| Q. | What is your only comfort in life and death? |
| A. | That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ.
He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, all things must work together for my salvation. Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him. |
I love that! And there’s more….
| Q. |
What do you need to know in order to live and die in the joy of this comfort? |
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| A. |
First, how great my sins and misery are; second, how I am delivered from all my sins and misery; third, how I am to be thankful to God for such deliverance. |
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I did not grow up with the Heidelberg Catechism but what a service it has done in condensing these foundations of our faith. I ran across the opening line of this confession earlier this week and it has hung on in my mind…
There are a multiplicity of Bible references to back up these points here
but for this time I’ll leave this page neat and tidy with just these words of great comfort and joy! How good it is to ponder what God has done…
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!
–Linda
Those words really resonate for me, too, Linda, having not grown up with catechism and not discovered any of them until after my kids were beyond the “indoctrination” age–but I guess I’m not beyond that age myself, because I’ve loved using the New City Catechism with my Sunday school kiddos. We sing the truth, and it does my heart so much good to hear us all (kids and “beyond the age” adults and teens who are there in the pews for SS opening and getting it whether they want it or not!) singing at the top of our lungs, “We are not our own, we are not our own, we are not our own but belong to God!”
As a dear young friend at 51 just left us to be with our precious Lord and Savior, my thoughts have been along these lines, very much. What blessed hope we share in our faith in Christ!
Your painting left me speechless and speedily zooming in to see if it was a picture or a painting! Thank you for sharing that with us; a work of art and heart. Friday’s sunrise, just hours before my friend’s homegoing, displayed cold and firey tones with dark foreboding clouds, but they turned to a peaceful lifting of the darkness and those deep red and orangey hues to a white and bright clearing of clear blue sky with gentle rays making way to see the Son. This world is not our home. Hallelujah for that!
Love you, Linda!
Paula