Spiritual Boredom
What is spiritual boredom? Is it a lack of motivation toward spiritual things? Is it an insulation from any new spiritual input?
Children, often get bored during a sermon--they don't have the attention span or the intellectual ability to absorb all that is being given them via speech. However we are told that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
Somewhere, between 12 and 18 a child has either begun to absorb or reject the spiritual input they have received whether it be merely doctrine, theology or experiences and observations of the adults they look to as spiritual guides. (Parents, pastors and teachers).
At some point, some, have an experience that transcends what they have cognitively learned about faith and accepted and entered into a relationship with a person and or an institution (religion). At the point that some are baptized or confirmed or whatever the "mark" of spiritual understanding is in that particular denomination, some cease to grow. They have now decided whether to follow or not to follow. They have identified and believed the "theology" of that particular group. Indoctrination some may say.
Many, maybe most adults continue to follow the precepts that they have been taught in regard to morality and belief. They know what they believe. They may go through a time of individuation or even rebellion in their teens and twenties but then settle into what they have been taught. It has become their default mechanism when life gets hard, doing what they know to do, were taught to do, what their parents did. They listen to sermons each week, attend the expected services, go through the somewhat satisfying rituals, but they have ceased to grow. And then is when the spiritual boredom sets in...they can answer all the answerable questions: where do we go when we die? Who was Jesus? Why do we take communion? What is the Sabbath? And they keep their questions and their answers in that box. Few seek those answers for themselves, there is no need, because they have been "accepted". Maybe even memorized--not that it is a bad thing to "hide God's Word in your heart " so that you do not sin. At some point, they learned NOT to ask those unanswerable questions. (it makes pastors, teachers and parents angry, nervous, upset or irritated).
When we cease to question, we cease to grow. When we do not continue to be truth seekers and life long learners we stagnant spiritually and the world is all too alluring in every other field of endeavor to realize that one is drifting...somewhere things moved from relationship to acquiring knowledge--and that knowledge is neatly tied to this one little box called "Baptist, Catholic, Jewish" etc.
Who hasn't been found with mind drifting in many services--as it is re-hashed what has been taught since childhood , as the emphasis is continually on our need for evangelism and not growth. Questions not thought to be "acceptable" to the educated professional Christian Elder/Teacher/Pastor, have long since been abondoned. A "what if" is met with a stern rejection or a loving patronization.
Spiritual boredom comes when we quit seeking truth for ourselves, when we hide from true community and intimacy that calls us to a higher place, when we stay locked in our comfortable boxes called "theology, denomination, constitutions" and cease to meet the world and its questions head on. When we cease to meet with our friend and Savior in the intimate garden, when we cease to dance in His presence and Sing in HIS sanctuary (wherever that may be).
When we entertain the "traditions of men", we cease to be impressed by the discernment of the Holy Spirit.
When we ignore the promptings of the Spirit for the sake of sleep, or time pressures, or work pressures, or adrenalin rushes, we are no longer "fulfilled.". When our experiences outside the spiritual realm tickle our fleshly longings more than our spiritual longings, we put up a wall between our flesh and our spirit and guess which one wins?.
When the joy is gone and the duty remains, when liturgy replaces divine illumination and personal understanding and interpretations. Maybe our teaching even told us that these things are too lofty for our meager laity understanding...But then, in a moment, God uses the weak to confound the mighty, He speaks to us in a powerful moment when our religious armor is down and the Spirit can leak through...and we know, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is real and the Spirit is alive--even alive within me--when, like the mother with child, the child leaps within our womb and no one may see, but we know. No one can tell us their is no life, for it is within us...we can't see it, but we feel it...even if we have been told NOT to rely on our feelings, we know. We know that we know. The Spirit is alive and within ME.
We rush back to that place again and again, just to see if He will meet us there again, if that "life" within, is growing, and it will keep growing IF we let it. And it will, it must give birth...to life, to joy, to deeper understandings and yes, hopefully more questions--Maybe will will see miraculous interventions. Maybe we can now not just see over and beyond that wall, but the wall is gone and the freedom is emancipating.
Then, the Spirit calls us to a "new meeting place" and new time, or a new understanding. Our spirit arises to meet The Spirit and we are ALIVE. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. We can eat from the tree of "knowledge" (of good and evil) or we can eat from the tree of life. New fresh fruit every single day. The fruit from this tree is juicy and sweet and not dried up and "ooops, boring"...
Spiritual Boredom has a cure, but you must SEEK. Ask. Seek. Knock. NO MAN COMES UNTO THE FATHER EXCEPT BY ME. JESUS is The Light The Truth and The Way. Try to enter by any other door and you will grow discouraged or spiritually bored.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Letting Go of You Is Letting Go of Me
Possessive love. We call it protection. We call it "family". Family first you know. But smother love is stunting love. Smother love is trying to fill a need that no one can really fill. My child, grandchild, niece, nephew cannot fill that spot in me that needs to be loved in ways I was not loved. Way back before they understood love languages, love was a hot meal, a warm bed, maybe a hug and prayers at bedtime. Over- the-top-blessings were a baseball mitt, maybe dance lessons or horse back riding lessons for the privileged. No one questioned, "do you love me?"--it was understood. Mostly.
Not that abuse never happened, it did. But that isn't what we are talking about, we are talking about helicopter parenting. I have done it. I tried not to, but we so much want to protect our children from financial disaster, broken hearts, the big things. It starts with allowing them to scrape a knee and tell them you will be fine, not "oh you poor baby". That's crippling. I knew that. It's the big boy and big girl hurts that I want to protect them from. The life threatening hurts, car accidents, bitter break ups, divorce, drugs...I mean these are legitimate concerns for a rational mother or father, right?
In a time of great angst with one of our children, God showed me how Job let things come upon him. "The thing that I feared has come upon me" is the quote the settled in my heart. I had let fear drive my interactions with my children. And where there is fear, there is not faith. Where there is fear, I cannot be planting confidence and faith.
Legitimately, I ask myself, how do I know if I am walking in true faith or just "repressing" my fear? Good question. I know when the fear re-surfaces that it was not handled in biblical faith. I did not truly trust the issue, or my child to the ONLY one who knows and does what is best for him.
When I kept them from "evil" people I may have even kept them from a life lesson that would protect them later down the road in life.
I watch the grown children of what I would have called "neglectful" parents thrive in life. They have learned skills because no one stepped in and protected them from it.
From the moment of birth I gave my children to God--and yet I have gotten in His way more than a few times. I thought I knew best. I was, afterall, the parent, the responsible one, the protector.
But the day comes, and hopefully before their wedding day, that I must say," I let go of you, I entrust you to the ONE triune God. I don't expect anything from you. I don't expect you to fullfill my need to be loved or rewarded for being such a good parent. I planted seeds, I watered, and now, like the farmer, I trust God to bring the sunshine and the rain into your life to create the perfect harvest."
So," I let go of you." But, I also let go of me, all my "hopes", my dreams and expectations, my demands, my "at least for Christmas, father's day, mother's day..." At last, as every mother painfully lets go of that umbilical cord, I release you to be the men God called you to be. I release you...and I trust my latter years to God--I am letting go of me, too. His will, His way. Amen.
Not that abuse never happened, it did. But that isn't what we are talking about, we are talking about helicopter parenting. I have done it. I tried not to, but we so much want to protect our children from financial disaster, broken hearts, the big things. It starts with allowing them to scrape a knee and tell them you will be fine, not "oh you poor baby". That's crippling. I knew that. It's the big boy and big girl hurts that I want to protect them from. The life threatening hurts, car accidents, bitter break ups, divorce, drugs...I mean these are legitimate concerns for a rational mother or father, right?
In a time of great angst with one of our children, God showed me how Job let things come upon him. "The thing that I feared has come upon me" is the quote the settled in my heart. I had let fear drive my interactions with my children. And where there is fear, there is not faith. Where there is fear, I cannot be planting confidence and faith.
Legitimately, I ask myself, how do I know if I am walking in true faith or just "repressing" my fear? Good question. I know when the fear re-surfaces that it was not handled in biblical faith. I did not truly trust the issue, or my child to the ONLY one who knows and does what is best for him.
When I kept them from "evil" people I may have even kept them from a life lesson that would protect them later down the road in life.
I watch the grown children of what I would have called "neglectful" parents thrive in life. They have learned skills because no one stepped in and protected them from it.
From the moment of birth I gave my children to God--and yet I have gotten in His way more than a few times. I thought I knew best. I was, afterall, the parent, the responsible one, the protector.
But the day comes, and hopefully before their wedding day, that I must say," I let go of you, I entrust you to the ONE triune God. I don't expect anything from you. I don't expect you to fullfill my need to be loved or rewarded for being such a good parent. I planted seeds, I watered, and now, like the farmer, I trust God to bring the sunshine and the rain into your life to create the perfect harvest."
So," I let go of you." But, I also let go of me, all my "hopes", my dreams and expectations, my demands, my "at least for Christmas, father's day, mother's day..." At last, as every mother painfully lets go of that umbilical cord, I release you to be the men God called you to be. I release you...and I trust my latter years to God--I am letting go of me, too. His will, His way. Amen.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Bullies in the Church?
For over twenty-five years, I filled the role as "Pastor's Wife". Now, that means different things in different circles. But for me, in rural congregations it meant being "mom" to everyone. Though the highest preference is for the Pastor's wife to play the piano, I didn't fit that role at all. The ultimate guise of caring was praying what they thought my husband, the Pastor should do or should do differently in my ear shot. Who can have any retort to someone's prayer?
The other way that we experienced "bullying in the church" was S.S. teachers who regularly would tell us everything our son did wrong..."and he was a "Pastor's son" was said with such incredulity we couldn't resist. (Although looking back we sure should have). They were normal boys. They were not mini-Pastors reaching for perfection and mature in the faith.
We were bullied by pay checks that barely met our needs. Often, we were slightly above the poverty line, although God was well aware and supplied for us in so many ways and through some very generous, loving and considerate people.
We were sometimes spied on--sometimes deliberately and sometimes not, but none-the-less we were in that glass house 24/7, in town, out of town, at the grocery store and even in our bed on Saturday a.m. if we weren't up and about at the crack of dawn. Never mind that we had been called out at 2:00 a.m. with an emergency.
There were those who competed for the attention of the Pastor's wife, like siblings looking for Mom's attention. There were those who worked to slither their way into our private lives to get closer to the Pastor-with a variety of motivations.
Why would I bother writing about these things? Because they hurt. They hurt our family. They hurt my children. I had such an innocent, pure love for people when we entered the ministry, but I grew cold and synnical. And with that, I have grown wise.Thank you Lord. I see the bullies coming, and I don't have to give them time or attention unless the Lord himself tells me to help this person overcome by the Power of HIS Spirit. Otherwise, they are tools to derail my calling, my time and my emotional well being.
Why would I write about such things? Because I am warning the young, innocent Pastor's wives, to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Be alert. Be on your guard, for your enemy is prowling...and YOU have the tools to overcome by the Spirit.
Bullies in the church? Oh yes. But God is preparing HIS church to be filled with HIS glory more and more each day. We will come to that place through HIS Spirit, through overcoming prayer. And the bride will meet her groom without spot or wrinkle--that includes, Pastors' wives, Pastors, their children and every other true saint. Amen. Hallelujah!
For over twenty-five years, I filled the role as "Pastor's Wife". Now, that means different things in different circles. But for me, in rural congregations it meant being "mom" to everyone. Though the highest preference is for the Pastor's wife to play the piano, I didn't fit that role at all. The ultimate guise of caring was praying what they thought my husband, the Pastor should do or should do differently in my ear shot. Who can have any retort to someone's prayer?
The other way that we experienced "bullying in the church" was S.S. teachers who regularly would tell us everything our son did wrong..."and he was a "Pastor's son" was said with such incredulity we couldn't resist. (Although looking back we sure should have). They were normal boys. They were not mini-Pastors reaching for perfection and mature in the faith.
We were bullied by pay checks that barely met our needs. Often, we were slightly above the poverty line, although God was well aware and supplied for us in so many ways and through some very generous, loving and considerate people.
We were sometimes spied on--sometimes deliberately and sometimes not, but none-the-less we were in that glass house 24/7, in town, out of town, at the grocery store and even in our bed on Saturday a.m. if we weren't up and about at the crack of dawn. Never mind that we had been called out at 2:00 a.m. with an emergency.
There were those who competed for the attention of the Pastor's wife, like siblings looking for Mom's attention. There were those who worked to slither their way into our private lives to get closer to the Pastor-with a variety of motivations.
Why would I bother writing about these things? Because they hurt. They hurt our family. They hurt my children. I had such an innocent, pure love for people when we entered the ministry, but I grew cold and synnical. And with that, I have grown wise.Thank you Lord. I see the bullies coming, and I don't have to give them time or attention unless the Lord himself tells me to help this person overcome by the Power of HIS Spirit. Otherwise, they are tools to derail my calling, my time and my emotional well being.
Why would I write about such things? Because I am warning the young, innocent Pastor's wives, to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. Be alert. Be on your guard, for your enemy is prowling...and YOU have the tools to overcome by the Spirit.
Bullies in the church? Oh yes. But God is preparing HIS church to be filled with HIS glory more and more each day. We will come to that place through HIS Spirit, through overcoming prayer. And the bride will meet her groom without spot or wrinkle--that includes, Pastors' wives, Pastors, their children and every other true saint. Amen. Hallelujah!
Veterans Day 2013.
How my views have changed since I was a young adult. As a child of the 60's and 70's I was strongly against the Viet Nam war, and I had studied WWI and WWII--I saw only unwise men causing bloodshed on others. I saw the word of God saying "Thou Shalt Not Kill"...War was killing and killing was sin.
But, then I had children. Now, I could not EVER see one of my sons going off to fight a foreign war, being maimed for life for the greed of men. It was WRONG, and there was no discussion.
Now, I am a grandmother and I do not want to see war. But, I respect the men who will defend my grandchildren, my land, my heritage. And one of those soldiers is a son of mine. I raised him to not even play with guns. I envisioned him as a spiritual leader and had confidence in the "word" God had given me concerning this. But, then God changed my thinking. David, a mighty warrior was a man of God. God had "called" David to be a warrior from a child. I was standing in the way of God's purpose for my eldest son.
Did I know God well enough to trust Him with my first born son? Could I relinquish control? Hadn't I given this son to the Lord before his birth and prayed for God's purposes for his life the moment he was born?
The "word" I had received of the Lord was that my sons were to be "leaders of men"...and I reluctantly had to admit that leading men in the military was still leading men. And where did we need more men of strength and integrity than in a place that formed the souls, character and strength of men? I let go.
It wasn't long and my son became Chief, a Commander in the USCG. And for such a time as this when the military want to leave "so help me God" out of their oath. As has been stated before by men of great sacrifice, strength, perseverance and maybe a little rough around the edges, "there are not atheists in fox holes"...
The silly wars men fight cannot be won with our ideology, but men of strength can imbody our ideology. They can be influencers. They can stand strong when forces beyond us threaten--not just wars but tsunami's and typhoons and hurricane, disasters that signal the end of this earth. Messiah is returning and he will bring us a new heaven and a new earth--this one was never made to last. And these end time warriors are the David's of our generation. I thank them. I respect them. I pray for them.
And, if you are smart, you will at least take a second look at your ideology and ask the God of the Universe if He needs to tweak your thinking--He did mine.
How my views have changed since I was a young adult. As a child of the 60's and 70's I was strongly against the Viet Nam war, and I had studied WWI and WWII--I saw only unwise men causing bloodshed on others. I saw the word of God saying "Thou Shalt Not Kill"...War was killing and killing was sin.
But, then I had children. Now, I could not EVER see one of my sons going off to fight a foreign war, being maimed for life for the greed of men. It was WRONG, and there was no discussion.
Now, I am a grandmother and I do not want to see war. But, I respect the men who will defend my grandchildren, my land, my heritage. And one of those soldiers is a son of mine. I raised him to not even play with guns. I envisioned him as a spiritual leader and had confidence in the "word" God had given me concerning this. But, then God changed my thinking. David, a mighty warrior was a man of God. God had "called" David to be a warrior from a child. I was standing in the way of God's purpose for my eldest son.
Did I know God well enough to trust Him with my first born son? Could I relinquish control? Hadn't I given this son to the Lord before his birth and prayed for God's purposes for his life the moment he was born?
The "word" I had received of the Lord was that my sons were to be "leaders of men"...and I reluctantly had to admit that leading men in the military was still leading men. And where did we need more men of strength and integrity than in a place that formed the souls, character and strength of men? I let go.
It wasn't long and my son became Chief, a Commander in the USCG. And for such a time as this when the military want to leave "so help me God" out of their oath. As has been stated before by men of great sacrifice, strength, perseverance and maybe a little rough around the edges, "there are not atheists in fox holes"...
The silly wars men fight cannot be won with our ideology, but men of strength can imbody our ideology. They can be influencers. They can stand strong when forces beyond us threaten--not just wars but tsunami's and typhoons and hurricane, disasters that signal the end of this earth. Messiah is returning and he will bring us a new heaven and a new earth--this one was never made to last. And these end time warriors are the David's of our generation. I thank them. I respect them. I pray for them.
And, if you are smart, you will at least take a second look at your ideology and ask the God of the Universe if He needs to tweak your thinking--He did mine.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Government Shut Down
Follow the yellow brick road, oh my. Where are we going tin man?
"Well, I think we are headed in the right direction. The Federal Government has shut down all non-essential jobs."
So, if they are non-essential, that means we can do without them. Right? If we treasure the constitution, couldn't we just have real people meeting on a regular/ yearly basis to address "essential" needs of the government and leave the rest to local governments? Do we want big brother feeding us, giving us medicine, deciding how much tax we owe "them"? Do they really qualify for more than the 10% God requires?
We love our museums and parks. But, originally, they were run by "volunteers". Our roads do interconnect us and are worthy of our tax dollars. The truth of the matter is that we have not really cut down to "essential" needs yet.
On the other hand, I personally have benefitted by Social Security caring for my parents, Medicare taking care of my fatherless nephews and neice, my hippie brother and one son being paid by the military. It has made life easier, for me. We are no longer an agregarian society, so how do we feed and clothe extended family? If my brother has the necessities of life unmet, would it not be my duty to try to meet that need? Can I really pass it off to the government?
And what about the churches? What responsibility does the church have to meet the needs of those within its congregations? So the churched are fed and cared for and the non-working, druggies are not. Fair? Oh, my goodness, how immature are we when fairness comes up constantly--who ever said life is fairl. However, these un-churched druggie types have children and as a society, we owe those children respect. And what if the druggies is your brother, neice or parent? Is this not an illness of our society that needs to be addressed? And what makes us think the governent is equipped to address it just because we throw them money? They inflate the salaries of those who care for the weak among us and the weak are not helped.
Furthermore, we pay to abort those babies that are not wanted--hoping to save ourselves a few bucks. Is that murder or is that compassion? Many would debate this issue, as well.We have become consumed with "me" and anything other than "me" is for someone else to take care of, so we pay the government and the job does not get done. So why do we keep on paying them? They cry for more more more money to do the job. The job is ours. The missing element is God, not money.
Americans are over-compassionate. We pay for the disabled, the non-working, the mentally ill, the illegal alien, the prisoners, the largest group of blood suckers: Full time politicians--with their jacked up expense accounts and travel reimbursements, seminars, retreats and the alcohol they seem to need.
Essential services. What are the essential services? Our military, our veterans, our aged, our children, our roads...Food inspectors?
More irony. We continue to pay these politicians when the government is shut down, we continue to pay them for the rest of their lives...Service, duty, sacrifice has gone from all our vocabularies. And "In God We Trust" has been replaced by in money we trust and it has short changed us.
Can we call for a national day of repentance? Or, not yet? Are we desperate enough, yet, to turn to the only one that can help us? Or will we continue to rely on our own selfish ambitions, man-made plans and ideologies, theories and move to despotism?
Cry out people. Repent. It is an old message but the only hope of our salvation, individually or as nation.
Amen.
Follow the yellow brick road, oh my. Where are we going tin man?
"Well, I think we are headed in the right direction. The Federal Government has shut down all non-essential jobs."
So, if they are non-essential, that means we can do without them. Right? If we treasure the constitution, couldn't we just have real people meeting on a regular/ yearly basis to address "essential" needs of the government and leave the rest to local governments? Do we want big brother feeding us, giving us medicine, deciding how much tax we owe "them"? Do they really qualify for more than the 10% God requires?
We love our museums and parks. But, originally, they were run by "volunteers". Our roads do interconnect us and are worthy of our tax dollars. The truth of the matter is that we have not really cut down to "essential" needs yet.
On the other hand, I personally have benefitted by Social Security caring for my parents, Medicare taking care of my fatherless nephews and neice, my hippie brother and one son being paid by the military. It has made life easier, for me. We are no longer an agregarian society, so how do we feed and clothe extended family? If my brother has the necessities of life unmet, would it not be my duty to try to meet that need? Can I really pass it off to the government?
And what about the churches? What responsibility does the church have to meet the needs of those within its congregations? So the churched are fed and cared for and the non-working, druggies are not. Fair? Oh, my goodness, how immature are we when fairness comes up constantly--who ever said life is fairl. However, these un-churched druggie types have children and as a society, we owe those children respect. And what if the druggies is your brother, neice or parent? Is this not an illness of our society that needs to be addressed? And what makes us think the governent is equipped to address it just because we throw them money? They inflate the salaries of those who care for the weak among us and the weak are not helped.
Furthermore, we pay to abort those babies that are not wanted--hoping to save ourselves a few bucks. Is that murder or is that compassion? Many would debate this issue, as well.We have become consumed with "me" and anything other than "me" is for someone else to take care of, so we pay the government and the job does not get done. So why do we keep on paying them? They cry for more more more money to do the job. The job is ours. The missing element is God, not money.
Americans are over-compassionate. We pay for the disabled, the non-working, the mentally ill, the illegal alien, the prisoners, the largest group of blood suckers: Full time politicians--with their jacked up expense accounts and travel reimbursements, seminars, retreats and the alcohol they seem to need.
Essential services. What are the essential services? Our military, our veterans, our aged, our children, our roads...Food inspectors?
More irony. We continue to pay these politicians when the government is shut down, we continue to pay them for the rest of their lives...Service, duty, sacrifice has gone from all our vocabularies. And "In God We Trust" has been replaced by in money we trust and it has short changed us.
Can we call for a national day of repentance? Or, not yet? Are we desperate enough, yet, to turn to the only one that can help us? Or will we continue to rely on our own selfish ambitions, man-made plans and ideologies, theories and move to despotism?
Cry out people. Repent. It is an old message but the only hope of our salvation, individually or as nation.
Amen.
Saturday, September 7, 2013
"Helping Others Overcome Addictions"-Book Review
"Addiction is Satan's substitute. It is a substitute for intimacy. " Says Steve McVery and Mike Quarles in "Helping Others Overcome Addictions". "Lies keep people in bondage". We believe lies that are implanted in us in times of innocence. What does a child say to themselves when Daddy misses one too many ball games? (Perhaps, Daddy doesn't care) Then later, a teacher or Pastor disappoints, a girlfriend breaks up with him and all these events get added to that "seedling" and now become "no one cares"...an innocent life event becomes the seed for hopelessness. People fill their voids with substitute intimacies...even church addictions and performance orientations explains priests and Pastors who become alcoholic, because performance doesn't fill that empty spot, only relationship can. Not doctrine.
It is so important for caring, wise adults to help children process life experiences through a healthy lens or the child may let a hurtful seed root in their lives that becomes a stronghold in their lives.
Why has the church relinquished "addiction" counseling to the unbelieving world/secular world? Because the church has become powerless, rich in theology, traditions and programs but lacking "the power" that can only be given by healthy, intimate relationships with the ONE who can lead, guide and direct.
Too many "Christians" have misunderstand the role of Messiah, the Church and Christianity in their lives and thus swallowed a "lie" that harms them. So, this book is a call BACK to THE ONE, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE...no man comes to the Father but by Him and no one climbs out of addictions but by Him.
Secular re-hab groups succeed when they follow and implement biblical truths, but their success are few and far between, as well, because it is a 10 Step program, or a 6 month in house re-hab, it is replacing lies with the truth through THE ONE. It is dying to self and giving ones life to The ONE who died for each of us and had victory over sin, so that, we too, might have victory.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Book Review: "The Great Exchange-Replacing Lies with Experiential Truth"
"The Great Exchange -Replacing Lies with Experiential Truth" by Lillian M. Easterly-Smith is a consolodated study for individuals seeking inner healing. All her premise is taken from Ed Smith, founder of Theophostic Prayer Ministry.
My husband and I have been doing prayer ministry for over ten years. We have seen God give amazing freedom to lives that were ready to accept His truth. Some are not yet ready. Some have been disuaded by online fear mongers and legalists saying it is not biblical. As is often the case, some even use scripture to "justify" thier stance. Too often, I have seen Christians that misunderstand a biblical principal use it to defend their sin, explain their behavior and justify the lie that they are believing.
HOW do we renew our mind? Romans 8-12 is the very foundation of prayer ministry and inner healing. Past experiences CAN serve as blocks and stongholds to you and I getting free from destructive patterns that affect our lives, our jobs, our relationships, our patterns of thinking that produce bad fruit.
At least give "The Great Exchange" an honest look. Use it for devotions, or in a small group. Ask God to open up the areas of your life you may have closed off from even Him.
Church history reveals old fashioned revivals, an old term, called praying through, altar calls, but we have grown too sophosticated for God to work in those ways. Prayer Ministry, Inner Healing, Theophsotic prayer are tools God is using in this day and age to set people free.
My husband and I have been doing prayer ministry for over ten years. We have seen God give amazing freedom to lives that were ready to accept His truth. Some are not yet ready. Some have been disuaded by online fear mongers and legalists saying it is not biblical. As is often the case, some even use scripture to "justify" thier stance. Too often, I have seen Christians that misunderstand a biblical principal use it to defend their sin, explain their behavior and justify the lie that they are believing.
HOW do we renew our mind? Romans 8-12 is the very foundation of prayer ministry and inner healing. Past experiences CAN serve as blocks and stongholds to you and I getting free from destructive patterns that affect our lives, our jobs, our relationships, our patterns of thinking that produce bad fruit.
At least give "The Great Exchange" an honest look. Use it for devotions, or in a small group. Ask God to open up the areas of your life you may have closed off from even Him.
Church history reveals old fashioned revivals, an old term, called praying through, altar calls, but we have grown too sophosticated for God to work in those ways. Prayer Ministry, Inner Healing, Theophsotic prayer are tools God is using in this day and age to set people free.
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