Contending For The Faith

Revelation 17:1-8  1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:   2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.   3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.   4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:   5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.   6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the...

2 Peter 2:1-3 1. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. 2. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. 3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgement now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.  As we enter the summer months the institutionalize church experiences a drop in attendance and funds. This is because of family vacations, family reunions and business trips abroad by the members. Many pastors see this as a sign of departure from the faith because they believe that the Christian’s life and energies must revolve around the church building and activities, not to mention more importantly the collection plate. The remedy to them for this "breach...

The global economy has caused businesses to depend heavily on the airlines to take them throughout the U.S. and overseas to the different businesses that they have investments in. To keep customers coming back to their airline, carriers identify people who fly on a frequent basis and they are offered a frequent flyer program. This helps them to get there faster, cheaper and in more luxury.      Our flesh also offers us a frequent flyer program. It's called by many different names. It's called the wide gate and the broad way in Matthew 7:13 and in Galatians 5:19-21 it's called the works of the flesh. Ephesians 2:2 calls it the course of this world, while Romans the 8th chapter calls it walking after the flesh, the carnal mind, the deeds of the flesh and the bondage of corruption. Every person who doesn't know Christ as their savior is automatically part of these frequent flyer programs and starts building up miles at birth, for David says in Psal...

St. John 4: 10-14, 21-24 When I was a little boy growing up in the 1970's, I loved the show "Little House on the Prairie." Based on the true stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder during the 1870's and 1880's it depicted life on the small American frontier towns. Besides the Ingalls home one of the most recognizable buildings on the show was the Walnut Grove Church and School. After watching the show for sometime it became clear to me that the small Protestant church had a positive affect on the rugged America frontier by promoting righteousness, simplicity and hard work.      Now the megachurch dominates the so-called evangelical landscape and has a negative affect on the community by promoting sin, extravagance and ease. If the small Protestant frontier churches such as the Walnut Grove Church and School could be transported from the past to today, how would it fair vs. the megachurch in a head-to-head match up? How would a Rev. Robert Alden (the pastor of the Walnut...

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thu...

There was a well known song written by Gene Autry and Ray Whitley back in 1939 called " Back In The Saddle Again." The song describes my situation to a tee. Let me explain.      In 2007 I was a COGIC minister pastoring a small mission church in Winston-Salem, NC. I was a full-time student, supporting my family and the church on my disability check from the VA. I was also caring for my wife who was ill and constantly in and out the hospital. During this time the Lord started dealing again with my wife and me concerning our continued membership in the COGIC. The Holy Spirit would eventually use two incidents to finally motivate us to leave.      The first incident was a radio interview that I did with a good friend of mine named John Coleman in Los Angeles, CA, after listening to his Azuza Madness Series. As I prepared for the broadcast on his website,  Into The Word...