Quote:
Originally Posted by AreYouReady?
The Hiding Place is a wonderful book. I marveled at what Corrie went through and was still able to forgive her abusers.
In the meantime, I will stay away from my abusers and try to pray for them. That is hard. So instead I will confess my inability to forgive and pray for God to help me to forgive them and for my healing. I will pray for a church system that actually has a five-fold ministry in use and feels that everybody in their system has some sort of ministry of their own to develop and be of use to the Lord.
I am prepared to love and respect others, to reconsider my thoughts and feelings, but I will not step foot into any church system where I am not treated with love and respect. That will scrape the scabs off that I want to heal.
Jesus said that his disciples are known by the love we have for one another and by our fruits. If it is not manifested in the church system, then what are we doing in a place where Jesus is not there?
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There is no way I could ever go back to the very church where all this abuse took place - that would be like a dog going back to his vomit. But I can live above what took place there - and is still taking place - by praying for them. It is possible. Yet, living in the same town or area as these people was rough. We did leave the area. That in itself has also helped with my healing.
Since then, my husband and I have went to different apostolic groups and non-apostolic groups... and we have found that every.single.church in EVERY denomination has corruption at every level because we are dealing with people. People who sin. People who love human worship. It is just a fact of life. It can't be helped.
My family and I, through this long journey, have realized that we do need the body of Christ though. We cannot be the eye or the ear or the nose or the arm alone. We must be a part of a living Christ-centered body.
For our family, we have found it, not in the typical church building wtih a name over the door, but in being a part of a home group. We do attend a local church also, but we are not "members" ... but we go occasionally to visit and fellowship other people. We also have a home group that we attend, and we have bible studies and prayer time with our children on a regular basis. Because of these two things, the home group, and our own personal home bible studies with our family, that is truly where we have grown more fully into a relationship with Christ.
Each one must find his own place, but nevertheless, being part of the "body" of Christ, is a necessity. We need our brothers and our sisters to lift us up, encourage us, and to grow together into the fullness of Christ. Whether that body of Christ in your area is a home group, or a place where people meet that has a name over the door, all of us need to find Spirit filled, personal holiness minded (I didn't say standards...) people who want to live their lives with their focus centered on Christ. Wherever that is.
If there is not one in your area, give it to the Lord. He is able to lead and guide you exactly where you need to be.
So... one thing I have found to be true, spirit filled believers need each other, but we need a personal relationship with Christ even more. If you make that a priority in your life, the Spirit will guide you into a church, and a place where you need to be.