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| Holy Redeemer, Dane Co., Wisconsin. 11/7/2020 (dwm) |
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life.
The words of the Nicene or Apostle's Creeds are said in many Christian congregations as a confession of faith by individuals and corporately as the Christian Church.
Three in one, one in three. The Holy Trinity.
That's my answer to this week's question from StoryWorth, "Do you believe in a higher power?"
8 days after my birth, I was baptized at the church where my parents were members at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Waukegan, Illinois. That's when I was welcomed into the family of believers. The white baptismal gown I wore represented the gift of salvation because under the white veneer I was and am as sinful as every man or woman that's come along since Adam and Eve.
Our faith magnifies the blessing of what God the Father did for us in sending His Son to pay the price demanded by my sin and the sins of the whole world. It's a free gift. There is nothing I can do to earn or merit salvation. The Holy Spirit instills faith in our heart. It's a gift that can be rejected or lost along our journey through life.
I hope to live in a way that pleases God, but I fall short every day and can't be "good enough" by any of the things I do.
It was a blessing to be born into a Christian home with parents and grandparents who taught me about Jesus. They took me to Sunday School, even when I didn't want to go, and enrolled me in a Lutheran grade school to learn reading, writing, arithmetic; and God's Word.
As I look back through the years - I see God's guiding hand. There was never a blinking billboard hanging from the clouds telling me where to turn, but nothing else explains how I survived and navigated through different jobs, difficulties, and abundant blessings to be where I am now.
The two times I lost my job, I prayed for help finding a new job and keeping the family together while we looked. Each time lead to a better place than where I was and during the wait for the right job to come along we received support from others who shared their blessings.
A blessing that was hidden from me while unemployed was the gift of humility. No job and no paycheck brought uncertainty and the realization I couldn't do it alone. Throughout those stretches we were blessed with food on the table, clothes for the kids, and even presents at Christmas; given and delivered by our church.
It reminds me of Psalm 121.
I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 121: 1 - 2 Bible Gateway
There's an old saying, "If you want God to laugh, tell Him your plans." We attempt to organize and plan our lives, but realize tomorrow isn't promised to us. It can't be bought and there are no guarantees about our number of days.
The one certainty is depending on the promise John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV - Bible Gateway)
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