joseph the just

 Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with an identifiable kiss in a place where Jesus commonly retreated to get away from crowds and gather His thoughts. later, Judas agonized in this betrayal to the point of destroying himself. when the Lord resurrected and ascended into heaven, the eleven began to wait for the promise. they had no…

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Hosea

i have always been fascinated with the story of Hosea. the examples that God directed him to live out are hardships that few would tolerate. even calling the names of his children would bring back the heartache that he had to live with every day. while studying recently in Romans 9, i came across this…

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Haggai

Haggai, pronounced either HAG-eye or hag-gi-eye was one of the final prophets in the post-exile world of the Old Testament. the first time we hear his name mentioned is in the Book of Ezra, chapter 5. Here, we find him prophesying alongside Zechariah to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem. not much is known about…

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faith works

  the final four verses of Romans chapter 9 read, “What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it…

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the rear guard

spiritual warfare; it’s the sign of the times. never before has the Christian church been closer to the Second Coming of Christ and under such a grand attack from the enemy. every morning, God’s mercies are new, yet the populous turns to entertainment and self-gratification. most of those that have tried to live for God…

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in the name of Jesus

i love being Apostolic! for years, i contemplated the meaning of life in Christ and why one denomination taught certain things that another did not. i spent my Sunday school years in an apostolic church and became very familiar with Pentecostal worship. the singing, shouting, and dancing did not frighten me off upon returning to…

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thunderous loving revelator

 the Apostle John, also known as John the Revelator, lived before discipleship as a fisherman. John and his brother, James, were headed by their father Zebedee in the family business. having been in the Navy, i can attest to some of the personalities you will find upon the seas. the customs of the times were…

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drink of the cup

 most of us do not like the idea of being uncomfortable. not to mention using the word suffering when referring to our state. Paul wrote, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8: 17,…

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condensed salvation

 i taught a teenage and early high school-aged Sunday school class for years. from time to time, we would have a visitor or someone unfamiliar with the Apostolic doctrine. in these cases, i would always cover fundamental salvation doctrine before the end of class time. this material gave the individual something to think about, perhaps…

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the witness

 i recently received a letter in the mail from a return address that included the name “Julie.” this envelope and message were hand-written in cursive with beautiful penmanship. it is rare to see handwriting on an envelope among advertisements and credit card applications these days. i was intrigued. i made my way up the driveway…

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