The Heidelberg Catechism - The Foundations Of Our Faith

Devotional thoughts Thursday, July 30, 2026 Philippians 4 the Lord is near. It has been said that what we are in private is what we really are. C. S. Lewis noted if that if you have rats in your cellar, “You are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.” When worrying circumstances disturb our peace they are like the rats in the cellar. When something surprises us such as an unwelcome circumstance, then the problem of worry and anxiety suddenly surfaces. The issue is whether we view the Lord as near or the crisis as nearer. Lorelle and I went to bed. Very soon after there was unmistakable shotgun shots. Two of them. To me it sounded like they were from our front driveway. Very close. I looked out the front windows carefully but couldn’t see anyone. Five cars went past in a close convoy. But still nothing. I expected police but there were none. No strange cars parked 🚗 in t...

It has been said that what we are in private is what we really are. C. S. Lewis noted if that if you have rats in your cellar, “You are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.” When worrying circumstances disturb our peace they are like the rats in the cellar. When something surprises us such as an unwelcome circumstance, then the problem of worry and anxiety suddenly surfaces. The issue is whether we view the Lord as near or the crisis as near. Here we find one of the ways Christianity is unique among the world’s religions: It claims that Jesus lives inside us by his Spirit and remakes us into his character (Romans 8:29). When he promises peace that is “not as the world gives” (John 14:27), he means that his peace transforms us despite our circumstances. Philippians 4:1-7 ESV Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. [2...

It has been said that what we are in private is what we really are. C. S. Lewis noted if that if you have rats in your cellar, “You are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.” When worrying circumstances disturb our peace they are like the rats in the cellar. When something surprises us such as an unwelcome circumstance, then the problem of worry and anxiety suddenly surfaces. The issue is whether we view the Lord as near or the crisis as near. Here we find one of the ways Christianity is unique among the world’s religions: It claims that Jesus lives inside us by his Spirit and remakes us into his character (Romans 8:29). When he promises peace that is “not as the world gives” (John 14:27), he means that his peace transforms us despite our circumstances. Philippians 4:1-7 ESV Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. [2...

It has been said that what we are in private is what we really are. C. S. Lewis noted if that if you have rats in your cellar, “You are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding.”  When worrying circumstances disturb our peace they are like the ears in the cellar. When something surprises us such as an unwelcome circumstance, then the problem of worry and anxiety suddenly surfaces.   The issue is whether we view the Lord as near or the crisis as near.  Here we find one of the ways Christianity is unique among the world’s religions: It claims that Jesus lives inside us by his Spirit and remakes us into his character (Romans 8:29). When he promises peace that is “not as the world gives” (John 14:27), he means that his peace transforms us despite our circumstances. Philippians 4:1-7 ESV Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand f...

Immensity is magnificent medicine. That is one reason—if we may let the cat out of the bag—why the doctors send us to the seaside. We forget the tiddley-winking in the contemplation of the tremendous. We lose life's shallow worries in the vision of unplumbed depths. …  The tendency of life is to drift among small things—small anxieties, small pleasures, small ideas, and small talk. He is a very wise physician indeed who can prescribe for us a tonic of big things. F W Boreham, ‘A Tonic of Big Things,’  The Luggage of Life   Euodia and Syntouche may be arguing over teacups creating their storms at the church at Philippi but the Lord is near.   Let goods and kindreds go This mortal life also the body they may kill:  God's truth abideth still;  his kingdom is forever! Psalm 46:1-11 ESV God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. [2] Therefore we will not fear though the earth give way, thoug...

Eternal Life According to Jesus by Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey Major W. Ian Thomas explains, “Eternal life is not a peculiar feeling inside! It is not your ultimate destination, to which you will go when you are dead. If you are born again, eternal life is that quality of life that you possess right now.” In His high priestly prayer, Jesus said in part, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Let’s note three pertinent facts in our text. First, there is a permanent reality. John 17:3a reads, “And this is eternal life. . .” The word translated “eternal” means more than an unending progression of years. It speaks of quality as well as quantity. Eternal life can function within time and outside and beyond time. Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who ha...

When such tragedies are in the news, I am always conflicted as to how to respond in this article. On one hand, I want to offer encouragement and hope. Concerning these attacks, I can remind us that our Father walks with us through the fires and floods of this fallen world and grieves as we grieve (cf. Isaiah 43:1–3). When humans misuse the free will God gives us so we can love him and others (Matthew 22:37–39), the consequences are not God’s fault but theirs. On the other hand, I remember times in Scripture when God intervenes to prevent the consequences of misused freedom. He sent his angel to release Peter from Herod’s prison (Acts 12:6–11). He used an earthquake to free Paul and Silas from their unjust imprisonment in Philippi (Acts  16:25 –26). He used Paul’s nephew to alert the Romans to a plot against the apostle’s life, saving Paul from his enemies (Acts  23:12 –31). If then, why not now? If he would act to protect Peter and Paul from injustice, why not the vict...

This week I have had a reminder of our finitude and frailty. After a fortnight of bad tummy pains I went to a doctor who recommended a quick trip to hospital to get a CT scan, ultra sounds and a blood test. He recommended I travel by ambulance. He insisted I was having fevers (I couldn’t feel them), which his thermometer convinced me may be possible. We drove to hospital. After much poking prodding and tests the surgeon (yes you read it right) insisted in had pancreatitis. Several surgeons quizzed me about my alcohol consumption. Other than chocolate liqueurs at Christmas my alcohol consumption is negligible, but try convincing the doctors of that. Although they did believe Lorelle more than me. As the CT scan didn’t reveal gall stones (which would have required immediate surgery), they concluded I had endured the worst of it and just needed to give my pancreas more rest by not eating for awhile. In Psalm 31, David describes his “affliction,” the “distress” of his so...

This week I have had a reminder of our finitude and frailty. After a fortnight of bad tummy pains I went to a doctor who recommended a quick trip to hospital to get a CT scan, ultra sounds and a blood test. He recommended I travel by ambulance. He insisted I was having fevers (I couldn’t feel them), which his thermometer convinced me may be possible. We drove to hospital. After much poking prodding and tests the surgeon (yes you read it right) insisted in had pancreatitis. Several surgeons quizzed me about my alcohol consumption. Other than chocolate liqueurs at Christmas my alcohol consumption is negligible, but try convincing the doctors of that. Although they did believe Lorelle more than me. As the CT scan didn’t reveal gall stones (which would have required immediate surgery), they concluded I had endured the worst of it and just needed to give my pancreas more rest by not eating for awhile. In Psalm 31, David describes his “affliction,” the “distress” of his so...

F B Meyer. David. ABJURE MORE COMPLETELY THE CARNAL LIFE. Why do we smart under these unkind and slanderous words, which are as baseless as uncharitable? Is it not because we set too high a value upon the favour and applause of men? Is there not a deadly fear of being despised and condemned? Does not the world still live within us, revealing the tenacity of its hold, in this mortification and shame? Is this being crucified to the world, and the world crucified to us ? If we were really nothing, and God were all in all if the Spirit and the Lamb of God were dominant in our inner life ; if we were dead to the flesh, with its affections and lusts, and alive only to God surely it would be a matter of indifference what became of our good name in the lips of foolish and sinful men. Here then there is a revelation of a deeper death to be realized ; let us not flinch from it, but be willing to fall into the ground, and die to our reputation, as Jesus did, who endured the contradictio...

The people who age the best aren’t the ones who fought hardest against getting older, they’re the ones who, somewhere in their late fifties, quietly made peace with becoming a person their twenty-year-old self wouldn’t fully recognize, and stopped apologizing for it.” The article says just what its headline reports, but it includes an insight I found relevant, whatever our season in life. Lewis Sherrill’s  The Struggle of the Soul  focuses on the different stages through which we progress in life, identifying “simplification” as the season of older age in which we determine what matters most and center on it. The article on aging described the psychology behind this focus as “socioemotional selectivity theory.” Developed at Stanford in the 1990s, it notes: As people perceive their time horizon shortening, they do not simply become more anxious. They become more selective. They prune. They prioritize emotionally meaningful relationships over instrumental ones. They stop i...

 This week I have had a reminder of  our finitude and frailty. After a fortnight of bad tummy pains I went to a doctor who recommended a quick trip to hospital to get a CT scan, ultra sounds and a blood test.  He recommended I travel by ambulance.  He insisted I was having fevers (I couldn’t feel them), which his thermometer convinced me may be possible.   We drove to hospital.   After much poking prodding and tests the surgeon (yes you read it right) insisted in had pancreatitis.  Several surgeons quizzed me about my alcohol consumption.  Other than chocolate liqueurs at Christmas my alcohol consumption is negligible, but try convincing the doctors of that.  Although they did believe Lorelle more than me.   As the CT scan didn’t reveal gall stones (which would have required immediate surgery), they concluded I had endured the worst of it and just needed to give my pancreas more rest by not eating for awhile.  In Psalm 3...

Psalm 27:3-5 ESV Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. [4] One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. [5] For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. I wonder if the familiar Tabernacle in Gibeon (Moses Tabernacle 2 Chronicles 1:3 ESV And Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon, for the tent of meeting of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness, was there.) had such a special place in David’s heart, and in his time fleeing Saul in the wilderness, separation from the Tabernacle grieved his soul deeply. And yet God had provided aeons before a huge cavern (large enough for six hundred men), cut fr...

Psalm 27:1-14 ESV The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? [2] When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. [3] Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. [4] One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. [5] For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. [6] And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. [7] Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! [8] You have said, "Seek my face." My hea...

Psalm 27:1-14 ESV The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? [2] When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. [3] Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. [4] One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. [5] For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. [6] And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD. [7] Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! [8] You have said, "Seek my face." My hea...

Lorelle and I ent to bed about 10:30 last night.  Very soon after there was unmistakable shotgun shots.  2.   To me it sounded like they were from our front driveway.  Very close.  I grabbed a knife. I looked out the front windows carefully but couldn’t see anyone.   Five cars went past in a close convoy.   But still nothing.  I expected police but there were none.  No strange cars 🚗 n the street.   This morning Sunday 19 July I texted the neighbours Alex and Robyn whether they had heard anything; “  Yes we did. Not sure where it was coming from but seemed close out the back I think.” It probably came from the units behind us, as often I have mistaken noise from the back as from the front .  I sauntered down to have a look but again everyone seemed very quiet, although the white Jag from the back dual occupancy was missing from its normal place.   It is surprising how quickly one can move ...

David has well instructed us to wait on the Lord in prayer and the Word. Getting our head and heart in order is of the most importance, particularly in times of stress and distress Psalm 40:1-5 ESV I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. [2] He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. [3] He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. [4] Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! [5] You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. Wait For The Lord To Act Psalm 40:13 ESV Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me! The Problem  Psalm 40:2,1...

In Our Dying Hour by J.C. Ryle “The day may come when after a long fight with disease, we shall feel that medicine can do no more, and that nothing remains but to die. Friends will be standing by, unable to help us. Hearing, eyesight, even the power of praying, will be fast failing us. The world and its shadows will be melting beneath our feet. Eternity, with its realities, will be looming large before our minds. What shall support us in that trying hour? What shall enable us to feel, ‘I fear no evil’? (Psalm 23:4.) Nothing, nothing can do it but close communion with Christ. Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith,—Christ putting His right arm under our heads,—Christ felt to be sitting by our side,—Christ can alone give us the complete victory in the last struggle. Let us cleave to Christ more closely, love Him more heartily, live to Him more thoroughly, copy Him more exactly, confess Him more boldly, follow Him more fully. Religion like this will always bring its own reward. ...