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LEAD BY LIGHT -Part 2
After five funerals and another death within two weeks due to Covid, I was up throughout the night thinking about the families we grieved with. (Most of them had been a big part of our ministry through the years and great friends to Derek. Four of those amazing men are forever in our minds. Different ages and living in different places, we would have never expected them to pass within the same time frame. Curtis, Julian, Christian, and Keith! They were Light leaders. Unafraid of darkness. This was what they all had in common: Each of them were evangelistic in the most unique and effective ways. I can only believe…
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LEADERS OF LIGHT β Part 1
Me and Derek were sitting at a coffee house in Huntsville before going to our leadership conference classes. We noticed a poster on the wall with all the tags missing that said: Depression Study. He asked me what βDeβ pression means and I said that it means to be pressed down and not running over. I thought about how long it had been since I felt that dreaded, deep, and intolerable spirit. It made us think about the answers we have. It made us think of people specifically but also in general. It made us think about the heaviness in the world and recent deaths of some very special friends. In…
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You will be hurt in church /8th & final
Have you ever needed a re-do? Rededication? A restart? Having an on-fire spiritual life will bring reverence and reality to your being that will reciprocate holiness to God. The God-life brings flavor! It is sweet AND good for you. There is life through the Spirit. This kind of life sheds condemnation. It sets us free from the law of sin and death. When the law was powerless, Jesus was powerful. Where the law lets us down, Jesus lifts us up. There are essentially two kinds of church goers in the Bible that we’ll give as examples here. We can choose from Dio or Deme…a bad example and a good example.…
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You will be hurt in church /7
Do you know anyone who needs a ladder to start getting out of a place of pain? I often think of God’s Words as a ladder to come up higher. Over and over again, I can climb up. If we take the time to read em when they are in front of us, listen to them when they are spoken, and grab hold of His Words when they are given- we will rise once again. Our God wants the churches to get it right. He doesn’t want to condemn them. Through His smart words, He is telling them and us how to do better. So often, it’s not the denomination…
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You will be hurt in church /6
Misdiagnosed and undiagnosed problems and hurts can delay the healing process. Lying or being lied to can cause uneasy soul palpitations, hope decay, and unnecessary chaos. Being ignored or ignoring real feelings can make the heart grow sick and tired. I don’t care if anyone wants to challenge this next statement but it stands to reason…It is pure wisdom to pursue God. To quit pursuing God is to quit wanting the best relationships, the boldest dreams, and the biggest blessings one could ever have. It is a healthy pursuit. As a Pastor’s wife, I’ve had to learn this lesson…never close the door to God when relationships go wrong. Keep your…
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You will be hurt in church/ 5
Have you been hurt in church? Me too – Have you been blessed by church? Me too! Sitting in the congregation of our Assembly of God church at eighteen years old was both a relief and a challenge. It was a relief because I knew I was pursuing the right thing. I truly wanted to know more about God. I wanted to do something about the “disconnect” that I had been experiencing in my life due to drifting a bit. And I wanted to… grow UP. I re-dedicated my life to Christ. It was a challenge because I knew this meant change. And I was not familiar with the target…
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You will be hurt in church/ 4
There’s a multitude of layers to being hurt. Hurts in church can range from surface situations to deep, deep wounds. The wreckage is unbelievably too complicated at times to know what to begin to say, do, or how to handle it. Sometimes it is best left alone but then there are times we are prompted to try and resolve the issue. We owe it to ourselves, other believers, and God’s house. Think about an actual wreck. Some of the scariest times in our lives are when we see vehicles collide or we witness the debris of emotions long after things seem to appear cleaned up. For whatever reason, an accident…
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You will be hurt in church/ 3
Though there are some really bad stories out there about church, there are just as many good stories. I cannot even begin to tell you how often people have told me about a time when the church or someone associated with a church, helped them in their time of need. If you’ve been gone and are staying away due to being busy, don’t entertain the thought that you should be too ashamed to return. That is the voice of the enemy- the liar. Your return (In attitude, language, action, reception, and hopefully in body also) should show a supernatural force in your life to others. Your return speaks statements of…
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You will be hurt in church/ 2
Relationships don’t grow without honesty. If something is done wrongly, you and I have the responsibility to handle that in a manner that will cause growth. “The church” is still in the maturing process. Sometimes it backfires. When it does, when things get difficult, we are to live it out even as uncomfortable as that could be. We cut the process short- we bail out. We are to see how God can turn things for good but too many times, people don’t stick around to allow this to happen. I commend those who pushed through and did not leave until they could do it in a decent attitude. For those…
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You will be hurt in church/ 1
There. I said it. Coming from someone who probably hurt some people, coming from someone who most definitely has been hurt, I’m here to tell you that you too will be hurt in church. Your very next question is: “Then why go?” In going (or going back), you will enter a process that was begun by a mighty God who formed everything into being. He set the world in motion and He created the organism we call church. Jesus’ bride. Do I believe you have to be there for every event? No. Do I believe you’re suppose to be mistreated. Nope. Do I believe you’ve got to participate in every…