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A Year in Review

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A Year in Review

4 minuten leestijd Arcering uitzetten

Rev. J. den Hoed, Editor

The year 2011 has come to an end with all its sorrows and joy, its expectations and disappointments. This year has been filed into history, and by the grace of God we stand at the beginning of the year 2012. As we glance backwards to the year which has just passed, we have many reasons to be truly grateful in spite of all our sins and shortcomings. The doors of our churches were open Sunday after Sunday and also for many weekday services. Time and again the Lord gave a handful of seed to be sown amongst us. A serious question comes to each one of us. How are we standing upon the threshold of this newly begun year? May some of that seed lie in our heart, and has it directed us as a lost sinner to the throne of God’s mercy?

The sacraments were administered, ecclesiastical church meetings were held, and the sick and individual families were also visited. In all these labors, we may say that a God-given message continues to be given unto us as a gift from above. Although deeply forfeited from our side, may that cause us humbly to bow before a faithful God, begging that, in the year 2012, we will not have to be without the Word and the Holy Spirit which accompany the message. When we look to the future, our hearts may well be filled with fear and concern. Increasingly, we see the judgments of the Lord which He must send upon a nation which follows a path where the Lord and His Word are so blatantly set aside.

Looking back, we may be grateful for the Christian education which has been provided for our children in most places. May the gift of Christian education be accompanied with our prayer that the blessing of the Lord may rest upon it. There is reason to be grateful for the editorial staff and those who assist them in preparing The Banner of Truth and for their efforts in bringing it to our homes. They have labored quietly, selflessly, and prayerfully month after month in the past year. Again in 2011, as in previous years, we see empty places in families and our congregations. May the Lord comfort the bereaved ones and sanctify those callings amongst us. May we understand in all these callings that the Lord is speaking to us, “Prepare thy house for thou shalt die.”

Glancing into the unknown future, there are things which are, and should be, a burden to us as a denomination and which should drive us into our inner closets. Our theological school is empty again this year. May the Lord graciously qualify young men in this coming year to be used in His service. We also wish to place before you the needs of the work of missions, especially when thinking of our mission field in Bolivia. May the Lord’s blessing rest upon the faithful labors of the mission team and also the Mission Board. We lack a missionary minister to labor among the people. In His time may the Lord graciously fill that empty place.

In the year 2012, may the Lord awaken many among us with spiritual awakenings so that many poor and needy sinners are guided upon the way by the Holy Spirit, a way where the blood of Christ becomes ever more precious and necessary. On behalf of the editorial committee, we wish you and your families the Lord’s richest blessings in this year.


Life in Rome in the First Century after Christ

Is History Repeating Itself?

Marriage had fallen into deeper and deeper contempt. The freedom of single life was preferred by both sexes. Seneca went so far as to confirm that marriage was only contracted in order that adultery might afford additional charm, and he declared that whoever had no love affairs was to be despised. Unnatural vices prevailed.... In such a state of society, even if marriages were celebrated, the children were few in number. They were not desired in advance, and they were not welcomed when they appeared. As there was no sense of the sacredness of human life, infanticide was commonly practised. The destruction of unborn children was even more practised than infanticide, and not only did moral disintegration ensue in the destruction of family life, but the very foundations of the state were undermined in the decrease of the native population.

— From A History of the Preparation of the World for Christ by David R. Breed

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Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 januari 2012

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's

A Year in Review

Bekijk de hele uitgave van zondag 1 januari 2012

The Banner of Truth | 24 Pagina's