Author: Hizkia

The Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 24

Q 62:  Why can’t the good we do make us right with God, or at least help make us right with him?

A:  Because the righteousness which can pass God’s scrutiny must be entirely perfect and must in every way measure up to the divine law ¹.  Even the very best we do in this life is imperfect and stained with sin. ²

1. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:10; Deu. 27:26.
2. Isa. 64:6

Q 63:  How can you way that the good we do doesn’t earn anything when God promises to reward it in this life and the next? ¹

A:  This reward is not earned; it is a gift of grace^{. 2}

1. Matt. 5:12; Heb. 11:6.
2. Luke 17:10; II Tim. 4:7, 8.

Q 64:  But doesn’t this teaching make people indifferent and wicked?

A:  No.  It is impossible for those grafted into Christ by true faith not to produce fruits of gratitude. ¹

1. Luke 6:43-45; John 15:5.

Click here to listen to the exposition by the Rev. Paul Lindemulder.

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Hearts to heaven and voices raise;
Sing to God a hymn of gladness, Sing to God a hymn of praise;
He who on the cross a Victim
For the world’s salvation bled, Jesus Christ, the King of Glory,
Now is risen from the dead.

Christ is risen, Christ the first fruit Of the holy harvest field,
Which will all its abundance At the second coming field.
Then the golden ears of harvest
Will their heads before Him wave, Ripened by His glorious sunshine
From the furrows of the grave.

Alleluia!  Alleluia! Glory to the Three in One:
To the Father, and the Savior, Who the victory has won;
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Fount of love and sanctity; Alleluia!  Alleluia!
To the Triune Majesty.

by Christopher Wordsworth, 1862
taken from the Blue Psalter Hymnal # 360

A good friend of ours at church gave me a subscription to the “World” magazine, and among many good articles in the current issue I would like to share this one, which is also available online at http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17869

Earth Day

A crushing defeat for Mother Earth turned into a sweet victory three days later | Janie B. Cheaney

As it happens, this year’s Earth Day falls on Good Friday. I wonder if any connection will be made between the two while folks are planting trees or strumming guitars in consciousness-raising events. Probably not. In its short memory (this will be the 41st), Earth Day stays focused on the color green. But the Earth herself—if we can figuratively speak of “her”—remembers mostly in red.

We are not equipped to remember our own beginnings, much as we’d like to: the passage from warm darkness to chilly light; how we fixed on a face; the first words we heard and spoke. We don’t remember how we learned to stand and to fall, the exploration of hands and feet belatedly recognized as our own, the first glimmerings of personhood creeping up on us out of a fog.

Continue reading “Good Earth Day Friday”

We’ve been busy in the last couple of weeks with the addition of a new family member.  Baron vom Nadelhaus is a 3-month-old German Shepherd puppy that we picked up from the same breeder we bought Duke from.  He was born on October 23, 2010 (Duke was born on October 16).

On  Friday, January 7th we left for Sacramento and spent a night there.  We visited the Old Town Sacramento and went on board the Delta King steamboat that has been converted into a hotel and restaurant.  On the following day we went to the Nadelhaus kennel in Chico, about an hour North of Sacramento, to pick-up our new puppy.  He is the litter of Nestroy vom Hohen Haus (sire) and Inkie vom Nadelhaus (dam).  In the picture above he is the one on the left.

We’re house breaking him, and because he is still teething, he chews on everything.  We have to always keep an eye on him, lest we’ll have a torn apart house.  Baron demands a lot of attention, and house breaking him can be an arduous task, but he will surely provide company and friendship for many years to come.  Click her for more of his pictures.

The Son of God descended miraculously from heaven, yet without abandoning heaven; was pleased to be conceived miraculously in the Virgin’s womb, to live on the earth, and hang upon the cross, and yet always filled the world as from the beginning”
-John Calvin in the “Institutes of the Christian Religion” book II, XIII, 4.

Dear Family and Friends:

We would like to wish all of you a very merry Christmas filled with joy, hope, and peace.

As we draw near to the closing of 2010, we feel that this year flew by so quickly that we often wondered where it had gone.  2010 was a challenging year for us with some losses and barely any gain; however, we thank the good Lord for his sustaining love and his many blessings despite all of the losses. Continue reading “Merry Christmas 2010”