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He was converted at a revival meeting at age twelve. Ashtabula, OH, 1876) left home as a young boy to make a living by working on farms and in lumber camps, all while trying to continue his schooling. In all difficult times, we eagerly await the final day when God “will set all things right, judge evil, and condemn the wicked” (Our World Belongs to God, paragraph 57). No greater assurance can be found than that expressed in Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1, Question and Answer 1: “I am not my own by I belong-body and soul, in life and in death-to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”
#Peace like river bible full#
“We have no access to God except through the one and only Mediator and Intercessor, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” We, therefore, do not offer our prayers as though saints could be our intercessor, nor do we offer them on the “basis of our own dignity but only on the basis of the excellence and dignity of Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is ours by faith.” Because Jesus Christ is our sympathetic High Priest, we approach the throne “in full assurance of faith.” In doing so we ask that the Lord will “uphold us and make us strong with the strength of your Holy Spirit so that we may not go down to defeat in this spiritual struggle.” (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 52, Question and Answer 127)īelgic Confession, Article 26 speaks about the intercession of Christ as the ascended Lord.
#Peace like river bible trial#
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer we ask not to be brought into the time of trial but rescued from evil.In Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 10, Question and Answer 28, we are assured that through our trust in the providence of God we can have “good confidence in our faithful God and Father that nothing in creation will separate us from his love.”.In Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 9, Question and Answer 26 we testify that we “trust God so much that do not doubt that he will provide whatever need for body and soul and will turn to good whatever adversity he sends upon in this sad world.”.Belgic Confession, Article 13, is a reminder that much is beyond human understanding and so “we do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend.”.Belgic Confession, Article 13 is a reminder that God’s providence reassures us that God leads and governs all in this world “according to his holy will…nothing happens in this world without his orderly arrangement.” Further, this Confession identifies that this “gives us unspeakable comfort since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but only by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care.in this thought we rest.”.Through these thoughts, our trust in God is inspired. Yet, in a fallen world, God’s providential care is the source of great assurance, comfort and strength. And now “all spheres of life-family and friendship, work and worship school and state, play and art-bear the wounds of our rebellion” (paragraph 16).
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The confessions demonstrate this perspective: Difficult times occur in the lives and communities of God’s people because this is a fallen world.
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