Reading With the People of God #13 Nicene CreedSample

Focus of the month: The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father [and the Son],
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

A Few of My Favorite Things

My favorite thing to do with my granddaughters is to read together. We stretch out on the floor to read, we read in the car (when hubby is driving, of course), and we read on FaceTime. Now, my older granddaughter reads to us, but our most precious reading time is when we cuddle up on the sofa before bed. One Easter week that they spent with us, we won a Bible story book. It is always what they look forward to reading at bedtime when they visit. They love to participate in church activities, sing godly songs, and learn biblical truths thanks to their parents, who were both raised to be intentional in their faith and take the responsibility of raising them in the ways of the Lord very seriously.

The unfortunate truth that we have been learning from our readings in I Kings and II Kings is that each generation makes its own choices of relationship, and it only takes one to change the course of a nation to follow God from a king who tears his clothes in defense of God’s honor to a king who was worse in his pursuit of idolatry than the infamous Ahab only took one generation. We have to wonder what the commitment and intentionality were toward personal worship and teaching. Of course, this does not guarantee that children who are guided in following God will do so; however, God commanded His people in Deuteronomy 6:6-9 to do just that! Proverbs 22:6 also states that we are to train (as hard as we train for sports or war) our children in the ways of God.

As Jesus is the direct recipient of an incredible act of worship, we learn that not everyone agrees with it. I understand that Judas might not, since he was already pilfering from the money box, and resented that Jesus was not more zealous. However, the reaction of others who desired to really know who Jesus was makes me wonder about the intentionality and learning in which they were raised, in addition to the connection between God’s commands and God in the flesh before them.

Whether we make godly choices because we were intentionally guided, or whether we came to the realization of the truth of God later, it is clear that God desires and deserves a relationship that is deliberate. Ask: What am I doing to intentionally seek and share my relationship with God?

* Primer contributed by Gaylyn Mott, Teacher, Musician, Yarn Artist, Member of Cornerstone Community Church