October 8 Daily Devotional

Bible Text:

Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. —I Timothy 1:2

Devotional:

But mark here the order which we must keep. It is this: that first of all it would please God to receive us into his grace, and then to send us those things which are profitable and necessary for us.

True it is that our nature will always draw the contrary way, even as a sick man will be more tormented with his pang than with the cause of his disease. In like sort, when we pray to God, we desire him to give us bread to eat, and that he would send us whatsoever is necessary for us; if we be sick, that he would heal us; and if we want anything, that he would send it to us.

See how stubbornly we approach God. We forget that which is most important, namely his love and his grace, and rely on things of baser sort and less account. One will crave to be rich, another would have whatsoever his lust leads him to.

To be short, we are so froward in our desires that we know not what is good for us. And for this cause, let us follow the rule which is here set down, that when we call upon God, we crave of him especially and above all things that it may please him to be merciful to us, and forgive us our sins and take us to himself; and afterward to govern us and be our leader in all ways. —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.