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Thank you for visiting my blog. The site is dedicated to sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I share devotionals (original and classic) as well as commentaries, notes and general Bible studies. Quotes from devotionals and various study Bibles and other Christian and Hebraic resources are also posted regularly. You can download tracts and other Christian publications by visiting this site.
I come from a family with religious connections all over the board. Most of my ancestors came from Germany, Denmark and England. Those from Germany were Mennonites while others were German Baptists. After arriving in America, some of my family established themselves among the various Pennsylvania German sects (Mennonite, Ephrata, Schwarzenau Brethren and so on). Later, a few others became Seventh Day Baptists (not the same as Seventh Day Adventists) and held on to their old traditions. Some of my family were affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church, primarily the Serbian and Russian churches. A handful of others became Roman Catholics and Methodists.
Eventually, my northern relatives moved to West Virginia and eventually as far as East Tennessee. Over time, with marriage to the Appalachian mountain folk, they began mixing the “mountain ways” with that of their old Pennsylvania Dutch traditions. I currently have relatives in Yuma, Tennessee, who are nominally affiliated with the Amish. The head of the house is a “braucher” (one who practices folk medicine).
In the 1960s my father became a member of the Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP). A few years after retiring from active priesthood, I became a member of COGOP myself in 2020.
The old ways continued to be passed down and I have held on to many that were taught to me by my great grandmother, grandfather and grandmother. This includes Pennsylvania Dutch Braucherei (folk healing) and Appalachian folklore and medicine. With both of these traditions, Jesus Christ and the Bible have always been the centre of our faith, regardless of religious affiliation.
This is by no means a comprehensive list or explanation of my personal beliefs. I share this because people ask where I stand as a Christian. Some posts alternate between various renderings of the Sacred Name (Yahweh/Jehovah) and that of Christ (Jesus/Yeshua), and so on.
- I believe in One God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 20:2-3; Ephesians 4:6; Malachi 2:10) eternally existent in three persons: The Father, the Son (Hebrews 1:6) and the Holy Spirit (John 10:30,38; 14:17). The Bible and the Ancient Church have taught this from the very beginning.
- I believe that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:27,35) and is fully human and fully divine (Matthew 14:33; John 1:1; Colossians 2:9; Revelation 1:8).
- I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16) and that His Word must be obeyed by everyone called into the Body of Christ (John 14:15). I believe in the complete accuracy of the unaltered manuscripts in their original languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and that no translation is perfect.
- I believe that one can only be saved by being called (elected) by the Lord, being born of the Spirit (John 3:5) and having faith in Him (Matthew 16:21). One can not be saved through another person, angel or saint, church or denomination. Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9; 1 John 4:15) and as such is our only Mediator and Saviour (1 Timothy 2:5).
- I believe in the work of the Cross, that is, the sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). I believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the tomb. His resurrection from the grave gives Christians hope for our future (2 Corinthians 4:14).
- I believe that the Church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) and that it does not consist of only one “denomination,” but rather sheep of His fold from various churches which He has called and chosen (Ephesians 2:19–22). God knows His own people (2 Timothy 2:19). I do not refer to myself as either “Arminian” or “Calvinist” (1 Corinthians 1:11-15). I do not believe that all sects within Christendom are true or faithful to the Word of God. Christians must test all things and make sure their beliefs are in accord with the Scriptures (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
- I believe in the Apostles‘ and Nicene-Constantinople and Athanasian Creeds in their fulness, without alteration.
To gain a better understanding of some basic and essential Christian beliefs, I suggest the free booklet What We Believe available from Discovery Series.
Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations are either from the Believers Standard Bible, the World English Bible, New Revised Standard Bible, or a translation of my own from the original languages.
Hovering over the verses cited will display the American Standard Version (ASV) translation of the Bible from 1901.
Public domain images are usually from pixabay.com or unsplash.com.
- ASV. American Standard Version (1901)
- BSB. Believers Standard Bible.
- OC. Adaptations on the works of Oswald Chambers.
- SSB. Scofield Study Bible with 1917 notes (public domain), adaptations.
- WEB. World English Bible.
Unless otherwise indicated, site content is copyright © 1995-2021 Br. Charles. All trademarks, service marks, trade names, trade dress, product names and logos appearing on the site are the property of their respective owners. Copyright infringement is not intended.