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A Common Creed - Your Daily Forward Devotional

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In The Days of the Judges

In The Days of the Judges

A Glimmer of Hope

A Glimmer of Hope

Bitter or a Believer?

Bitter or a Believer?

Great Faithfulness

Great Faithfulness

Bitter Emptiness

Bitter Emptiness

God Intended It For Good

God Intended It For Good

Getting Started...

Getting Started...

The True Vine

  • Jun 3, 2023

The True Vine

The Way

  • Jun 2, 2023

The Way

The Resurrection and the Life

  • Jun 1, 2023

The Resurrection and the Life

The Good Shepherd

  • May 31, 2023

The Good Shepherd

The Door

  • May 30, 2023

The Door

The Bread and the Light

  • May 29, 2023

The Bread and the Light

John Saw It All

  • May 27, 2023

John Saw It All

Worry About Yourself

  • May 26, 2023

Worry About Yourself

Count the Cost

  • May 25, 2023

Count the Cost

Do You Love God?

  • May 24, 2023

Do You Love God?

Jump All In

  • May 23, 2023

Jump All In

Gone Fishing Again

  • May 22, 2023

Gone Fishing Again

You May Have Life In His Name

  • May 20, 2023

You May Have Life In His Name

The Disciple Who Believed

  • May 19, 2023

The Disciple Who Believed

The Disciple Who Doubted

  • May 18, 2023

The Disciple Who Doubted

APRIL - JUNE 2023
January - March 2023
October - December 2022
July - September 2022
April - June 2022
January - March 2022
October - December 2021
July - September 2021
April - June 2021
January - March 2021

A Trustworthy Testament

  • Mar 31, 2021

A Trustworthy Testament

Is the Bible True?

  • Mar 30, 2021

Is the Bible True?

The Word of God

  • Mar 29, 2021

The Word of God

Fullness of Joy

  • Mar 27, 2021

Fullness of Joy

You Can’t Earn It

  • Mar 26, 2021

You Can’t Earn It

Once for All

  • Mar 25, 2021

Once for All

Unrighteous Righteous Deeds

  • Mar 24, 2021

Unrighteous Righteous Deeds

The Door

  • Mar 23, 2021

The Door

Peace with God or Peace Among Men?

  • Mar 22, 2021

Peace with God or Peace Among Men?

Who Is the King of Your Life?

  • Mar 20, 2021

Who Is the King of Your Life?

A God Who Gets It

  • Mar 19, 2021

A God Who Gets It

Ransom Paid, Fully Redeemed

  • Mar 18, 2021

Ransom Paid, Fully Redeemed

Jesus Alone Saves

  • Mar 17, 2021

Jesus Alone Saves

The Son of God

  • Mar 16, 2021

The Son of God

Is Jesus Really Who He Said He Was?

  • Mar 15, 2021

Is Jesus Really Who He Said He Was?

Justified into Sainthood

  • Mar 13, 2021

Justified into Sainthood

Let’s Stick Together

  • Mar 12, 2021

Let’s Stick Together

Take Care to Remember

  • Mar 11, 2021

Take Care to Remember

Lying to Ourselves

  • Mar 10, 2021

Lying to Ourselves

His Spirit Within Us

  • Mar 9, 2021

His Spirit Within Us

Handmade Humans

  • Mar 8, 2021

Handmade Humans

The Life You Deserve

  • Mar 6, 2021

The Life You Deserve

There is No Other

  • Mar 5, 2021

There is No Other

God Knows You

  • Mar 4, 2021

God Knows You

The Perfect Father

  • Mar 3, 2021

The Perfect Father

Our Constant

  • Mar 2, 2021

Our Constant

It Was No Accident

  • Mar 1, 2021

It Was No Accident

The Key to Being Bold

  • Feb 26, 2021

The Key to Being Bold

Battle Ready

  • Feb 25, 2021

Battle Ready

A Working Witness

  • Feb 24, 2021

A Working Witness

Raise Them Right

  • Feb 23, 2021

Raise Them Right

Leading in Love

  • Feb 22, 2021

Leading in Love

Submission: It’s Not What You Think

  • Feb 19, 2021

Submission: It’s Not What You Think

Be Intentional

  • Feb 18, 2021

Be Intentional

Children of Light

  • Feb 17, 2021

Children of Light

Empty Words

  • Feb 16, 2021

Empty Words

The Art of Imitation

  • Feb 15, 2021

The Art of Imitation

Watch Your Mouth

  • Feb 12, 2021

Watch Your Mouth

Honest Living

  • Feb 11, 2021

Honest Living

Before You Knew Him

  • Feb 10, 2021

Before You Knew Him

Don’t Give Yourself Up

  • Feb 9, 2021

Don’t Give Yourself Up

The Healthy Doctrine Diet

  • Feb 8, 2021

The Healthy Doctrine Diet

Stewarding Your Gifts

  • Feb 5, 2021

Stewarding Your Gifts

A Common Creed

  • Feb 4, 2021

A Common Creed

Bear With One Another

  • Feb 3, 2021

Bear With One Another

Unimaginable Power

  • Feb 2, 2021

Unimaginable Power

Knowing Love

  • Feb 1, 2021

Knowing Love

Be Strengthened

  • Jan 29, 2021

Be Strengthened

Fall on Your Knees

  • Jan 28, 2021

Fall on Your Knees

From Suffering to Glory

  • Jan 27, 2021

From Suffering to Glory

Why Am I Here?

  • Jan 26, 2021

Why Am I Here?

Discovered Treasure

  • Jan 25, 2021

Discovered Treasure

The Gift of Serving

  • Jan 22, 2021

The Gift of Serving

Bound and Determined

  • Jan 21, 2021

Bound and Determined

You Belong Here

  • Jan 20, 2021

You Belong Here

All Access Pass

  • Jan 19, 2021

All Access Pass

We Are One

  • Jan 18, 2021

We Are One

No Longer Outsiders

  • Jan 15, 2021

No Longer Outsiders

A Useful Gift

  • Jan 14, 2021

A Useful Gift

If Not for God

  • Jan 13, 2021

If Not for God

You Were Dead

  • Jan 12, 2021

You Were Dead

How Powerful Is Our God?

  • Jan 11, 2021

How Powerful Is Our God?

That You May Know

  • Jan 8, 2021

That You May Know

There Are Guarantees in Life

  • Jan 7, 2021

There Are Guarantees in Life

The Master Plan

  • Jan 6, 2021

The Master Plan

Glorious Grace

  • Jan 5, 2021

Glorious Grace

Chosen Ones

  • Jan 4, 2021

Chosen Ones

Grace and Peace

  • Jan 1, 2021

Grace and Peace

October - December 2020
July - September 2020
April - June 2020
January - March 2020
backtothebiblebttb2
Back to the BibleFeb 4, 2021 7:00 am GMT

A Common Creed

 

February 4

 

Read Ephesians 4:4-7

There is one body and one Spirit - just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call - one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

 

Reflect

What essential doctrines should all Christians hold as truth?

 

As Christians, there are definite doctrinal statements that we all need to agree with. After all, if you don’t believe what Christians believe, you aren’t a Christian. So what are the core beliefs that all Christians should agree on?

 

Here, Paul lists seven convictions that all Christians should have in common. First, the church is the body of Christ. We all became a member of this church body when we accepted Christ. Second, is that there is one Spirit, the Holy Spirit. We can be unified in the fact that all believers have the same Spirit living in us.

 

Third, we should be united in the hope that we have in common. The hope of Jesus’ return to make all that is wrong in the world right. To wipe away every tear from our eyes. That we will live with Him forever! This is our one great hope!

 

Fourth, we would not be worthy of the name “Christian” if we did not believe in Jesus Christ, who is our one Lord. We believe that He has authority over our lives and we are to obey Him.

 

Fifth, Paul mentions one faith. This faith is that Jesus was sent by the Father to die in our place for our sins, that He was resurrected, that He now lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and that He will one day return for us. Sixth, when we believe and accept this one faith, we are filled or “baptized” by the Holy Spirit at the moment of our conversion. Therefore, we all believe in “one baptism.”

 

Finally, there is one God, our Father. In a family of believers, God is the head and we are His children. But Paul also says that God the Father is over all, through all, and in all. Thus, He isn’t just the Father of the church, He is the Father of everything and everyone!

 

Friends, we may have differences of interpretation and we may put our beliefs into practice in different ways. But the core of what we believe as Christians is the same. There are essential Christian doctrines. If you don’t believe them, you aren’t a Christian. But if you do believe them, you are united with a body of fellow believers who are vastly different in just about everything else. The church is a diverse place but we have the most important thing in common-this confession of faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Pray

Lord, thank You for the unity Your church can find in our common belief in You. Help us to hold unswervingly to these core doctrines, even in face of adversity. Amen.

 

~ Pastor Nat Crawford

 

 

If you found value in this post, please share your comments, questions, and prayers with us!

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C
Cynthia
2 years ago
Mt hope is in God and my Lord Jesus Christ.
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D
David
2 years ago
My hope is placed on no one else but in You, O Lord Jesus, that You will return for all of us who believe in You and who await Your return to take us to live with You in eternity.
2
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F
Frank
2 years ago
Amen!
2
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T
Maureen
2 years ago
Thank you for this Christ family
Amen!
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V
vallybluegirl
2 years ago
This was confirmation that God has been hearing me and that I have been hearing Him. The topic of “body of the church” has come up and I was discussing it with my best friend and my husband. I have to be open minded enough to understand that God works in different believers lives in different ways. And just because something seems overly done to me does not mean that they are worshipping God wrong. I asked God why different people who have had different experiences with dying and coming back? Their stories are all so similar but why did some people experience wonderful loving heavenly things and some just out of body experience? His answer to me was it was not for me to know. Then He reminded me that we are all one in the body of Christ but all have a different function and purpose.
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backtothebiblebttb2
Back to the Bible
2 years ago
WOW ~ thank you for sharing what God has been showing you! I think it is easy for us "curious" people (me included) to want to know the "why's" of different situations but it is amazing when we can move to that trusting phase & just focus on God! It is so much more peaceful!
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