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Its that time of year when friendly loan companies
are helpfully offering to alleviate the pain of debt after a reckless
(they hope) Christmas. They assure us that with the right help we can
go on spending with impunity - if our credit rating is good, if we can
be trusted. Credit is considered by many as the lifeblood of our modern
world while others regard it a necessary evil.
Did you know that the root of the word credit is the Latin Credo (pronounced
Craydoh)? Credo is also the root of the word Creed, defined as "a set
of religious beliefs" from credere, to believe, trust, entrust. When
we say the creed we are effectively saying, "In these things we trust".
The Apostle's Creed declares:
I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin
Mary.
He 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, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He 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.
In these things we trust, believing that they have eternal significance
for those who believe, moving us to live their lives accordingly.
When we consider the heroes of Hebrews 11 we might think of them in
this way:
Because he trusted God Abel offered God a better sacrifice…
Because he trusted God Enoch was taken up so that he should not
see death…
Because he trusted God Noah, being warned by God about things
not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his
household…
Because he trusted God Abraham, when he was called, obeyed…
Because he trusted God he lived as an alien in the land of promise,
as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents…
I don't know what your credit rating is, and I hope it is good because
it is your reputation in the financial world. But what is God's credit
rating in your life? If you say you trust him and insist that this is
your creed how much do you trust him with? Hebrews 10 ends thus:
For you have need of endurance, so that
when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.
For yet in a very little while, he who is coming will come, and will
not delay. But my righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks
back, my soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink
back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of
the soul.
Trust him with your soul this week. It will be to your credit.
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