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Posts Tagged ‘repent’

12 Reasons I Left The Church

Posted in My Daily Life, tagged , , , , on June 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »

 

It was January of 2011 when we decided to leave the Church as a family. We had decided at the beginning of 2010 that we would give it another year to see if things improved. They did not. We wanted to make sure that we, as a family, were making every attempt to make things work, because we really did NOT want to leave. We really didn’t want to leave on bad terms. Since then, we have struggled to find a church that we feel is right for us. I have attended other churches through the years, but have not found that home where I feel comfortable. Don’t worry, I am not putting that all on the Church. We are all human and none of us is perfect. I get that, but there are fundamental issues that I could not ignore. If it had just been people being imperfect, I could have dealt with that, but the issues that drove me away were a straying from the fundamental principals of Christianity. It was a straying away from God to please man and I could not support that.

The 12 reasons I left the Church are:

  1. Lack of meaningful prayer – I’m not saying that there isn’t prayer in the Church, but reading off our prayer requests is not all that prayer is about. Prayer is inviting God into the fabric of our lives. It is a communication with God where we talk to God, but we also listen. Prayer is the cornerstone in building an intimate relationship with God (Jesus). The Church is not teaching Christians how to pray. Most Christians don’t have an active prayer life because no one has ever taught them how to pray. Most Christians have never been taught how to incorporate prayer into their daily lives. Prayer is a partnership between us and God. Prayer is the way that God allows us to partner with Him in bringing about His will here on earth. We need active prayer in the Church.
  2. Too secular – The Church has become too secular. Leaders have decided that the way to bring people in is too become worldly. We have allowed things into the Church that are clearly against the Bible. Would Jesus watch horror movies, play violent or graphic video games, or go to rock concerts? I doubt it. Would He approve of videos in bars of comedians drinking alcohol being shown before the sermon and not having to do with the sermon? Would He approve of a church middle school girl’s group being taken to see the Twilight movies? Would He approve of a church throwing weekly watch parties to view the Walking Dead TV series? Would He approve of HIS Church becoming secular to appeal to the masses? I doubt it. We have forgotten that the Church is NOT SUPPOSED TO BE SECULAR! That’s why it is the CHURCH (the BRIDE OF CHRIST)! We need to get back to the foundation of Christianity, start teaching the Bible and allow the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the lost.
  3. Stuck in the box – We, as Christians, are stuck in the box we call the Church. We refuse to go outside of the Church to bring people in. We expect people to come into the Church in their pain and heartache, but they won’t. People will not come into the Church, because they are afraid of being judged and they are afraid that they are not good enough. None of us is good enough! We need to be “backyard missionaries” and love the people in our own communities, where they are. We need to meet people in their need, build relationships and love them to Jesus without judging them. Jesus never intended for us to get stuck inside the walls of the Church. He set the example. He went out and met people in their need. He didn’t wait for the people to come to the Church. He healed them where they were and allowed the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts.
  4. Judgmental – We as Christians can be the most judgmental people in the world. We think we have the right to flaunt our “righteousness” while making other people feel as if they aren’t good enough to walk in our hallowed halls. Excuse me??? How did we get to the place where we think we are better than everyone else? Jesus was a humble servant and HE was the King of kings! He NEVER judged and He had every right too! Who are we to judge others, as we sit in our own sin?
  5. Lack of Faith – As a single mom of 5, I struggled at times with vehicle issues and just having a support system in place. When I reached out to local churches for help, I would get responses from the pastors saying that they didn’t have the resources to help me, but I was welcome to visit. Where is our faith in a God that has ALL the resources of the heavens and earth at His disposal? We should be a modern day example of the Church of Acts, giving our abundance to help those in need. Instead we sit back and say, “let the welfare system take care of them.” NO! The welfare system was developed because the Church quit doing the job God gave it. God designed the Church to look after the needs of the poor. He WILL provide when we have the faith to step out in faith to help others. I know of churches who save up “rainy day funds” of $28,000.00 or more, but claim they don’t have the resources to help those in need in our communities. Really? Where is your faith???
  6. Prideful Leadership – I realize that everyone sins. No one is perfect. This goes beyond that. I have seen pastors who will NOT have a mature discussion about decisions made by leadership, but instead feel like it’s a personal attack of their leadership. They refuse to be questioned about any decisions they make and if you do question leadership, you will be disciplined. Discipline could include being lectured via a Sunday sermon, being ostracised, or told to leave the church. I have heard a pastor say, “no one is going to tell me how to run my church.” Church members have a right to hold the pastor and other Church leadership accountable. The Church does NOT belong to the pastor or any other leader. The Church belongs to Jesus and we need to be good stewards with what Jesus ALLOWS us to lead for Him. When a pastor or other Church leader holds himself above those in the congregation He is wrong. When a pastor or other Church leader believes that he/she is above accountability he/she is wrong. You are leading a church, but you are not above anyone and we ALL answer to Jesus.
  7. Greed – I am blown away by these pastors and Church leaders who preach prosperity gospel. These leaders who have homes, cars and other material objects worth millions of dollars, while people are dying homeless on the streets. They sit up in their million dollar churches and guilt or bribe people into giving their hard earned dollars. I’m sure they do some good and help some people, but they have placed themselves on pedestals and believe that they have some spiritual super-power. The Bible clearly tells us not to store up treasures here on earth, but to give generously to those in need. What Bible are these people reading? Have they walked the streets and seen the need around them? Do they feel any compassion for the hurting? I am not just talking about the well known T.V. evangelists, I am also talking about our pastors in local churches in cities across this nation who think that for some reason they are to good to reach out to the homeless or the poor. Do we remember how Jesus lived?
  8. Discipleship – I grew up in the church and was never discipled. I went to Sunday school and Bible Studies, but those can’t take the place of intentional discipleship. Making disciples is about building relationships that continue outside of our Sunday and Wednesday corporate worship days. Discipleship is intentionally sharing life with a small group of people to help them grow spiritually. Jesus gave us an example of this in His relationship with His disciples. The Bible tells us to MAKE DISCIPLES! Sunday school is NOT enough! We go to Church on Sundays and Wednesdays and then leave new or struggling Christians to figure things out on their own the rest of the week. Jesus was available 24/7. I was actually discipled after we left the church in 2011. I was not discipled by a person. I was discipled by the Holy Spirit. I was desperate not to lose Jesus and I kept my heart open to the teaching of the Holy Spirit. It is a journey. He still leads and I still follow and I continue to learn.
  9. Lack of Community – We say that members of the Church are family, but we don’t act like it. Christians are the most stuck up people I know! Again, I am not talking about every Christian here. I have seen that most churches that I have visited are divided into cliques. Those cliques consist of the Haves and those that are “in” with the church leadership. They also consist of those who are thought of to be spiritually “above” everyone else. Those who belong in the cliques rarely step outside the walls of that clique to realize that we are ALL one family. We are ALL Christians and should not to be divided.
  10. Denominational Separation – Since I mentioned cliques in the above section, I think I need to mention the denominational division in the Church. Every denomination has tweaked the Bible in some sort of fashion to suit the purpose and beliefs of that denomination’s leaders. There is only ONE Bible! We should not be divided! When Jesus returns, He is coming back for the entire CHURCH! He did not say, “I am returning for Methodists, but those Baptists just don’t have it together.” And how many different Baptist Associations do we need? Really? We take PRIDE in what denomination we belong to like it’s some sort of prize, “I belong to the Southern Baptists! What denomination are YOU?” Seriously people? It doesn’t matter what denomination you belong to, if you are living in unrepentant sin, YOU ARE GOING TO HELL!!!
  11. Unrepentant Hearts – We think that if we ask Jesus into our lives and to be our Savior that we can live any way we want to live and that ALL will be forgiven. Not true! Once saved always saved is not a thing. If you are a Christian, but you are knowingly living in sin, you will go to Hell. We think that we can go to Church on Sunday and live the way we want the rest of the week and all will be well. Not true! If you profess to be a Christian then you need to live a Christian life at ALL times and when you sin go to God and repent. We will all at one time or another sin against each other and God. It’s time to repent. We wonder why our nation is in the state it is in. We have allowed sin into our churches and it is running rampant. satan is having a blast seeing how many Christians he can deceive into falling away from the Church and God.
  12. Business/Entertainment – It seems that the Church that is meant to be a place to worship God has become a place to show off to the world. It has become a contest. Which church has the most people, the biggest building, the most baptisms on Sunday, the biggest Sunday productions, the most money, the richest members, etc? Do we really need spotlights and smoke during our worship services? Do we really need our Sunday morning experience to feel like a rock concert? I don’t. It all seems sacrilegious to me. Jesus was born in a humble stable, without the fanfare. Who is the rock concert experience for anyways? I would say us, because I am pretty sure that God isn’t impressed.

I have wanted to write this post for a few years, but haven’t felt that it was the right time. Is now the right time? Maybe. I’m still not sure. These are my opinions based on what I have personally seen in the Church. I also realize that there are pastors, leaders and Christians that are living according to God’s will. What I saw was fundamental doctrinal issues that I couldn’t ignore. We all make mistakes, but when leaders go against the Bible, it’s time to leave. Will I go back?  Absolutely! I LOVE the Church with all of my heart. How could I claim to be a Christian and not love the Church? It is in finding that right church that holds to the Bible and the biblical view of how Christians should live. There is no compromise when you are a Christian. It breaks my heart to see the Church falling away from God’s will. I pray continually for a revival of our hearts. We don’t have much time left. Jesus will come. Are we ready?

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That None Should Perish

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , , , on November 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

 

Ezekiel 33:10-11

10 “Son of man, say to the Israelites, ‘This is what you are saying: “Our offenses and sins weigh us down, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?” 11 Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’

The Israelites were crying out from the weight of their offenses and sins. They cried out that they were wasting away because of them. Carrying the weight of our sin can be a heavy burden. I have had to repent recently of my own wrong attitudes of anger and resentment. I know first hand how sin can weigh us down and separate us from God and God’s best for us. I was wallowing in my anger and pride. I didn’t want to give an inch and was NOT setting the Christlike example that I knew I should be setting. I knew that my attitude was wrong and yet I refused to give in. What’s even worse is that I was hanging on to an anger and resentment that wasn’t rightfully mine to hold on to. It has been weighing me down. I hate knowing that I am choosing to let sin keep me from God’s presence.

So what do we do when sin is weighing us down? In verse 11, God tells us to Turn! Turn from our wicked ways! I read this verse yesterday and God used it to bring me to a place of repentance and restoration. I had to swallow my pride and make amends. I now feel reconnected to God and a relationship is in a place where Jesus can transform both of our hearts.

No one on this earth is exempt from sin. At one point or another, we will ALL sin and become weighed down by our sin and wicked ways. But God tells us that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He would much rather that we turn from our sin and transform our hearts. He would much rather give us life than sentence us to death.

2 Peter 3:9

 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

1 John 2:1

My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.

We WILL sin! But because God does not want any of us to perish, He has provided an advocate to intercede on our behalf. His name is Jesus. If we accept Jesus into our hearts and lives, we can repent from our sin and we will be forgiven. BUT we also must TURN from our wicked ways! Accept Jesus. Repent of our sin. And turn from our wicked ways.

There is life in Jesus! Allow Him to transform your heart and live for Him.

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Revive Our Hearts: 5 Steps To Spiritual Awakening In America

Posted in Being A Disciple, tagged , , , , , , on October 13, 2017| Leave a Comment »

 

 

We have seen pockets of spiritual renewal in the midst of the violence and chaos that has been created by the hate, intolerance and racism. Pockets here and there of goodness, compassion and love. But, is it enough? Are occasional pockets of spiritual oneness enough to be called a spiritual awakening? I don’t think so. It’s a start, but we have a long way to go to get to the place where we have a true spiritual awakening in America. It begins with each one of us examining our hearts and making the decision to live a life that glorifies God and letting go of the things that keep us tied to the world. The Church has become an entertainment industry. In our effort to bring people into the Church, we have become more secular and less like Jesus. We think it is okay to take middle school girls to see vampire movies as a youth event. We think it is okay to have viewing parties to watch the Walking Dead in our churches because we want to reach the unchurched. We forget that it is NOT our job to bring people into the church. It IS our job to live as Jesus lived in our daily lives. It IS our job to build relationships with our friends, family and neighbors; relationships built from love and compassion. It IS our job to allow the Holy Spirit to work through us. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work in the hearts of ALL people. As we reach out in love, the Holy Spirit will bring them into the church. We need to get back to putting Jesus #1 in our lives and leave the rest to God. There are 5 things we can do to bring true spiritual awakening to the United States of America:

  1. Pray: We need to be on our knees on a daily basis praying that God will protect this country. We need to pray that God will place His angels to protect the borders of this country from evil. We need to pray that the plans and plots of the evil one will be revealed, so they can be stopped. We need to pray that God will pour out the Holy Spirit in such abundance that Satan will have no choice but to flee. We need to pray for our Mayors, Governors, Senators, Representatives and even our President. We need to pray for our Pastors, our faith-based leaders, each other and ourselves. We can change things. Satan WILL flee, but we need to pray. Every lasting spiritual awakening starts with the crying out of the Saints in prayer. We need to come together as one and storm the heavens with our prayers. It starts with prayer.
  2. Repent and Transform: As we find ourselves on our knees in prayer, we need to pray that God will reveal the darkness in us that causes the violence and pain and that He will transform our hearts. We need to be willing to repent of our sins and trust that God will bring good out of it. We need to be willing to be transparent with each other and trust that our brothers and sisters in Christ will accept us as we are: sinners redeemed by the blood of Jesus. We are all sinners. We have no right to judge each other. We ALL need to look into the deep recesses of our spirits and repent of the sin that lies there. After we repent, we need to leave the sin behind and transform our lives to glorify God. We need to continue to renew our minds daily through prayer and Bible study. We need to transform our lives so the world will see more of Jesus in how we live our lives then they see of us.
  3. Love: We need to love those around us, even when they seem unlovable. We need to pour out love into our communities instead of hate. We need to open our hearts and eyes to where there is pain and step out in love to be Jesus in a broken world. If we don’t, who will?
  4. Serve: When we start to love the people around us God will reveal areas where we can serve. When we start to serve those in need around us, we build relationships with those who need the healing touch of Jesus and the Holy Spirit will open the doors for us to share our Jesus story. Serving others in love and compassion allows others to see Jesus in us and allows the Holy Spirit to work in their lives. Through our obedience in serving, the Holy Spirit will fill our Churches and revival will come.
  5. Disciple: We need to start discipling new believers. One of the biggest things that is missing in the Church is discipleship. I grew up in the Church. I went to Sunday school. I learned my lessons, but I was never discipled in the Church. There was never anyone that came alongside me to disciple me. No one ever taught me how to be a follower of Jesus. No one taught me how to live this life through the ups and downs. Sunday school is great, but we need to be willing to sacrifice some time to come alongside a new believer for a significant amount of time to disciple them. We need to be willing to teach new believers how to stay connected to the Vine: Jesus. I was finally discipled. I was thirsty for more of Jesus and God sent the Holy Spirit to disciple me. Outside of the Church. I was not finding Jesus in the Church. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Church. I do. That’s why I am so passionate about bringing the Church back to where it needs to be. We need to be more proactive in building discipling relationships and not depend so much on our Sunday schools. We need to be more proactive in turning new believers into mature disciples of Christ.

We can bring spiritual awakening to America. There is hope! God still loves us and we can turn things around. One pocket of spiritual renewal here and another pocket there CAN turn into a National revival and Satan will have no choice but to leave. Never give up hope! With God ALL things ARE possible!

 

 

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Where Are You?

Posted in From My Heart, tagged , , , , , on December 12, 2013| 2 Comments »

adam and eve

Genesis 3:8-9

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

In Genesis 3, The serpent (Satan) deceived Eve into eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve knew that this is in disobedience to God, but believes the lie of Satan. She offers a piece of the fruit to Adam and he also eats the fruit. Adam and Eve immediately realized they were naked and sewed fig leaves to cover themselves.

When they heard the sound of God walking in the garden, they hid from Him. I can just imagine the shame they must have felt, for them to hide. The problem is, we can’t hide from God. It doesn’t matter how far we run, God sees ALL and knows ALL.

We can’t hide from God. We will feel a sense of shame and guilt until we come clean with God and repent from our sin. How can we make things right, when we have sinned against God?

1. Repent- Go to God and confess your sin. Open your heart and surrender it all, because He knows everything anyways.

2. Restore- If the sin involves other people, you need to go to that person or persons and make things right. Apologize and make restitution if necessary. God meant for us to live in community among others. Restoration of broken relationships is an important part of being who God wants us to be.

3. Renew- What can you do to keep from repeating the same sin? Make a plan and commit to renewing your life for God.

If you are hiding from God, I encourage you to run to Him and confess the sin. Our Abba Father is waiting patiently for you to open your heart to Him. He is waiting for you to make that first step in bringing restoration in your relationship with Him. He loves you and His compassions are new each morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). Do you hear Him calling? Where are you?

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