{"id":16856,"date":"2025-12-17T21:23:44","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T20:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/?p=16856"},"modified":"2025-12-23T21:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:26:24","slug":"affirm-with-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2025\/12\/17\/affirm-with-joy\/","title":{"rendered":"Affirm with joy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n <\/p>\n

Advent Credo<\/h3>\n

It is not true
\nthat creation and the human family
\nare doomed to destruction and loss\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nFor God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son,
\nthat whoever believes in Him shall not perish
\nbut have everlasting life;<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not true
\nthat we must accept inhumanity and discrimination,
\nhunger and poverty, death and destruction\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nI have come that they may have life, and that abundantly.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not true
\nthat violence and hatred should have the last word,
\nand that war and destruction rule forever\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nUnto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given,
\nand the government shall be upon his shoulder,
\nhis name shall be called wonderful councilor, mighty God,
\nthe Everlasting, the Prince of peace.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not true
\nthat we are simply victims of the powers of evil
\nwho seek to rule the world\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nTo me is given authority in heaven and on earth,
\nand lo I am with you, even until the end of the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not true
\nthat we have to wait for those who are specially gifted,
\nwho are the prophets of the Church
\nbefore we can be peacemakers\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nI will pour out my spirit on all flesh
\nand your sons and daughters shall prophesy,
\nyour young men shall see visions
\nand your old men shall have dreams.<\/em><\/p>\n

It is not true
\nthat our hopes for liberation of humankind,
\nof justice, of human dignity of peace
\nare not meant for this earth and for this history\u2014<\/p>\n

This is true:
\nThe hour comes, and it is now,
\nthat the true worshipers shall worship God
\nin spirit and in truth.<\/em><\/p>\n

So let us [celebrate] Advent in hope,
\neven hope against hope.
\nLet us see visions of love and peace and justice.
\nLet us affirm with humility, with joy, with faith, with courage:
\nJesus Christ \u2014 the life of the world.<\/p>\n

~ written by Allan Boesak<\/strong>, posted on re:Worship<\/a><\/p>\n\n

From the blog<\/strong>
\nBaby steps<\/a>
\nTaste the goodness<\/a>
\nOpen confession<\/a>
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Advent Credo It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss\u2014 This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life; It is not true that we must accept … Continue reading “Affirm with joy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[275],"tags":[274],"class_list":["post-16856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-creed","tag-joy2025"],"yoast_head":"\nAffirm with joy - 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Joost Pot - retired auxiliary minister of the Church of Scotland and long-standing member of this congregation - reflects on his war-time experiences and our\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "guest post"","block_context":{"text":"guest post","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/guest-post\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10776,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2021\/02\/07\/sacrifice-of-praise\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":3},"title":"Sacrifice of praise","author":"Irene Bom","date":"February 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Lent is almost upon us, but not quite yet, so I've opted for a call to worship featuring sacrifice with a twist: a sacrifice of praise for our matchless God. Call to Worship based on Psalm 113 King of all the earth, Creator of the universe, Holy Triune God,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "call to worship"","block_context":{"text":"call to worship","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/call-to-worship\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/geometric_art_with_reflections.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/geometric_art_with_reflections.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/geometric_art_with_reflections.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/geometric_art_with_reflections.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15362,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2024\/06\/27\/prayer-and-the-way-we-are\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":4},"title":"Prayer and the way we are","author":"Irene Bom","date":"June 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \"Prayer is not only a matter of saying the right sort of words to the right kind of God. Our being is involved, the way we are.\" by Eugene Peterson, from Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer, p. 24 \u00a0 A prayer inspired by Psalm 1 King\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bible"","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/daisy_dry.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/daisy_dry.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/daisy_dry.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/daisy_dry.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4519,"url":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/2018\/03\/18\/wilderness-encouragement\/","url_meta":{"origin":16856,"position":5},"title":"Wilderness encouragement","author":"Irene Bom","date":"March 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Three short pieces, by way of encouragement. #1 God did not say, \u201cYou shall not be tempted; you shall not be troubled; you shall not be distressed.\u201d \u00a0 God did say, \u201cYou shall not be overcome.\u201d \u00a0 from the United Church of Christ\u2019s Worship Ways Archive and posted on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "bible"","block_context":{"text":"bible","link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/bible\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/crocusses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/crocusses.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/crocusses.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/crocusses.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Irene Bom","author_link":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/author\/irenebom-com\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/category\/creed\/\" rel=\"category tag\">creed<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"  Advent Credo It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss\u2014 This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life; It is not true that we must accept…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16856\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.irenebom.com\/prayer_matters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}