August 26 Daily Devotional

Bible Text:

Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. —I Timothy 1:4

Devotional:

So then God has not given us his word to feed us only without profit, as the world would that we should tickle their ears, and that there were nothing in us but only to delight their mind and make them merry.

God does not mean to dally here with us, but his mind is that we receive some good instruction, that is to say, that we receive profit by his word.

Therefore all they that do not apply the word of God to good profit and use, are contemners and falsifiers of good and wholesome doctrine. In short, the word of God is as it were profaned and made vile, unless we apply it thus profitably that we receive good instruction to our salvation by it.

Therefore let us learn that God will not have temples here to sport and laugh in as if there were plays played here; but there must be majesty in his word, by which we may be moved and touched; and moreover a profitable instruction to salvation, and we must be nourished with this spiritual food, so that we may feel that it is not in vain that God speaks to us. —Sermons

John Calvin was the premier theologian of the Reformation, but also a pious and godly Christian pastor who endeavored throughout his life to point men and women to Christ. We are grateful to Reformation Heritage Books for permission to use John Calvin's Thine Is My Heart as our daily devotional for 2013 on the OPC Web site. You can currently obtain a printed copy of that book from Reformation Heritage Books.

Dr. Joel Beeke, who is editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, has this to say:

"Calvin shows us the piety of a Reformed theologian who speaks from the heart. Having tasted the goodness and grace of God in Jesus Christ, he pursued piety by seeking to know and do God’s will every day. He communed with Christ, practicing repentance, self-denial, and cross-bearing. Moreover, his theology worked itself out in heart-felt, Christ-honoring piety. The selections of this devotional bear this out, and hopefully will be used by God to direct pious hearts in our own day."

These devotional readings from John Calvin were compiled by John H. Kromminga. Be sure to read his "Introduction" to John Calvin's Thine Is My Heart.