HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH EZINE

You may not have heard of this one. It's history is somewhat complicated and perhaps it is small enough that it should cause little concern. However, these weird cults mislead and lure astray young people or old ones for that matter. We need to be aware of them in the event some of their followers are encountered or if someone we know becomes interested in them.

The movements that influenced the beginning of this cult were from as far back as the 1800's. Perhaps the earliest of these was the New Thought movement started by Phineas Parkhurst Quimby. He was engaged in mystical and hypnotic healings. The second religious category to influence this cult was the Psychic and New Age family of religions. These religions arose in opposition to the swiftly changing thoughts away from mythology and superstitions to biblical truths. And they are suspected to have been highly influential in forming todays charismatic and miraculous healing denominations.

The actual beginning of the movement now called The Church Universal and Triumphant was started in the 1930's by a man named Guy Ballard and was named the I AM religion. But after his death in 1939, his wife continued as head of the group and it encountered much difficulties and divided into several splinter groups. One of these groups, started in 1958, was headed by a man named Mark L. Prophet who called it the "Summit Lighthouse" movement. Then, at his death in 1973, His wife Elizabeth Prophet, became head of the church and in 1974, the group was incorporated and named the "Church Universal and Triumphant" which is a term often used in reference to the Roman Catholic Church.

For those interested in more details of their teachings and/or history, you will find links below to sources of such information.

I noticed that my dictionary did not list "integrity" as a part of virtue. But by looking at the definition of the two words, you find that they have compound meanings that pretty much coincide. Personally, I think that integrity is a part of virtue. Neither one makes you a Christian, I have known many men who were exemplary in their virtue and/or integrity, that were not even religious.

A Christian, however, especially after he has had time to grow, will surely have to incorporate these factors into his life. By adding these to his life, he becomes honest, upright, wholesome, strong, trustworthy, complete, sincere, with moral excellence, chaste, good character and more. No lying, no criticizing, no cheating no debt-beating, no immorality, and on and on. A task that does not come easily. Many would say such a man was a great Christian man. But he would not be unless he was a Christian.

The following article by brother Joseph Pauley made me think of all that.

“The American General Dean, during the Korean War, was captured by the Communists. They put him in a room with a pen and paper and told him he had only a few minutes to write his last letter to his family. Assuming he was about to be executed, he addressed his wife and son, Billy. And the only thing he said to Billy was, “tell Bill the word is integrity.” That says it all. The last words of a condemned man were that the essence of life is integrity, and he was right” (Habits of a Loving Heart, Willard Tate).

Integrity. The word comes from the mathematical term, integer, which is a whole number; it hasn’t been divided into a fraction. Integrity refers to an undivided life – a life that is not divided by dealing one way with one person and another way with another person. A life of integrity is a life that always displays the same values in any given situation.

The apostle Paul said, “I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men” (Acts 24:16). Paul makes these words while standing before Felix, the governor who was hearing his case, and after the High Priest and Tertullus had accused him of sedition and being a ringleader of the “Nazarene” sect. Paul wasn’t guilty of the crimes with which he had been accused, but Paul readily admitted that he was associated with the Way, though not the “ringleader” his accusers had suggested.

Paul possibly could have simply denied the accusation that he was the “ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.” After all, he wasn’t a part of a sect of any sort. He was a part of the Way, which is the God-ordained way to worship in view of Jesus Christ being the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. He certainly wasn’t the “ringleader.” He could’ve flat denied it.

However, Paul simply owned up to being a part of the Way. Yes, he did correct the misunderstanding of Tertullus, but he owned up to it. He told the whole truth. Paul was a man of integrity. He never had to worry about being found out.

What a good goal for our lives! Let us “strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.” Let us be people of integrity – people who do not display different values in different situations. Let us be whole people.

Joseph Pauley preaches for the Lord's church assembling in Belle, West Virginia

Chula Vista Books is owned and operated by Mark and Teah McWhorter. We carry a wide selection of Bible related materials--ladies' books, childrens' materials, commentaries, apologetics, lectureship books, missions books, class books, debates, sermon books, church history, topical studies, Bible covers, Bibles, tracts, BCCs and more.

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Does your congregation have a web site? Can you add, update and delete information from your existing web site easily? If you answered no to either question visit The Lord's Way. This new service allows you to create a web site for your congregation and update it yourself whenever you want by simply completing online forms. The service is designed for any congregation that wants a web site that contains current, updated and fresh information but does not want to invest the time and money in learning about the inner-workings of the Internet. Your new site will be packed with information about your congregation. Visit us and take a tour!

The older I get, the more I worry about the nation's morality. Rather, the lack of morality. It upsets me almost to tears, to hear about a full classroom's worth of babies being murdered by their mothers (or hiring someone to do it) every 10 minutes! Not only is a child killed each time but a mother and an M.D. places themselves into eventual punishment for eternity, most likely. It certainly will take a lot of repenting and praying to do away with that.

And apparently there will be few that do repent of it. Most will fight you like a tiger over their right to do this type of murder. Most have no remorse, and most of the ones with some remorse do not actually repent. And then comes the desecration. The brain of this tiny person, which was drawn out of his head often is used for experimenting. Some of the tiny parts are sold on the black market. It may not have been considered a living human to the perpetrators, but the ghouls and the vultures are just waiting for the lifeless body.

There is a webpage I wish you would go read. It is a special report in the Covenant News of The Baby Parts Industry. It has 5 different articles concerning this illegal activity. But, who cares? The baby was unloved, unwanted by a mother who loved life's pleasures and lusts, more than her own child.

The future of the church rests on our ability to train effective leaders. There will always be a need for leaders to rise to the occasion as servants, Bible class teachers, ministers, deacons, and elders. Believing that such training should begin at an early age, Leadership Training for Christ provides an opportunity for youngsters, beginning in the third grade, to recognize and develop leadership skills.

Training is Biblical, practical, and in-depth. Leadership Training for Christ provides local congregations an opportunity to work with children and teens on a year-round basis. The second annual SELTC convention is being planned for March 29-31 in Mobile, AL. For more information please see our website Click Here or call 205-988-5808.

The Bear Valley Bible Institute, Scottsboro Extension (BVBISE) is half-way through it's second year of operation under the oversight of the elders of the Broad Street Church of Christ in Scottsboro, Alabama. The school is an extension of the BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE of DENVER. 40 courses (and eight out-of-class mini-courses) completed over a four-year period lead to the Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree. The Associates Degree may be earned in half that time.

One course is taught each month (except July and December) in two all-day Saturday sessions along with outside assignments. The school is TUITION FREE. The only costs to the student are for required texts & materials, and a $5 fee each Saturday to help cover the teacher's expenses. The teachers are academically well-qualified and experienced gospel preachers who know and love the Bible as the verbally inspired and authoritative word of God, and who volunteer their time and work as a labor of love.

BVBISE is committed to training sound and able Bible teachers (men and women), and faithful gospel preachers for service in the kingdom of Christ. The format is designed to make this training possible for men and women who must continue their jobs and other pursuits while they study. Credit is given for previous college or preacher-school study. A preacher-school graduate may be able to earn the Bachelor of Biblical Studies Degree in as little as four months of study. For more information please contact the Broad Street Church of Christ, 613 South Broad Street, Scottsboro, AL 35768. Phone: 256-574-2489. EMAIL

"I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever." --Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?" --Lee Iacocca

May God bless His faithful children where ever they are.

Hercules and the Wagoner

A carter was driving a wagon along a country lane, when the wheels sank down deep into a rut. The rustic driver, stupefied and aghast, stood looking at the wagon, and did nothing but utter loud cries to Hercules to come and help him. Hercules, it is said, appeared and thus addressed him: "Put your shoulders to the wheels, my man. Goad on your bullocks, and never more pray to me for help, until you have done your best to help yourself, or depend upon it you will henceforth pray in vain."

Self-help is the best help....Aesop