Heidelberg Catechism Devotional Q1 - Week 2

Q.1. What is your only comfort in life and in death?

A. That I am not my own but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. 

He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. 

He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven;

in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. 

Because I belong to him, Christ,

by his Holy Spirit assures me of eternal life

and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Week 2

Monday

Since it is true that every believer belongs to Christ, and since it is true that He faithfully secures my life in his life, and since it is true that He watches over every aspect of our life, then the next logical question must be: Why does he do all of this?  It is for our salvation.  Everything in life works together for our salvation.  Read Genesis 37:26-27.  Could anything good come from being sold by your brothers into slavery?  Would you view this as part of God’s plan?  Joseph did, even after being sold by his brothers as a slave, falsely accused by his first master’s wife and spending time in prison, he was still able to reflect on his experience from God’s vantage point.  Read Genesis 45:4-8.  Joseph is but one illustration of how God works everything out according to plans and purposes so that humans will be saved and come to know him.  This is a great comfort, for in every difficulty and trial we face, we can be assured that our situation is part of God’s design for our complete salvation. Conclude by reading Romans 8:28 and thanking God for his plans and purposes.

Tuesday

Yesterday we read about Joseph’s life, today let’s reflect on Ruth’s life.  Ruth was a Moabitess who happened to marry a wayward Jew living outside the Promised Land.  Unfortunately, Ruth’s husband, and her father-in-law and brother-in-law all died, leaving her a widow, in a family of widows.  This is a dire situation even today, but it was especially dire in Ruth’s day.  Who would care for her?  Who would protect her?  Ruth left with her mother-in-law and returned to Israel where she gathered leftover barley in the fields of Boaz.  Read what happens in Ruth 4:13-22.  Ruth becomes King David’s great grandmother and eventually a direct descendant of Jesus Christ the savior of the world.  All things do work for our salvation.

Wednesday

Is the comfort we are promised experiential?  Can we really be assured in our own lives that all of this is true? The good news is a resounding “Yes!”  We have a mighty God, consisting of three persons.  And one of those persons, the Holy Spirit resides in each believer.  Read Romans 8:15-16.  Our comfort is both internal and external.  On the interior, our own conscience affirms that Christ is sufficient and all we need.  On the external, God himself affirms to us that we are his people.  Just as a couple is assured by the internal conviction that they are one with their spouse, so too the marriage contract externally confirms the same truth.  I have found that when I am struggling with the assurance of comfort, I can pray to the Father and he always reaffirms in me the truth of the gospel promises. 

Thursday

Aside of assuring of us eternal life, the Holy Spirit also makes us “willing and ready from now on to live for” Jesus.  If we have the assurance of Christ in our lives then the Spirit also leads us.  What is the result of being led by the Spirit?  Read Galatians 5:18, 22-25.  What kind of life is the Spirit seeking to create in us?  How is this consistent with living for Christ?  Pray and ask God to grow the fruit of the Spirit in each and every person who is dear to your life.

Friday

In our last two devotions on the first question, let us return to the pure and simple gospel message.  One can never get enough, nor be reminded often enough of the working of God on behalf of his people.  Read 1 John 3:1-11.  Discuss as a family how much of the catechism question is supported by this passage of Scripture.  Are there other passages that recall the themes we have studied these past two weeks?  Share them with one another.

Saturday

Truly this is one of the great statements of faith for the Christian.  Jesus’ death, his providence and his empowering spirit are all covered and applied to the individual believer.  This is a very personal affirmation of the great gospel promises.  We are God’s children brought from darkness to light, from being godless to being God-fearing.  We are saved and God did it.  Enjoy being a child of the kind, crying out to him daily for all you need and enjoying all the riches of majestic rule.  Read Galatians 3:26-4:7.