Household of Faith Ezine is published every 2 weeks by

(Disclaimer: Some articles and links to articles published in this ezine may contain false doctrine. They are included due to some valuable content. The fact that they are printed here does not mean that we accept or endorse their doctrine. All writings of men, including ours, should be carefully compared to the New Testament writings.)

Most of us are guilty of some type of sin on a pretty regular basis. I know I am. I am thankful that most of mine are of omissions and involves no one except me and my Heavenly Father. I can depend upon Him to judge me righteously and I know that He has said He will forgive me if I repent and confess to Him. I also know that He does not lie and will do exactly as He said. Obtaining forgiveness is always up to me, no others, not even Him, because I already have His word.

Let's suppose you should discover one in a fault as the memory verse above says. How many others should you divulge your findings to before attempting to "restore" this one?

Maybe Matthew 18:15 will tell us more clearly "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." What a beautiful verse!

Other scriptures help also, or should. (Luke 17:3) "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."

(Luke 17:4) "And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him."

Often there are those whose indignation over the sin of others cause them to ignore the scriptures above and in order to appear more righteous than the brother, they will confide their information to others. And once this is started, a raging fire results which causes irreparable harm to the brother who could have been restored if only the memory verse above had been heeded. To some, it becomes a vendetta and they get worse and worse until they draw blood. They become so absorbed in destroying this person they deem to be so evil, they are totally oblivious of the sins they are accruing to themselves and the damage they are inflicting upon a brother in Christ. A simple trespass, even already repented of, cannot be stilled without depicting the brother as a common criminal. "...Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Romans 12:19)

The original sin of the overtaken brother might well be one that, once repented of, could be forgotten with no permanent harm to anyone. Yet, the sin and resulting damage caused by the wagging tongue(s) of those who have "feet that be swift in running to mischief", is far greater and more difficult to remedy. Although true repentance and confession may gain forgiveness for the gossiper, the damage done to a brother is far reaching and may never be repaired. Something I, or anyone else, should have difficulty living with.

Where harm is done, repentance involves more than simply deciding to stop whatever it is and asking forgiveness, but it demands recompense if possible. But with tongue damage, how does one repair character assassination, a broken spirit, a damaged career, or even possibly causing a soul to be lost? "...It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!" (Luke 17:1)

(James 3:6) "And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell."

(James 1:26) "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain."

Righteous living requires a lot of struggling to overcome our own weaknesses rather than verbally assaulting our brothers and sisters for theirs. We ought to pray diligently for strength. Prayer can help...a lot. My most eager entreaty in my early morning prayer is that He will grant me the clarity of mind and the strength to go through the day without sinning against Him. May we always have a penitent and forgiving heart. Never a "more righteous than thou" attitude. It not only can cause one to spend eternity in hell, it will.       (More next issue)

History has shown us (although no one wants to look) that great nations have fallen throughout the ages as they become evil and lose all sense of morality. Aside from giving us His Son who then gave Himself that we might gain eternal life, perhaps the greatest gift God has given man is this great nation that we are now so fortunate to live in. But, as in times past, we have bungled it.

The Puritan Pilgrims set up their first colony here in 1620 I believe (or there about). Although the Lord's church had virtually disappeared from the earth, or at least from public view, biblical morality remained quite strong in many religious groups. And now, in less than 400 years, the Lord's church has been restored and is swiftly slipping back into obscurity along with religion in general and morality in general.

I know that I become very pessimistic at times and people will say, "Don't worry, the Lord's church will survive and his people will be victorious!" It bugs me when they tell me that. I know that the statement is true, but that has no reference whatsoever to the masses. It has only reference to the tiny minority who remain faithful unto death. And that minority is growing smaller and smaller and smaller.

When election time comes around, we will vote for ANYONE so long as he is a member of our party preference, or if he is handsome, or anything else we may like about him, but we will pay no attention whatsoever to how he stands on murdering unborn babies. Or if he is opposed to our freedom of religion, or if he thinks homosexuals should have preferential treatment, or if our borders ought to be wide open to illegal aliens, ignores states who refuse to enforce our immigration laws, and on and on. Morality has no influence upon our choice of politicians. Our courts are run amok, our lawmakers are turned into lawbreakers.

Faithful congregations of the Lord's people are disappearing daily into liberalism, modernism, unconcernedism, entertainmentism...anything but truth and accepting the authority of God. Brethren, we need to stop saying, everything is going to be alright! It is not alright now and it is getting worse! I pray daily that God will grant me the wisdom to know what to say and when and where to say it, to help stem this avalanche of apostasy. And I thank Him daily that he allowed me to be born in 1930. My tour is drawing to a close and perhaps I will not have to witness the things which are coming to this nation and the Lord's Kingdom.

I am sure that the above article title is absolutely true! Doubt it? Then read the AP wire story under the headline, Jail Sentence for Killing Wife's Pets, that was dated Friday, April 14, 2000. WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) - A man who killed eight of his wife's pets to punish her for having an abortion was sentenced to seven months in jail. Leonard J. Kritz, 22, stabbed or cut the heads off his wife's pets - including birds, snakes and a chinchilla - in April 1999, saying it was necessary to teach her a lesson about the importance of life. He pleaded no contest to reduced charges of three misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals. Washington County Circuit Judge Leo Schlaefer said Thursday he was not sure the defendant's actions were in response to the abortion. ``Regardless of the philosophical or religious position one takes on abortion, there's absolutely no reason to be violent,'' Schlaefer said. ..... Kritz, who called the killings a mistake, is scheduled to begin his sentence June 12, after the birth of a child the couple is now expecting.

Before anyone gets the wrong idea let me say upfront that I am in no way advocating the senseless slaughter and torturing of animals. No one should deliberately try to torment any of God's creatures for sport or to prove a point. But there are some questions that beg to be asked here.

Where is the doctor who performed the abortion? Was he dragged before the bar of justice for tormenting a human life? Was he given a jail sentence for "getting violent?" We all know the answer. He/She was likely working that day, grinding out more murder, pocketing more blood money, enjoy the good life at the expense of unborn babies, euphomistically called "fetuses." He/She is a respected part of the community.

Where were the owners of the abortion clinic where Mrs Kritz had her abortion? Were they before the bar of justice, answering for their blood stained hands? Were they answering for participating in genocide, every bit as horrible as the Nazi genocide of the 30's and 40's? We all know the answer. They were collecting thousands from women like Mrs Kritz, who had been deluded into believing the lie that the child she was carrying was just a piece of tissue which she was free to cut loose instead of a human life.

What about the judge in this case? He likened Mrs. Kritz' abortion to a "philosophical or religious position" and turned around and put Mr. Kritz in jail for seven months. Who stood as an advocate before justice for the unborn child? Why would a judge equate murder to a philosophical or religious position? Strange indeed!

Seven months in jail for killing birds and snakes and honors and money for those responsible for the killing of unborn children! A strange world indeed! What is wrong with our country? It is later than we think when people are sent to jail for killing snakes and rewarded for killing babies. We, both individually and as a nation, need to repent of our sins and turn back to God. "So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm." (Joel 2:13)

Well, eventhough I lost all of my ezine archives, we seem to be back in business. I had planned to do a little changing in the format anyway as you will now recognize. (How 'bout that fancy header above?) I made that 2 or 3 months ago but was saving it for 2007 anyway.

The start of a new year is always a time for reflection and resolutions. We can learn and grow from our mistakes, unless we are like many who did not make any. This past year has been one of the most discouraging years I've ever lived in some ways and has been the most encouraging in others. I extend my humble thanks to our recently discovered brethren in Kenya who have been an inspiration to me. Brothers Benard Kagaga and Elias Omollo who work together in Ndhiwa, Kenya with the Kalamindi congregation there should be an inspiration to us all. These men spend their waking hours in devoted work for the Lord. They have informed me of 30 new converts baptized this past year since we began corresponding with them in April.

They hold an annual gospel meeting each December (this year the 5th through the 10th). They don't conduct them as we do here, sitting on the seat of our pants. The first 4 days are spent in canvassing the surrounding area door to door and conducting a Bible class late each afternoon. Then on Saturday they had 4 lectures and 2 on Sunday with different speakers for each lesson. This year, they had 6 baptisms and 2 restorations and may well have more resulting from this effort. If not for these good men, I might have been overwhelmed with discouragement.

They need more assistance than we are giving them. I wish some of you who can, would be willing to send them whatever you can. They don't ask for much. They asked us for $120 to support Elias per month! After discussing the conditions with a missionary familiar with the economy of the area, we settled on $200. Benard has to make his own way although we add $50 to our contribution to help him a little. If any of you could raise another $250. for these men, they would turn Kenya upside down. They also need tracts, books, publications, etc. They are avid readers and distribute this literature to others. If any want to consider anything, email Benard, or me. To contact Benard, his email is elykagaga2003@yahoo.com.

It is not often that you find where you may buy the best on the market of a product AND with the lowest prices. Puritan's Pride offers this opportunity. Read this quote from their website: "Each day, the automated fulfillment system, which was designed, in part, by our own engineers, picks over 100,000 products and ships them to over 15,000 households."

2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. - That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. - Prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. - That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. - That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. - That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.