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Hell--NO!

Hell, hades, sheol, lake of fire, eternal damnation-- all of these are used to describe the place which was created for Satan and the other fallen angels. But it will also be the place for those who refuse or reject Jesus Christ and the free gift of salvation which He has provided for them.  In older times, you had men who would stand in pulpits across the nation proclaiming that heaven was real and hell was hot. In 1741, American theologian Jonathan Edward's preached a sermon entitled "Sinners in the hands of an angry God", which ushered in the First Great Awakening. This message was so full of illustrations that much of what he taught brought about fear within the congregation.  While he preached about those who were in sin and how God dealt with them severely, he utilized the eternal torment of hell as illustration. One of the analogies he used in this was that of a spider dangling from a web over an open flame. If you were to try that with a spider and web large enoug...
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Living inside out

Yeah the title might throw you for a loop for a moment, but it's not what you think. It would be a bit creepy if we all walked around with our muscles and organs visible to the world outside of the flesh that houses them. But in the spiritual realm, that is exactly what we are called to do. We, my church that is, have started having Bible study on Thursday evenings as a way for us to gain a deeper understanding of God's Word. The topic for our latest study was that of holiness within and holiness without. As with most of my writings, I'm going to get a bit personal with what I am going to say.  Five years ago next month, I stepped foot into an Apostolic church for the first time. Prior to that, I attended Southern Baptist and non-denominational churches, but spent time in other churches as I traveled around following a southern gospel group that I liked. From one location to another, there wasn't a lot that had to change from the outside or even the inside to be honest....
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Tomorrow

As the little orphan Annie so famously sang, Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love you, tomorrow. You're only a day away." There's a flaw in what she was singing about though. She was singing about the possibilities and the what if's that may  come for her tomorrow. But as with any day, once that clock rolls past midnight that which was tomorrow becomes today while tomorrow continues to slip right from your grasp.  Since October, my church has been having a youth service monthly to pour into our youth. There are many things that they could be out and getting into on a weekend night, yet they choose to be in the house of God. Over the course of the months we have had the services, these youngsters have dove head first into drawing the line of where they stand, what the believe and pursuing God with a passion that I could only wish that I had when I was their age. The message that was brought in the most recent service was by our assistant pastor and it was on this very topic of to...
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Shifting gears

In my churchs' group chat, the topic of paradigm shifts was brought up recently. It took me back to a sermon I heard almost 25 years ago. I can remember exactly where I was: in my life, in my career, in my walk with God. I can remember who the preacher was, the church I was in, but I can not remember a single thing about that sermon other than the title. This comes after I spent weeks after I heard it rehashing every word and exploring more and more in-depth on what had been taught.  I've heard the term of paradigm shifts in one way or another several times over the years but never gave a second thought to it.  What does a paradigm shift even mean? A paradigm shift is something fresh that can’t fit into the existing models conventionally available.  But what does that mean, fitting into existing models? Let me reflect a moment on where I came from in my walk with God to now. From the time I was a child in vacation Bible Scool, I began to feel the drawing of God in my life...
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Karma-chameleoChristian?

My mind has been reflecting on the ladies conference hosted by the church I attend. Each of the ladies brought distinct points on what it is to be a Godly woman in the society we live in today. But the central theme of the evening was how we are called to be set apart. Let me reflect just a moment if you will. As my pastor's wife began to share, she brought up moths that look one way as they are flying through the air. However, once they land, they quickly camouflage themselves to hide from predators that would attack them for food. That point alone got my mind to thinking about how we "camouflage" ourselves in the world we live in as Christians.  As several of our speakers shared from Matthew 5 tonight, I find it pertinent to share it here, verses 13-16: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.Ye are the light of the ...
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Oh to be a Gatekeeper

In the old testament, you read of how the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the children of Israel.  Then you read how David sent a cart to retrieve the Ark and how  Uzzah and Ahio were struck dead when they stretched forth their hand to steady the Ark. If you quickly read on, you skip a short two verses there in 2 Samuel 6:10-12, "So David would not remove the ark of the  Lord  unto him into the city of David: but David carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.   And the ark of the  Lord  continued in the house of Obededom the Gittite three months: and the  Lord  blessed Obededom, and all his household.   And it was told king David, saying, The  Lord  hath blessed the house of Obededom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness." If you just read through and not pay attention, you skip ...
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Out of the pit and into promise

After writing the other day about the hem being Him, my thoughts have been racing. The initial thought was about how the hem was the closest part of that garment to the ground besides the sandals on the feet. It would have been covered in the muck, dirt and grime from the traveling between cities. Its not like it is now where we hop in our cars to go town to town. Nope, they walked on some very dusty roads. Yet, the woman with the issue of blood was determined to reach that hem.  Psalm 40:2 was at the front of my mind as this thought came and went: "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the mirey clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."   But as I was sitting here in silent contemplation on where to go with that as a writing topic, the Lord dropped it into my spirit that we go from the pit into a promise. My initial thought was "What do you mean God?", but then stories began to unfold in my mind.  There are several stories of men...
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