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Some of you might be wondering why I’m writing about churches having snow days when it’s mid-May. Well, to be perfectly blunt, I spent half of April in the hospital and the other half recuperating. So, I never got to finish this blog. I’m finishing it now because the ideas are still timely. As summer vacation time comes upon us, people will of course be missing church. There’s always going to be reasons some have to miss services some times but that doesn’t mean A) they are less of a Christian or B) that they can’t find other ways to worship God and learn outside their normal church service.

But back to the weird, late-March snow storm! We were all told that this would happen, but I’m not sure we believed it. After all, the snow was coming in on the first day of spring and the snow followed several days of 70-degree weather. That, and I live in the mid-south. Arkansas, to be exact. Not exactly one of the states known for being a frozen tundra six months out of every year.

But fall it did…on a Saturday night/Sunday morning. Many churches that morning canceled services and I know many people who chose to not attend services even though their church was in session. What upset me was I also heard people criticizing those churches and people who chose safety over showing up at a church service. It wasn’t the first time I heard it, either. Every time it snowed on a weekend here this winter, it was open season to judge. Comments about the lack of faithfulness from the churches because they didn’t open their doors. Or how those who chose to stay home were somehow less committed to God and the church because they stayed home one weekend.

It made me furious. I even called some people on it and called their attitudes what it is, spiritual abuse. Yes, I understand that many people use silly excuses to not attend church and are therefore not being fed as well spiritually and are not experiencing fellowship with other believers. This phenomenon of apathy is something with which churches really struggle. But safety and health are not silly excuses.

(I should step in and explain one minor detail here. Some of you may be looking at that photo and saying “they canceled church/school for THAT?” Remember, I said I live in the south. We don’t get much snow here, therefore we’re ill equipped to clear it as well as the northern states. We got about four inches that weekend, but even two inches of frozen precipitation has been enough to paralyze us here!)

I hate to break it to any denomination that preaches this using subtle means, but church attendance is not a salvational issue. You are not less of a Christian and you are not less committed to God if you happen to miss a service. Attending church may score you points with your pastor, but not with God. He doesn’t work on a point system! Yes, it’s a good way to be fed and to fellowship. I believe, that considering God is everywhere, there is no magic found in church attendance. It makes no logical sense (and I have yet to find it in the Bible) for us to put our safety second to the idea that we must show up every single Sunday. To openly chastise or criticize people using the faulty logic is bullying and abusive, in my opinion.

All that said, there’s a whole other, secondary point I wanted to make that ties in with these thoughts. Just because you can’t make it to your house of worship (church) doesn’t mean you can’t make your house, your home, a place of worship. After all, isn’t that how it was done in the early church?

This idea of having family church at home is another thought that seemed to pervade during the weekends this past winter when the NE Oklahoma/NW Arkansas area had more snow than normal. I absolutely adore this idea and encourage it. For one, it’s providing the necessary time to worship God and it’s providing spiritual nourishment for your family.

But it also teaches your children (and yourself) possible new ways to worship God and learn about him. So why not do it? I suggest something that may seem obvious…make the lessons something the kids would understand but the adults could still learn from. In fact, this isn’t as hard as it seems. You know the phrase “faith like a child?” I’m guessing that we adults could learn a lot about faith and God if we give kids the chance to learn about the Bible with us then let them share their thoughts on what they’re learning.

Society doesn’t use the phrase “out of the mouth of babes” for nothin’!

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In his most recent book “A New Kind of Christianity by Brian McLaren” he asks ten questions that he views his transforming the faith.  It is my personal belief that when anyone starts talking about ‘new faith’ or a new type of Christianity that sets up a red flag for me as someone who is really a wolf in sheeps clothing.  The truth is the Gospel message and those that belong to Christ (christianity) will never change.

Jude 1:3 “I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.”  After reading his latest book I have to agree with the panel discussion below that a better title for “A New Kind of Christianity” could perhaps be entitled “An Old Kind of Heresy”.

The below panel discussion is worth the watch.

2 Timothy 1:14
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

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Over the past few days, while I have been sick *and forced to be quiet* I have had a lot of time to think and reflect.

I think we may have played into the enemy’s hands (not meaning to), but none the less I fear we have.

Consider this ~

The last few years, the main focus of the church has been much talk of the rapture and most people seem to believe in a pre-trib rapture.

The government continually talks about global warming, climate change, the end of the earth’s resources, weather patterns becoming more severe….blah, blah (insert more of the same).

There are those who continually talk about the Mayan calendar and the end of all things in 2012.

Then there are the Planet X people, who believe the 10th planet (that comes through our solar system every 3600 years) is due to come through causing great calamity and unparalleled catastrophe.

Now consider how all this would sound (and effect your judgment) if you were a teenager ~

Looks like the end is coming….

Will I ever have the opportunity to marry, have a family, a career?

Will there even be a world left for me to live in?

Teenagers (and everyone else) are constantly being bombarded with talk of the END of the world as we know it. It has to be depressing.

Where is their hope? If they are a Christian, yes, they have the rapture, but without also being deeply rooted in the Word of God, will that sustain them and give them the hope they need to be overcomers through Christ? Seems, even many of the Churches teach and preach more on their individual doctrines rather than teaching the basic fundamentals of the Word of God.

(And what if the rapture doesn’t take place?)

Psalm 11:3 warns us, “If the foundations are destroyed,What can the righteous do?”

(I am not going to go into the fact many of the newer versions of the Bible, leave out over 200 verses, thus giving a different meaning to certain sections of scripture.)

We need to consider ~

Are we giving our children and young adults “hope” or are we adding to their discouragement? Because, I believe if they are not planted on a firm foundation, we are only adding to the problem.

For those who do not have the hope of the rapture, nor the foundation of the Word to guide their lives, the world is basically giving them no hope! What affect will this have concerning their decisions on a daily basis? Why try to achieve? Why do the best they can? For what? In their thinking, if the world is going to end in a couple of years, why should I wait – ’til marriage? Why shouldn’t I – drink, do drugs, etc.? Why should I obey laws? What difference does it make?!

I believe our youth are continually hearing discouragement and despair. And I believe this plays right into Satan’s plan. After all, he came to “steal, kill and destroy.”

I feel like I have bit off a big chunk of meat that is difficult to chew. I would love to hear your comments. Does anyone else see the problem here?

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For many who have been abused, it’s not that easy. Any form of abuse, including spiritual abuse, creates a sense of shame, distrust and pain in the people it affects.

Once a person realizes they’ve been spiritually abused and they have the courage to remove themselves from the abusive situation, they still have a mountain of emotions to overcome.

Since we began writing about spiritual abuse on Daily Jesus, it’s become one of the more popular subjects on the site. The comments on my first post Abuse is Real and it Hurts, made several things clear: many people have experienced spiritual abuse, many of those who have been abused struggle to find a healthy church, and many struggle to trust God and have a healthy relationship with him.

In the post Finding a Healthy Church After Facing Spiritual Abuse, we discussed a little bit about how to find a healthy church after dealing with spiritual abuse. I’m by no means an expert on any of these subjects, but I do have some experience with having distrustful feelings towards God because of how his followers have behaved.

When I first decided to try the “God thing” again after running for more than a decade, I made a “deal” with God. I told him that if I was going to have a relationship with him, then that’s all it could be about. Just me and him and not about what church I attend, special rules put on me by his followers or some unspoken expectation that I behave a certain way because of being a church leader’s kid.

After a while, I realized I was being absurd for making this “deal” with God. Having a one-on-one relationship is all he wants! The song Heart if Worship came to mean a lot to me. The link takes you to the full lyrics, but the chorus was something my heart still has to sing from time to time:
“I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You,
It’s all about You, Jesus
I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You,
It’s all about You, Jesus”

So what I’m saying is, as you start out on this journey of healing, realize that all God asks of you is your faithfulness to him. Yes, we are supposed to do good works, but it’s not the road to salvation.

Realizing that having a relationship with God is a wonderful, fruitful thing if the focus is right is just one step, however. Any person who has experienced abuse must deal with the emotional and mental damage that was done through some form of therapeutic means. Support groups and one-on-one therapy with a counselor are two key ways to accomplish this.

I would also like to suggest another program, called Celebrate Recovery. It’s a Bible-based, Christian program that doesn’t judge, preach or condemn. It’s for healing from all of life’s “hurts, habits and hangups.” You can find a local chapter or group by visiting the main Web site. And no, I’m not a paid spokesperson for the organization, just someone who has found a lot of help and healing through the program!

Well, we’ve discussed the idea of spiritual abuse, how to find a healthy church and also a few thoughts on finding personal healing. What other issues would Daily Jesus readers like to read or discuss regarding spiritual abuse? How can this ministry help you?

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Haiti Needs Your Immediate Help – Now!

A massive, 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti near the capital of Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, January 12th. The damage to buildings is extensive and the number of injured or dead is estimated to be in the hundreds, even thousands.

Daily Jesus is asking our entire family to help with the immediate and long-term Earthquake Disaster Relief now underway in devastated country.  Please prayerfully consider what you can do to help those who need immediate basic food and water, medical attention, and other survival needs.

4 Practical Ways To Help Now

1.   Just Send A Text – For those interesting in helping immediately, simply text “HAITI” to “90999″ and a donation of $10 will be given automatically to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, charged to your cell phone bill.

2.  Red Cross – International Response Fund

The American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help with the recent Earthquake in Haiti.

3.  World Vision – Haiti Earthquake Relief

4.  Northwest Haiti Christian Mission – An on the ground Christ-centered missions organization in Port-au-Prince ready to receive money to give it directly to those in need.  They are literally on the frontlines in the Capital city.  Donate Now!

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A Jealous Love!

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I recently had the opportunity to review Keri Wyatt Kent’s latest devotional, Simple Compassion. If you are looking for a new devotional with a fresh new look for the New Year, this is the one I would pick.

The following is my review:

Would you like to start 2010 with a new outlook, a fresh plan? Pick up a copy of Keri Wyatt Kent’s latest devotional, Simple Compassion. Released just in time for the New Year, Simple Compassion will help you take inventory of those areas in your life, where small changes will produce big dividends.

I am very excited to be a part of the Simple Compassion Social Media Tour. For sometime I have been aware of the fact it is time for me to make some positive choices. Receiving this devotional to review has had a tremendous impact on my life.

With fifty-two devotions, Kent walks you through the year, one small step at a time, showing you how you can make a difference in your neighborhood, your community, and your world. This is a “thoughtful, unhurried approach” designed to allow you time to reflect, embrace and move forward toward a renewed relationship with God and those around you.

“It is a guide toward toward becoming a more compassionate person, a person who doesn’t just talk about social injustice, but is trying to live it out. Compassion flows from those who are so full of God’s love that it simply sloshes onto all those around them.” Something we can all benefit from and use a little more of.

A scripture that once found its way into my soul and still resides there is, “But ye shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be a witness unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utter most parts of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) I have always felt like this is our road map. We don’t start our “compassion journey” in the utter most part of the earth, but rather at home. As the old saying goes, “Home is where your story begins.” Kent follows this same road map.

You cannot show true compassion to others, until you learn to embrace the compassion God is continually offering you. Once you embrace His compassion and mercy, you can then move forward and outward – you can then “grow” compassion in your own community (or in your own Jerusalem). You can start to slosh a little of that Godly love on your family, your friends, your community, and yes, even your enemies. Remember, “With God, all things are possible” (Mark 10:27). As we reach out to those within our small circle, we are encouraging and enabling those we touch to do the same. Therefore, our circles grow – more sloshing! You are now moving into your own “Judaea.”

So once we have these (what we once called) “random acts of kindness” going on within our community, what’s next? You have learned to except God’s love in your own life and you have extended His love to those around you, now Kent is going to walk you through the land of Samaria. Uncharted, unfamiliar, but you are walking with God’s grace to where He has called you.

As we extend compassion to those beyond our comfort zone, we realize we are strong enough and confident enough to reach out to those we do not know. Everybody’s walk is different. God may be calling you to pray for your boss or donate your time at a woman’s shelter. Possibly, He is calling you and your family to help in a food kitchen one day a month. Seek what God has especially designed for you. Remember, to ask, seek, knock. His answer will match your desire!

Samaria isn’t so difficult! One step at a time, Kent will walk you through, taking you to a new level of compassion. Now where? Oh yeah, “the utter most part of the earth!”

Come on, don’t be nervous! Look how far you have come. Just take baby steps, steps of faith.

In the last section of the book, Kent writes, “Compassion Offers God’s Love to the World.” God may not be calling you to Africa, but He may be calling you to help support a missionary who He has called to Africa. He may be asking you to use some of your talents to bless those beyond you normal sphere of ministry. Ministry? Yes, sometime over the last few weeks, He has gifted you with a ministry, a vision for others!

Over the weeks, Kent will gently teach, walk, and push you out into the world one small step of faith at a time. A new you, sharing God’s love with all His creation! You are allowing His love and compassion to overflow to all those you come in contact with, sloshing each person His his compassion!

You can begin your year of Simple Compassion anytime. The time to start your year, is when you are ready to become a more positive, compassionate person, walking in God’s mercy and grace.

You can find Simple Compassion on Amazon or at your local bookstore. Begin your journey today.

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How To Start A New Year?

The hours are ticking away and the celebrations around the world have already begun as the world rings in a New Year.  It is a night that fills many people with a sense of hope and optimism.

Everyone is asking each other what are their New Year’s resolutions.  Some proudly share while others are hesitant to perhaps share what theirs might be.  Even the most cynical among us deep down hope for better things in the year ahead, whether or not we officially call them resolutions.

While in the New Testament I do not find any formal New Year’s parties being thrown I do find plenty of verses that God has given me to encourage me in a fresh way as I strive to live more and more for him.

While Scripture may not give me an exact blueprint on ‘how to start a new year’ it does share with me plenty on how to live each and every day, especially in light of desiring a fresh start.

Choosing a popular metaphor that the Apostle Paul uses in various epistles I think if I were to sum up an answer to ‘our question’ How to start a New Year, it would be in one word: Run.

How To Start A New Year?  – You need to run.

One section of Scripture that is most fitting for our chosen metaphor and somewhat fitting for our New Year’s theme can be found in the letter to the Philippians.

Paul shares the following encouragement and instruction with the church at Philippi:

Philippians 3:10-14

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

I want to spend just a few moments looking at this Scripture as it both provides hope and practical application as we begin our New Year.

How To Start A New Year?
Step One – Begin Recognizing His Complete Divine Call

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

I want to live 2010 for Jesus Christ, I want my new year to start off right so what does that look like.  Paul reminds me in vs. 13 when he says, “for which God has called me heavenward…”.

As I start refreshed and anew in 2010 I need to look again closely on seeing the big and accurate picture of what God’s complete call upon my life looks like.  While I do believe God has specific plans and roles for all believers I also do believe that our objective as followers of Christ is not to spend a great deal of time worrying about what those plans and roles are.  I do believe spending my days focusing on the overall call that God has placed on all our lives as Christians is the focus of Scripture.

The Apostle Paul sheds some light into what that ‘call of God’ looks like in just a few verses earlier in vs. 10

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

What is the complete call of God over your life?  It is to know Christ, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings.

That sounds like a challenging start to a New Year to me!  Paul is asking us first and foremost as we run this race marked out for us that must get the big picture of our call as we start out.

We must know Christ more, a lot more!  As we know Him more we will experience the power of His resurrection.  How do I experience the power of Christ’s ressurection?  This phrase is talking about the ‘completion of my redemption’.  In other words, Scripture deals with both the death of the outward man and the perseverance of the ‘new’ inward man as a believer.  The way in which I experience the power of Christ’s resurrection is through continual growth in the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in my new being.  Just as Christ was raised from the dead, I experience that in this life as He lives in me.  Continual life transformation each and every day is both testimony and assurance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Finally, Paul shares thatt we are to have fellowship of sharing in his sufferings by becoming like Him in death.  Our whole life must be transformed and conformed to His death.  While Christ is doing a powerful work inside of me it is displayed through an active faith.  I cannot have fellowship with his sufferings if I am doing nothing.  If I am doing nothing than where is the new ‘man’ that comes to those who follow Christ?

If I claim to know Christ more that includes knowing the power of His resurrection meaning sanctification is going on in my life and to know Christ more includes a faith that is active living daily for Him.

How To Start A New Year?
Step Two – Run Knowing His Marked Purposes

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

As we move forward as Christians running this race marked out for us it is important to remember the race has been marked out for us!  I have yet to see a race run that does not have a starting point, a finish line, and visible marked boundaries along the way.

Every athlete trains for race day using well known boundaries that will be used in the race.  It is not God’s desire that we run the Christian race wandering around aimlessly wondering if we are getting closer to whatever it is we are suppose to be doing.

God has given us as believers clear boundaries and markers for living the Christian life.  We are not suppose to run guessing the direction we are to go nor are we suppose to run not knowing where the finish line is as well.  Boundaries and markers are provided so that the athlete can run at his top speed.  Whenever I start to doubt where I am or where I am going it causes me to slow down.  This is not a race to slow down but to run as hard and as fast as God enables us.

Paul knew full well that he had not reached the end of the race.  He knew the end of the race is Jesus Christ.  While his full redemption is not complete he continues to run.  Scripture is given to provide clear running boundaries and markers for us to make it to the finish line.  Christ has poured out His Spirit into our lives for intercession, counsel, and empowerment to stay focused and keep running this very important race.  Christ has blessed us with the fellowship of believers so we run in such a way that we do not view others as competition but as loving fellowship spurring one another towards the finish line.

I want to start my New Year knowing very clearly the powerful and life giving racing markers and boundaries that God has put in place so that I can stay focused on Him.

How To Start A New Year?
Step Three – Finish Grabbing Hold Of Jesus

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Every race comes with its distractions.  The year ahead of me will be filled with distractions, interruptions, and let me be blunt, temptations as well.

The first thing Paul tells me as I go through this race is that I must first: Forget what is behind me!

Did you hear that?  Forget what is behind you.  The word forget is a literal time word.  Do not look back.
Looking back is going to slow you down.  Do not look back to see how much ground you have covered and do not look back to see what might be chasing you.  Looking back does two things:  slows you down and changes your perspective.

It can be easy as a believe to ‘look back’ and think inwardly you know I’ve done enough.  I’ve done this long list of things for Jesus, now is the time for me to slow down or as some think, pass the torch to someone else.  Paul says none of these things are our goal, we must keep running towards Jesus.

Our redemption is complete when at the end of the race our arms are reaching for Jesus at the finish line.  This is how we are to run.  While I pray that none of us ‘die’ at the end of 2010, it is my prayer that we all live each day as if tomorrow we meet Christ face to face.  No looking back.  No more distractions off to the side.  Our goal for the Christian life is to reach out and run as hard and as fast as we can with our eyes fixed on Jesus at the finish line.

How To Start A New Year?

May we all right now as 2010 begins may we all RUN recognizing how great is the call of God on each of us, may we RUN each day this year knowing His marked purposes in the days ahead of us, and may we RUN each day this year with a faith that is ran with no other desire except to see Him face-to-face.

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This is often true in various forms of child abuse, sexual abuse and yes, spiritual abuse. A few months ago, I wrote a blog entry for Daily Jesus about spiritual abuse and it became one of the most read posts on the site this year. The sheer number of comments and nature of the comments we received both on the post directly and in private emails paint a picture that is very clear: many of you have been hurt by some of the people you should be able to trust the most, people from your church.

My heart goes out to those who are aware that they have been or are being abused and I pray that if you are not out of that abusive situation, that God will give you the courage to leave it soon. My heart also goes out to those who are not yet aware they are being spiritually abused. My prayer for those in that situation is that God will guide their heart to realize what they are being taught is wrong, and that they will be guided to the truth.

In the comments I saw on the first post, two themes of distrust seemed painfully clear. Those who are victims of spiritual abuse face a great level of distrust of both churches and of God himself.

I wish I had some kind of magic answer to heal your pain, and I suppose I do—God can heal your pain, if you let him. But that answer is probably feels useless if you already don’t trust him, doesn’t it?

So let’s tackle the church issue and I will address the “trusting God thing” in a future post.

There are healthy churches out there and through prayer and searching, you can find them. But how? There’s no one single list for measuring a healthy church but there’s plenty of lists out there to help you formulate what a healthy church means to you.

A friend of mine who is recovering from spiritual abuse offered these two examples of sites list basic attributes you should be able to find in a healthy church:
http://www.simplychurch.com/2006/10/5_signs_of_a_he.html
http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=167792

If you have time and the energy for more involved reading, one of the pastors at the church my husband and I attend (which is a healthy, growing and vibrant church) suggested these:
-Stephen Macchia authored a book titled “Becoming A Healthy Church: 10 Traits of a Vital Ministry.”
-Scazzero, who equates emotional health with spiritual maturity, authored “The Emotionally Healthy Church.”

One more thought I will note on this subject is that oftentimes spiritual abuse can be a trend along certain denominational/belief system lines. While some spiritually abusive churches are more abusive than others, I believe there’s some element of abuse in all churches of certain belief systems. If you find strong elements of spiritual abuse in one specific type of church, my bet would be that other churches of that type will be similar and thus should be avoided.

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