Isaiah 7:9 (NIV) 9If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
I was born into an Advent Christian family in Massachusetts, we moved to Florida when I was five, and I was raised in and Advent Christian Church in Clearwater, FL. I was blessed to marry a wonderful Advent Christian man from Clovis, NM, and for years I was a member of the Advent Christian Church of Clovis, NM. Traditionally, Advent Christians hold to the belief of No Creed but the Bible. That’s fine and it works well as long as your Bible isn’t on a shelf somewhere collecting dust. To all my Advent Christian friends and family: I challenge you to find your Bible, dust it off, and start using it! Daily!
The Advent Christian Church of Clovis, NM no longer exists. After a local church burned beyond repair, the few handful left at our church felt led to turn our large facility over to that congregation – filling their need and ensuring that the building we loved but could no longer fill would remain dedicated to God’s service and glory. It was the hardest decision, but the clearest decision to make. They had people but no building; we had a building with approximately a dozen people. The few handful of our remaining congregation have since drifted off to join various other denominations. I currently attend a Global Methodist Church, and although my husband and I will remain Advent Christians at heart for the rest of our foreseeable lives; we feel quite at home in the Global Methodist church. We sing in the choir, attend regularly and support with our tithes and offerings.
Our church – my church – a Global Methodist church – includes the Apostles Creed each Sunday. And occasionally, as we are currently doing, we recite the Nicene Creed, which is a bit longer with more details. A quick search online can provide all the details you need for a comparison of the two creeds and I will not reprint them in length. Reciting either the Apostles Creed or the Nicene Creed each week is fine and works well, as long as you mean each word you speak and do not allow the temptation for it to become rote, repetitious, robotic. To all my Global Methodist friends and family: I challenge you to find your Bible, dust it off, and start using it! Daily! When you recite each phrase of any creed; know the words you are using, understand the meaning of what you are saying, and renew your commitment with each phrase you speak.
Paul Harvey included the words ‘and now you know the rest of the story’ in his radio broadcasts even before his show by that title premiered in 1976. I have given you my testimony thus far, but now here is the rest of it.
Yesterday afternoon in a conversation with our eldest son, he said something I will long remember. He told his dad and I that he wasn’t quite sure what was happening to our Nation. He said, “Something’s not quite right. Something seems, I don’t know... ‘broken’.” Yes, son, on many levels our Nation has become ‘broken’ and generations have led to its brokenness. In large part because we have forgotten who we are as a Nation, the values we once held as a Nation, and our courage to stand strong in our faith has weakened.
Isaiah 7:9 (NIV) 9If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
So I ask you, dear Readers: What do you believe? Prove it!
During the entire month of November, my heart has made it clear what I will write about. It will be my testimony. I will use the foundation of the Apostles and Nicene creeds that I recite each week, break them down into phrases, provide support from the pages of my Bible to tell you not only what I believe, but also why I believe it. My hope and prayer is that it will in some way encourage you to renew your own commitment to follow Jesus Christ, and renew your faith in God. Our Nation needs Christians with courage to be the stronghold of faith in God, to be the light of Christ for others to follow, to be the source of help for the brokenness we see all around us.
Isaiah 7:9 (NIV) 9If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.
Dear Lord God, my Heavenly Father;
I pray for wisdom and courage as I embark upon writing those thoughts you have laid on my heart. My request is that it might lead others to renew their commitment to you. Thank you for the gift of your Word. May it inspire us to live faithfully for you.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The devotional My Testimony appeared first on Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com
Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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