The Morning Devotional for September 12, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 28.3
III. Dipping of the person into the water is not necessary; but baptism is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling water upon the person.a
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The Morning Devotional for September 11, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 28.2
II. The outward element to be used in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the gospel lawfully called thereunto.
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The Morning Devotional for September 8, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 28.1
I. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ,a not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church,b but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace,c of his ingrafting into Christ,d of regeneration,e of remission of sins,f and of his giving up unto God, through Jesus Christ, to walk in newness of life:g which sacrament is, by Christ’s own appointment, to be continued in his Church until the end of the world.h
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Read: Genesis 30
Genesis 30 continues the events that began in 29:31 with the contest between the two wives of Jacob. Lean was the more fertile of the two wives, and Rachel was envious of her sister, demanding Jacob to give her children. Of course, that was out of Jacob’s hands as he pointed out to her, “Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of your womb?” The Bible is clear that the Lord opens the womb and closes it. Many years ago, I knew a couple who were told they could not have children. For years, that medical opinion seemed accurate. One day, suddenly, the wife was pregnant. The Lord does determine who will and who will not have children. As a result of Rachel’s frustration, she employs her servant to give Jacob offspring. Eventually, God opened the womb of Rachel and gave birth to Joseph. That significant act will establish the narrative until the end of the book. Joseph will become a significant figure in the lives of God’s people.
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The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.
V. The sacraments of the Old Testament, in regard of the spiritual things thereby signified and exhibited, were, for substance, the same with those of the New.a
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The Morning Devotional for September 6, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.4
IV. There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord: neither of which may be dispensed by any but by a minister of the Word lawfully ordained.a
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The Morning Devotional for September 5, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.3
III. The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments, rightly used, is not conferred by any power in them; neither doth the efficacy of a sacrament depend upon the piety or intention of him that doth administer it,a but upon the work of the Spirit,b and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.c
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The Morning Devotional for September 4, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.2
II. There is in every sacrament a spiritual relation or sacramental union, between the sign and the thing signified; whence it comes to pass that the names and the effects of the one are attributed to the other.a
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The Morning Devotional for September 1, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 27.1
I. Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace,a immediately instituted by God,b to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm our interest in him:c as also to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Church and the rest of the world;d and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ, according to his Word.e
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Read: Genesis 29
Genesis 29 is the narrative account of Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel. The account is similar to the events found in chapter 24 when Abraham's servant sought a wife for Isaac. There are some differences. However, the most notable is that Jacob is never recorded to have prayed for a wife. However, through God's providence, Jacob is led to his two wives, although it is clear that Jacob had a greater love for Rachel than for Leah. Jacob, the deceiver, is deceived by his uncle and forced to marry Leah after serving him for seven years through an ironic twist. Subsequently, Jacob was forced to labor for Laban for another seven years for the wife he truly loved.
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The Morning Devotional for August 31, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 26.3
III. This communion which the saints have with Christ, doth not make them in any wise partakers of the substance of his Godhead, or to be equal with Christ in any respect: either of which to affirm is impious and blasphemous.a Nor doth their communion one with another, as saints, take away or infringe the title or propriety which each man hath in his goods and possessions.b
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The Morning Devotional for August 30, 2023
The Westminster Confession of Faith 26.2
II. Saints, by profession, are bound to maintain an holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God, and in performing such other spiritual services as tend to their mutual edification;a as also in relieving each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities. Which communion, as God offereth opportunity, is to be extended unto all those who, in every place, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus.b
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