Christ’s Only Mission - Matthew 1:21

 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” - Matthew 1:21

    His goal. His purpose. His end is and only is to save us from our sins. I think that message often gets lost today. With all the chatter about love and compassion and tolerance, the real impetus behind Christ’s incarnation is the extirpation of our sins. Jesus doesn’t love the sin. He doesn’t have compassion for the sin. And He certainly doesn’t tolerate the sin. And many of us have lost touch with that portion of the Gospel or simply choose to ignore its implications.
    We tend to see Jesus as a loving, compassionate, and tolerant Savior; not necessarily even our Lord. We tend to bypass His Lordship in lieu of the aforementioned more “comfortable traits.” All the while, misinterpreting the message. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” - John 3:17.
    Of course, the message is reassuring, focusing our attention on the salvific mission, but “saved” from what? Sin! If we are going to take comfort in His word then we must also understand His reason, His prime directive, for being born to us in the first place. And to understand we must turn our attention to the subject of His mission: our sin. “Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins . . . .” - Acts 13:38.
    Today sin is too often thought of cavalierly and with the wink of an eye as though it were some insignificant joke from years gone by. An outdated code of behavior from a heavy old book best used as a doorstop now. The moral standards, the laws today, are as malleable as wax melting beneath the afternoon sun. I mean, come on; if it isn’t explicitly “against the law” it can’t really be that bad, can it? With that attitude we need not be pulled down into the darkened caverns of hell; with that attitude we’ll all happily dance our way into the furnace, our laughter, fading into a scream. “So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” - Matthew 13:49-50.
    We must ask ourselves -“How often do we think about our sin?” How important is it? From a worldly perspective think about it this way. Sin is the reason we have law enforcement, jails and prison, a standing military presence in the world and their ancillary parts. Sin is the reason for crime and war. Sin is the reason we have addiction and broken families. Sin is important enough.
    From the heavenly perspective, sin is important enough for God to send His only begotten Son to atone for it, because as fallen human beings subject to sin, we could never atone for it ourselves. It took Christ’s beaten and broken body on the cross to draw God’s wrath away from our sin. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” - Isaiah 53:5. Why? Why was Christ so treated? Why did He willingly lay down His life? For what purpose did He die? The simple answer: sin, our sins because He, being the Son of God, lived a life sinless and obedient perfection. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21. This is the atonement of Jesus Christ. This is the entire reason He was born the incarnate Son of God; for this reason and for this reason only!
    To suggest that Christ came to us for any other reason is not only a sacrilege but also a grand heresy. “And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12.
    Yes, Christ loves us and has so loved us from before the beginning of time. And His love for us is exhibited by His willful death at the hands of the crowd for one reason alone: to save us from our sins! “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” - 1 John 4:10. That love is a lesson of the Gospel is a byproduct of Christ's divine mission; it is not the reason for His incarnation.
    This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that He came to us and for no other reason: to save us from our sins! Let us all prayerfully thank God with our whole being in mind, body, and soul.

Let Us Prepare the Way - John 14:2

  
In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. - John 14:2

    Each and every one of us, believer and unbeliever alike, have found ourselves in the precarious position of impending loss . . . great loss. Whether it be our homes or businesses, our health or our security; and often, most often, the loss of a loved one.
    For the unbeliever, the loss will result in further estrangement from God. They often cry out, “If there is a God and He is a loving God, how could he do this to me?” For the believer, the angst is just as real. “My child (husband, wife, mother, father sister, brother) is sick and dying. Why, Lord, why?” The question is legitimate. The lack of understanding, real. Indeed, God; why? “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” - Isaiah 55:8-9.
    This is certainly one of the most trying times in the life of a believer. We can only imagine how much more difficult it is in the life of those who don’t believe. So, those of us who believe in the providence of God pray, and we pray mightily to forestall what we know in our hearts is inevitable. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” - Genesis 3:19.
    We know this to be the truth. It is beyond argument or negotiation. While unbelievers are steeped in their anger and denial, believers hold on in hope and the possibility of reprieve. And all the while we consider ONLY our needs and desires, never giving thought to the eternal fate of those we are about to lose. Shouldn’t we focus our efforts on helping our loved ones spiritually prepare to shed this earthly shroud? Shouldn’t we be preparing ourselves for our time?
    Those who refuse to believe have no hope. As death, the final arbiter creeps slowly into the room, they are faced with the worst of all finalities. Would but someone offer a prayer for the spiritually dead as well as those dying in the flesh. Death will come to us all, regardless - “All things come alike to all: one event happens to the righteous and the wicked; to the good, the clean, and the unclean; to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath as he who fears an oath.” - Ecclesiastes 9:2.
    We who have faith in Jesus and believe in the resurrection of the soul, can take comfort, knowing that our crucified Savior rose from death into glory and that we and our loved ones who believe will rise into that same glory. “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” - John 6:40. Jesus has promised us that He has already prepared the way for us. It is up to us to prepare our loved ones and ourselves.
    For those who have deliberately chosen to live and die in unbelief, the eternal path that awaits them is quite different. Imagine believing that there is nothing after death. How dismal such a life lived must be. But they are wrong. The pain and suffering that awaits them will be apocryphal. And make no mistake: there is no proverbial “better place” simply because that idea is more comforting to their survivors than the stark realization that they are now and forevermore confined to the sulfurous pits of hell. This most terrifying eternity should give one pause for thought if not prayer. If it doesn’t, then perhaps Dante’s infamous line is better suited for their ‘slip of the foot’: “Abandon hope all ye who enter here.” How terrible a realization for the believer to acknowledge that their loved one: a parent, sibling, or child is doomed to an eternity in that dark and hopeless place, a place “where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’” - Mark 9:48.
    Heaven awaits those of us who have been washed in the sacred blood of Christ’s atonement. He alone has taken our sins upon Himself so that we may be justified before our almighty God. “But as it is written:‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9.
    Let us not pine at the reality of physical death but prepare our loved ones and ourselves for the eventuality we all face. Let us turn our back on the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our immortality does not exist in this mortal world. Let us and our loved ones acknowledge our salvation . “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” - Romans 10:8-9. Let us celebrate our election as saints, predestined by our almighty God, to live and reign with Him in eternity.

Where are the M.I.A. Pastors? - 1 Timothy 5:8

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8.

    Yes, we need more prayers, but we also need our pastors to address our civil discontent and resistance against the Philistines who threaten our faith, our values, and our very existence. Our nation hasn’t been this divided since our last Civil War. There are open calls to make the preaching of certain Biblical sermons, “hate crimes.” It’s time our pastors rose up in the pulpits and addressed this growing anti-Christian sentiment. To remain silent on the subject of Christian persecution is the antitheses of boldly preaching God’s word! “A righteous man who falters before the wicked is like a murky spring and a polluted well.” - Proverbs 25:26
    Our pastors, however briefly, need to turn their attention from the wolves within the church to the barbarians at the gate because the wolves and barbarians are allies in the war against the truth! To effectively fight one, one must fight the other.
    There have been times in the past when Christian men and women were called to step up and defend themselves against the barbarians who neither know nor recognize almighty God. In their proud audacity, these barbarians scoff at and crucify Jesus Christ, again and again, fearing no recompense. And the wolves within the church? They twist the holy word of God to meet their desires. They turn Christ into an ill-fated stooge, rather than the Lion of Judah! And our pastors remain silent. Our pastors need to step into the pulpit with as great a fire in their hearts as burns within the words of Holy Scripture! “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13.
    We face unpredictable days ahead. The winds of change roar about us and it should come as no surprise that hatred for the faith rides in the gale. Our enemies surround us on all sides. Our God is both faithful and true. But there are times that even God calls us to place stones in our slings or to gird ourselves with swords. “Then He said to them, ‘But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.’” - Luke 22:36. So why are our pastors MIA?
    As God-fearing Christians, we must always remember to let a simple insult pass and try to keep the peace. “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
- Romans 12:18. However, when the threat of violence becomes imminent, we must remember that God has always used human agents to affect His will, i.e. Noah, Moses, Joshua, David, Samson, etc. The pastoral response should be to prepare the flock, just in case. “Therefore I positioned men behind the lower parts of the wall, at the openings; and I set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.’” - Nehemiah 4:13-14.
    Please don’t misconstrue what I am saying. I am not calling for our pastors to take up arms or call for us to. What I’m saying is simply this: pastors need to address the growing concerns of their congregations in this perilous political atmosphere. They do so when there is another tragic mass shooting or a hurricane or an earthquake. Why is this any different? I’m saying they should come into church on Sundays after hearing a week’s worth of anti-Christian rhetoric in every media form available and address it! Show the congregation that they are not oblivious to the noxious anti-Christian sentiment pervading the culture and nearly every institution. To do or say less is a sin of omission.
    Many of you may disagree with me, insisting that prayer is the only answer. Mind you, I called for more prayer in the opening sentence of this post. I firmly believe as our Holy Bible tells us, “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” - Psalm 127:1. But that doesn’t relieve our pastors of their responsibility to zealously guard the flock! And that includes guarding our hearts, minds, souls, and bodies. And while I’m not calling on our pastors to jump on top of the grenade for us; I would expect that they would share in our trepidation and our desire for self-preservation. Yes, the Lord is my shepherd, and yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Praise the Lord for being our rock and our fortress. But where are our pastors?

No Celebration Of Life - Acts 4:12

  
Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. - Acts 4:12

    Yesterday, I attended a memorial for a friend. Actually, he’d been a classmate of mine over 46 years ago. As I milled around with the mourners, I was taken aback by the dichotomy between those who wept for his eternal soul and those who were spiritually disconnected from anything remotely resembling a concern for his soul now that he was gone. I know there is a long-standing, albeit erroneous, axiom that we never discuss politics or religion in polite company but where, if not at a funeral or memorial, are we to discuss the spiritual aspects of the afterlife?
    For most, the event was what is commonly mislabeled today as a “Celebration of Life.” I have always questioned the thoughtlessness that accompanies such a title given that I’m not especially sure that every life lives deserves a “celebration.” This should be even more evident when the life we are talking about was lived in acknowledged sin, wanton excess and self-abuse which in no doubt lead inevitably to his passing. I would direct those who are overcome in their grief halt the histrionics for just one moment and ask yourselves that question you keep trying to avoid - “Do I really want to celebrate a life deliberately lived perilously close to a darkened grave?” Perspective, beloved, perspective! A life that comes at the expense of our eternal souls is not a life to be celebrated. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” - Mark 8:36.
    So as I wafted between conversations I hoped to hear at least a smattering of prayerful hopes that my deceased friend had accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior. After all, none of us can accurately determine what is in a man’s heart at the time of his passing. “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” - Proverbs 21:2.
    Mind you: the mere agreement that there is indeed a God is no guarantee of salvation. “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” - James 2:19.
    I would be remiss if I did not mention that I heard that oft-quoted and patently fallacious quip of reassurance - “Well, he’s in a better place now.” I’m happy to assure you all that I did not damage my neck as my head snapped in disbelief that real people still make such callously uneducated remarks in regard to the recent dead. Nor did I stutter out, “What?! Where?! Are you absolutely certain of what you just told this poor soul’s surviving family members?” My mother once told me that sometimes it’s just better to just remain quiet than to allow something inane to spill out of our mouths. I believe this “better place” remark was on her list.
    As the event neared its end I was feeling hopeful that I wouldn’t hear any further “nuggets of wisdom” from this basically unchurched crowd. Unfortunately, it was not to be. I overheard someone saying something about praying the “Hail Mary.” A wave of ice water seemed to flow down my spine, nearly paralyzing me in my place. I then remembered another adage my mother used to use, and quite frequently - “It is better to be merely thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Why on earth would a Christian think to pray to anyone but Jesus Christ? “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time . . .” - 1 Timothy 2:5-6. As usual, I answered my own question when I realized that few Christians read their Bibles anymore. So “who” they pray to these days should come as no surprise. Now, while this may come across as taking a hard line, might I remind you all that we are instructed in both the Old and the New Testaments to avoid adding to or taking anything away from the Holy Scriptures. And in addition, adoration of and praying to saints for any reason directly violates the 2nd Commandment. Perspective, beloved, perspective!
    The message we Reformed Christians must try to disseminate to all in our spheres of influence should be this, for both the living and the dead - “yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.” - 1 Corinthians 8:6. We simply have to remind others in this life, before death, of what Jesus Himself said - “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” - John 14:6. Prayers for the dead do nothing; their sojourn is over. Their eternity has been decided by God. We must now pray for the living. We must now pray for ourselves.
    There is no celebration of life like that which we will enjoy knowing our eternal salvation lies in our faith in Jesus Christ and the assurance that only He can provide.

His Law - Hosea 8:12

I have written for him the great things of My law, but they were considered a strange thing. - Hosea 8:12

    One of the most common arguments made by unbelievers today is that the Ten Commandments are an ancient code, long out of date and hardly applicable anymore. How strange that anyone should even suggest following those ancient archaic rules. After all, they reason, what’s wrong with an occasional lie if it accomplishes our goal? Who indeed has the right to tell us who we may and may not choose as our partners in life? And where does anyone get off telling me what I can and can’t do with my body? Their wisdom is shrouded in both self-indulgence and iniquity.
    You’ve heard all the arguments. By now they all have that metallic clicking sound of a firing pin striking a spent casing. According to the unbelieving masses, no one has any right to insist upon a standard of behavior for anyone else! “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” - Judges 17:6. This particular verse says a lot about our own times. In the 21st Century, it seems the catchphrase is “No king, no master.” Oh, wouldn’t the masses be thrilled if that were true? But unfortunately for the foolish and the blind of modern times, their insistence on personal autonomy doesn’t change the reality that we all do indeed have both a King and a Master - “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them.” - Jeremiah 32:38-39.
    Still, the hardened hearts and stiffened necks will object and deny. To what end? “The foolishness of a man twists his way, and his heart frets against the Lord.” - Proverbs 19:3. Unregenerate man will continue as he has for millennia, always striving against the Lord. He knows no other way. His rebellion is as much a part of his fallen nature as is his desire to sin in spite of the conscience God has given him! Unregenerate man finds strength in numbers of his kind, even though all their souls are darkened by the shadow of death. In this we remember the old adage: misery loves company. Sinners love sinful company. They will do anything to encourage others to join them in their sinful pursuits. There are no strangers among sinners. They all eat of the same spoiled feast. “ . . .  who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” - Romans 1:32.
    I would ask that those who would be wise among them to examine themselves as we believers are called to examine ourselves. Seek true wisdom. Recognize the hopeless condition of the declaration, “no god - no master.” Search for the cross of our Savior, Jesus Christ! Do what we must but find Christ. Without Him, we have no hope. Recognize Him as Lord and Savior. Let this be our wisdom - “Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.” - Hosea 14:9.
    One of the most oft argued premises is that IF there is a God, there are many paths to Him. Such a view of eternity is hopeless at best and spiritually deadly at its worst. However, for the one who is discerning, the 14th Chapter of John eradicates the very notion that a person may be saved without accepting Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior - “If you love Me, keep My commandments. . . .  He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. . . .  Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.  He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’” John 14:15, 21, 23-24.
    Keep His law perfectly? Not even a Pharisee is capable of such perfection and neither are we. But we strive to do so and in as much as we endeavor to keep God’s law in our hearts, minds, words, and actions, our sins are washed clean by the blood of Christ by faith through grace. Our imperfect adhesion to God’s law is evidence of our salvation in Jesus Christ. The impassioned rejection of His law is evidence of the inverse!

Within God’s Gate - Exodus 10:20

 
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go. - Exodus 10:20

    How many times have you heard it? If God is sovereign and all powerful then how can we be responsible for our sinful behavior? Their position, in short, is this: either God is in control or He is not. If He is not, then He is not all-powerful.
    Think about it for a moment. Either we have free will or we don’t. If we do have free will then God cannot be sovereign. If we don’t have free will then God is ultimately responsible for all the evil in the world. Seems to make sense within the confines of our very small human minds. So the very first thing we need to establish is the finitude of the human mind. Rule #1 is simply this: since we are but human beings, there is no way for us to completely understand the mind of God. “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” - Isaiah 55:8-9.
    That having been established, we move on to Rule #2 - God does indeed have His limitations. There are things that God simply cannot do. For instance; He cannot act in opposition to His divine nature and attributes. God cannot lie is but one example. “For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.” - Psalm 5:4. The suggestion that God is not omnipotent because He can’t act in opposition to His attributes is the epitome of foolishness. Were such a suggestion not the fruit of ignorance it would be high heresy. Now, we know that God can do no evil because He cannot act in opposition to His attributes; so where then does evil come from?
    Rule #3, the total depravity of man, is profound because it places the responsibility for evil thoughts, words, and deeds squarely on our fragile human shoulders. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” - Genesis 6:5.
    In fact, were it not for the common grace of God bestowed upon all of creation, ours at this very moment would be a dead planet! God’s restraining hand limits the extent to which evil plays out among mankind.
    We must constantly be reminded that we live in a Genesis 3 world. Evil exists in this world because of what took place in the Garden of Eden between the flesh and the devil. Consider the following: you have instructed two children not to leave the yard through the back gate. You have warned the children of the repercussions should they choose to disobey you. And then you leave the gate open. You could have locked the gate thus ensuring that the children would follow your dictate but you left them to their own recognizance. What the children do next will determine their world from that moment on. “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” - Genesis 3:6.
    God indeed had (and has) the power to stop evil from taking place because He is omnipotent, but He allows humanity to make the choice. He leaves the gate unlocked. What we choose to do exonerates God from all responsibility for our choices. He is therefore not the author of evil. May the Word of God reprove us in our thoughts, words, and deeds and give us strength to stay within the gate.

The Prayer That God Hears - Exodus 2:24-25

                               
So God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them. - Exodus 2:24-25

    The Hebrew word for “groan” (neaqah) most closely matches synonymously the terms “moan, whimper, or cry.” In Ezekiel 30:24 it is actually used to describe the utterances of a gravely wounded man. So it should come as no surprise that when the Hebrews felt the crush of their Egyptian oppressors that they should cry out to their God. “Now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died. Then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.” - Exodus 2:23.
    The groanings of these Hebrews were not rote prayers or supplications. The description of their circumstances indicates that these were the earnest prayers of a heavily oppressed and tortured people. These prayers did not issue from second thoughts or incidental reminders to pray. These prayers were the appeals and pleas of a people locked in the slavery of cruel and brutal persecution. And God sent them Moses.
    This brings up the subject of earnest and fervent prayer in our lives. Do we just go through the motions and sigh in frustration when our prayers remain unanswered or our greatest fears come to pass? Remember the words of the Apostle James? “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” - James 5:16. Our prayer life must reflect the fervency of our needs and desires if we are to hope for an answer from God. Half measures and trite prayers will not even catch the ear of our sovereign Lord. There are simply too many people in desperate need of salvation for God to lend His ear to the prayers of trite desires. And while we may not always be as articulate as we would like to be, God will hear a sincere need regardless if articulation fails us. “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” - Romans 8:26. God is not interested in clever semantics or long diatribes; He is interested in what is in our hearts! Should we fail to properly express ourselves and our needs with eloquent phrases, God will still know our deepest fears and needs. And He will acknowledge us. “Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to You.” - Psalm 102:1. This is the prayer that God hears!
    We must bring our humble and contrite hearts to God and accept His will for us regardless of our situation. Then He will hear our prayers; then He will answer us according to His will. “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” - Matthew 6:10. Let us make no mistakes: we will not order à la carte from our Holy God. We will accept His will for us in its entirety. Regardless of our vain imaginations.
    The Hebrews of Exodus were seeking freedom from bondage. God did not send them a warrior super-hero; He sent them Moses, a man unsure of himself but certain that God had a plan. God has a plan for our lives as well. We must reverently ask His will for us, certain that it too shall come to pass according to His providence.