Sinful Too by Victor McGlothin Read Free Book Online Page A

panted anxiously. “I’m almost there. Here it is. Chapter six and verse thirteen.” She blew off a layer of dust then followed along in her text as Richard read from his.
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the tricks of the devil.”
Richard raised his head then patted his face with a white cotton handkerchief.
    “Don’t nobody know your weakness like the devil. He’s got some of us so messed up that we’re going out of our way to make our friends think we’re too cool to follow Christ. Stop trippin’! Put on the whole armor of Christ. Verse fourteen through eighteen reads,
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked one. And, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and request in the Spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance for all the saints
. Amen. Who can see that there is a holy war going on in your life every day, for your soul? Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians a long time ago and it still stands necessary today.” Richard closed the Bible and proceeded to engage the audience. He strolled closer to the end of the broad platform covered in plush royal blue carpet. “It’s important, church, that we get dressed in the proper spiritual clothing before we leave the house because it’s a battle waging on for your eternal life. Wrap your waist in truth, slide on the coat of righteousness, cover your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, grab hold to the shield of faith, take the helmet of salvation and your Bible, the sword of the spirit, and be watchful!” Richard had the crowd on their feet then but he wouldn’t let up. “Be watchful! Be watchful! Fight for your soul, church. Don’t let the devil trick you into giving it up, getting too tired, growing too weary, feeling so low that you’d rather hand it over without fighting to the death. Persevere, church! Stick it out! Grow up! Wake up! Stand up! Stand up! Stand up!” Richard marched up and down the aisles with his hand clutching a microphone. Dior was amazed that hordes of people shouting and wailing like the devil had them and they demanded freedom. It was nothing short of remarkable, the effect his sermon had on them. She reached for the remote control to lower the volume when the choir started in low with another song. Then Richard started in again, with subtle humming in the background. “Church, I love you, but a lot of us have grown up in the Lord and are out there fronting like we haven’t come into His knowledge. We don’t want our drinking buddies and bed-hopping buddies — yeah I said it, our bed-hopping buddies — to know that we’ve grown up! Woke up! Got dressed up! Climbed out of the sewer and stood up!” Dior watched the crowd boil over excitedly as Richard shouted with each exclamation. “Uh-huh, don’t you know that you’re not tricking anyone but instead the devil is fooling you into believing a lie? Listen to me well, friends. If you have grown up, woke up, and have stood up for the Lord then later turned around and tried to hide it, you shame God. And if you are not filling out your spiritual clothes, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. Don’t get caught dead in the wrong clothes. Dress your inner man daily with the ‘whole armor of God’ because the devil is out there and he’s prowling, looking for weaklings to devour. Be strong in the Lord, be battle-tested, be watchful, and most of all be faithful in the Lord. Amen.”
    When Richard returned to the stage, he sat off to the right side in a magnificent chair with a high back and wide armrests. It looked more like a throne than anything else, Dior thought. He had his very own kingdom,