Traditional Version
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;*
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of the Father Almighty.
from thence he shall come again to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Ecumenical Version
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.*
On the third day he rose again,
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father.
abd will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic** Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
*or “He descended to hell.”
**”universal”
These translations are the versions in the current United Methodist Hymnal.
It might seem superstitious but, for as long as I can remember, I have avoided praying for specific results. When praying I simply request that God have His will in whatever situation about which I’m praying. For me it’s logical—faithful—to rely on the wisdom and mercy of God in prayer.
It’s merely that I don’t want to presume that I am more knowledgable or wise than God. As prayer requires faith for its efficacy, shouldn’t that faith extend to trusting God in what the results will be? If I prayed for God’s help in a matter then followed with instructions for Him as to what or how He should accomplish His work, I would feel lacking in my faith and in doubt He would answer my prayer.
This hasn’t been the case for many of my fellow Christians in charismatic denominations I’ve encountered who say specifically to “name it, claim it” in prayer (strongly rooted in Prosperity Theology). It’s surely comforting to name it and claim it but, for those who trust in the wisdom and mercy of God, the blessings are often overwhelming.
Today I came across this scripture in Paul’s Epistle to the Romans which reminded me of this subject:
Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
Perhaps there are church saints in a state of Christian Perfection who are qualified—whether or not inclined—to pray otherwise. But, until I’m closer to that state, I’m trusting in His wisdom over mine—likely more so then.
Related reading: The World’s Last Night by C.S. Lewis and A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley
Cokesbury – Other Selections by William Barclay.
I’m very excited that I found eBook (ePub format) versions of the William Barclay commentaries on the books of the New Testament at Cokesbury. I first used the commentaries to study the Gospel of Mark in an adult Sunday School class taught by Vernon Stewart. Vernon was an amazing man and I hope I can someday get as close to God as he was. Vernon is the reason I believe in John Wesley’s concept of Christian Perfection.
This morning the kids, Cole, Kyle (known collectively as The Twins) and Corbin were still at their Boy Scout campout. So, with that variation in our Sunday morning routine, me and Wendy did things a little differently.
We went to our regular Harvest worship service which was awesome—Andy Nixon from The Loft gave the message today (he and I share some personality traits; yeah, he’s that good) ;-). After we attended the Harvest service we were able to have the time to go to brunch. A rare, second no-kids dinner together.
Still having time on our hands after brunch, we went back to The Loft where Rob Renfroe was giving the message there. I always enjoy his messages and today was no different.
Rob’s message today reminded me that—even with my ISTJ personality—I need people in my life. I know he’s right and I strive to enhance the strengths of my personality and overcome its weaknesses. As Rob taught today, and I agree, Small Groups is the answer.
An awesome Sunday morning! Now, which small group?
I really do love using RapidWeaver on my Mac to make my personal web site. But here’s the issue: I’m mobile. I need to be able to edit my site whenever I get a spare moment to do so. In order to edit the site whenever I get time, I need tools that are mobile. RapidWeave can’t do that.
So, after experimenting with the WordPress app on iOS, I decided to take the plunge and relaunch a WordPress site. Same primary rule though: keep it simple. I’m looking forward to using WordPress again, it has been many years. WordPress looks great!
