Dear friends
Do you have a church you attend regularly or even are a member there?
And do you love everything about it and everyone in it?
If you are belonging to a church, chances are you’ve come across things or behaviours or people you weren’t 100% impressed with…
Am I right?
Me, I have a LOT to say against my church and every other church I have ever been to!
And it wasn’t any different at biblical times.
Not when JESUS overthrew the tables in the temple, not when he called the Pharisees hypocrites, not even in Revelation when John was speaking to the churches and telling them what he had against them.
I always like to say that there is no such thing as the perfect church and ever since I became a Christian, I have often times been shocked about how wicked and mean people in church can be.
This is not to go into any details about my own church experiences – even though I could write a book about them. And yes, the book would also include “some” positive things lol….
But I had a revelation yesterday when I visited a program of my church.
WE ARE THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.
Yes, my dear friend, you and I and all our brothers and sisters and aunties and uncles.
We actually ARE the church.
Even if we do not attend a church at all.
No matter if we are serving in any capacity or leading anything anywhere.
Regardless of how much we live for HIM or in how many areas or ways we fall short of how HE commands us to live.
WITH our entire selves, with our sin, with our secrets.
WE are the church.
It is US whom JESUS loves.
It is you & I whom HE is calling.
To serve, to love our neighbours, to repent, to keep HIS commandments, to pray, to spread the gospel and to worship.
I believe – after a lot of “church shopping” – that we will always find every flaw, every shortcoming and every sin in EVERY church.
Including witches – true witches!
I mean, if we look at it that way – regarding the witches – if true Christians are the only ones who have the power to defeat the devil and demons, if you wanted to weaken the kingdom of GOD, where would you start, where would you strike?
And what would you do?
Would you tempt them into all sorts of carnality and sin, would you try to bring conflict, or distraction and false doctrine?
Would you do what is in your power to drive them away from church, from hearing sound words, from praying with the brethren, from receiving Christian counsel, from surrounding themselves with godly people to speak into their lives?
Of course, all of those would be your strategies!
It’s a lot easier to defeat someone when they are separated, isolated and do not have an army to support them – so the very goal would be to keep them out of church and away from the brethren. For example, make them marry unbelievers, who will “make them follow other gods” – as the bible states it.
GOD isn’t the only one who hasn’t changed HIS ways, friends, the devil is also still using the same methods he has used from the very beginning of time.
PRIDE is his main weapon, because we are all human and prone to believe that we are SOOOO special, so gifted, so anointed – and yet, there is always someone who is more recognized than we are or who doesn’t recognize us enough, feelings of pride get triggered when we are in a community where we believe our potential is not seen and someone else is being favoured over us – and they’re not even as ………… as we are!
Isn’t it true?
Me, I have been hurt and offended everywhere I went.
And in the past, I used to leave and look for a new church all the time – until I understood something very deeply:
These offenses and cruelties and attacks will happen ANYWHERE I go, in any church, in any job, in any friendship, in any encounter – because GOD wants to strengthen and grow me.
The church is a perfect school!
It will confront us with every and any weakness or “theme” we need to work on, will shine light on any issue we may have in our character.
I could give so many examples from my church experiences, however, this time, I want us all to think about our “church journey” together.
What disappointments were we confronted with in our walk with GOD, especially in the church(es) we attended?
And how did we deal with them?
What did we learn?????
Or if we can’t think of any examples where we were hurt, offended, betrayed, let down, wronged – what did we see in others which is far from holiness and the perfection we all ought to strive for according to the word of GOD?
What sins did we identify in our brethren?
Is anyone gossiping about anyone?
Is anyone living in sin?
Is anyone lukewarm?
Is anyone attached to the world and worldly things rather than to the things of GOD?
Is anyone attending the church and not saved?
Is anyone preaching or believing false doctrine?
Is any “common practice” in our church ungodly?
Is there any discrimination, bullying or harassment happening in our church?
Does anyone within the church need help and nobody is helping?
Is there love among the brethren?
Does the church edify, support, nourish and correct their members / attendees?
Is the leadership reflecting godly values and are they leading the way JESUS led?
Does belonging to this particular church bring us closer to JESUS?
Is the church focusing on the things of GOD or on worldly things (as in their programs, teachings, courses, classes etc)?
All of these questions are for each and every one of us to examine, there are many, many more questions we need to ask ourselves – I believe this is what GOD wants us to do.
If you are anything like me and like what I consider to be “human nature” in us ALL, you will be perfectly able to fool yourself into believing that you are “good” – or perhaps you have one flaw or the other, but overall, you are “pretty decent” – when you are alone or when everyone around you loves you and you do what pleases each other….
It is when we are in a setting, a group or a crowd of people we didn’t chose that we get triggered and confronted with shortcomings, flaws, bad habits, sin – our own or theirs – and THAT’s when and where we grow!
NOT when we can arrange all our circumstances to our liking!
Take our families for instance – who has the perfect family???
Not many of us will raise their hands!
Friends, I think we have to remember one thing:
everything and everyone in our life is there only for one reason, because GOD has given us this life, this very circumstance, situation, obstacle and challenge – so that we can grow more and more into the person HE wants us to become, so that we can learn, mature, overcome our issues, become more compassionate, loving, patient, understanding, giving, honest, committed and whatever HE wants us to develop more.
CHURCH, family, school, any sort of community really, is part of GOD’s plan and this includes the very church (family, school etc) HE put us in.
Me, I’ve been asking GOD for HIS permission to leave and look for a new church a lot, for many years now, in fact, ever since I joined and I was very unsure if I should join this one in the first place…..but GOD only ever replies one thing: “you are staying there for now.”
And it has taught me a lot!
Not so much the teachings and sermons, although they are mostly quite good, no, what taught me and grew me was what has happened, has “been done to me” there…..
And if I am being honest with myself, many of the things I learnt there through the pain inflicted on me there, I did desperately need to learn them!
And I also must be honest and admit this to myself: had I not stayed in this church out of obedience and love for GOD and also because of fearing GOD, I would have arranged my life in a way that I would have avoided to be confronted with these issues, would have lived my life without “going there”, but I needed to go there and learn things, in order for me to become more like HIM, to become more able to minister to others.
As much as I dislike it, but I came to believe that our church, the church where GOD puts us in, is like our incubator, where we grow and where we also have to face our issues.
And even if we do not belong to a church, we still do, because we ARE the church!
If we cannot find the right fellowship or refuse to belong to one, we will still have to encounter these issues, “OUR” issues.
It can’t be any other way if we believe that GOD is steering our lives.
I don’t know about you, but me, I have been confronted with every single one of my “Life issues” in that church!
So this is what I came to see.
How about you, my friend, what do you think of church and what did you realize from your experiences within our without churches???
I hope and pray that this will inspire, encourage, bless and heal you. And that THE LORD will bless you abundantly in all areas of your life; that HE will keep you and shine HIS face upon you, and bring you PEACE. In JESUS’ name I pray. AMEN.
Witness for Jesus 
I think it is funny with her.
She claims to be a Christian but when I challenge her to go up in front of the church like it says to do in the Bible and I present my case of how she has abused me she goes psycho and starts screaming insanely DON’T YOU DARE DO THAT 🤬
She knows what she done and knows it is wrong but is too arrogant to repent
That is okay.
November was the completion of ten years of horrid abuse suffered at her hands
Jesus says He will only allow it to go on for so long and then the hammer comes down hard
Ten is the number of completion in the Bible
Since then she has gone from one disaster to the next
Now it is my turn to laugh at her like it says in the Bible
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SO so sorry that you have to go through all that my dear brother!!!
It is my hope and prayer that it will truly be over now, because I can sense in my spirit that you really had enough.
I will pray and ask GOD to release you from this hell on earth and to help you and to touch her heart and to send helpers from all over and to reward you FINALLY for all your hard labour in GOD’s vineyard!!!!
Hang in there, my dear brother, GOD will make a way where there seems to be no way and HE will come through for you in JESUS mighty name!!!!!!!!!!!
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Thank you for your concern
I was fed up with her after the first month but Jesus told me to stay. As His free willed servant I obeyed.
Most important, Jesus is fed up with her. In the Bible ten is completion. She has ten years to repent and laughed and made jokes about it
After the completion of ten years she has gone from one disaster to another. I know it is Jesus punishing her but will not discuss it with her because she is stupid and stubborn. Many others have tried to talk with her and she just laughs and makes jokes about it. She is not laughing now.
Now it is time for His servant to receive His reward and is happening a little at a time
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AMENNN!!!
Your reward is coming my brother!!!
I get what you’re saying about having been fed up right from the beginning, I feel the very same way about my “stuff” and yet, it will only be completely over when we have done, understood & learnt everything HE wants us to, so we are sitting in the same boat……all we can do is obey, you are absolutely right!
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I agree.
The church of Christ is another name for the family of Christ.
All Christian are a part of that family whether they attend church or not
God made me a loner so I do not feel comfortable being in crowds. Just being around a few is okay though
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Your situation and what GOD told you about not letting you find help earlier was actually part of what led me to this revelation.
You don’t need the church, you have all the “necessary” challenges for your growth and for finding GOD more and more in your family life – my family is just as toxic, the evil Alexis from dynasty is a little kindergarten child compared to my mom😂😂 funny and not funny at the same time 😆
Me, I have been living a “double life” to some degree for MANY years, because nobody in my work life or in my original family had any clue about all the attacks I have been going through and nobody knew that I never ever get to sleep through one single night for way more than a decade now…….. even in church, most people don’t know what has been going on in my life, at least not the details….. this platform where I can write about some of the dark and evil things bugging me in a “half anonymous” way is a blessing from GOD!
It has helped me process and express some of my battles and even do it in a way that’s helpful to others….. I had a lot of people reaching out who were going through similar “stuff”.
And yet, I also learnt a lot from my “church experiences”.
I am firmly convinced that GOD has allowed all of what has been coming against me (and everyone!!) and that HE has and will use everything to mold me into the person HE wants me to be, including my knowledge about witchcraft and demons and deliverance – in prison, EVERYONE I have ever met is oppressed or even possessed by one or a legion of evil spirits……..
GOD is good and HE gives us what we need.
GOD bless you my dear brother and thank you for reading & commenting🫶🏻🙏🏻
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That is an amazing testimony
I say my family make demons look like angels 😂
It is amazing that one in every generation always turns out good though
I suspected my mom was demon possessed and Kris Reese has a video to confirm it
God bless you for sharing this with others I believe it helps them confirm what they feel embarrassed to admit
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You are SO spot on my dear brother!
THIS is EXACTLY why I started this blog!!!!
Shame is such a big aspect of the entire situation when you are battling demonic attacks!
Me, I didn’t even know what was going on in the beginning, I actually thought I was going crazy until I came across writings and teachings and sermons and blogs which taught me about spiritual attacks and deliverance and helped me SO much – a little bit like you finding that website which helped you deal with the narcissistic behaviour of your mom.
It was in the anonymity of the internet where I could do my research and find so much information and where I could learn how to fight against these forces – in the very beginning, even after discovering THE TRUTH that JESUS is LORD, I thought my life is over and they will kill me, which they have tried many, many times, but then over the years, GOD took me to different teachings and helped me grow stronger into the warrior I have now become – NOTHING they could ever do could surprise me or scare me, in fact, I laugh about so many of their efforts and schemes now, but when it started and before GOD taught me what I know today, it was NOT funny at all!!!!
And it’s not pretty or nice or powerful or holy to write about these things, I myself had to overcome my own shame many times, but GOD helped me!
You are right, there has to be a “good one” in every generation of a family- funny enough, the others consider them “the black sheep” but they are the goats LOL
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Everybody in my family thinks I am crazy.
When I was a child my older brother was a real trouble maker
So when I went into the class the next year the teachers trembled. With in two months they were shocked. I was well behaved, polite and because I had a high intelligence the lessons were learned quickly and then I would go around class and help the other students. The teachers were shocked
On parent teacher night they would always make the comment : ‘ Are sure he is your son? He is nothing like you, your husband or your other son.” My grandma and aunties would say the same thing.
I would look around the dinner table and wonder who they were
When I was eight I was sure I was adopted because I was nothing like them. It took mom four months to convince me.
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Haha, you won’t believe it, same here, I used to tell my mom that she isn’t my mom, but that I accidentally got swapped with another baby in the hospital…. she told everyone this at every occasion to make fun of me in front of as many people as possible, at family gatherings and other feasts with their friends present…. even though she is a psychologist and should actually know what this means!
Later as a therapist, I came across many other people who were firmly convinced as children that they didn’t truly belong to their parents. Sadly, it means that they didn’t feel welcome and loved and supported in their family, and first, they thought there was something wrong with them, because as a small child, you are unable to see any flaws in your main caregivers, it is too threatening and you believe it is all your fault, which causes GREAT damage to your little soul and you will deal with it for the rest of your life!!!
But then, when you become a bit older and more intelligent, you try to find other explanations for why your parents don’t love you – as we (and many other children) did, these “unwanted” children are trying to rationalize this permanent rejection and emotional neglect/ abuse by creating a fantasy that there must be another family “out there” where they are loved and that they must have somehow landed in the wrong family.
Our poor friends, partners and work colleagues will suffer a lot because of these early traumatizing experiences we have made and our lives will never be easy – I could go on and on with explaining why we have trust issues and all the other issues…..
And as soon as we are old enough to fully understand what happened and to confront our parents, they deny everything and gaslight us and refuse to take ANY responsibility!
And we will repeat this futile cycle MANY TIMES of trying to find people who love us, only to find that they can never heal us from what happened in our early childhood….
Until JESUS frees us from this misery.
Gradually, layer by layer….over many years…..and sometimes the wounds still get triggered…..but hopefully, GOD will give us understanding and will heal us further so that we can minister to others and help them heal from the same or similar wounds……
Before we find HIM, some of us may have looked and looked and looked in all the wrong places for the answers – like me – and will have been damaged even further instead of healed – only GOD can heal these deep wounds, and part of the journey, or all the suffering is to find the answer that HE is the answer and that NO HUMAN can satisfy our yearning for unconditional love – and until we know this, we will always be SO disappointed with people ….. some of us may become bitter or introverts or may chose not to let people close to them at all…
So a child believing they are adopted or swapped is actually very sad.
But a narcissist will turn it on the child instead of asking themselves how they can make this child feel more loved, supported and make them feel like they are part of the family…………
The good thing is we are now grown up and grown out of these patterns and we are aware that we are not the only ones feeling like this.
Plus we know that unless JESUS is in a relationship (and even sometimes in spite of HIM being there!!!), we will always get hurt!
My brother, it is so good to mention all these things here, they are a perfect addition to my article!
In fact, many people may even look for a church in the first place because they never had a family where they felt loved.
May GOD have mercy on their souls, may HE send healing and also understanding that what we are experiencing as adults and what we perceive as coming from others is often our response to old childhood trauma and very often, it is us projecting our issues onto others out of a desire to repeat the original experience in order to achieve a better outcome – it isn’t about the other person, it is about us and about our desire to get rid of this deeply rooted feeling of rejection, inadequacy and powerlessness.
And if the other person has truly done something to us, it will a lot of times be because we chose someone who’s personality traits “matched” our trauma – for instance, people like you and me are prone to chose a narcissist as a partner! I know I have in the past – GOD forbid!!!
Without GOD and HIS love and healing and wisdom and without HIM opening our eyes, our lives can NEVER change.
And that’s exactly what the devil wants.
So it is my prayer for everyone being affected by these issues, that GOD will show them the truth and make them FREE!!!
We are children of GOD:
We are loved.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Even before we were born, in our mother’s womb, when HE “knitted us together in our mother’s womb” HE had a plan and a purpose for each and every one of us.
THIS is something we need to remember when we feel sad or when we feel we don’t belong.
GOD bless you my dear brother for mentioning all this, I believe there is someone out there who feels sad, lonely, as if they are a failure, and hopefully they will come across our exchange and GOD will let them understand how much HE loves them and that HE has a purpose for them, too!
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From my experience it is always the same.
There good children and bad children from the same parent.
It has happened with my two other aunts. Their boys were real hell raisers and the daughters were real good women
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I think Jesus loves the rejects more than the ones that came from a well founded home because us rejects appreciate His love for us more than they do. That is because they have not suffered like we have
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