In Spirit and In Truth

I could easily name this post "Why I Believe in a Pre-Trib Rapture". To do so, would indicate that I'm throwing my hat in the ring of debate. I have largely avoided speaking on the topic of End-Time events simply because of raging debate around it. It is fruitless, and promotes dissension among those who claim to love the same God. We spend so much time nit-picking and attacking, that debate seems to have evolved into a debate for debating sake. Truth gets lost in our own (as opposed to God's) translation. With that said, I'm taking up a seemingly lonely side, truth. Since the teaching of Saint Paul, End Time events seem to have somehow been separated from it's original owner, Faith. Today we view biblical subjects in categories, in where we separate, and place boundaries. This has caused division amongst those who claim to believe the same God. As they place one "subject" or "area" over another i.e. Baptist; Pentecostal etc. The Salvation

In my post " Confessions of a Former Worldwide Church of God Member ", a former WCG member stumbled upon my blog/post. Now I would love to know where you are and what you're doing post WCG. If you are a former WCG member with a blog, I would like to add your link under the link list "Former WCG Members Blogs". Leave a comment and I'll check it out! Or if you know someone who was a former WCG with a blog, please leave a comment as well. Consider it as sort of a meeting place to see how others are faring in their post WCG "clean up"! May Peace and Joy be multiplied through your faith in Christ Jesus of Nazareth! Hannah (There is no more :))

Today, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered as a man who instilled social change under the the instrument of peace. He is a man admired for his amazing self-control and dedication to social change via peace and truth. He is one of the very few people that lived (or live) on this earth I can say without a doubt, I truly admired and respected what he was about. My admiration stems not from his speeches, which in itself it absolutely awe-inspiring. Neither from his peaceful mission in a violent world. Nor his various degrees of intellect. My admiration comes from the fact that he indeed was a man of the Faith and a promoter of Love. A rare gem in a world gone astray. I love that he was a nonconformist, surrounded by a bevy a churches, who, as he personally testifies, refused to help in his quest of much needed social change. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

In my post, Confessions of a Former Worldwide Church of God Member , I made a statement that I wish to expound further on: "Quite honestly, I say this knowing full well some of you, if not most will be offended by this statement, I find church attendance can be a hindrance to a believer's walk in faith" Before moving on let's clarify what exactly a "Stumbling Block" is. "an obstacle or hindrance to progress, belief, or understanding" "An obstacle or impediment" "a difficulty that prevents progress" Source: American Psychological Association (APA): Stumbling Block. (n.d.). Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary. Retrieved January 16, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Stumbling Block Chicago Manual Style (CMS): Stumbling Block. Dictionary.com. Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary. K Dictionaries Ltd. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Stumbling Block (accessed: January 16, 2008

I have a blog that I started a few months ago. It was called The Vineyard of Prayer and was supposed to be a prayer blog, however, it did not evolve as I expected and has been mostly dormant. Upon finding out that I am expecting my sixth child, I rededicated The Vineyard of Prayer to my pregnancy and has now become a parenting blog. I renamed it TheOliveParent . Like, In Spirit and In Truth, it is a faith based blog, but doesn't necessarily cater to professed Believers only. It focuses on parenting issues as well as pregnancy, childbirth, home birth, breastfeeding and any topics associated with it. I wrote a post today regarding home birth and the safety of it compared to a hospital birth for low-risk women. Because of the nature of the post, I thought it would be fitting for this blog as well. So please take a moment and read today's post on TheOliveParent , Home birth is a Safe Option, but is it Safer? . God Bless!

Now some of you may have heard of The World Wide Church of God. For those of you who haven't here's a brief, basic, summation of WWCG, as described by Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia : "The Worldwide Church of God (WCG), formerly the Radio Church of God, is a Christian church currently based in Glendora, California , USA. Founded in 1933 by Herbert Armstrong as a radio ministry , the WCG under Armstrong had a significant, and often controversial, influence on 20th century religious broadcasting and publishing in the United States and Europe, especially in the field of interpreting biblical end-time (eschatalogical) prophecies. However, within a few years after Armstrong's death in 1986, the succeeding church administration, led first by Joseph W. Tkach, Sr. and then his son, Joseph Tkach, Jr. , examined and changed the doctrines and teachings of which the WCG held fundamental differences with more mainstream Christianity. Many members and ministers left the WCG to

The Comment on the Something More to Share post states: "Some say the KJV is better because of its language. It is true that the modern English language seems to be going somewhat downhill with a lot of people - not that that's a bad thing completely - it's just that there won't be so much beauty to words and appreciation for words if the English language eventually turns into text message and IM language where words aren't fully spelled out. I believe that proper English speech and grammar are very important and should have more importance in schools (even though I'm not the best at practicing them - I wish I were). This said, some people might prefer the KJV because they think of it as proper English and don't like the way newer versions are cutting down the text, like the NLT. I appreciate the KJV even more for its language because it's part of history and I think the language is beautiful. Besides, I think that reading and interpreting (or ga

During my blog silence a few months ago, which translates in September of last year, A young college student happened upon my blog and emailed me with two questions they had for me. "So, if you believe in a young earth I was wondering if you could explain why? As well, if you believe in an old earth creation instead I was wondering if you could explain why? My second question, I was wondering why you and other Christians alike continue to use the inaccurate old English King James Bible? This is not to say one version is necessarily the “correct” version but for someone who believes in the infallible word of God, as do I, the KJV can be very inaccurate because of the KJV and New King James Version alike who both use a language or non-modern language not used anymore AKA Old English and old text not as useful. I really don’t care too much but this was something that came to mind when you had written that you use the KJV." (Please note that the above quote is a quote and

To my brothers and sisters of the faith, created by Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I wish you blessings of a joyful New Year! As I review 2007, my husband and I are in complete agreement, it was a spectacular year of trial by fire, and in no way we will celebrate the end of a tumultuous year. Instead, we celebrate the growth it brought us as His children. Indeed our faith is MUCH MORE precious than gold, as it says in 1 Peter 1:7 . The question we both discussed and entertained throughout the year was there a "mindset" or an "attitude" that we needed to acknowledge? At the year's end, it was clear to the both of us, by the Holy Spirit, that it was a simple trial of our faith. "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." -- 1 Pet