Daily Readings for Sunday 28th July 2024

Dear Congregation,

I want to thank all of you who have prayed and supported the work of the Gospel through the church in 2023 and this first month of 2024. It is a great joy to minister at Westminster Baptist and I love the church here greatly. Through this past year, there have been heart-wrenching tragedies alongside blessings too. This is often the case in Christian life and yet we are called to keep trusting and believing. We often bear the battle scars of past experience and circumstance, as we live in this sinful world and anticipate heaven. We see Mordecai, mocked and scorned for years in Esther and on the brink of execution, yet he latterly knew blessing from God. The most important thing was he was faithful in serving the Lord.

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful - 1 Corinthians 4.2. This verse especially applies to ministers, church workers, but to all Christians. We are stewards of the oracles of God and to us has the light of the gospel been revealed. We should therefore be striving to be faithful, not popular, faithful. May that be our aim by the grace of God.

In the beginning month in recent years we have spent a week praying together on each day for certain things. As a reminder that with continuing faith that prayer is essential. Key to our hope and joy and endurance and love, and with new resolve to make time to pray regularly alone and with your family and with some group of fellow believers.

Alongside reading the Scriptures these should be our daily routine. There are various encouragements in the Scriptures to pray:
- Pray without ceasing (1 Th. 5:17).
- Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ep. 6:18).
- Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving; (Col. 4:2).

These are a few verses of the many that encourage us to pray and undoubtedly set before us a biblical mandate that we should be concerned to pray. Maybe you have fallen out of the 'habit' or relegated prayer to a part time practice; or you only pray when trouble or danger comes. To that end I would ask the church to pray, if led, the suggested topics below so we might pray for the same things (roughly speaking) on the same day to encourage us.

Let us be prayerful people and realise we too need prayer. To say we are praying for someone should be an expression of concern but an indication of our own action to bring the matter before God, before the throne of Grace through the believers mediator and High Priest. Jesus Christ, Paul even requests prayer for himself and those labouring for the Gospel with him twice in 1 and 2 Thessalonians saying 'brethren pray for us'. May we be a prayerful church and prayerful individuals, knowing that we have a prayer hearing and answering God.

Pastor Jonathan Arnold


Daily Prayer - Sunday
- God thanks to God for His character, perfect, unchangeable, the same yesterday today and forever.
- Give thanks to God that we can meet in the church and have fellowship with one another.
- Pray the Lord would grant the preaching of his word power and clarity, and there are ready ears to hear and believe it. (2 Thes. 3.1.)
- Pray we would be granted faithful ministry and good spiritual food from God's Word. (1 Peter 2.2.)


Daily Reading
Preface - Under the type of good and bad figs the prophet foresheweth the restoration of them that were in captivity, and the desolation of Zedekiah and the residue of Jerusalem.
Jeremiah 24
Preface - Christ teacheth in Judaea: answereth the Pharisees' question concerning divorce: blesseth the children that were brought unto him: sheweth how hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God: promiseth rewards to all who have forsaken ought for his gospel's sake: foretelleth his own death and resurrection: putteth aside the ambitious suit of the sons of Zebedee; and checketh the indignation of the other disciples threat: giveth sight to blind Bartimaeus.
Mark 10


Daily Light - Morning
Walk in love.

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. - Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. - Love covereth all sins.

When ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. - Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again. - Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. - Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. - If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
Eph. 5.2; Jn. 13.34; 1 Pe. 4.8; Pro. 10.12
Mk. 11.25; Lu. 6.35; Pro. 25.17; 1  Pe. 3.9; Ro. 12.18; Eph. 4.32
1 Jn. 3.18


Daily Light - Evening
Let you requests be 
made known unto God.

Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. - There was given to me a thorn in the flesh... For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities.

I poured out my complaint before him; I shewed before him my trouble. - Hannah...was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and...wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life... The LORD remembered her.

We know not what we should pray for as we ought. - He shall choose our inheritance for us.
Phil. 4.6; Mk. 14.36; 2 Co. 12.7,8-9
Ps. 142.2; 1 Sa. 1.9,10-11,19
Ro. 8.26; Ps. 47.4


A Puritans Catechism
Q 59 - Which is the eighth commandment?
A - The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.


The 1689
Baptist Confession of Faith
Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day
Chapter 22
PARAGRAPH 2

​Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to him alone;4 not to angels, saints, or any other creatures;5 and since the fall, not without a mediator,6 nor in the mediation of any other but Christ alone.7

4 Matt. 4:9–10; John 6:23; Matt. 28:19
5 Rom. 1:25; Col. 2:18; Rev. 19:10
6 John 14:6
7 1 Tim. 2:5

​
Robert Murray M'Cheyne - God Makes A Path - Daily Devotional Readings
A spiritual mind
But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2 v 16

Now, every believer has the mind of Christ formed in him. He thinks as Christ does: 'This is being of the same mind in the Lord. I do not mean that a believer has the same all-seeing mind, the same infallible judgement concerning everything, as Christ has; but up to his light he sees things as Christ does.
He sees sin as Christ does. Christ sees sin to be evil and bitter. He sees it to be filthy and abominable, its pleasures all a delusion. He sees it to be awfully dangerous. He sees the inseparable connection between sin and suffering. So does a believer.

He sees the gospel as Christ does. Christ sees amazing glory in the gospel, the way of salvation which He Himself has wrought out. It appears a most complete salvation to Him, most free, most glorifying to God and happy for man. So does the believer.

He sees the world as Christ does. Christ knows what is in man. He looked on this world as Christ does. Christ knows what is in man. He looked on this world as vanity compared with the smile of His Father. Its riches, its honours, its pleasures, appeared not worth a sigh. He saw it passing away. So does the believer.

He sees time as Christ did. 'I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work' - 'I come quickly.' So does a believer look at time.

He sees eternity as Christ does. Christ looked at everything in the light of eternity. 'In my Father's house are many mansions.' Everything is valuable in Christ's eyes, only as it bears on eternity. So with believers.