Unapologetically Apostolic

In some ways, this is a revisit of a blog I wrote back on April 15, 2023 entitled Beauty in the Broken. I will repost that here before going on into this new season. "All throughout scripture, we as human beings are likened to pottery. We are as earthen vessels created by a master potter. Jeremiah 18:2-6 says, "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.  3  Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.  5  Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel." Knowing that God is our Potter, however, does not always negate those feelings of hel...

Looking back on the memories of...wait a minute! I'm not writing out the lyrics of a Garth Brooks song here. What's a different way that I can start this? Once upon a time? No, thats been done. In the beginning--nah it doesn't go back that far. Well, seems like all the good starting lines are taken. So I guess I'll just jump right on in head first.   I guess it starts about 9 years ago when I was in a different church. I found a passion for writing and looking at things from a deeper spiritual level. Because of that, I started working on writing my life's story. I wrote and wrote all while reliving moments from my past that I truly never wanted to remember again. But, I felt as if I had to share these things because they had all been a part of shaping my life. From the time of my birth until then, each moment had been shaped and defined by each of these moments that I shared. The "scraps," as I called them, had been pieced together to form something beauti...

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...

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....

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...

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...