"From our mouths, and James is addressing believers; "brethren," we curse AND BLESS, with the SAME MOUTH! And our churches? Instead of being concerned about the many sick, bedridden, panic- ridden, broken isolated Church members we r adrift just wanting to feel like we belong! Yes, I'm one of the "hidden hurting ones" I'll call us. We are cast aside, left alone, not visited and maligned by those whose JOB AS CHRISTIANS is to LOVE! We're doing the OPPOSITE. Didn't Jesus meet people where they were, He gained the trust of those on the fringes of society because that's EXACTLY WHAT JESUS DID! He meets us at our point of need. How many of us on the fringes due to chronic illness ever FEEL LOVED by our "well" sisters and brothers? I would venture to say very few and that is SO SAD! And NO EXPLANATIONS CAN EXCUSE THIS! Unfortunately, in our scary increasingly eugenics based society, the weak and infirm have no voice in the church! Does anyone take note of our not being there enough times for MAYBE SOMEBODY to take note? Place a phone call, drop a card in the mail? Visit? I mean I'm an independent person comfortable in just my own presence, but I need to know that I MATTER😔!
Too many churches do not have ANY PROGRAM to address this growing issue; as society ages, as our vets return with PTSD but everyone ignores thembecause they're too"needy" Seriously???
If We as Christians will not reach out to " the least of these" then WHO WILL?? This government that lies to us with a straight face and won't deal with ANY HARD ISSUES( cowards all, and greedy ones many of them at that) America, once so grand and so blessed, now embracing the theology of eugenics which says "let us RID OURSELVES OF THOSE WHO CINTRIBUTE NOTHING, the weakest and most vulnerable are now our unborn babies because it's just not convenient. And do they hear ANY REAL ADVICE from PP EXCEPT ABORTION as the ONLY way to deal with the "unwanted child"! UNWANTED???Do we EVER STOP TO PONDER how many couples, in a healthy TRADITIONAL FAMILY UNIT AS MADE BY GOD OUR CREATOR( whether u acknowledge Him or not does not change the laws of a holy, righteous Only True God! ORTHE REALITYOF HIS PROVEN EXISTENCE!) The GREATEST SIN that man perpetrates upon his Creator is UNBELIEF; A REFUSAL TO BELIEVE The OBVIOUS TRUTH OF GOD COME DOWN TO EARTH; The Sending of God as a helpless infant tells us that we serve a BIG POWERFUL LOVING GOD.
He sent His Son to suffer and die at the hands of selfish mankind for THEIR SINS, and those include OUR SINS AS WELL! Think On That! No...REALLY THINK! Even while we were sinning, when we were His enemies, He CHOSE to LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THE SINS OF THE ONES HE HAD AND WOULD DIE FOR( Romans 5:8)How's THAT FOR HIS PROOF OF LOVEVFOR SINFUL MANKIND. And despite the naive Pollyanna vision that some teach saying that ALL the world will be converted to Christianity before Christ returns to this world made ready FOR GOD BY MAN???Man, read your Bibles, you WILL NOT FIND THAT BELIEF THAT U ESPOUSE! It's too ludicrous to fathom and there is NO BIBLICAL GROUNDS TO TEACH AND/ OR BELIEVE SUCH NONSENSE. In fact the Bible paints an increasingly downward spiral of mankind into a complete depravity previously known to man, indeed worse than the depravity of Rome and ANY RELIGION that teaches we can do our " own thing" and live as sinfully as we want yet then get angry when they r warned of not going to Heaven r/t their love of self first, others after and God is MAYBE an afterthought. And their mouths profane Gods precious name. Jesus DOES NOT KNOW YOU! O man, we MUST REPENT AND TURN BACK TO THE ONLY GOD WHO CAN GIVE US WHAT WE DESPERATELYVNEED; FORGIVENESS AND WALKING WITH GOD IN CHRIST JESUS!
ANYWAY, sorry I went off topic. Since my stroke I don't recognize that I'm doing this! So I beg your pardon and rejoice in your patience!
My premise is that the hurting in our churches needs to become a priority and sometimes, I would gather a guess that it's mostly those who NEED to be ministered to are the ones reaching out and suggesting the ministry to the hopeless, those who battle 24/7 chronic pain that can get so bad that I wonder how we can hurt so badly and still be alive! Because we hurt, and usually with more than one thing to consider, we're passed around like a really bad snack tray to different people, many without a clue how to coined the hurting, which is never "just physical" or "just emotional", no, we get the awkward silences if we bring it up at all, and the numb just ignore!
So, isn't it PAINFULLY OBVIOUS that in a time when people need legit Biblical guidance by SOMEONE WHOS LIVED WITH PAIN THEMSELVES OR KNOWS ABOUT IT BEYOND COLLEGE TEXTS ABD WORLDLY PROFS! How can a ( I don't care how smart or relying on their great college grades in Biblical counseling ( which requires a grace that few have); that young of a person can surely intern to learn and be an assistant, but u don't put a book smart only person in charge of your counseling dept then turn the blame on the HURTING rather than do what's right tho they may lie some about a need to impress and perform. But answer this, how does a world picture "innocent" help a man in his 60's with His marital problems??? It's hard enuf to ask for help becuz it MUST BE YOUR LACK OF FAITH CAUSING UR ISSUES AND INSANE Daily PAIN.
Now, this is NOT A BLANKET CONDEMNATION OF ALL CHURCHES, but most have a gaping hole where a good ministry to reach out to our hurting and being INCLUSIVE can rock a world. I cannot begin to imagine what it would feel like to be held. To be encouraged or visited yet it seems that the weakest among us will be the catalyst to provide good, Biblical support to a broken,fed up soul!
One can only tolerate so much isolation and cold silence. And collectively I believe that we want to stand together and shout WHY??? As loud as possible! Is someone offering to be a leader in starting a benevolent/ encouragement/ grieving ministry? Even tho they may not make it to church on a regular basis, the one leading the charge should be given the chsnce. We are not saved through doing "things" for God no matter how many churches teach this false Gospel of "works salvation which really is no salvation. Religion only kills, it DOES NOT SAVE! Only true faith in the sacrifice of our Savior, and your acknowledgement that ONLY HIS SACRIFICE SAVES US & Drop the FALSE TEACHINGS OF MAN WILL YOU BE SAVED, or not! Your choice
BOTTOM LINE? We need to love the weak among us or we betray our Lord in a hurtful way, He LOVES US and commands us to go and love like He did and so we are compelled! But by love, not sacrifice."
Are you living by grace or by works? When we live by grace, we fulfill Gods precious word. When we insist on following mans laws and mans traditions we are not following God, we are following self. When we die to ourselves, then AND ONLY THEN, we are following Jesus Christ and His word, and He demands, righteously, demands COMPLETE OBEDIENCE, not just what we pick and choose from Gods Holy Word. Gods word has proven itself in thousands of prophecies that have been very literally fulfilled down to the smallest detail, over and over again. Gods word proves itself even through EXTRABIBLICAL HISTORY that lines up up with the Bible accounts of battles, kings, etc. And archeological evidence almost daily gives the Bible it's literal truth! So how can we, in good conscience, call the Bible false and not His holy, inerrant word. People will judge the Bible that it's untrue when, greater than ANY OTHER ANCIENT WORK, we have hundreds of ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS; a claim that NO OTHER ANCIENT LITERARY WORK CAN CLAIM! Yet, people persist in unbelief, or taking great liberty with Gods word, removing key truths so that the Word Makes clear as truths not to be changed OR NOT BELIEVED! We do so at our own risk, playing with Gods word is playing with ones eternal destiny.
