well-being with lasting joy. But this is not really joy at all because it depends on circumstances. Remember that Jesus said, “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer (be joyful), I have overcome the world.” The true joy of a believer is one that does not fall away due to tribulation and hardship. True joy’s foundation is far greater, far deeper than this world’s ups and downs. Its foundation is Jesus Christ. Therefore, pleasant circumstances cannot produce true joy and difficult circumstances cannot detract from true joy. Suggestions for prayer Pray that God would grant you wisdom to distinguish true from false joy and that you will rest in Jesus and have a joy that cannot be shaken by hardship. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 23 - Counterfeit joy (I)

“By faith Moses… refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” - Hebrews 11:24-25 Scripture reading: Hebrews 11:23-28 Hebrews 11 is an entire chapter that focuses on the faith of Old Testament believers. And speaking about Moses, the writer says that Moses rejected the “fleeting pleasures of sin.” This is instructive to us as we focus on joy. It is important to distinguish between true, lasting joy and a counterfeit of joy. One such counterfeit is pleasure that comes from sin. When tempted, the devil would have us believe that if we give in to the temptation, we will be more joyful than now. And the reason it is so effective is that there are often certain pleasures that accompany sin. Moses, as the adopted son of Pharaoh’s daughter, could have lived in palatial opulence and had every sensual desire met. Instead, he chose the difficulties of wilderness living. Why? Because he understood that true joy comes in trusting and following the Lord David learned that the hard way. When he committed adultery with Bathsheba, he did so for the “joy” of sexual gratification. He soon discovered that while this may have brought him “fleeting pleasure,” it brought him no joy at all. This is why when he finally repented of his sin, he asked God: “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation” (Psalm 51:12). He had discovered that the fleeting pleasure of sin is a counterfeit to true lasting joy in the Lord. Suggestions for prayer Repent of your sins and, like David, ask God to restore your joy. Pray that God would give you faith like Moses to see beyond fleeting pleasures. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

June 22 - The joy of believing

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” - Hebrews 11:1 Scripture reading: John 20:24-29 Thomas wasn’t present when the resurrected Jesus revealed Himself to the other disciples a week earlier. When they told Thomas about it, he said he wouldn’t believe unless he had visible and tangible proof. Thomas was ever the practical skeptic. It wasn’t that Thomas had no faith, but I think it is fair to say that he had weak faith. In John 11, when Jesus told the disciples that He was going to Bethany because of Lazarus’ death and they all knew this was dangerous because the Pharisees wanted to kill Jesus, it was Thomas who said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” In John 14, when Jesus prepared His disciples for His imminent departure and said to them, “That where I go you may be also,” it was Thomas who said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” And here in John 20, the loving Jesus humbly submitted to this skeptic’s demands. All the disciples were gathered behind locked doors and Jesus came to them and spoke directly to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side…” And that was enough for Thomas who responds with a beautiful profession, “My Lord and My God! That’s when Jesus mentioned you and me. He said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This means that if you are a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ and the gospel, Jesus says you are blessed! Suggestions for prayer Pray that the Holy Spirit would work to increase your faith and that the knowledge that you are blessed would fill you with joy. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 21 - Resurrection joy

“"Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord."” - John 20:18 Scripture reading: John 20:1-18 It is clear from reading John’s account of Jesus’ resurrection that Mary Magdalene didn’t expect Jesus to rise from the dead. When she went to the tomb early in the morning and found it empty, her first reaction was not, “He arose” but rather, “Someone has taken the body” (v. 1). Then a little later, when the angels asked her why she was weeping, she answered, “They have taken away my Lord” (v. 13). You see, Mary and Jesus’ other followers lived in the same world we live in, a world in which dead people don’t rise again. That is precisely John’s point in this passage. While our experience tells us that dead people don’t rise again, Jesus actually did. People who weren’t expecting to see Jesus alive again saw and believed. Some speak of the resurrection as a “symbol” of Jesus’ continuing influence in the world, but scoff at the idea that He actually rose from the dead, bodily. But John and the other Gospels record eyewitness accounts that Jesus, after He was laid in the tomb, was actually seen upright and walking, heard talking, ate meals and was touched. And this must be the case, else we have no Saviour. His death on the cross conquered death so that death could not hold Him. His resurrection was the Father’s approbation of Christ’s atonement. His resurrection is the promise and guarantee of the resurrection of His people. It was no “symbol” or metaphor. He really rose from the dead. Hallelujah! Christ arose! Suggestions for prayer Give thanks that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the guarantee that when He returns, your body will be raised to eternal life. Pray that the church will never compromise the message that Jesus actually, bodily rose from the dead. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 20 - For the joy set before him

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is se...

Daily devotional

June 19 - Jesus’ seventh word on the cross

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!” - Luke 23:46 Scripture reading: Luke 23:44-49 This word, like the fourth and fifth, is a quo...

Daily devotional

June 18 - Jesus’ sixth word on the cross

“It is finished.” - John 19:30 Scripture Reading: John 19:28-30 You and I might not finish something we’ve begun. Due to laziness, weaknes...

Daily devotional

June 17 - Jesus’ fifth word on the cross

“I thirst.” - John 19:28 Scripture reading: John 19:28-30 Jesus’ fifth word on the cross is only one word in Greek which, when translated ...

Daily devotional

June 16 - Jesus’ fourth word on the cross

“…My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” - Matthew 27:46 Scripture reading: Matthew 27:45-56 I wonder if the onlookers at Jesus’ crucifixion were starting to get uncomfortable at this point. For three hours “there was darkness over all the land.” Were they starting to realize that something about this crucifixion was different from all the others they had witnessed? Then, out of the darkness they hear the agonizing voice of Jesus quoting Psalm 22:1 – “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” The anguish He experienced while bearing the full wrath of God and being forsaken of God wrenched from Him those amazing words. But while this fourth word is a question, the Son of God knew precisely the answer. Jesus was not seeking some information that He lacked but, in fact, was making a remarkable statement. He is saying: “I am the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Psalm 22 is about Me. Isaiah 53 is about Me.” And He is saying: “I am forsaken by God.” The eternal Son of God, Who had always been in perfect fellowship with the Father, was now forsaken. That bond was broken. Jesus wanted the crowd, and us, to know this. Why? Because the only possible reason that the Father would ever forsake the Son is if the Son were bearing our sins. This is the fount of our joy! Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us. Jesus was forsaken of the Father so that you and I would NEVER be forsaken! Suggestions for prayer Give thanks that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Pray that your pastor, and every pastor everywhere, would boldly preach the gospel of Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 15 - Jesus’ third word on the cross

“…He said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.” - John 19:26, 27 Scripture Reading: John 19:17-27 About 33 years earlier, Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple. While there, Simeon took Jesus in his arms and praised God for letting him see God’s salvation. While Joseph and Mary marvelled at all this, Simeon blessed them also and prophesied about what Christ would do. As he spoke, he turned to Mary and said, “And a sword will pierce through your own soul also” (See Luke 2:22-35). That sword thrust came as she watched her Son hanging, nailed to the cross. But Jesus, loving her in spite of His agony, cared for His earthly mother. Many may wonder why He addressed her as “woman” thinking it sounds rather cold and heartless. But Jesus is actually telling her that she must see Him not simply as her Son, but as her Saviour and Lord. At the same time, as a faithful Son, He appointed John to take her in and care for her. From that point on, John would be her guardian, provider and protector. Jesus’ third word on the cross is a word of love and affection. But while this particular word is directed toward Mary and John, it is that very same love and affection for you and me that compelled Him to give His life. Christ, by taking our sins upon Himself, provided us with our greatest need – forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Oh, what love! Oh, what joy! Suggestions for prayer Give thanks that God has provided your needs, both materially as well as spiritually. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 14 - Jesus’ second word on the cross

“And He said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."” - Luke 23:43 Scripture reading: Luke 23:35-43 We might view the conversion of the thief on the cross as a peculiar and singular event. There are aspects of this encounter that are unique. The criminal was near death, had no opportunity to join the church in Jerusalem and was hanging next to Jesus on a cross. But, his conversion is really very similar to that of every person who is saved. We are all saved by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ. Notice the faith of this criminal. What he saw with his eyes was a beaten, bleeding man hanging in agony on a cross. Jesus didn’t appear to be the King of Glory and Son of God. Yet, in spite of the mocking unbelief of others, this man put his trust in Jesus and said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” God opened his eyes of faith so that he saw Jesus for Who He really was. And he believed Jesus’ response shows His power and grace. Even on the cross, in agony, He is powerful to save. Christ made that sinful criminal fit for heaven in a moment. The thief didn’t have to spend time in purgatory or try to clean up the mess of his life. Jesus’ atonement is sufficient and effective to save right now. “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” See what joy this brings. Your salvation does not depend on your works, your efforts, or your abilities. Like the criminal, we come to Jesus saying, “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” Suggestions for prayer Pray that God would open the eyes of faith of friends and family who do not yet believe and that God would restore to you the joy of your salvation. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 13 - Jesus’ first word on the cross

“And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."” - Luke 23:34 Scripture reading: Luke 23:18-34 Looking forward to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, I want to spend the next several days looking at the seven words of Christ on the cross. My prayer is that you will find and experience great joy in hearing and understanding them. The spiritual leaders of Israel, in hatred and jealousy, brought charges of blasphemy and sedition against Jesus. The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, cowardly washed his hands of this debacle. The Roman soldiers scornfully beat and mocked Jesus. Finally, they nailed Him to the cross between two criminals so that the sinless Son of God was, as Isaiah had prophesied, “numbered with the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus didn’t rant and rave against His oppressors, He didn’t defend Himself against the injustice of it all. Instead, the first words from His lips are, “Father, forgive them.” Forgiveness. This is why Jesus came into the world – to forgive sins. When Joseph wondered what to do about Mary when she was pregnant, the angel reassured him and said, “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” This first word of Christ on the cross brings great joy to sinners like you and me. We cannot out-sin His grace. And just as He interceded for the sinners of His day, so He continues to lovingly intercede for you and me today. Hebrews 7:25 says, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” Hallelujah! What a Saviour. Suggestions for Prayer Pray that God will forgive your sins for the sake of Jesus Christ and give thanks that Jesus is your great High Priest Who continues to intercede for you. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 12 - Jesus’ joy

“But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” - John 17:13 Scriptur...

Daily devotional

June 11 - Joy in this world

“But now I am coming to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” - John 17:13 Scriptur...

Daily devotional

June 10 - The fruit of joy (II)

“…rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” - Luke 10:20 Scripture reading: Luke 10:1-10 The reason that joy is a fruit of the Spi...

Daily devotional

June 9 - The fruit of joy (I)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is… joy…” - Galatians 5:22 Scripture reading: Galatians 5:16-25 My family and I lived in Hawaii for sev...

Daily devotional

June 8 - Joy in tribulation

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” - James 1:2 Scripture reading: James 1:1-8 Hardship in life is never fun, but we all have these “trials of various kinds.” Five and a half years ago, when my doctor informed me that I had cancer, my whole existence was jolted. After getting over the shock, I started thinking “I want to be at my children’s weddings” and “I want to hold my grandchildren.” I shed tears and wondered about my uncertain future. Five months later I underwent major surgery that removed the cancer. Thankfully, I have been “clean” ever since. But how can you “count it all joy” when you hear such news? Or when your child dies? Or when you lose your job? The unbeliever finds this incredible. Instead of joy, he will get angry at life. Or she will drown her pain in drugs or alcohol. But the child of God knows that nothing happens by chance, but everything comes from God’s fatherly hand. God’s purposes are always for our good (Romans 8:28). They are productive, not destructive, moulding us into the image of Christ. When you experience trials, it isn’t bad luck. Rather, God is working to make you beautiful – your dross to consume and your gold to refine. During those five months of uncertainty about my health, God strengthened my heart. Far from shaking my fist at God, by His grace, I rested in His goodness and faithfulness. The faith that I had always professed was confirmed and that has brought me unspeakable joy. Why? Because “the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Suggestions for prayer Pray that when the Lord sends trials in your life, He will confirm your faith and that your joyful response to hardships will be an encouragement to others. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 7 - Worship with gladness

“Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing!” - Psalm 100:2 Scripture reading: Psalm 100:1-6 Since joy in our salvation carries over to joy in all God’s blessings, it is not surprising that when the psalmist writes about worship he often includes joy. Throughout the Psalms, God’s people are often instructed to lift up their voices in praise. Think, for example, of how often the word “Hallelujah” is used in the Psalms. Psalms 113-118 are called the “Hallel” Psalms and the final five Psalms (146-150) all end with the same word, “Hallelujah.” Hallelujah means “Let us praise the Lord.” It seems to me that joy is an essential ingredient in praise. Praise is the believer’s joyful response to who God is and what He has done. I cannot help but wonder what is happening in a person’s heart when we begin worship with singing that great hymn “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” and it looks as though he or she is singing about their next dentist appointment. I cannot judge such a thing, but it appears as though there’s little praise going on. When you gather for worship, are you “serving the Lord with gladness?” To praise the Lord with joy does not mean that the Christian never experiences sorrow or pain. In fact, true repentance means there is a real sorrow for our sins. But even so, the believer’s sorrow should never be separated from the conviction that, as the hymn writer so beautifully penned, “It is well with my soul.” Christ has overcome and I am His. That conviction cannot help but overflow into joyful praise! Suggestions for prayer Pray that as you worship today, your worship would be a sincere response of joyful praise to God who is worthy, and that not only you, but your church congregation would have the reputation of worshipping the Lord with gladness. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 6 - Joy in God’s revelation

“In the way of Your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches… I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget Your Word.” - Psalm 119:14, 16 Scripture reading: Psalm 119:1-16 While joy in our salvation in Christ is the fountain, that joy naturally carries over to all the blessings we have in Christ. The Christian’s joy is multi-faceted. We find joy in the reality that we’ve been saved and justified in Christ Jesus, but as a result, we find joy in all aspects of Christian life. We recognize that because we are in Christ, all that we are and have are blessings from God. These increase our joy. And one of those blessings is His Word. The Psalmist in Psalm 119 delights in God’s Word. God’s Word always has been and continues to be a source of joy to God’s people. Meditating on God’s written revelation will bring joy to the Christian. But what is it about the Word of God that causes the Psalmist, and us, to delight in it? First, the primary purpose of God’s Word is to reveal to us the way of salvation. After Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). The rest of the Bible tells us how God has fulfilled that promise, culminating in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Second, the Bible is the clearest revelation of God. In God’s Word, God tells us about Himself. Third, the Bible instructs us on the kind of life that is pleasing to God. We delight in God’s Word because our natural reaction to our supernatural salvation from God is to love Him and live for Him. And God’s Word tells us what that looks like. Suggestions for prayer Pray that when you read the Bible, the Holy Spirit would open your mind and heart to understand and that God’s Word would be your delight. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 5 - Joy in the God of my salvation

“I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” - Habakkuk 3:18b Scripture reading: Habakkuk 3:1-19 When the Bible speaks of our joy, we discover that it is the Christian’s response to all the blessings we have from God. But the wellspring, the fount of joy is our salvation in Jesus Christ. For example, James instructs us to “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” (James 1:2). But we cannot be joyful in our trials apart from our salvation in Christ. In Psalm 119 the Psalmist says that he delights in God’s Word, in God’s commands and in God’s testimonies. But we cannot find joy in God’s revelation without being in Christ. At the end of Luke’s gospel, just after Jesus’ ascension, we read that His disciples “worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy” (Luke 24:52). But we cannot worship joyfully apart from being in Christ. Habakkuk was a prophet during very difficult days. In the short, Old Testament book of Habakkuk the prophet raises complaints to God about the sorry state of affairs in Judah. He is burdened because God seems to be indifferent to the appalling spiritual condition of His people (Habakkuk 1:2-4). But after God answers his complaints, Habakkuk responds with those beautiful words, “I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” Is that your joy? God sent His only begotten Son to save you. He is the God of your salvation. Do you take joy in Him? Suggestions for prayer Pray that the Lord would impress on you His great love for you. So great is His love that He gave Jesus to be your salvation. Pray that your joy would be evident and recognized by others. Rev. Derrick Vander Meulen was born and raised in California and has been an ordained minister of the Gospel for 35 years. He served as the pastor to two URCNA churches in Michigan, then planted a URC on the island of Kauai, Hawaii and is now serving as pastor of Coram Deo United Reformed Church in Centennial, Colorado. He is also the General Co-editor of the Trinity Psalter Hymnal, a joint publication of the United Reformed Churches and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

June 4 - Joy and peace

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.�...

Daily devotional

June 3 - Abide in me

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” - John 15:11 Scripture reading: John 15:1-11 ...

Daily devotional

June 2 - Tidings of comfort and joy

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousn...

Daily devotional

June 1 - Introduction to the Christian joy

June's theme is The Christian's Joy. Joy is the possession of every child of God. The triune God is a God of joy and the source of joy to all who trus...

Daily devotional

May 31 - Be firm in your faith!

“Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, Who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” - 1 Peter 5:9-10 Scripture Reading: James 4:1-17 What is your protection against your adversary, the devil? Your faith! To resist him means to refuse to submit to him and let him direct your life. Remember, the words that Jesus spoke to Peter before his denial: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). Why did Peter’s faith not fail? Jesus prayed for Him. Why does your faith not fail? Jesus is also praying for you! Why is faith so important here? Because Satan directs his attacks to destroy your faith in Christ. Suffering is one of the ways he uses to raise doubts in your mind concerning the reliability of God. When we suffer we think we are alone. This is not the case. Many others have endured the same kinds of trials and have been able to persevere in the faith because the Lord was there with them. Any suffering you experience is limited to what God will allow in your life. As a God of all grace, is there anything too difficult for Him to help you with? He is the God who has called you to eternal glory in Christ! What you have in Christ far outweighs what you lack here on earth. As you attend church today, think about the sufficiency of your Saviour. He Himself will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for the gift of faith and that Jesus is making intercession so that our faith will not fail. Ask the Lord to help you resist the devil, to be firm in your faith, so that you will overcome him through the grace God gives to you. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 30 - Your adversary

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8 Scripture reading: Zechariah 3:1-10 You have an adversary, one who strives against you: an enemy. One of the main reasons we have anxieties and cares is because of this enemy. The word Satan means adversary, and the word devil means the accuser, the slanderer. Peter gives two imperatives concerning this adversary. Be sober-minded; be watchful. To be sober-minded means to have self-control and to not allow this enemy to influence you. Rather, always be under the direction and control of the Lord your God. To be watchful means to be awake, always aware, and to never be off your guard. Always be aware of your weaknesses and don’t let this enemy get the better of you because of them. How does Peter describe him? He compares the devil to a lion that is hungry looking for prey that he can devour. There is one that is actually hunting you, one who is stalking you without your knowledge, hoping to devour and destroy your faith in Christ. He has slandered and tried to destroy others in the past, (one example is Joshua in Zechariah 3), and he will continue to do so in the present and into the future until Christ returns. According to the context, there are two ways the devil tries to attack us. Satan seeks to puff up our pride, trying to convince us we do not need God and he tries to get us to believe God does not care for us. Do not let this enemy get the better of you! Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord that we can flee to Christ when the devil comes to accuse and attack us. Ask the Lord to help you heed these warnings and to be diligent and watchful especially when we feel weak in our faith. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 29 - He cares for you

“...casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:7 Scripture Reading: Psalm 55:1-23 Verse 7 is governed by the verb in the previous verse. This means that humility is not just a negative lowering of oneself, but rather an active reliance or trust in God, Who is able to bear our burdens, anxieties, and cares. Peter literally means to throw or fling all your anxieties on the Lord. What kind of image does this make in your mind? This reminds me of when I was young, and I used to chop wood for our family’s wood stove. I needed to carry the cut wood into the shed, so I would pick up each stick one by one until I had a big load in my arms. Well, I didn’t take the wood off one by one like I did when I picked them up. What did I do? It was a heavy load, so I threw them down on the pile as quickly as I could! This is just like us. We pick up our cares one by one, and each time we add something, we get weighed down just as if that heavy load of wood is in our arms. It’s very difficult to take those burdens off one by one. What does the Lord tell you to do with all your cares, burdens, and anxieties? Throw them off yourself and down on Him! Let Him bear the full weight of them all! He is willing because He cares for you. Are you willing to "Cast your burden on the LORD" (Psalm 55:22)? Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord that He cares for you and wants to help you with your burdens. Ask the Lord to enable you to cast your cares upon Him and not just bear them on your own. Thank the Lord that we can truly have rest for our souls in Christ (Matt. 11:28). Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

May 28 - Are you humble (II)

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.” - 1 Peter 5:6 Scripture reading: Proverbs 11:1-31 Peter continues his teaching on humility in verse 6. He tells us to humble ourselves so that God may exalt us. Pride can be viewed as dependence or confidence in oneself. A person may think he is fully independent of others and self-sufficient. Is this true? Are we completely self-sufficient without any dependence on others? The reality is, no matter where we are in life, we do rely on others. We all appreciate family, friends, employers, customers, retail workers, doctors and nurses and the list goes on. Think about all the people you rely on each day to make your life better and easier. We are not truly alone. There is One Who is actually in your life whether you recognize it or not. The Lord directs all of your affairs by an all-wise Providence. You don’t live in a chance world. Peter brings us to the place where we need to recognize God working in our lives. Humility is having a full dependence on and confidence in God. This verse could be translated allow yourselves to be humbled, under the mighty hand of God. We must permit ourselves to be humbled. We must consent to let God take control. We must surrender to His will as He knows what is best for us. His hand is mighty and powerful. He breaks the power of sin and pride and molds us to be like Christ by His Spirit. He will exalt us in due time. Will you allow yourself to be humbled? Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord He is faithful and powerful so that we can truly depend upon Him. Praise the Lord that when we humbly submit to Him, He will exalt us in His perfect time. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 27 - Are you humble? (I)

“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the prou...

Daily devotional

May 26 - Biblical leadership

“So I exhort the elders among you,… shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God...

Daily devotional

May 25 - Are you prepared?

“...but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that...

Daily devotional

May 24 - Who can really harm you?

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have ...

Daily devotional

May 23 - The war against your soul

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” - 1 Peter 2:11 Scripture reading: Romans 13:1-14 As Christians, we are involved in a spiritual battle. Peter tells us to continually abstain from the passions of our flesh that make war against our souls. The word passion refers to any kind of self-seeking and includes ungodliness, lust, and covetousness. These passions have full sway in the hearts of unbelievers because they are ignorant of God and His holiness and grace as revealed in His Word. But for you as a Christian, growing in your knowledge of Christ, you don’t have to be controlled by selfish desires. We turn from self-centred living to now living under Christ’s lordship as those called by God out of this fallen world. Fleshly lusts are human desires which stem from our own depravity and seek fulfillment apart from God and His will for us. A sojourner or a pilgrim (exile) would not put down roots in a place where he or she had no intention of staying, and so Peter warns the church against getting involved with fleshly lusts which war against the soul. These passions hinder our spiritual journey as pilgrims and cause much grief and pain. How should you then deal with fleshly lusts? You cannot overcome them by human effort or self-discipline. They are only overcome by the power of the indwelling Spirit as you live by faith in Christ. Paul told us to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14). Have you come to Christ to help you win this war? Suggestions for prayer Praise the Lord that Christ is with us and has cleansed our sin with His own precious blood. Ask the Lord to help you live for Christ and to help you overcome the passions of the flesh. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 22 - Our privilege and responsibility

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” - 1 Peter 2:9-10 Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 7:1-26 Clearly, Peter wants us to understand that the church is something unique in this world. Look at how He describes every believer in Christ: You are a chosen race! You belong to a royal priesthood! You are a member of a holy nation! You are God’s possession! You have now received His mercy! The first thought that comes to my mind is how can this be? I don’t feel very special. I am just an ordinary person going about my business living my life day by day. Who am I to claim such privileges especially when I feel so unfaithful? Keep in mind that what Peter is telling you here is based completely on what God does for you in Christ and not on anything you think or feel. He tells us that at one point we were not a people, but now we are God’s people. What made this change happen? We received the mercy of God. Your covenant God was pleased to make you His, simply because He loved you and would fulfill the covenant oath He made concerning you just as He did for Israel in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 7:6-9). You may not feel very special to God, but He assures you that you are! He called you out of darkness and placed you in a very privileged position with a very important responsibility, to proclaim Christ to a lost world. Being in such a privileged position, will you proclaim Him? Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for the privilege to be called by God in Christ because of His love and mercy. Ask Him to help you to fulfill your responsibility to proclaim Christ to a lost world that needs the gospel. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 21 - We are living stones

“...you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 2:5 Scripture reading: Psalm 40:1-17 Because Jesus is called the Living Stone, His covenant people are also called living stones being built up as a spiritual house through faith in Him. Jesus said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). As Jesus continues to build His church, believers are the bricks that make up His building, the church. In fact, every time someone comes to faith in Christ another stone is taken from the pit of destruction and is placed on the rock that cannot be moved (Psalm 40:1-3). This text also teaches the doctrine of the priesthood of every believer. In the Old Testament, only the priests could come near to God by offering sacrifices and incense on His altar. Only the High Priest, and only once a year, could enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the people. But now, Christ our High Priest has offered Himself once for all as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. All believers now have direct access to God’s presence through Christ, our mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). We don’t need a human priest or a bloody sacrifice since Christ is all-sufficient for us. But we offer up to God other spiritual sacrifices as priests. We offer ourselves (Romans 12:1-2), to share the gospel (Romans 15:16), and to praise our God (Hebrews 13:15-16). What a privilege we have to be a part of His church, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22)! Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord He has taken us from the pit of destruction and placed us on the rock which is Christ. Thank Him that Jesus is still building His church and that we are living stones built up in Him and that as priests, it is our privilege to offer ourselves to Him in service and praise. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 20 - Our living stone!

“As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious.” - 1 Peter 2:4 Scripture reading: Psalm 118:1-29 How does Peter describe Jesus for us? He is a Living Stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God. This means that the Lord has set forth Christ to be the great foundation upon which the Church is built. How do we come to Him? Of course, we come to Him in salvation when we first believed. But that is not what Peter has in mind here. The verb tense he uses means we are to come to Christ repeatedly. This does not refer to our conversion, but to our daily communion with Him. We must come to Christ continually so that we may be built up in Him. Peter calls Jesus a Living Stone. He is living in that He died for our sins, but was raised from the dead and is alive, gaining victory over sin, death, and hell. He is the author and giver of life, able to impart spiritual life to all who believe in Him. Because He is living, Christianity is not a religion of dead rituals, superficial worship, and paying lip service to God. It is a relationship with the living Lord of the universe! Christ is the only solid foundation for your faith for time and eternity. This should be very comforting because your faith rests on what Christ has done for you. You can put your trust in Him and know that you will not be disappointed or put to shame (1 Peter 2:6). Is Jesus your Living Stone? Suggestions for prayer Praise the Lord that He has given us Jesus, our Living Stone! That there is no other foundation for our faith and that when we place our faith and trust in Him we will never be disappointed. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 19 - Desire pure spiritual milk

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it yo...

Daily devotional

May 18 - The shortness of life

"All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever...

Daily devotional

May 17 - Born again

“...since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.” - 1 Peter 1:23 S...

Daily devotional

May 16 - An earnest love

“Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” - 1 Peter ...

Daily devotional

May 15 - Made manifest for us!

“He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for your sake, who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” - 1 Peter 1:20-21 Scripture reading: Colossians 1:1-29 At the end of the day, where are your faith and hope? They must be in God Who set forth our redemption even before the foundation of the world! This verse is a rich display of God’s grace toward unworthy sinners like us, who only deserve God’s judgment and wrath. Jesus, coming into this world to save us, is not just an afterthought when the Fall happened in the Garden of Eden. The Lord has a purpose to save His people and is not willing to leave us in darkness and sin. When the time was right, He willingly revealed our Saviour to us. How good is our God! Through Jesus, we can come to God in faith. Through Jesus, we have life from the dead because God raised Him from the dead. Through Jesus, we will go to be with God in glory because Jesus has been raised to glory. Everything that happens to Jesus happens to us as we are heirs and joint-heirs with Him. If you are lacking assurance today or struggling with your Christian faith due to weakness or failures in your life, meditate on these two verses. God knows we fail and often fall into sin, that’s why He sent us His Son. There is an answer for hopelessness and despair in this world and that answer has always been Jesus. Where are your faith and your hope today? If your answer is in God through Jesus, then it is in the right place! Suggestions for prayer Praise the Lord that He set forth the salvation of His people before the foundation of the world and that we can have real faith and hope in God because He has established us in Christ. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 14 - We are redeemed by precious blood

“...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” - 1 Peter 1:18-19 Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-21 When you are travelling, you always need to pack for the place of your destination. If you are travelling to the beach, you would bring your swimsuit, lotion, sunglasses and a towel. It would not make much sense to bring these items on a trip to the Arctic! As Christians, what is our destination? We are preparing ourselves for heaven when we will be with Christ for eternity. We should no longer live according to futile ways inherited from those who lived before us. Ungodliness can show itself in many ways, but always comes down to the world, the flesh and the devil. We have inherited a sinful nature that causes us to be guilty and corrupt before a holy God. The world is cursed by sin and the devil is active and prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. What is the answer to all this? It is nothing that is perishable like silver or gold. What saves us is much more precious or costly; not even all the gold and silver in the world could buy it if that were possible! Every Christian is ransomed by the precious blood of Christ, just like a pure lamb without spot or defect. The perfect offering has been made for your sin. The pure and holy Lamb of God, Jesus ransomed you out of this sinful world so that you would belong to Him. If you belong to Jesus, how then are you preparing for eternity to be with Him? Suggestions for prayer Praise the Lord that He ransoms His covenant people from a cursed world and restores them to Himself through the precious blood of Christ. Ask the Lord to enable you by His Spirit to live a sanctified life that pleases Him and to no longer live in futile ways. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 13 - Live in fear?

“And if you call on Him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile.” - 1 Peter 1:17 Scripture Reading: Genesis 18:1-33 Peter gives us a conditional statement that goes like this, if you call, claim or declare God as your Father, Who judges everyone impartially according to what we do, then live in a manner of fear in the time the Lord gives you as one who is in exile. Those who are in a relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ show it in how they live. No hypocrisy here! No superficial praying! God knows your heart. Our Father is the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25). His judgment includes all men and is conducted without respect to a person’s position in this world. Wealth, social status, or family background makes no difference to Him As a result of this relationship, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. Exactly what does it mean to live in fear? This fear means reverence or respect and to live in the awareness of God. We are exiled Saints waiting for the time when we will be full citizens of heaven in glory. In the meantime, as the covenant people of God, we must not expect God to overlook the sin in our own lives, for while its penalty has been paid for by Christ, He still judges it. We are to live for Christ and not just ourselves. Are you living in the fear of the Lord? Does your life show reverence and respect for Christ? Remember, our conduct is more important than our words. Suggestions for prayer Ask the Lord to give you a right view of the holiness and majesty of God and that He would give you the desire to live in a manner that shows reverence and respect for Him, to live for Christ and not just ourselves. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 12 - We are to have a right moral standard

“...but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."” - 1 Peter 1:15-16 Scripture reading: Isaiah 6:1-13 There are two elements to God’s holiness. The first is the idea of being set apart. God is totally above and beyond us and He is in a class by Himself. There is a profound difference between Him and those He has created. The second aspect of holiness (the one we generally think of first) is the idea of purity. This is His intrinsic and transcendent purity, the standard of righteousness according to His moral law to which the whole universe must conform. He sets the standard for our morality as He is the Sovereign Lawgiver. Peter gives a command here that we are to be holy in all our conduct as God is perfectly holy. This is a high order for us! How can we achieve such a command when we live lives that are so unholy even with a desire to obey the Lord? A couple of things to keep in mind, the moment we put our faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, we are positionally sanctified or set apart unto God. "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Then we must be progressively sanctified by growing in holiness. This is a lifetime of dying unto sin and living more unto righteousness (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:13). When we enter glory we will be perfectly sanctified, made completely like Him. If you desire to be holy, your relationship with Christ must grow because only He can make you holy. Suggestions for prayer Ask the Lord to fulfill your calling by making you holy and that as His people, we will be able to more and more die unto sin and live unto righteousness through Christ Who makes us holy. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 11 - We are to have right obedience

“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” - 1 Peter 1:14 Scripture reading: Ephesians 2: 1-22 ...

Daily devotional

May 10 - We are to have right thinking

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation ...

Daily devotional

May 9 - The prophets spoke about him

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person ...

Daily devotional

May 8 - How can we see him?

“...whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining the...

Daily devotional

May 7 - A genuine faith

1 Peter 1:7 ...so that the tested genuineness of your faith–more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire–may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Scripture reading: Hebrews 12: 1-29 Genuine faith is at the very heart of Christian life. We are saved by faith, we live by faith and without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). But what makes your faith genuine as opposed to something false or misguided? Peter tells us that genuine faith is something tested and more valuable than even gold purified by fire! When gold is placed in a furnace, it is not that the gold should be damaged or destroyed, but that it might be made more pure and precious. All the impurities and dross must be burned off so that only the gold will be present and nothing else. In fact, it has been said that an Eastern goldsmith would keep the precious metal in the furnace until he could see his face reflected in it. Why must we go through the furnace of affliction, pain, or sorrow? It is so that the tested genuineness of your faith would reflect the beauty and glory of Jesus Christ more and more each day until all His people go to be with Him in glory! How do you know your faith is real and not false? True faith is a full belief and trust in Christ to save you no matter what you face in life whether good or difficult. Genuine faith is a faith that – may be found to result in praise and glory and honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Do you have this true faith Suggestions for prayer Ask the Lord to grant you a genuine faith that will stand up to all the trials and sorrows in life, a faith that centres in Christ alone for salvation and a faith that is being purified so that Christ will be more and more precious to you. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 6 - Rejoicing in tough times

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, as was necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.” - 1 Peter 1:6 Scripture reading: Acts 5:12-42 In verse 6, Peter now returns to his theme of suffering and tells these scattered, persecuted Christians, they have much to rejoice in while at the same time they are distressed by various trials. Seems like a contradiction doesn't it? Joyful and distressed?!? How are we to understand this? He is declaring that we can be joyful for who we are in Christ, for the living hope we possess, for the great inheritance we shall receive, that we are kept by the power of God and that one day we shall go to be with Christ. All these things lift up the soul and help in distressing times and encourage us when experiencing suffering in this life. Peter himself had experienced great suffering. In Acts 5, after being beaten and warned not to speak in the name of Jesus, he and the other apostles departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name (Acts 5:41). They were able to rejoice despite their suffering because they counted themselves worthy to suffer dishonour for Jesus. Is your perspective the same? Do you count yourself worthy to suffer for Jesus? This does not mean we put on a superficial smile and never show grief whenever we experience pain. Remember, trials only last a little while and then every Christian is comforted in eternity. Being with Christ far outweighs the trials of life. That is our rejoicing! Is it yours? Suggestions for prayer Pray for the peace and joy of Christ when going through times of pain and suffering and that, like the Apostles, you will be able to count yourself worthy to even suffer shame for the name of Jesus. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 5 - Guarded by God’s power

“...who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” - 1 Peter 1:5 Scripture reading: Psalm 20: 1-9 Peter now shifts his focus on the security of the believer in this living hope. Through faith, God's people are guarded by the power of God. The word guarded is a military term that means to protect or keep. Like a fort or castle that is made firm and strong to protect all those inside from enemy attack, so too does the Lord watch over and protect His Saints. The tense of the verb reveals that we are constantly being guarded by God, assuring us that we shall safely arrive in heaven. Believers are not kept by their own ability, but by the power of God. Our faith in Christ has so united us to Him that His power now watches over us. This is what gives us assurance that we will indeed receive the inheritance promised to us. God's power shows His ability or capacity and points to His omnipotence. This means that God can do anything! If He has a purpose to bless His people, who can stop Him! How long will He guard us? Until Jesus Christ returns and we share in the full revelation of His great salvation. The believer is already saved through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9), but the completion of that salvation awaits the return of the Saviour or when we go to be with Him in glory. In the meantime, He secures us and is able to equip us so that we will endure the struggles we face daily. Suggestions for prayer Pray that we will be encouraged to know that we are protected for glory by God’s power. Ask the Lord to grant us fresh grace and strength for each day as we face the challenges of living in a fallen world. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 4 - The Christian’s inheritance

“...to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” - 1 Peter 1:4 Scripture reading: Romans 8:1-17 Usually, our concept of the word hope has the idea of desiring something in the future which is not guaranteed, a desire based on uncertainty, and it might happen or might not. Is that what we have here? Does Peter present to us an uncertain expectation of future blessing and life? No, the substance of this living hope is an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading and kept in heaven for us. The only hope that lasts must be based on what the Father gives to us in Christ and not just on what we think or feel. So, this is not some kind of wishful thinking or uncertain expectation that stands alone without a foundation. It is actually something real and substantial, that which the believer possesses in Christ! Once we realize we have this inheritance, then we can have confidence and boldness in our faith! The word for inheritance has the idea of property, possession or that which is real and substantial. Here on earth, estates can change in value over time, or even lose value. Buildings and other property that are part of an inheritance can become rundown if they're not maintained. But there are no such problems with our inheritance in heaven. Peter is telling us that we will possess something that can’t be ruined, spoiled, wear out or be taken from us. It is kept or reserved for us. Praise God, He made us joint-heirs with Christ and has given us a lasting legacy! Suggestions for prayer Praise Him that everything He promises us in His Word is not wishful thinking, but has real substance and will come to pass as He has told us. Praise the Lord that He encourages us with the future hope and expectation of our inheritance in Christ. Rev. Michael Jaatinen is the minister of Mount Zion Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Moncton, NB. He graduated from Geneva Reformed Seminary in Greenville, SC. After graduation, he served in the Free Presbyterian Church for 10 years, primarily ministering at a church plant in London, ON. He is married to his wife, Karen, who works as a Christian School teacher. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

May 3 - Why should we praise God the Father?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through th...

Daily devotional

May 2 - The triune God saves us

“…To those who are elect…according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ an...

Daily devotional

May 1 - Introduction to 1 Peter

In May, we will study the Epistle of 1 Peter. I am not able to cover the entire book; however, we can take a good look at chapter one, most of chapter...

Daily devotional

April 30 - Praise

“When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the ...

Daily devotional

April 29 - A praying church

“So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.” - Acts 12:5 Scripture reading: Acts 12:1-10, 20-25 Again Peter is in prison. Bringing the gospel to the Gentiles meant there would be no more sympathy from non-Christian Jews. And it was heartless Herod who was behind the arrest. Herod was not afraid to shed innocent blood, especially if it gained him favour with the general population. So what is the church to do? Herod has soldiers, prisons and weapons. How can the church avoid being snuffed out by the powers of the world? The church goes to God in prayer. Jesus teaches us to watch and pray. Why pray? Because God is more powerful than any ruler or government or weapon. As we strive to serve the Lord, we must be praying at all times in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18). How do your prayers reflect that your strength is not in yourself, but in the Lord? Are you praying for your needs, for strength against the enemies that seek to choke out your faith? What about the enemies of the church? The church is pressured by false teachings, pressured to be silent in this world and pressured to compromise on the truth. Will you pray for the leaders of the church? Herod went against God by wanting to put the apostles to death, but the gospel cannot be chained and God will always have the last word. Peter would be released by an angel and Herod would be struck down. The church prays and the Word of God increases and multiplies. Suggestions for prayer Thank God for His awesome power over all things. Ask God to keep you humble and dependent on Him so that you remain steadfast in prayer. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 28 - Far-reaching love

“And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”” - Acts 10:28 Scripture reading: Acts 10:24-33 This is a huge moment in Peter’s life and ministry. We know Peter loved Jesus and was really committed to following Jesus, even if it meant Peter’s own death, but now Jesus is sending Peter to also bring the gospel to Gentiles, the non-Jews. In doing so, Peter would be extending an arm of fellowship to Gentiles, calling them to join in the family of those adopted into Christ. This was something a self-respecting Jew would never do. But God’s love and grace is greater than we think. Jesus came to Peter, an unworthy sinner, not because Peter was a Jew or was worthy, but because of God’s promises and mercy. Now that mercy goes out to the Gentiles. Peter swallows his Jewish pride, again humbles himself, and goes to the Gentiles with love and obedience to God. In what ways do you treat the love of God as something small or something that you cannot share? Do you turn up your nose and refuse to talk to those who are outside your church? We, like Peter, are called to join the ministry of Jesus Christ. This is often messy work and people, even from within the church, will criticize it. We are not all called to be evangelists in the way Peter was, but I pray that your devotion to God brings you to live a life that holds firm to Christ and all God’s truth, while in obedience extending God’s love and grace to the world. Suggestions for prayer Ask God to forgive you for treating His love as something small. Ask God to guide you to live in a way that shares God’s love with others. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 27 - Go to the nations

“And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.”” - Acts 10:15 Scripture reading: Acts 10:9-23 Why were the Jews commanded to not eat pork and various other meats? Leviticus 11 explains which animals are clean and unclean. Leviticus 20:25-26 instructs them, saying, You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean. You shall be holy to me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine. Sometimes the Jews thought that not eating certain foods made them holy, but the purpose of not eating certain foods was to remind them that they are holy because of the covenant God made with them and on account of this, they must not eat certain foods. Now, Jesus came to fulfill that law; through faith in Christ we are holy and we see the covenant extended beyond the children of Abraham. This was part of the intention of the covenant, as God told Abraham that in his seed all nations will be blessed. Jesus is preparing Peter to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles (non-Jews). Gentiles were considered unclean. Peter would have never entered the home of a Gentile. Now, can Peter trust the new work of Christ, bringing God’s grace that would make the Gentiles clean? Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord that His cleansing grace comes to Gentiles like you and me. Pray that you will not be hindered by pride or love of comforts, but that you can be a blessing to those around you. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 26 - Resurrection message

“Turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.” - Acts 9:40b Scripture reading: Acts 9:36-43 Peter spoke to ears that could not hear. Some people ask if God first put life back into Tabitha so that she could hear the words of Peter. But the Lord used the words of Peter and by that word, brought Tabitha back to life. We see the blessing of the resurrected Christ. Tabitha is raised from the dead to display the power Christ has over the grave. With the medical technology we have today, this is all the more amazing. If someone has a stroke and there is no blood circulation in part of the brain for a certain amount of time, the brain will be damaged beyond restoration. But Tabitha was dead for hours, maybe even a whole day, and Christ gives restoration. This is the good news of the resurrection! Brothers and sisters, do you see for us the blessing of Jesus Christ? Like Tabitha was dead, we are dead on account of our sins. Like Tabitha, we cannot even call for or ask for help. But the Lord came to us. Though nothing could make us worthy of His mercy, the Lord speaks life into us. This is the power of the resurrection. His living Word awakens us. This is part of why it is important to go to church on Sundays. We receive His Word and Spirit and by these we are given restoration. What was damaged and what was lost is all restored. We have a Lord who has conquered death. He has authority to raise us from the grave! Suggestions for prayer Praise the Lord today for His mighty Word. Pray that God’s Word will be faithfully preached and thankfully heard, and that God will equip you by His Word for service to His glory. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 25 - The dangers of power and pride

“But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!”” - Acts 8:20–21 ...

Daily devotional

April 24 - Obedience that is good

“But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.”” - Acts 4:19...

Daily devotional

April 23 - Shockingly bold

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized th...

Daily devotional

April 22 - Better than money

“But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”” - ...

Daily devotional

April 21 - What is a sinner to do?

“Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” - Acts 2:38 Scripture reading: Acts 2:22-36 Peter is tending the flock. The lost sheep of Israel are gathered and, in the strength of the Holy Spirit, Peter is explaining to them that Jesus, Whom they crucified, is their only hope for salvation. Now what? It might feel to the crowd as if they missed the only bus. After all, Jesus was rejected and crucified. The crowd knows their sin, so they cry out, “What shall we do?” The answer Peter gives is a summary of the Christian life. This is what Peter, a sinner, learned to do and now he speaks as one sinner to another, explaining the only way to be saved. Repent. That is, we must deny ourselves. We must flee from the idols of this world and devote ourselves wholly to God. This takes trust. We must trust that if we confess our sins, God will forgive them. This takes faith. We must have faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that if we turn from our sins, God will give us what we need to live a new life to His glory. We receive these from Christ in the gift of the Holy Spirit. By the Holy Spirit we are assured of God’s grace and given a new life wherein we can glorify God. Peter knew this gift and now he spreads the news so other sinners can know forgiveness and a new life. Do you know what it means to be forgiven and have the Holy Spirit? How can you share this good news in order that others may also know? Suggestions for prayer Pray that you will never cease to be amazed at God’s grace to you. Ask the Lord to help you point others to the only way of salvation in Jesus Christ. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 20 - Going forward in faith

“Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”” - Luke 24:44 Scripture reading: Acts 1:12-26 Jesus has ascended and the apostles and other followers are gathered together, but something is wrong. There are eleven apostles. During the whole of Jesus’ ministry, there were twelve apostles; twelve, like the number of the sons of Jacob. The number twelve showed the continuity of God’s plan of salvation for His chosen people. Now, with only eleven, it might feel like one stone has been pulled out of the foundation. Peter sinned and was reinstated, but Judas, though he grieved over his sin, did not turn to the Lord for forgiveness. Surely this brought much grief and discouragement to the disciples. But their faith is strengthened when they look to God’s Word. Peter takes the lead and reminds the brothers that both Judas’ betrayal and death were prophesied in Scripture (Psalm 69:25, Psalm 109:6-8). Scripture also said that another will take his office. Peter finds direction from Scripture and through this, he is able to guide the disciples. Jesus was not physically present with them, but God was still speaking to them by His Word. This is how God provides for His people. The disciples will pray and God will show them whom He has chosen to be the twelfth apostle. Where do you find your strength in difficult times? When others falter or the church struggles, do you still trust God’s care? Do you look to God’s Word during difficulties and come to God in prayer so that you are able to go forward with faith and encourage others to do the same? Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for His perfect plans which will work out all things for the good of those who love Him. Pray that God gives you trust, especially when things go “wrong” in our minds. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 19 - Give all glory to God

“In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” - 1 Peter 4:11b Scripture reading: 1 Peter 4:7-11 Why does God do what He does? Why did Jesus die and rise from the dead? Why did Jesus put His arm around Peter and reinstate him as a disciple? Why didn’t Jesus get off the cross and leave Peter and every other sinner to their misery? If we are asking about motive, the answer is God’s love. For God so loved the world… If we are asking about purpose, the answer is for God’s glory. God made the world and everything in it for His glory. He made us for His glory. Sin entered the world and destroyed our ability to glorify God, but Christ came to restore us to the Father. We saw this for Peter, and we must know it for our own lives. When we humble ourselves, the Lord lifts us up and restores us. Why? That we may glorify God. Is this your goal in life? Today is set apart by God as a day of rest and worship. Are you eager to gather with God’s people and glorify Him? What about during the rest of the week? In your work, play, school, socializing and leisure, do you seek to glorify God? That is an awesome thing about the rescuing work of Jesus Christ. Jesus gives gifts and supplies all for us so that in everything, when we do it with love to God, God is glorified. How good this is, as there is no one else worthy of all glory! Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for not only rescuing us but giving us gifts by which we can serve others and glorify Him. Ask God to help you see how you can serve Him and to give you strength to live a life for His glory. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 18 - The God of all grace will do it

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” - 1 Peter 5:10 Scripture reading: 1 Peter 5:6-11 We saw this week how Peter learned humility and the blessing of grace. Now about 30 years later, Peter is writing to encourage believers to rely on God’s grace in times of suffering. Do you put your hope in the Lord? Do you hear Him calling you to trust Him? That is the only way we can make it through this life in service to God. We don’t have it in ourselves to persevere in faith until death. But in the Lord we have what we need. Think about what it means that God is the God of all grace. This fact is easy to forget. We are quick to think that God will not help us in our troubles. We might believe the lies of Satan and start to think we are better off looking for help or comfort in ourselves, in possessions, in other people, or in other things. But there is no grace in other things. God, however, is a fountain; there is more and more grace so we can say, even in our suffering, “our cup overflows”. Keep turning to the Lord. Do not wonder if God will have the grace to forgive you when you stumble for the umpteenth time. Do not wonder if God is able to uphold you when your world is turned upside down or when you feel so utterly disappointed and hopeless. There is grace. Turn to the Lord and find His grace. It is always sufficient. Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord for His faithfulness in holding onto us. Ask God to forgive our grumbling and doubt of His goodness, and pray for patience and trust in all circumstances. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 17 - To glorify God

“When you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” - John 21:18b Scr...

Daily devotional

April 16 - Confidence in Peter?

“He said to him, “Feed my sheep.”” - John 21:17b Scripture reading: Matt 16:13-23 Jesus said, “Feed my lambs”, “Tend my sheep�...

Daily devotional

April 15 - A trusting Peter

“He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”” - John 21:16a...

Daily devotional

April 14 - A humble Peter

“Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.”” ...

Daily devotional

April 13 - Futile faith?

"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain." - 1 Corinthians 15:14 Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Jesus is alive. And that changes everything for us in this life. It means that anything Jesus ever said is trustworthy and true. This means that everything Jesus did is real and accomplishes everything for us and our salvation. It means the message of the Bible is good. If Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, your sins are truly and completely forgiven and you are given eternal life – to live with the Lord God forever. This good news must lift our hearts every day. Through all of the bad days, stress, tears and sorrow, the knowledge that Jesus died, rose again and ascended into heaven gives us peace and hope. All the sorrows of this life, the losses of this life, are temporary. Imagine you are at war. You are on the battlefield, exhausted, basically out of ammo, and wounded, but you look up and see the enemy base engulfed in flames. Bullets are still flying, but you know that the kingdom of darkness has fallen and the kingdom of light has been established. Well, then you can hang in there. The injuries and wounds don’t hurt so much when you are celebrating victory. Is that your hope? Can you see and believe that our Lord is risen? Do you see what this means for this life and for eternity? Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we have hope. May we carry it and show it as we live certain of what we have not seen. Our Lord Jesus lives and reigns in heaven. Suggestions for prayer Give thanks that God not only sent His Son to bring forgiveness but also raised Him up so we may know that the mission has been accomplished. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 12 - Risen victorious

“But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” - Luke 24:12 Scripture reading: Luke 24:1-12 When the women claimed Jesus was alive, Peter did not believe it but rather needed to investigate. After all, Peter once did not believe he would deny Jesus. But he did, as Jesus said he would. Peter also at one time did not believe he would catch fish if he cast out his net as Jesus asked him to, but again he was proven wrong. Peter ran to the tomb, looked in and what did he see? Not Jesus, but only the linen cloths used to wrap Jesus’ dead body. If Jesus was still dead, if Jesus’ body was stolen, or if someone had moved it, they would have kept the linen cloths on Him. No fool would unwrap a rotting corpse and take the naked body - of course not! But a living body would remove the burial linens, for they covered the face and bound the arms and feet. Peter looked at the linen cloths and marvelled. The evidence is amazing! Soon Peter and the other disciples will see Jesus Christ; they will touch Him and know He is real. They will know for certain. And that changes everything. We are not following a dead man; we are following the One who has risen, conquering sin and death and hell. We are following the One Who has all strength and authority over life and death. Our faith is not in vain, so let us keep following Jesus all our days. Suggestions for prayer Pray that the good news of the resurrection will strengthen your faith, that you will live your life not without hope or in fear, but with faith in the One who conquered the grave. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 11 - Darkness is my only friend

“It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.” - Luke 23:44 Scripture reading: Luke 23:40-56 In the middle of the day, Jesus hangs in darkness. The darkness is a symbol showing that Jesus is bearing the curse of God. Think about what it would be like for the crowd on that day. Three hours of darkness is a long time. Does the crowd know Jesus is bearing the judgment of God? They too experience the darkness, but they were not facing God’s judgment; Jesus was. In the darkness, they would be able to hear the One on Whom God was pouring out His judgment struggling to breathe. There in the darkness, God has placed His own Son on the altar. Abraham did this with Isaac, but Isaac was never put to death because a ram was given to take Isaac’s place. Now the Son of God is placed on the altar, the ultimate substitute, to suffer in our place and He is put to death. Did the crowd remember how He healed their sick and raised the dead? Now Jesus, though innocent, is being put to death. Isaiah 53:10 says, “The Lord makes His life a guilt offering.” The crowd has those three hours to think about this. Let us also quiet our hearts and think about this. This is the sacrifice we need. This is the Lamb slain. See Him, believe in Him for your forgiveness and for your salvation. Here is your only hope to rescue you from the wages of your sin, to rescue you from hell and to open paradise for you. Suggestions for prayer Pray that God will help you to consider today what Christ endured in your place. Praise God for taking the darkness that we may be brought into the everlasting light of His grace. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 10 - Forsaken by friends

“But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.” - Luke 22:60 Scripture reading: Luke 22:54-60 and Luke 23:32-43 First Judas betrayed Jesus and now Peter denies Jesus. Peter was sure he would never do such a thing, but Peter shows us what happens when we rely on ourselves. J.C. Ryle writes, "The best and highest saint is a poor weak creature, even at his best times.” No matter how strong we might feel or godly we might appear, we are often on the edge of falling hard into sin if we do not watch and pray and if the grace of God does not hold us up. Now Christ will face the cross alone. The cross was a symbol of being cursed by God. Jesus would be nailed to the cross and, though innocent, everyone around would mock Him and no one would come to His defence. Isaiah 53 says, We esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions. That is the amazing part! Jesus endured rejection by man and God in order to give grace to those who by nature rejected Him. Two criminals hanging near Jesus also mocked Him. Later, one had his eyes opened to see that Jesus had done no wrong. This stranger received grace. See how our rejection does not prevent Christ from bringing salvation? He still is the Lamb Whose blood was shed to take away the sins of the world. Peter would weep over his sin, and as you consider Christ crucified today, weep for your sin, for godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10). Suggestions for prayer Confess your sin and your need for Christ to suffer and die on the cross. Praise the Lord for willingly being rejected so that we may be forgiven and accepted by God in mercy. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 9 - Betrayal with a kiss

“But Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”” - Luke 22:48 Scripture reading: Luke 22:47-53 A kiss wa...

Daily devotional

April 8 - Prayer and temptation

“And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”” - Luke 22:40 Scripture reading: Luke 22:...

Daily devotional

April 7 - Prayer and protection

“I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” - Luke 22:32 Scripture reading:...

Daily devotional

April 6 - Through the thresher

“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat.” - Luke 22:31 Scripture reading: Luke 22:31-34 and Job ...

Daily devotional

April 5 - Seeking greatness

“For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” - Luke 22:27 Scripture reading: Luke 19:37-40 and Luke 22:23-30 On Palm Sunday Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem. Being on a donkey makes a statement. The donkey is not like a Rolls Royce or even a Cadillac. No, it is more like an old Hyundai –a modest mode of transport. But that did not deter the crowds; they saw their king. In Jesus they saw the One Who could lead them to the deliverance of which the Passover spoke. Like Moses to Israel, they thought Jesus would rescue them from Rome, give them Rome’s gold and establish them as a glorious nation. You see, when Jesus rode in, they thought more of themselves than of God and God’s will. And we do the same when we want God’s blessings more than we want God’s will But Jesus came to serve. And this is what we need. We don’t need more money, more earthly freedoms or land, but we need to be cleansed of our sin. Only Christ can give this cleansing, and He did. Jesus came as a servant and brought salvation by letting Himself be nailed to the cross where He would die a humiliating death. Phil 2:8 says, “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Rejoice and praise God! Christ, who died on the cross, is our greatest treasure! Go to church today and serve and worship your God Who provided a way of reconciliation. Rejoice as you believe the good news! Christ came and lay down His life for you. Suggestions for prayer Ask the Lord to help us show our love and thankfulness. Pray for God to help you be humble and faithful in times of trials, and to be quick to serve, considering others more highly than ourselves. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 4 - A new supper, the Lord’s supper

““This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”” - Luke 22:19b–20 Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 Jesus gives Himself. My body, given for you. Isaiah 53 says, “He was crushed for our iniquities”. His body is given over to death in our place. Think of what this means. A substitute goes in the place of another. Sometimes, someone will find a friend to take a shift for them at work. But Jesus came to suffer the punishment for sin and die in substitution for all who will believe in Him. Jesus is talking to the disciples. They don’t know it, but it is like Jesus will jump on a grenade so he can die instead of them. But what Jesus was bringing had eternal consequences. So Jesus gives this bread and message to His disciples. Will they understand? Will they believe? Their response and our response must be, “Yes, this is what I need! He must be crushed for my iniquities.” Jesus told the disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me.” And that is what we do as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The sacrifice has been made. Christ’s death was the once-for-all sacrifice for our sins. And so we partake of the supper in remembrance and faith. This meal must teach us to see anew what Christ has done. Believe and be strengthened in your faith! Know deep in your hearts that this is real. Jesus Christ has given His body and blood for those who believe. Suggestions for prayer What is the role of Lord’s Supper in your life? Pray that you will look forward to partaking, and that Jesus will strengthen and assure your faith when you do partake. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 3 - A longed-for passover

“And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”” - Luke 22:15–16 Scripture reading: Luke 22:7-23 With everyone sitting down, Jesus explains His eager desire to celebrate Passover with them. As they eat bread dipped in bitter herbs to remind them of the years of bitter slavery, Jesus speaks of a kingdom. He says, “I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then Jesus takes the Passover cup, gives thanks to God for what they are given and tells the disciples to divide the wine among themselves. And He says, “I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” How odd. A cup of celebration and yet Jesus speaks of fasting. Something is coming. Jesus is no longer looking back on the Passover, but He is looking forward to a kingdom! The kingdom He looks forward to will be shown in part when Jesus rises from the dead, declaring victory over sin, death and Satan. They are conquered on the cross. But it is also a kingdom coming, to be here in full when Christ comes again in glory. Then the struggle comes to the final end. Then we will celebrate, Christ will take the bread and wine and feast with the church at the marriage supper of the Lamb. All believers will then drink of the fruit of the vine and eat of the bread in celebration. Where is your hope? Where do you find peace? Do you long for the return of Jesus and the celebration that it will bring? Suggestions for prayer Pray that as you look to what Christ has done, you will also look forward to what Christ will bring. So often we try to build our own kingdoms, so let us live for and pray for the Kingdom that is to come. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 2 - Betrayal

“Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them.” - Luke 22:3–4 Scripture reading: John 6:60-71 As it was chosen beforehand by God that Christ would come to suffer and die to be the Passover Lamb Who purchases salvation for His people, so it was already ordained that one disciple, Judas, would betray Jesus. We wonder why Jesus would choose Judas to be one of the twelve. Why not choose someone more loyal? But Jesus did not come to find an easy life and the people Jesus came to are not so different than Judas. We see ourselves in Judas: we love ourselves, we love money and our allegiance is easily swayed. Maybe we wonder why Jesus never held Judas at an arms’ length. Judas was treated just like the rest of the disciples, sent to preach and do miracles and entrusted with the money bag. But this Judas would betray the Lord. This betrayal is sad and discouraging, but we do not need to wonder Who is in control. Judas is responsible for his actions, and yet God knew this would happen and will use it to bring the promised Lamb to the altar and to bring salvation to sinners. This is humbling for us, but also encouraging. It is humbling to see that even someone who was so close to Jesus would rather betray Him than believe in Him. We need to pray that God will give us eyes of faith. But this is also encouraging because no foe or betrayal puts a roadblock in front of the work of God. God will bring salvation, and though people turn away, Jesus’ mission will be accomplished and He will be exalted. Suggestions for prayer We will always be surrounded by sin while on this earth. Pray that God will not let us be led away from Him, but that we would grow in faith, believing that nothing can hinder the Lord from working salvation and that sinners like us are saved by God’s grace. Rev. Simon Lievaart currently serves Bethel United Reformed Church of Smithers BC. Prior to this, he served the United Reformed Church in Doon, IA. Rev. Lievaart grew up in southern Alberta and attended Redeemer University College and Mid-America Reformed Seminary. He married Jodi in 2006 and they have four children. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com. ...

Daily devotional

April 1 - Introduction to God’s great love

Our calendars tell us that Easter is this month. There is much debate on the accuracy of the date and if Christians should participate in Lent and how...

Daily devotional

March 31 - The Lord Jesus Christ and God’s goal of creation

Daily devotional

March 30 - God guarantees to bless the nations through Abraham and his descendants

Daily devotional

March 29 - Wholeheartedly living in the Spirit through faith and the goal of God’s creation

Daily devotional

March 28 - Baptism as a sign of the goal of God’s creation

“In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism.” - Colossians 2:11-12a Scripture reading: Exodus 28:6-21 In the Old Testament, the high priest was the substitute and representative of Israel, symbolized by the stones on his shoulder and the stones in the breast piece of judgment. Wherever he went, Israel went with him and whatever he did, Israel did with him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the Old Testament high priest. In whatever He did, He functioned as the substitute and representative of New Testament Israel, the church, His body. Thus, when He died, the members of His body died with Him. Baptism is a sign and seal of our having died and been buried with Christ. Because circumcision in the Old Testament, made with hands, was an identity marker that members of the church had been cut off from the life of the flesh in the world and the flesh in their hearts —the old order of life—and had been placed in the church—the new order of life—, Paul calls our having been buried with Christ in baptism the circumcision of Christ, one made without hands. It is a sign and seal that in Christ we have died to the life of the flesh in the world and the flesh that lives in our hearts. Thus, as circumcision was a reminder of what being a member of God’s covenant community entailed, so baptism reminds us of the same. If we are to be a blessing for the world, we need to daily die to the ways of the flesh of the world and the flesh of our hearts. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to show you where you need to die to the flesh so that you can be a blessing to those around you. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 27 - Circumcision as a sign of the goal of God’s creation

“You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” - Genesis 17:11 Scripture reading: Genesis 17:9-14 I have a NEXUS card, which serves as one of my identity markers. It identifies me as a low-risk traveller who can cross the Canadian-American border quickly. It also gives me privileges at certain airports. Circumcision, as a sign of God’s covenant community, is also an identity marker. It identifies males as members of this community and reminds them (and the females) of what being a member of this covenant community entails. As the flesh of the male’s foreskin was cut off, so members of God’s covenant community are cut off from the ways of the flesh of the world. Being circumcised symbolizes that they have been separated from the ways of the world and consecrated to the ways of God. They are to walk before God, in His loving, holy presence in the Holy Spirit, and be blameless, wholeheartedly devoted to God. In addition, circumcision symbolizes that members of God’s covenant community are cut off from the ways of the flesh in their hearts. Outward circumcision is not enough, their hearts need to be circumcised as well (cf. Rom. 2:25-29). Only in this way can God use His covenant community, His church, to be a blessing for the world and to live for the other by being people and places where heaven and earth meet. The hearts of the members of the church need to be circumcised and the ways of the flesh need to be cut out of their hearts. Otherwise, they will be cut off from God’s covenant community. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to daily remind you what it entails to be a member of His covenant community with regard to the ways of the flesh that still live in our hearts. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 26 - God’s second covenant with Abraham and the goal of creation (II)

“And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” - Genesis 17:7 Scripture reading: Genesis 17:1-8 When God made His two covenants with Noah, He continually spoke about making ‘My covenant’. In doing so, God was drawing attention to the fact that He would take care that His commitment to Noah, his family, and creation and His commitment to His mission for His glory would be fulfilled. Nothing would shake this commitment. With this second covenant with Abram, God does the same. He continually speaks about ‘My covenant’, essentially drawing attention to the fact that because He is God Almighty, He will take care of fulfilling the promises He made to Abram so that he and his descendants can be a blessing for the world. Because God’s covenant with Abram is ‘His covenant’ with him, God repeats His promises to Abram in a more lavish and generous manner than before. Abram would become exceedingly fruitful and be the father of a multitude of nations. Consequently, God changes Abram’s name to bring it in line with this fruitful destiny. No longer would he be called Abram, but Abraham, meaning ‘father of a multitude’. Moreover, kings would come forth from this multitude of nations of which Abraham would be the father. Furthermore, God’s covenant with Abraham would be an everlasting covenant. The heart of this everlasting covenant is that God would be God to them. In other words, there will always be descendants of Abraham who will live in God’s loving presence in the Spirit and be a blessing for the world by being people and places where heaven and earth meet. Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father that He will fulfill His purpose for you and His church in a new heaven and a new earth. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 25 - God’s second covenant with Abraham and the goal of creation (I)

“I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” - Genesis 17:1b-2 Scripture reading: Genesis 17:1-8 After making a covenant with Abram in Genesis 15, God makes a new covenant with him in Genesis 17. Yesterday, we read why this was necessary. By being people and places where heaven and earth would meet, Abram and Sarai had to realize the fulfillment of God’s promise of a great nation through which God wanted to deal with the chaos and disorder caused by Adam. They tried to do this through the flesh of the world and the flesh in their own hearts, leading to uncertainty whether God can still use Abram and Sarai for this purpose. Thus, it should not surprise us that when God addresses Abram, He does so as ‘God Almighty’. He says to Abram that He can deal with the problem of their childlessness, making the barren fertile so that he can be a blessing for the world. Moreover, it should not surprise us that God commands Abram to walk before Him. You need to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. You need to live in My holy presence and reflect My holy glory. You need to be blameless. You need to be wholehearted in your service of Me. You need to surrender everything to Me and be completely devoted to Me. Only in this way can I use you in My mission for My glory and make all things new in a world where My people and My world will once again dwell in My loving presence and be people and places where heaven and earth meet. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to show you what changes you may need to make in your life so that you are living in His holy presence and reflecting His holy glory. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 24 - The flesh of the world and the flesh of our own hearts

Daily devotional

March 23 - The blood of the covenant

“For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” - Matthew 26:28 Scripture reading: Matth...

Daily devotional

March 22 - The land of Canaan and the new heaven and the new earth

Daily devotional

March 21 - God’s first covenant with Abraham and the goal of creation

Daily devotional

March 20 - Faith and its reward

“And he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.”” - Genesis 15:7 Scripture reading: Genesis 15:7-21 Yesterday, we saw that Abram believed God and God counted this posture of faith to him as righteousness. If we want to do justice to our relationship with God, we need to consider His promises to be trustworthy and entrust ourselves to this promising God. That is the way to live in a right relationship with God. Today, we see that God rewards this posture of faith with the gift of land. In Genesis 15:1, God had said to Abram that his reward would be very great. Today, we read that this reward is the gift of the land of Canaan. The land was a sort of second Garden of Eden where the nations would be drawn into the glorious presence of God and begin to reflect this life-giving, light-giving, and loving presence to one another as well by being people and places where heaven and earth meet. God had promised the land when Abram first arrived in Canaan. He had repeated the promise when Abram and Lot had separated. Now God makes the promise again as a reward for his posture of faith. New this time is that the geographical markers of the land are included as well as the fact that Abram’s descendants would first be sojourners in the land of Egypt before they would possess the land because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. This latter fact shows us God’s patience towards sinners. Not all sin warrants immediate destruction; only the full measure of sin. Suggestions for prayer Since faith in God’s promises and entrusting ourselves to this promising God is the means God uses to receive us into His eternal kingdom, ask your heavenly Father daily to strengthen your faith. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 19 - Doubting the fulfillment of God’s mission for his glory

“And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.”” - Genesis 15:6 Scripture reading: Genesis 15:1-6 Do you ever doubt that God will succeed in His mission for His glory, making all things new in a world where His people and His world will again dwell in His loving presence and be people and places where heaven and earth meet? Living in God’s life-giving, light-giving, and loving presence and reflecting this glorious presence to all those around you, it's all yours as a reward, when you consider the promises of God to be trustworthy and entrust yourself to the God of this promise. Abram also has his doubts about a promise of God: that he would become a great nation. How can he become a great nation if he does not even have one child and his wife is barren? Abram is asked to believe this promise, but this promise, humanly speaking, cannot be fulfilled. So God comes to Abram’s help, appearing to him in a vision, telling him not to be afraid, for He is his shield. Moreover, his reward shall be very great. His promise that he will become a great nation is trustworthy. God then takes Abram outside, tells him to look at the sky and try to count the stars. God assures Abram that his descendants would be as countless as the stars of heaven. Abram believed God and God counted this to him as righteousness, i.e. believing God’s promises and entrusting yourself to the God of these promises is an attitude that does justice to your relationship with God. Suggestions for prayer If you have any doubts about the fulfillment of God’s mission for His glory, ask your heavenly Father to remove them. If you have no doubts, ask Him to continue to spare you these doubts. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 18 - Succeeding in being a blessing for the world

“So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.” - Galatians 3:9 Scripture reading: Galatians 3:1-14 Israel failed to be a blessing for the world and to live for the other by being a people and a place where heaven and earth meet, but God sent His own Son into the world to do what Israel failed to do. The Lord Jesus Christ perfectly reflected the glorious presence of His heavenly Father by being a person where heaven and earth beautifully met. He perfectly lived for the other with the sacrifices of His life and His death. In Him, all the families of the earth are blessed when they identify with Him and are joined to Him through faith. When they do, they receive the promised Holy Spirit, Who enables them to live for the other by becoming people where heaven and earth meet, because the Holy Spirit reproduces the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in them like a vine reproduces its life in the branches so that God’s mission for His glory is worked out in and through them. What the Lord Jesus Christ did with the sacrifices of His life and His death, He did for you as your substitute and representative. What He has done for you, He now wants to do in you as you entrust yourself to Him, opening yourself to Him entering into your soul with His Holy Spirit so that He becomes flesh and blood in your life. And you can say with the apostle Paul that it is no longer you who live, but Christ Jesus who lives in you (Galatians 2:20). Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to enable you to live in the Spirit, through faith, so that it is no longer you who live, but Christ Jesus who lives in you. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 17 - Failure to be a blessing for the world

“They went after false idols and became false, and they followed the nations that were around them, concerning whom the Lord had commanded them that they should not do like them.” - 2 Kings 17:15b Scripture reading: 2 Kings 17:6-23 God encouraged Abram to make a complete break with his past, go to the land of Canaan and be a blessing by living for the other, the nations, by promising him that He would make him into a great nation and that the nations around him would identify with him and his God. In fact, in him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. Were these two promises fulfilled in the Old Testament? Well, the promise of becoming a great nation was fulfilled, even though Sarai was barren and Abraham himself was already 75 years old, and it took another 25 years before Isaac was born. However, Jacob had twelve sons and traveled to Egypt with a family of 70. In due time Israel entered Canaan with a few million people under the leadership of Joshua and reached its high point as a great nation during the time of David and Solomon. But what about the promise of an international community? Did the nations bless Israel? Were they on good terms with Israel and did they identify with this nation and their God? Was this promise fulfilled in the Old Testament? No, it was not, because Israel wanted to be just like the nations. They were idolatrous, worshipping and serving the things of this world instead of worshipping and serving God and their neighbour and living for the other by being people and places where heaven and earth meet, reflecting the glorious presence of their God and drawing others into this glorious presence. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to show you whether there is any idolatry in your life that hinders you in living for the other. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 16 - Blessed to be a blessing

“And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bles...

Daily devotional

March 15 - Called to be a blessing for the world

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you."” - Genesis 12:...

Daily devotional

March 14 - The rainbow as a sign of the goal of God’s creation

Daily devotional

March 13 - God’s covenant with Noah and creation

Daily devotional

March 12 - The recreation of creation

“And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” - Genesis 8:1b Scripture reading: Genesis 8:1-9:1-7 After 150 days, God made a wind blow over the earth so that the waters began to recede. The Hebrew word for ‘wind’ is the same word that is used for ‘Spirit’. This reminds us of the Spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters in Genesis one. This is an indication that as God began with His work of creation in Genesis one, so now He will begin with His work of recreation in Genesis eight. This is confirmed when we compare God’s work of recreation with His work of creation described in Genesis one. After God made a wind blow over the earth so that the waters began to recede, He had the living creatures in the ark leave it and begin to repopulate the earth, reminding us of the way God populated the sky and the earth with living creatures during days five and six of creation. In Genesis eight, we read about God re-establishing the days and seasons, reminding us of day four of creation when He put the light-bearers in the sky to mark the seasons, days and years. In Genesis nine we read about Noah and his sons being blessed and commanded to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and have dominion over it. In Genesis one we read about this same command being given to Adam and Eve. In Genesis nine we read about God providing food for Noah and his family. In Genesis one He did the same for Adam and Eve. Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father for the work of His Spirit in the renewal of creation (Ps. 104:30). Thank Him especially for the spiritual renewal that His Spirit works in you. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 11 - The uncreation of creation

“...on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.” - Genesis 7:11 Scripture reading: Genesis 7:1-24 This past Sunday, we read about human wickedness being so great during the time of Noah that people thought and imagined evil continually. All this wickedness and evil was essentially a disintegration and uncreation of the form and order of God’s good creation. In Genesis one, God saw that everything was very good. Now, in Genesis six, He sees that everything is very wicked. Thus, this uncreation is a return to the disorder and formlessness of before the six days of creation. This is what sin always is. Because sin is an intentional refusal to live in the form and order that God has given to life, it inevitably results in the uncreation of this form and order. Just think how this is manifested in the sexual and gender ideologies of today as well as in your own life. Since all this wickedness is a return to the disorder and formlessness of before the six days of creation, when God comes in judgment He simply completes the uncreation of creation that the wickedness had resulted in. He tears the protective canopy, opening windows in it, and has rain come down for forty days and forty nights. He tears the dry land and has the fountains of the deep burst forth for forty days and forty nights. As a result, creation returns to the formless, watery mass from before the six days of creation. At least, this is all that is seen for 150 days. God completes the uncreation that all the sin and had caused. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to open your eyes to the uncreation of creation that sin causes in your own life and pray for healing. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 10 - God’s covenant with Noah (II)

“But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.” - Genesis 6:18 Scripture reading: Genesis 6:9-21 Covenants between God and His people regulate the relationship He has with them and often deal with a problem that causes uncertainty in the relationship. There are two problems that occasion God’s covenant with Noah. First, there is the problem whether Noah and his family and the animals in the ark will really survive the waters of the flood. In order to deal with this problem and the uncertainty that it causes, God makes a covenant with Noah. Just like a groom pledges his commitment to his bride in a marriage covenant, so God pledges His commitment to Noah in the covenant He makes with him. Noah, his family and the handpicked animals will survive the waters of the flood. Second, there is the problem of God’s goal for His creation. God is on a mission for His glory to make all things new in a world where His people and His world will once again dwell in His loving presence and be people and places where heaven and earth meet. Now that God has decided to destroy humanity and His creation with the waters of the flood, except for Noah, his family and the animals in the ark, will He still be able to achieve the goal of His creation? The answer is Yes! Because God’s covenant with Noah is His covenant with him, God will take care that His commitment to the goal of His creation will be fulfilled. This commitment will be confirmed and established! Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father that His commitment to a new heaven and new earth, where we will live in the fullness of His loving presence, is firm and sure. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 9 - God’s covenant with Noah (I)

“But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.” - Genesis 6:18 Scripture reading: Genesis 6:9-21 I’m sure those who are married have not forgotten their marriage vows. Perhaps, as a groom you made a vow like this: “I solemnly declare to take to myself and acknowledge as my wife _______. And I promise that I will, with the gracious help of God, love, honour and maintain her, live with her in the holy bonds of marriage according to God’s ordinance, and never forsake her, so long as we both shall live.” As the bride, you made a similar vow. Why are vows necessary? Why not solemnize a marriage without vows? Well, vows are necessary because of the fall into sin. Before the fall into sin, there was no need for formally bonded relationships, because there was no uncertainty in the relationship. After the fall into sin, all sorts of uncertainty crept into relationships. And so, because of the fall into sin, we make covenants with each other. We seal these covenants with an oath in the presence of God and each other. God Himself also makes covenants with humanity and His people. Why would it be necessary for God to make covenants with human beings? Well, this is necessary because of the fall into sin. Because of the fall into sin, there often is uncertainty in the relationship between God and us. And so, God finds it necessary to formally guarantee His commitment to us as well as His commitment to His purposes for us and His world. This is also the reason why He makes a covenant with Noah. Suggestions for prayer When you feel uncertainty in your relationship with your heavenly Father, ask Him to take this away by having you focus on His commitment to you, signed and sealed with your baptism, a promise that He will provide you with everything good and protect you from evil or turn it to your benefit. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 8 - God’s decision to destroy humanity and creation

Daily devotional

March 7 - Finding rest in the Lord Jesus Christ

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28 Scripture reading: Hebrews 3:7-19; 4:11 Wedne...

Daily devotional

March 6 - The Sunday as a sign of the goal of God’s creation

Daily devotional

March 5 - The Sabbath Day as a sign of the goal of God’s creation

Daily devotional

March 4 - Entering God’s rest

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” - Genesis 1:26-28 Scripture reading: Genesis 1:26-28 So far we have seen that God created for His glory. This not only means that human beings and creation were to praise God, but also that they would reflect the life-giving, light-giving and loving presence of God. We further saw that there is a relationship between God creating for His glory and God resting on the seventh day. Because the seventh day was meant to last forever, this day is the goal of God’s creation. In other words, having humanity and creation praise God and reflect His glorious presence involves increasingly entering into the fullness of God’s rest, enjoying God’s beautiful and harmonious creation, and celebrating the rest and peace that God’s creation radiates. Genesis one shows us what this would look like for Adam and Eve. God made them in His image, i.e. as His representatives who would reflect and embody His presence as they cultivated and maintained the Garden of Eden. Moreover, God blessed them, commanding them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it. This meant that Adam and Eve were to extend the borders of the Garden of Eden over the whole earth by having children and grandchildren and a whole extended family that would spread the glorious presence of God. In doing so, humanity and creation would increasingly enter into the fullness of God’s Sabbath rest, reaching God’s goal of creation through their faithful living in God’s loving presence and reflecting this loving presence through their obedience of faith. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to enable you to spread the life of heaven by being a person where heaven and earth meet. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 3 - God’s glory and God’s rest

“And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.” - Genesis 2:2 Scripture reading: Hebrews 4:1-11 In Genesis one, we read about God bringing form in formlessness by subduing chaos and disorder. The first three days He forms light, sky, land and vegetation. Then for three days, He fills the forms: light-bearers for the day and night, birds and fish in the sky and water, and animals and people on the land. In the beginning of Genesis two, we read about God resting on the seventh day. First, God rests from His work of creating, but it also means that He celebrates the rest and peace His creation radiates. Truly, everything that He had made is very good! Everyone and everything reflected the loving presence of God and His glory. This harmonious creation was meant to last forever. We see that in a little detail that is missing in our Scripture reading. After each of the six days of creating, we read that there was an evening and a morning. However, with the seventh day, we do not read this. This does not mean that the seventh day did not have an evening and a morning. However, by not mentioning this, Moses draws attention to the fact that the harmony and rest of God’s good creation was meant to last forever. Not in the beginning stage as we saw yesterday, but in the full-grown, mature state of the new heaven and the new earth. This is the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God on which the author of Hebrews speaks (Hebrews 4:9). Suggestions for prayer Thank your heavenly Father for your hope of glory: entering into the fullness of the joyful rest and peace of God’s loving presence. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 2 - God created for his glory

“And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” - Revelation 21:23 Scripture reading: Revelation 21:9-22 Why did God create the world? God created for His glory so that human beings and creation would praise Him. However, the glory of God also means His life-giving, light-giving, and loving presence. Thus, God not only created the world so that human beings and creation would praise Him, but also so that human beings and creation would live in His loving presence and reflect this by participating in His life, light and love. However, when we look at the end of Scripture, we see that the end is better than the beginning. The beginning of creation is only the beginning of the life of glory while the new heaven and new earth are the perfection or consummation of the life of glory. In other words, there is room for growth to the perfection and fullness of living in God’s life-giving, light-giving and loving presence. You see this, for instance, in the fact that in the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, there were sun, moon and stars. But in the end, with the new heaven and the new earth, there will be no sun, moon, or stars, for creation and humanity will bask directly in the light of the glory of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is even more. While Adam and Eve could sin and die in the beginning, in the end, God’s new humanity will not be able to sin and die. We will be incorruptible and immortal just like God. Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to enable you to live not only so that people will praise Him, but also so that you reflect His life-giving, light-giving and loving presence. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

March 1 - Introduction to God’s mission for his glory

This month’s meditations will be about God’s mission for His glory. God created the world for His glory, that humanity and creation would reflect His life-giving, light-giving, and loving presence by being people and places where heaven and earth meet. As such, God would be praised by both humanity and creation. Because this changed with the fall into sin, God embarks on a mission to make all things new in a world where His people and His creation would once again abide in His loving presence and be people and places where heaven and earth meet (Genesis 3:15). However, from the end of Scripture, we know that the end is better than the beginning. The beginning of creation is only the beginning of the life of glory, while the new heaven and new earth are the perfection or consummation of the life of glory. In other words, right from the beginning of God’s good creation there was room for growth to reach the perfection and fullness of living in God’s life-giving, light-giving, and loving presence. The biblical covenants made or cut in Scripture are designed with a view to advancing and guaranteeing God’s commitment to His goal for creation and to having His people participate with Him in the achievement of this goal. Covenants regulate an existing relationship. Covenants often deal with a problem that causes uncertainty in this relationship. A new covenant often updates an earlier one to the new situation that the new covenant is facing. Because of space restrictions, these mediations only focus on the biblical covenants mentioned in the book of Genesis. That’s why I have entitled these meditations: God’s Mission for His Glory and His Covenants with Noah, Creation, and Abraham. I look forward to continuing this series some time in the future and deal with God’s mission for His glory and His covenants with Israel, His covenant with David and the promise of a new covenant. But that will have to wait for some other time. I enjoyed writing these meditations. I was edified in doing so. I hope and pray that you will be too. God’s mission for his glory “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God".” - Revelation 21:3 Scripture reading: Revelation 21:1-8 In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in the loving presence of God. As such, they participated in His life, light and love and reflected this to one another and throughout the Garden. This made Adam and Eve people where heaven and earth meet. And it made the Garden of Eden a place where heaven and earth meet. As such, Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden reflected the glory of God, His life-giving, light-giving and loving presence. With the fall into sin, all of this changed. Because Adam and Eve lived outside the Garden of Eden, they no longer lived in God’s loving presence nor participated in His life, light, and love as they once used to. Moreover, they no longer lived in a place, nor were they people where heaven and earth met, who could give each other and those around them an encounter with God’s presence, His glory. However, God had no intention of leaving things this way. He immediately declared His intent to embark on a mission for His glory. All things would be made new, where His people and His world would once again dwell in His loving presence and be people and places where heaven and earth meet (Genesis 3:15). Throughout Scripture we encounter God on this mission for His glory. At the end of Scripture, we see that God achieves the goal of this mission for His glory. What a beautiful and encouraging mission this is! Suggestions for prayer Ask your heavenly Father to show you how He is on a mission for His glory in your life. Rev. Dick Moes is a graduate from the Theological University in Kampen, the Netherlands and the Associated Canadian Theological Schools (ACTS) in Langley, BC, Canada. He and his wife Elsina have five children and 14 grandchildren. He is pastor emeritus of the Surrey Covenant Reformed Church in Surrey, BC. and lives in Langley, BC. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 28 - Wholehearted commitment

“So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelft...

Daily devotional

February 27 - Resurrection power

“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Co...

Daily devotional

February 26 - Lukewarm?

“So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:16 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 13:14-2...

Daily devotional

February 25 - Warning of God fulfilled

“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” - John 3:36...

Daily devotional

February 24 - History as his story

“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.” - Psalm 33:10-11 Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 8:16-29 For the secular person, studying history can be so disappointing and discouraging. History is filled with heart-wrenching events. We see the inhumanity of man over and over in the rise and fall of nations, in the waves of crime that sweep through every culture, and in the greed and self-centeredness that marks humanity. To look at history without recognizing that it is the account of God redeeming His people from the curse of sin is a thoroughly frustrating experience. The secular historian can only conclude that history is a tragic circle that keeps repeating itself over and over. But in this passage, and the passages that follow, God is at work. God allowed the cruelty of Hazael to bring judgment on rebellious Israel. In turn, God will bring about the demise of Hazael and the Syrians. His counsel stands forever; all nations, all political leaders and all the events of the world are in His hands. When we understand that, then even the great tragedies of history which break our heart are yet understandable. We realize that it is not because God is uncaring or inept that tragedy comes into the human experience, but rather the evil one is in constant conflict against God and His people. But God brings good out of tragedy for His people, and in the rise and fall of nations, He yet works for the good of His eternal kingdom, as all events will culminate in the glorious return of Jesus Christ. Suggestions for Prayer Thank God, with sincerity, that He works all things for our good, even deeply disturbing tragedies that we don’t understand. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 23 - The deadly power of sin’s enticement

“Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” - Romans 6:16 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 8:7-15 This tragic passage teaches us that sin, which initially shocks, becomes less shocking if it is mulled over in our mind and heart. Initially, Hazael questioned how he could be as cruel as Elisha described him. But after mulling it over in his mind, for just a day, he decided murdering Ben Hadad was well worth receiving the kingship. But it isn’t just a heinous murder such as Hazael committed which becomes less shocking if we mull it over in our mind. Every type of sin imaginable becomes less shocking the longer we think about it. It was Thomas a’ Kempis who pointed out, “First there comes to mind the bare thought of evil, then a strong imagination thereof, afterward, delight and evil motion, and then consent.” That is why it is so crucial to flee from sin and to focus in faith on Christ. If we don’t flee from sin, we will be captivated by it. James brings that out clearly: When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death (James 1:13-15). Scripture warns us that we are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ (Romans 6:16). By God’s grace may you and I have Christ as our Master, our Savior and Lord, as we flee from sin! Suggestions for prayer Pray for the fruit of the Spirit, including self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), asking God to help you focus on Him and not the temptations that are put before each one of us. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 22 - God’s perfect timing

“… Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.” - 2 Kings 8:5 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 8:1-6 God’s timing is truly remarkable! In the case of the Shunammite woman, God provided for her through the perfect timing of His providence. When she went to the king to ask for her property back, Gehazi “just happened” to be telling the king how Elisha had restored the woman’s son to life. That is remarkable timing! But it should not be surprising to anyone who knows the God revealed in Scripture. When did the band of Ishmaelites travel by a remote pit on their way to Egypt? It was just after Joseph’s brothers had put him in that pit to die. And when did Haman fall on the couch begging Queen Esther to spare his life? It was when King Ahasuerus walked back into the room and, filled with anger, decreed Haman’s death. And when did the Lord Jesus Christ offer Himself as the Passover Lamb, whose blood alone is sufficient to cover your sins and mine? It was at the time of the Passover when the full significance of His sacrifice would be realized by many gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover feast. The Lord created time; it is His servant to accomplish His purposes. Because of that, whatever events come into your life and mine, even the sad, sorrowful ones, are in God’s hands which should give us great encouragement, as we pray the prayer of the Psalmist, “My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!” (Psalm 31:15). Suggestions for prayer Thank God that our times are in His hands and that He controls the time and season for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Especially thank Him that when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 21 - So close, yet so far

“There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.” - Luke 13:28 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 7:3-20; Luke 13:22-30 The remarkable passage in 2 Kings reminds us that for the sake of Christ, God provided food for His people (v.16), just as He does today, in lean times and times of plenty (Matthew 6:25-34). But it also teaches us that we are not to savour the feast without telling others the good news of the gospel. The lepers feasted on the food left behind by the Syrian army. But they realized what they were doing was not right. In verse 9 they said, “What we are doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves.” But do you realize that a lot of Christians today do the same thing as those lepers did? Is it possible that in your life, you have done that? I know that in my life, unfortunately, many times I have feasted on the gospel without telling others the good news. The passage is also a graphic warning, reminding us that the punishment of unbelief includes the torment of seeing the blessing, but not partaking of it. Elisha had told the captain, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” The captain was so close to abundant blessings, and yet so far. But he is not alone. All those who reject the Word of God and harden themselves in unbelief will come under the Lord’s judgment. And part of that judgment will include seeing the blessing and glory of salvation for others, but not tasting it themselves (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 13:28). Suggestions for prayer If you have entered the narrow door of salvation (Luke 13:24), thank God for His grace. If you are unsure, pray that God will enable you to strive to enter the door of salvation by faith in Christ alone. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 20 - The floodgates of heaven

“But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”” - Luke 18:27 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 6:32-7:2 We should not be sur...

Daily devotional

February 19 - Worldly sorrow and true repentance

“I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.” - Psalm 38:18 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 6:24-33 King Jehoram surprised the people by wearin...

Daily devotional

February 18 - God’s angelic army

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right ...

Daily devotional

February 17 - He cares for you!

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34 ...

Daily devotional

February 16 - God is not mocked

“He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made.” - Psalm 7:15 Scripture reading: Judges 1:1-7 Reflecting on Naaman’s leprosy (2 Kings 5:27) we see that God often uses the sin that people commit to return against them as judgment. Consider that Haman was hanged on the gallows he had made for Mordecai (Esther 7:8-10). Or consider the lesser known, but equally equitable example, of Adoni-bezek, one of the Canaanite kings. Whenever he would capture another king he would cut off their thumbs and their big toes. By removing their big toes he hampered their mobility. And by severing their thumbs he made it virtually impossible for them to grip a sword in retaliation. It was also an act of great humiliation for the seventy kings Adoni-bezek had captured. But then his day came; he was captured. His big toes and his thumbs were cut off, and he acknowledged the justice of the punishment. He said, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and their big toes cut off used to pick up scraps under my table. As I have done, so God has repaid me” (v.7). His life is one of many biblical examples teaching us the truth of Galatians 6:7-8: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. May we, by God’s grace and enabling Spirit, always strive to live according to His Word, reaping eternal life through faith in Christ alone. Suggestions for prayer Thank God that He is a righteous judge who will repay the unrepentant wicked, and thank Him that He credits the righteousness of Christ to all who believe in Him. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 15 - God knows your heart

“So he went out from his presence a leper, like snow.” - 2 Kings 5:27b Scripture reading: 1 John 1:5-10 As we see Gehazi’s leaving Elisha’s presence, leprous, as white as snow, the question could be asked, “Did he ever repent?” Every sin conceived in the heart, pondered in the mind, put into action by the will – every sin, even premeditated, willful sins can be forgiven by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Whoever believes in Jesus Christ with saving faith, no matter what is in their past, becomes white as snow, not with leprosy but with the purity of the imputed righteousness of Christ. Old Testament believers were saved by grace through faith in the coming Messiah, just as you and I are saved by grace through faith in the Messiah – the eternal Christ, who came in human flesh to save His people from their sins. I ask the question whether Gehazi may have been saved because we will read about him again in 2 Kings 8 (though some question whether that passage is in chronological order). We will find him speaking to the king of Israel about all the great deeds that God had done through His servant Elisha. Had Gehazi learned from God’s judgment upon him? Had his heart been cut to the core? Had he repented with true godly sorrow? (2 Corinthians 7:10). Had he put his faith in the Messiah yet to be revealed? We don’t know, and we don’t need to know. God knows and God will, on the last day, pronounce the right verdict, not only for Gehazi but also for you and for me. Suggestions for prayer Thank God for the truth of His Word that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). And then confess your sins to Him, with full assurance of pardon and salvation! Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 14 - God’s judgment

“For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” - Ecclesiastes 12:14 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 5:15-27 The tenth commandment, prohibiting covetousness, is often broken before any others. Gehazi’s coveting led to a series of lies, which included an elaborate story. In order to lie so convincingly, as Gehazi did to Naaman, leads us to believe that Gehazi had lied many times before. We are surprised and shocked when we hear of a professing Christian who is caught in a heinous public sin. But with further reflection, we often realize that whatever public sin was committed and discovered had probably been going on for some time in secret. But what is a secret to us is an open book before the Lord. Gehazi discovered the truth of Hebrews 4:13 long before it was written: And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Gehazi wanted what Naaman had, and he received it. He got some silver and nice clothes, but he also received Naaman’s leprosy, leprosy that would affect his children and grandchildren for generations to come (v.27). There is only one way to escape the just punishment of God on sin. It is to trust with saving faith in Jesus Christ, for “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Suggestions for prayer Thank God that for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 13 - A gift that cannot be bought

“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” - 1 Peter 1:18 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 5:8-14 Naaman discovered that salvation is a gift of God’s grace that cannot be bought. He could not buy his cure with gold or silver, not even with ten extremely valuable suits. Naaman, to his initial dismay, also found that he could not be cured of leprosy by influence, not even with a letter from the king. Yet there are many people today who try to buy their salvation with deeds of self-righteousness, not realizing that we have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment (Isaiah 64:6a). Many others try to be cured of their sin by influence. “I have been a lifelong member of the church,” they might say. Or, “Because of my baptism, I know that God will receive me.” But the sacraments, precious as they are to those of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, can never save us. The only way to be cleansed from sin, which is represented by Naaman’s leprosy, is to be cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus which is portrayed by the cleansing that Naaman received as he washed himself seven times in the Jordan River. When we come to Christ in saving faith we are cleansed from something far worse than leprosy; we are cleansed from sin and granted eternal life, which is why we are to live to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6)! Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord that the day prophesied by Zechariah was fulfilled at Calvary by Jesus Christ: On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 12 - A terminal condition

“…He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.” - 2 Kings 5:1 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 5:1-10 Naaman would be one of those people w...

Daily devotional

February 11 - A childlike faith

“Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” - Mark 10:15 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 5...

Daily devotional

February 10 - The bread of life in Gilgal

“Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread...

Daily devotional

February 9 - Life from above

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins …But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were d...

Daily devotional

February 8 - Straight to Christ

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 4:8-31; Hebrews 4:14-16 Among the many truths taught in this passage is that at any time and in all situations, we are to go straight to Christ, of whom Elisha was a shadow. It may seem strange that the Shunammite did not stop to tell Gehazi, or anyone else, about her son’s death. She continued straight to Elisha and would only speak to him. It may seem strange until we realize that Elisha was a foreshadow, or type, of our Lord Jesus Christ. She did not stop to talk to Gehazi. She wanted to go straight to the man of God. Yet there are many who go to the saints, praying to them or to Mary, expecting that they will intercede on their behalf. But there is only one intercessor. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). The Shunammite’s husband was surprised that she would go to Elisha when it wasn’t the new moon or Sabbath (v.23). In his mind, you would only approach the man of God at certain times. Many people act much the same way. Instead of a special observance for the new moon, they approach the Lord in outward worship at Easter and Christmas, but seldom at other times of the year. And there are many who attend church on Sunday and yet throughout the week seldom approach the Lord with prayers of adoration and praise, as well as petition and supplication. But may you and I always go straight to Christ, being fervent and faithful in prayer! Suggestions for prayer Thank God that we can approach Him anytime in prayer because of our faithful High Priest, Jesus Christ. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 7 - The debt paid

“...even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:28 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 4:1-7 God’s provision to pay the widow’s debt points us to His payment for our debt of sin. It wasn’t just a widow back in Elisha’s day who had a debt so large she could not pay it. The same is true for you and for me. None of us can pay the debt of our sin. The only one who could pay the debt of sin is Jesus Christ. Jesus frequently spoke of His death as a payment for a ransom. In Matthew 20:28 Jesus said, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Just as God provided for the widow through Elisha, God provides for the payment of our debt of sin through Christ. The promise is given, but it is only realized by faith. The free offer of the gospel is extended to all, but each one, by God’s grace and regenerating Spirit, must believe the promise. The same was true for the widow. The promise of the payment was offered. The means was stated. But she needed faith that the oil would be provided. By God’s grace, she believed and was spared. May the same be said of you and me! May we not only hear, but also respond in saving faith to the only One who can pay the debt of our sin. Suggestions for prayer Pray the sentiment of 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 back to the Lord with thanksgiving and earnest devotion: “I am not my own; I was bought at a price. Therefore, I will honor You with my life.” Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 6 - Three Kings and God’s prophet

“When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.” - Proverbs 19:3 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 3:1-27 This slice of history teaches us many truths, including the error of making plans without prayer. The first 12 verses describe how three kings were lost and in dire need because they did not inquire of the Lord. But who did Jehoram blame? Not himself, but God! (vs.10, 13). It reminds us that the wicked seldom see God’s hand unless disaster strikes. Even today, a natural disaster is called “an act of God,” but the radiance of a beautiful sunset is attributed to “Mother Nature.” We also see in this passage that God uses the same means, in this instance water, to be a blessing to some (v.17) and to bring judgment upon others (vs.22-24). This is especially true in the response of humanity to Christ. Every person in the world will either be eternally blessed by their relationship to Jesus Christ, or they will suffer eternal judgment because of their rejection of Him. As Simeon said to Joseph and Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed… so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34-35). Jesus Christ is either the blessed Saviour and Lord of your life, the One Whose praise you proclaim and Whose Word you eagerly strive to obey. Or, He is the stone of stumbling and the rock of offence. By God’s grace, may He be your blessed Saviour and Lord, the focus of your faith! Suggestions for prayer Thank God for the privilege of prayer as you seek His guidance for your life with gratitude for the gift of His Son. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 5 - God’s use of the insignificant

“…Not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.” - 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 3:1-12 This passage reminds us that the Lord often uses insignificant people and events to accomplish His purposes, for nothing is too hard for Him When the three kings realized how perilous their predicament was, Jehoshaphat asked where they could find a prophet of the Lord. Who pointed the way to Elisha? It was an unnamed officer of the king. It was just a common everyday person who answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah” (v.11). The pouring of water on the hands refers to a menial task that Elisha had in his service with Elijah. Elisha had left his family’s prosperous farm to become a humble servant of Elijah’s. During that time, about a decade, nothing is written about Elisha’s service. But we gather from verse 11 that he served willingly in whatever job was put before him, even the menial task of providing water for Elijah. He is an example of what Paul would write to the Colossians about: Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men (Colossians 3:23). You might feel insignificant, as though there is no purpose for you in God’s kingdom, but God has no insignificant people. Even those whose names we don’t know are known to God, for He knows each one of us by name, and has a purpose for our lives! Suggestions for prayer Thank the Lord that He has a purpose for you. Ask Him to reveal His purpose for you with clarity, and then strive to live according to God's purpose – His will – for your life. Rev. Ted Gray grew up in a Christian family but lived a meaningless life of futility apart from the Lord for many years. After professing faith at age 30, and later completing seminary, he has had the privilege of serving Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Oregon and Florida and a Christian Reformed Church in Vermont. For the past 15 years, he has served as pastor of First United Reformed Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

February 4 - Bethel or Beth-aven?

“So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.” - Genesis 35:15 Scripture reading: 2 Kings 2:23-25; Genesis 28:10...

Daily devotional

February 3 - Living water in Jericho

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” - Luke 19:10b Scripture reading: 2 Kings 2:19-22; Luke 19:1-10 Polluted water is l...

Daily devotional

February 2- Taken into glory

“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him g...

Daily devotional

February 1 - Introduction to Elisha

On the road to Emmaus, two disciples walked with the resurrected Lord Jesus. Luke describes how beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpre...

Daily devotional

January 31 - Delighting in confessing our only comfort

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” - Psalm 136:1 Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 For a month now we have been briefly considering the Christian's only comfort as we travel from this world to the next. And how wonderful that the testimony of the believer rests in Christ. The Father of mercies is the God of Comfort. Christ secures our comfort. The Holy Spirit has been given to guide us in the Truth of Comfort (John 14:26; John 16:13). The Holy Spirit points us to the supernatural revelation of all truth. That truth is secured in Christ and by Christ for the glory of the Father. And in this we are comforted. Oh, what a rich blessing to belong to Jesus! The spiritual vacuum in this world can only be filled by God’s forgiveness and transformational grace. That grace (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense) ultimately rests in belonging to Jesus Christ. Let us fight hard that the most holy faith does not become commonplace amongst us. Let us be on guard, praying that the LORD will keep us from drifting. "O the deep, unbounded riches of God deserve our praise! How unsearchable His judgments, how marvelous His ways! For who His thoughts has fathomed, or counsel to Him giv'n? And who could make a debtor of God, the Lord of heav'n? For from and through and to Him are all things, now and then, To Him be all the glory forevermore. AMEN" (TPH 226). "Faith receives Christ, and Christ alone, as the whole of our righteousness before God." – John Owen Suggestions for prayer Pray that the chorus of Hallelujah never be far from your lips and heart. And pray that we focus on our purpose: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever. (Westminster Shorter Catechism A 1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 30 - Sharing our only comfort

“All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.” - Psalm 22:27 Scripture reading: Psalm 67:1-7 Gospel comfort is not merely for the individual. It is a comfort to be expressed amongst those who do not know the comfort of belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not meant to be kept to ourselves. It is a comfort to be shared. John Piper put it this way: "Therefore, worship is the goal and the fuel of missions: Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Missions is our way of saying: the joy of knowing Christ is not a private, or tribal, or national or ethnic privilege. It is for all. And that’s why we go. Because we have tasted the joy of worshiping Jesus, and we want all the families of the earth included." This world is often a vale of tears. And outside of Christ there is no hope. Outside of Christ is eternal separation from the grace of God. Outside of Christ– eternal regret--the Bible speaks of weeping and gnashing of teeth. All authority has been given to Christ. And Christ calls His Church to go and tell: to make disciples of all nations, to baptize in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and then to teach all that Christ has commanded. And this call comes with the promise that He is always with us. The great commission may never become the great omission. “It is the whole business of the whole church to preach the whole gospel to the whole world.” – Charles H. Spurgeon Suggestions for prayer "I belong to Jesus, and ere long I'll stand with my precious Saviour there in the glory land (TPH 187:6). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 29 - Telling our children

“We will not hide them from our children, telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.” - Psalm 78:4 Scripture reading: Psalm 84:1-12 For almost a month now we have been reflecting together on the marvelous teaching of Lord's Day 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism. This teaching must remain precious in our hearts. And while Lord's Day 1 is intensely personal, it may never remain only personal. If children have been entrusted to our love and care then, certainly they must hear from our lips, the source of their only comfort found in belonging to Jesus. As I write today, my wife and I have just returned from attending the funeral of a young child whom the LORD brought to Himself at 3 and a half. This young child was learning to delight in the testimony of Psalm 84--the lovely dwelling place where we learn of our eternal comfort and the blessing of those who trust in the LORD. Parents have a blessing and duty to tell, to give evidence of a living and lively faith, and to encourage their children to follow the LORD. While parents cannot give their children faith, they can model this great gift of grace. The best treasure in life is to belong to Jesus, to know His covenant and the promises that cannot fail. Parents pray often for wisdom to be found faithful. “God's purpose is that the Holy Spirit should take possession of our sons and daughters for His service; that they should be filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated for service. They belong to Him and He to them." – Andrew Murray Suggestions for prayer “I belong to Jesus; He will keep my soul when the deathly waters dark round about me roll" (TPH 187:5). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 28 - How I am to thank God

“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” - Job 23:12 Scripture reading: Psalm 116:1-19 When we look through the prism of God's comforting, fortifying grace; when we meditate on what is necessary to make one belong body and soul to our Messiah, we cannot remain indifferent. When we humbly ponder what Jesus did to set His followers free; to secure salvation; to deliver us to the Father in heaven above, there must necessarily follow a life of thanksgiving and gratitude. Saved from the adversaries' hand and from the wrath of God against our sin, we need not fear the afterlife. Deliverance from and out of our sin and misery is a blessing that has no comparison. Our sin is a breach of relationship with the LORD. Only Jesus by His sacrifice can restore that relationship. And now, we give thanks as we are privileged to do so. How is it that you express your gratitude? If you were to make a list that characterized your thankfulness, what would you put on that list? Certainly, we ought to thank the Lord daily for His abiding favour. Believers have the Word of Truth setting forth the Line of Promise; the way of the covenant; the doctrines of grace; the story of salvation history; the way to live before the face of God. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!! Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it. – AW Tozer Suggestions for prayer "O thank the LORD, for He is good; His mercy e'er endures. So let the LORD's redeemed ones say, the ones He saved from fear. He saved them from their enemies and brought them from the lands, from east and west, from north and south, from adversaries' hands" (TPH 107A:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 27 - I must know how to be set free

“And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”” - Ex...

Daily devotional

January 26 - I must know my sin

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” - Romans 3:23 Scripture reading: Psalm 51:1-19 Transgression. Trespassing. Missing...

Daily devotional

January 25 - What I must know

“Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool—He is holy.” - Psalm 99:5 Scripture reading: Psalm 25: 1-22 Today, we in God's grace...

Daily devotional

January 24 - Living for Jesus (II)

“And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” - 2 Corinthians...

Daily devotional

January 23 - Living for Jesus (I)

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” - Mathew 16:24 Scripture reading: Matthew 25:31-46 How would you describe what it is to live for Jesus who paid the atonement price and gave His life so that we might receive ours? Jesus, who intercedes for us at the right hand of the Heavenly Father. Jesus, who is coming again. Certainly, in a brief devotion we cannot exhaust what it means to live for Jesus. Our Scripture selections are clear. They are challenging. To live for Jesus is to die (ongoing) to sin. Living for Jesus means we know where our real treasure is. It is a life of repentance and faith. We are soldiers of the cross, followers of the Lamb. It is confessing the Name of Christ, presenting ourselves as a living sacrifice of thanks, using our gifts readily and joyfully for the service and enrichment of other believers. It is living in His world as light bearers, speaking for Biblical justice and remembering that we are His ambassadors. No one can serve two masters. We are to prayerfully ask the Lord's help walking in "lowly paths of service free". It is to be intentional about "keeping faith sweet and strong, in trust that triumphs over wrong" (cf. PH 450 -1959). Let us be in prayer for strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, to be found faithful to the most holy faith. "Oh, fair sun, and fair moon, and fair stars, and fair flowers, and fair roses, and fair lilies, and fair creatures, but oh, ten thousand times fairer Lord Jesus! - John Flavel Suggestions for prayer "Take my love; my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store. Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee, ever, only, all for Thee" (TPH 538:6) Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 22 - And makes me whole-heartedly willing

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” - Colossians 3:23-24 Scripture reading: Joshua 24:14-28 Do you see yourself working for the LORD, knowing that sin is no longer counted against you because it was accounted against the Saviour? Not only are we saved from, but we are also saved for. We are saved from the wrath of God and saved from the consequences of our sin. We are saved for service in the kingdom of God and to do so with gladness. Saved for a response of gratitude; a life of seeking the LORD and His kingdom. As Joshua said--"As for me and my house we will serve the LORD." Consider Deuteronomy 10:12 "Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." I Samuel 12:24 "Only fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things He has done for you." Psalm 103:1 “Bless the LORD, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” Romans 12:11 "Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” May the LORD help us by His Holy Spirit to understand that our kingdom life does not generate our righteousness; rather our righteousness in Christ (all of grace) generates a life of thankful living. “God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply." Hudson Taylor Suggestions for prayer "When in His might the Lord arose to set us free, and Zion was restored from her captivity, in transports then of joy and mirth we praised the Lord of all the earth" (TPH 126B:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 21 - Christ by his Holy Spirit assures

“For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring” - Isaiah 44:3 Scripture reading: John 14:25-28; 15:26, 16:5-11 The faith to believe is a rich gift of God's abounding grace. To travel through life without certainty is no life. Many people invest in insurance. It is said that the purpose of insurance is to provide financial protection against potential losses by transferring the risk from an individual or business to an insurance company. But insurance and assurance are two different things. Insurance has no lasting value. Mature believers rejoice in the lasting value of the gift of assurance. Even when we experience doubts, Christians can always go back to the fact that the LORD will never leave or forsake us. But how can we be sure that Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come? (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Well let me ask you some questions. Do you have a whole-hearted trust in God’s promise not only to others but to you as well to forgive your sins? Do you believe in His gift of grace because of Christ’s merit to grant you eternal righteousness and salvation? In short, do you believe the gospel message rooted in Christ’s perfect once for all sacrifice? If yes, you do know something of the Holy Spirit’s convicting power to bring you under the banner of glorious assurance. If not, you must run to the LORD and seek His favour. Do so today. Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man could stake his life on it a thousand times. - Martin Luther Suggestions for prayer “Breathe on me breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do" (TPH 397:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 20 - Because I belong to him

“Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.” - 2 Corinthians 5:5 Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1-15 Once more, we have that beautiful word--belonging. Because I belong to Jesus. Believers can never tire of confessing their security in Christ. Jesus’ followers confess because I belong to Him, Christ by His Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life. What glorious, blessed assurance! The good news promises--guarantees--convicts me of what is yet to come. Disciples have an eye on the glory day, and we praise God for it. This world is filled with uncertainties. But in the most holy faith we may confess certainty. God will lead us from this world to the next, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts of the life to come. Christians can live knowing we are safe in Jesus' hands, and it is the Holy Spirit who assures us that Christ's hold is sure. Our calling is to trust the LORD at His word. How tragic it is to know that so many of our neighbours live without the assurance that can only be given through the Holy Spirit. There are millions who are lost. So many remain dead in their trespasses; blind to their need for salvation and the reality that is yet to come. And what a calling to be used by the LORD to persuade others. "The real truth is that while He came to preach the Gospel, His chief object in coming was that there might be a Gospel to preach.” R.W. Dale Suggestions for prayer “I belong to Jesus; He has died for me; I am His and He is mine through eternity” (TPH 187:4). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 19 - For my salvation

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose, I came to this hour.” - John 12:27 ...

Daily devotional

January 18 - All things

“Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases.” - Psalm 115:3 Scripture reading: Romans 8:18-32 All things, not some things for our ...

Daily devotional

January 17 - Not a hair

“There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand.” - Proverbs 19:21 Scripture reading: John 6:35...

Daily devotional

January 16 - Jesus watches over me

“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous r...

Daily devotional

January 15 - Set free from the tyranny of the devil (II)

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”” - John 8:31-32 Scripture reading: Matthew 13:24-30; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 esp. vs 9 The Bible gives many descriptions for the evil one. Paul Levy (as quoted in Table Talk January 2024) reminds us "When it comes to the devil and his motivation, how are we to understand his ultimate aim? What is he aiming at? The way that the Bible describes him is helpful to us in this—the word Satan means “adversary.” He is the evil one, the prince of the power of the air; the prince of darkness, the god of this world, Beelzebub, the tempter, the old serpent, the dragon, the father of lies. All these titles show him to be the enemy of God. He is the opposer of all that is good and the great promoter of evil. His aim is to be a rival; his motivation was to displace God. Satan’s pride drove him to fall." Now we ought to be careful of two dangers—one is to take him too seriously—the angel of deception is not omnipresent—he cannot be everywhere. But a second danger is to treat him too lightly—we are after all in a battle “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12-13). Lucifer has his henchmen. How wonderful to confess that Jesus sets free. That freedom can be expressed in many ways. He sets us free from the consequences of our sins and free to serve Him. And we must never forget He sets us free from the tyranny of the devil. Praise God!! Suggestions for prayer "Though Satan's wrath beset our path, and world scorn assail us, while you are near we will not fear, your strength shall never fail us; your rod and staff shall keep us safe, and guide our steps forever; not shades of death, nor hell beneath, our souls from you shall sever" (TPH 475:2). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 14 - Set free from the tyranny of the devil (I)

“Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” - Psalm 50:15 Scripture reading: Psalm 40:1-17 The devil is tyrannical. His methods are many and tyranny is one of them. The sneaky snake is oppressive--he prowls; he seduces. He is an agent of terror. “...our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.” The believer is to stand against the wiles of the devil. Our English word “wiles” is generally used to express deception through trickery and includes all the methods that would be part of that. It has to do with cunning or skill, applied to no good purpose. Jesus has come to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8). Do you believe that? Oh, you must! By the power of the Holy Spirit, believers accept the testimony of the Apostle Paul as he recounted his conversion before King Agrippa. He testified of Christ's message to him as he was being sent "to open their eyes (the Gentiles), in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me" (Acts 18). “We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting” – Mathew Henry commentary on Ephesians 6:11. Suggestions for prayer In prayer testify "O God, most holy are your ways, what god is great like You? You are the God by wonders known, whose power the nations view. Your people You redeemed, O LORD, with your almighty arm; the sons of Jacob, Joseph's seed, you saved them from all harm" (TPH 77:5). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 13 - Through the blood of the cross

“Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.” - Luke 22:20 Scripture reading: Colossians 2:1-15 Life is in blood. You will die if you bleed out. Jesus gave His precious blood to give us life. This must always be soul stirring for us--gripping us by our heart strings. From the Canons of Dort Chapter 2 Article 8 we read: For this was the most free counsel of God the Father, that the life-giving and saving efficacy of the most precious death of His Son should extend to all the elect.1 It was His most gracious will and intent to give to them alone justifying faith and thereby to bring them unfailingly to salvation.2 This means: God willed that Christ through the blood of the cross3 (by which He confirmed the new covenant)4 should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation,5 and tongue all those, and those only, who from eternity were chosen to salvation and were given to Him by the Father. God further willed that Christ should give to them faith,6 which, together with other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, He acquired for them by His death; that He should cleanse them by His blood from all sins,7 both original and actual, both those committed after faith and before faith; and that He should guard them faithfully to the end8 and at last present them to Himself in splendour without any spot or wrinkle.9 1 Jn 17:9; 2 Eph 5:25-27; 3 Lk 22:20; 4 Heb 8:6; 5 Rev 5:9; 6 Phil 1:29; 7 1 Jn 1:7; 8 Jn 10:28; 9 Eph 5:27. (efficacy-to bring about the desired results) Suggestions for prayer Acknowledge before the LORD "What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. O precious is the flow that makes me white as snow, no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus" (TPH 278:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 12 - Jesus has fully paid

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - Romans 6:23 Scripture reading: Isaiah 53:1-12 Jesus paid it all! He paid our debt. He paid to remove the curse. He paid to satisfy God's justice. He paid to wash the believer as white as snow. By God’s grace we testify that the death of Christ has infinite value. We read in the Reformed Confession Canons of Dort Chapter 2 Articles 3&4: This death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins,1 of infinite value and worth, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world.2 1 Heb 9:26, 28; 10:14. 2 1 Jn 2:2. This death is of such great value and worth because the person who submitted to it is not only a true and perfectly holy man,1 but also the only-begotten Son of God,2 of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for these qualifications were necessary for our Saviour. Further, this death is of such great value and worth because it was accompanied by a sense of the wrath and curse of God3 which we by our sins had deserved. 1 Heb 4:15; 7:26.2 1 Jn 4:9, 3 Mt 27:46. Do you believe this? Infinite Value—the fullness cannot be fully comprehended. Trust the final and once for all sacrifice of the Lord Jesus. "Faith is never something isolated or alone. You must never divorce faith from its object. Faith is always linked to the object. What is the object? The object is the Lord Jesus Christ and His perfect work and his perfect righteousness." – Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Suggestions for prayer Confess before the Lord: "And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete, Jesus died my soul to save my lips shall still repeat. Jesus paid it all, to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson stain, He washed me as white as snow" (TPH 276:4). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 11 - Belonging to my faithful Saviour

“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” - Matthew 20:28 Scripture reading: Hebrews 1:1...

Daily devotional

January 10 - Belonging body and soul in death

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is a...

Daily devotional

January 8 - Our souls also belong to Jesus

“Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peac...

Daily devotional

January 7 - Belonging body

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” -...

Daily devotional

January 6 - I am not my own but belong (II)

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Scripture reading: Ephesians 1:1-14 We live in a society that has become obsessed with identity. I identify as ... and then you may receive a smorgasbord of answers. These responses are especially prevalent in matters related to gender and sexuality. Identity is a theme where Western society idolizes self-actualization. How sinful and sad (and nauseating) this whole business of pronouns is. Even a casual perusal of social media reveals the predominant view that our feelings define our identity. According to the world, we’re to craft and mold our own image, declare our own destiny, and “live our best life.” According to the world, we belong to no one except ourselves. Yes, much of this world suffers from an identity crisis. How crucial that the truth of the gospel be proclaimed to the ends of the world. Christians, by God's grace hold to an everlasting answer. And so, it is very important that we be very clear as to our identity and where our identity is rooted. We are the sheep of His sheepfold, the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. What blessing to rest in the perfect obedience of the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. If we do not find our identity in belonging to our beautiful Shepherd Saviour then there is something drastic missing. The will of man without the grace of God is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil since it cannot turn itself to good –Martin Luther Suggestions for prayer In prayer confess "I belong to Jesus, I am not my own; all I have and all I am shall be His alone" (TPH 187:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 5 - I am not my own but belong (I)

“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” - Romans 14:7-9 Scripture reading: Psalm 100:1-5 I am not my own. How beautiful and immensely comforting. Where would we be if we were left on our own and to our own devices? Why, we would be on the road to hell. Who of us could navigate the journey from this world to the next? I am not my own, but I belong. Personally, I belong to Jesus. Believers are Christ’s possession. He owns us. He purchased us with His own precious blood. He gave His life to the death, so that in our death we might be brought to the life of eternal life. We are upheld by His person, His power and His presence. Christ’s cross is the place of our cleansing, and in His church we confess together as the body of Christ our redemption. The world is filled with many who try to go it alone. The Christian realizes it cannot be done. The world will speak of the self-made man who can pick himself up by his own bootstraps. The Christian recognizes that life is short, death is sure, sin be the cause--but Christ be the cure. When we look through the prism of God's comforting grace we are strengthened. Strengthened to understand that we are never alone simply because He has not left us alone. We are strengthened, producing fortitude and resilience as we seek to live out our calling as Christ’s disciples. We are not our own but belong! No true Christian is his own man - John Calvin Suggestions for prayer Confess before the LORD: "Know that the LORD is God indeed; He formed us all without our aid. We are the flock He surely feeds, the sheep who by His hand were made” (TPH 100B:2). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 4 - Only comfort in death

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” - Psalm 116:15 Scripture reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-28 Death is the final enemy. "The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). And yet, on this Lord's Day, we together with the congregation gathered in the courts of the LORD confess that death has been defeated. As the body of Christ, we have assembled to declare resurrection glory. Jesus died and arose so that His followers will one day be called out of the grave. Hallelujah PRAISE the LORD!!! One might ask–"Since Christ has died for us why do we still have to die (H.C. Q 42)? How privileged we are to answer "Our death does not pay the debt of our sins. Rather, it puts an end to our sinning and is our entrance into eternal life.” (H.C. A 42) And how blessed we are to confess with Lord's Day 17 Q. How does Christ’s resurrection benefit us? A. First, by His resurrection He has overcome death, so that He could make us share in the righteousness which He had obtained for us by His death.1 Second, by his power we too are raised up to a new life.2 Third, Christ’s resurrection is to us a sure pledge of our glorious resurrection.3 1 Rom 4:25; 1 Cor 15:16-20; 1 Pet 1:3-5. 2 Rom 6:5-11; Eph 2:4-6; Col 3:1-4. 3 Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:12-23; Phil 3:20, 21. Never forget the words of Jesus "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live". John 11:25-26 Yes, Hallelujah PRAISE the LORD!!! Suggestions for prayer "For you will not forsake my soul unto the grave, nor will you leave your Holy One to see the tomb’s decay. Life’s pathway you make known, full joy of boundless store is found with you; at your right hand are pleasures evermore" (TPH 16:5). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 3 - Only comfort in life

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me.” - Psalm 139:7-10 Scripture reading: Psalm 139:1-18 As we travel to the world to come, our great need remains the comfort of the gospel. Comfort not meaning comfortable but the necessary strength to travel each day with the assurance that our LORD goes before us, come what may. The word "comfort" originates from the Old French "confort", which itself comes from the Late Latin "confortare", meaning "to strengthen greatly". This is our great need in this vale of tears. This is our great need as we prepare for eternity. This is our great need to be enabled to live Coram Deo-- before the face of God. Your life may have had more than its share of struggles. And yet who do we have but the LORD? Let us in the congregation and in our homes praise the LORD that our greatest need has been supplied in the mercies, the grace and the compassion of our great Triune God. It has been given to all true believers who look to Jesus Christ for salvation. As we set ourselves to gather with the congregation in which we have been placed, may the LORD add His blessing, so that we again may be strengthened in the comfort, the wonderful comfort of the blessed promises secured in Jesus Christ our LORD. There is no erratic power or action or motion in creatures, but they are governed by God's secret plan in such a way that nothing happens except what is knowingly and willingly decreed by Him. – John Calvin Suggestions for prayer Confess before the Throne of Grace--"Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me; the changes that are sure to come I do not fear to see; I ask Thee for a present mind, intent on pleasing Thee” (TPH 500:1). Rev. Vellenga is presently serving as a ‘here and there’ preacher who preaches across several Reformed denominational/federational lines. Peter and his wife Judith reside in Delaware, Ontario and are blessed with eight children and a growing quiver of grandchildren. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

January 2 - My only comfort

“Jesus said to him (Thomas and the rest of the world) I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” - John...

Daily devotional

January 1 - Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism

Daily devotional

December 31 - And the child grew…

“And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” - Luke 2:40 Scripture reading: Luke 2:39-40 L...

Daily devotional

December 30 - Anna

“And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.” - L...

Daily devotional

December 29 - Simeon (II)

“And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”” - Luke 2:34-35 Scripture reading: Luke 2:25-35 Simeon now pivots from praise to prophecy. He turns from blessing God to blessing Joseph and Mary. Then he speaks directly to Mary. Not everyone will receive her Son and His salvation as Simeon did. Not everyone will rejoice at His coming. Many will stumble over Jesus and His message, as over a stone. “And many shall stumble on it. They shall fall and be broken” (Isaiah 8:15aS). Her Son will be “for a sign that is opposed... so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” As Jesus advanced God’s kingdom mission, Satan stirred up opposition to Him. Face to face with Jesus, the hearts of many religious people in Israel would be revealed. Was trust and love for God truly at the heart of their religious life? This would become clear when they met Jesus and recognized and received God in Him. Were their hearts far from God, even as they worshiped outwardly? This would become clear when they met Jesus and rejected God in Him. That was true then. It is still true today. Simeon warns Mary that a sword will pierce her soul also. It will pierce her soul to see how people treat her Son. It will pierce her soul to see members of her home church become a violent mob that tries to throw Him over a cliff. It will pierce her soul to see Him suffer, bleed, and die on a cross. Her Son’s path to the crown is through the cross. Suggestions for prayer Praise God that Christ willingly faced deadly opposition to save us. Pray for grace to move beyond outward religion to receive and rest in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

December 28 - Simeon (I)

““Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.” - Luke 2:29-33 Scripture reading: Luke 2:25-33 Joseph and Mary were in the temple to consecrate Jesus and to offer the purification sacrifice. As they crossed the temple courts, most just saw an ordinary baby. An elderly man, however, approached Joseph and Mary. Simeon was a true believer who trusted God and longed for Messiah. The Spirit had told him he would see Messiah before he died. He hurried over to Jesus and took Him in his arms. Thanks to God’s revelation, and the internal testimony of the Spirit, he saw his Saviour! With Messiah in his arms, Simeon blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32). By faith, Simeon believed what the Bible said about Jesus. He rejoiced that Jesus would redeem Gentiles as well as Jews, people from every tribe and nation. “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (Isaiah 49:6). Do you believe what the Bible says about Jesus? Do you receive him as your Saviour and Lord? Do you long to see him, as Simeon did? Suggestions for prayer Praise God that our long-expected Jesus will return to make all things new. Pray, “Come, thou long-expected Jesus, born to set thy people free. From our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee.” Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

Daily devotional

December 27 - Holy to the Lord

“And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”” - Luke 2:22-24 Scripture reading: Exodus 13:1-2,11-16 From cradle to cross, our Lord Jesus humbled Himself in our place as one under the law. This began with His circumcision at eight days old. It continued with His consecration to the Lord as firstborn at forty days old. Joseph and Mary followed the LORD’s instruction in Exodus 13. The LORD called His people to respond to His redeeming grace with costly, firstfruits giving. Worshipers sacrificed their firstborn male animals to the LORD. However, the LORD mandated worshipers to redeem their firstborn sons with a sacrificial lamb – a reminder of the Passover when the LORD provided the blood of a lamb to spare Israel’s firstborn sons. Israel is identified as God’s firstborn son, redeemed by the blood of animals in their place. Israel identified with Isaac in Genesis 22, where God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son, then spared his life by providing a ram in his place. Parents brought their redeemed firstborn sons before the Lord to consecrate them for His service. This is what Joseph and Mary did when they brought Jesus to the temple. Little did they know that the LORD would not spare His Firstborn Son as He had Isaac, Israel and Israel’s firstborn sons. Like the Passover Lamb, He would die for all God’s children in the “church of the firstborn” (Hebrews 12:23). “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Hebrews 12:1). Suggestions for prayer Praise God that He consecrated His Firstborn to live and die as our substitute. Pray for grace to offer yourself to Him as a living sacrifice in grateful response. Rev. Richard Zekveld is the pastor of Covenant Fellowship Church (PCA) in South Holland, Illinois, a Chicagoland suburb. Rev. Zekveld, his wife Nancy, and their five children have lived in the community of South Holland for seventeen years. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com....

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July 15 - Boaz, a worthy man

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