Unapologetically Apostolic

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...