Credo

  I got up this morning and looked out upon the world.
  I saw trees, some gnarled with age, some tall and majestic, some shorter than I, and most of them in flower. I saw so many different shades of green, different shapes of new leaves which makes each one and each kind unique and distinctive. There was grass of yet another shade of green. There were also birds and bees, squirrels, and water. I saw people on two legs, animals on four, and spiders on eight. How did all this come to be?
  I believe there is a God who created heaven and earth and all that is in it.
  I looked out on my world and there was smoke in the air. As I tried to get a better view, I saw corruption and anarchy. People were telling lies, and cheating on their income taxes. Many were cheating on their spouses to satiate their lust and to conquer new territory. The respect and love for the creation and the creator was lost as people took matters into their own hands and endeavored to decide for themselves how to run their lives. I saw murder and stealing, injustice, drugs and prostitution, envy and greed, and mankind wanting to be its own god.
  I believe that we are in a world marred by sin. We have turned our backs on God and want to live our lives by our own rules. I believe that sin in universal, beginning with the fall of Adam and Eve and affects every membver of the human race as well as nature.
  I look out on my world and see some shining objects through the haze and the smoke. They are far apart and not very plainly seen.Yet, when they catch the rays of the sun, one can't help but notice them. They are the crosses, steeples and spires of the churches in our world. Why the church? What does the church have to do with my world? Doesn't the world offer us many ways to get to God?
  The world does propose many ways to get to God; but it took God to make a way to get to man and provide a way for man to get to God. "For God so loved the world that He gave His pnly begotton Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV). God has come in search of us, offering us a new life if we will put our faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was born of a veigin, lived a sinless life, was tried unjustly and sentrenced to hang on a cross for a crime He did not commit. There He died-for the sins of the world. Unlike the fate of the world's great teachers, God raised Jesus from the dead.
  I looked out into the world and saw people entering these churches. They seemed different somehow. They were happier and at peace, even though life was not easy for them. When asked what had made the difference for them, they replied that when they had accepted God's salvation through Jesus Christ, God's Spirit came to reside in them.
It is the Spirit who gives life and direction to the Church and empowers it to minister to the needs of the world.
  I looked at the parts of the body-each part having a different job to do and each job important and the supervision of the task coming fromthe head. I believe that this same Spirit gives gifts to enable the church to function in a sinful world. It is the church's mission to announce and proclaim God's love and forgiveness to a sinful world and to demonstrate that love and forgiveness as it has been given to them.
  I looked out into the world, and darkness was everywhere, but in the east, a ray of light was piercing the darkness-small at first, but with each passing second growing larger and larger. It widened into a road. I saw a King riding on a white horse accompanied by an army of people dressed in white and prepared for war.
  I looked about; the air has cleared. The battle has been won. The King is sitting on His throne, an there is peace, safety, and justice in the world.
  I believe that Jesus Christ is coming back to earth to rule as king. He will bind the evil one and his cohorts and remove them from this world. The power of sin will be destroyed. Jesus will reign with justice and righteousness forever.