A few years back a former co-worker stumbled upon my Facebook page. In a note, he read about my faith. He messaged me and asked me why I became one of "those religious people".
I don't know why this popped into my head recently but I feel that it needs to be addressed.
Throughout centuries, religion has been used to manipulate, control, condemn, enslave, abuse and execute people. No religion is innocent.
So first, I am not a religious person. Yes, I attend church on a regular basis and read the bible quite a bit. But no, I am not perfect nor do I see myself better than anyone else spiritually. I don't believe that a set of rules or works will get me into heaven. What I do believe is that I am a sinner. That I mess up all the time.
What I am is a woman crazy about Jesus. I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.
So what convinced me to follow Jesus?
Hope.
Yeah, I said hope. The one thing that keeps human beings from curling into the fetal position and giving up.
In my time of searching to figure out what was true I learned about a lot of different beliefs. They were interesting, tempting, and promised connection but the one thing I found that they all lacked was hope.
I can't say I looked into all belief systems but I will just tell you about the ones that I did.
Catholicism - (screeching brakes) wait a second, aren't they Christians? I am sure that a great many individuals in the catholic church are bible believing, Jesus loving Christians but then again, many (just like any denomination) attend out of tradition. What I learned in my short stint with catholicism was that if I didn't confess my sins to a priest, didn't pray so many rosaries, didn't take first communion or confirmation, wasn't baptised by the catholic church, didn't pray to Mary, didn't perform so many works, I couldn't go to heaven. By their rules and regulations, I was doomed.
Buddhism - Buddhism is the belief that we can become enlightened and work toward being free from affliction, suffering and rebirth by acheiving Nirvana, or continuing on in the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth to help others achieve enlightenment. While the idea of reincarnation used to intrigue me, and the thought that the things that happen in this life are the result of a past life, to me really didn't make sense. This life was enough for me, the thought of coming back again? Not one of hope. What if I made some mistake along the line and came back to a life of horrendous pain and suffering? How did I know if my next life would be amazing, what would I have to do to make that happen?
Islam - The path to heaven includes confessing faith in one God, Allah, and that Muhammad is His Messenger; recitation of five prayers daily; giving alms; fasting throughout Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca. Confessing and repenting one's sins is between the person and God, made only to Allah and for Allah. Strict obedience to God's laws (conveyed in the Qur'an) and His prophet's doctrine is required. You can make up for your sins by suffering in on this earth. Suffering is desired by Allah to erase one's sins. Some suffering is Satan's doing or is the work of his spirit world cohorts ("Jinn") and is allowed by Allah as a test of humility and faith; suffering and adversity strengthen one's faith, as pain often leads to repentance and prayer. But there is still no guarantee that you will go to heaven.
Wicca - is basically the worship and respect of nature they do believe in a creator. They believe in the law of three, basically whatever you put out, you get back three fold. they also believe in reincarnation. that when you die to go to a place to await rebirth, there is no final place like heaven or hell.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that when we die, our bodies go into the grave and our souls go to sleep to await the return of Jesus and the resurrection for judgement. Only 144,000 will go to heaven and the rest will either live on the earth forever or will be destroyed completely in hell. They also believe that they are the only ones that truly know God and that everyone else will be destroyed.
I don't know about you but for me, one lifetime on this earth is enough! So what is it about Jesus that drew me to Him.
For many years I struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts. Meds didn't work for long, exercise and good diet didn't work for long. Having a great job didn't lead to lasting happiness. It seemed like nothing I tried kept the darkness at bay.
One day someone invited me to church. I had only ever been to church at Christmas a few times, for weddings and funerals and as I kid I kept my friend company at the catholic church she went to while her parents stayed home and watched tv. So I went to Bethel Gospel Tabernacle in Hamilton Ontario. It was so different than anything I had ever seen before! Within a few months, I had actually heard the gospel. I learned about Jesus' birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, him appearing to people for 40 days after his death and then ascending in front of many witnesses. I learned what sin was in God's eyes. And in a way it scared me! Of course I had sinned. WE all sin! Was it enough for a person to be good to get to heaven? No! God says that our good deeds are like filthy rags. Doesn't sound like much hope right? But Jesus. For centuries the Jewish people would sacrifice animals to pay for their sins but the sacrifice was only good for one year. So Jesus.
Jesus was a man born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and willingly died on the cross and shed his blood for the sins of all men. When he died on the cross, there was darkness for about three hours, there was a massive earth quake and the 18 inch thick curtain that separated the holy of holies from the common people tore from the top to the bottom. (that was one huge curtain)
So now the hope.
If Jesus died and stayed dead then there is no hope. But that isn't what happened. On the third day, the women went to his grave to prepare his body and found that the tomb he was buried in was empty. When they went to the men who followed Jesus and told them, two of the men, Peter and John raced to the tomb to see for themselves. What they found was the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in laying there and the head cloth folded up and set aside. Once the men left, Mary stayed behind and Jesus appeared to her first!
So what does it mean?
Jesus defeated death, but he had willingly died and shed His blood to make a way for us to finally be able to stand before God. The hope is this: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that he was raised from the dead, you will be saved. There is nothing else that you need to do to be guaranteed a place in heaven. Reject him and it means eternal separation from God.
Someone posted the other day that they didn't want to go to heaven if there were going to be rapists, killers, child abusers etc there. But I countered with, "there will be rapists, killers and child abusers in hell but it won't be a nice place to be. So be in the most amazing place with no sickness pain or sorrow, or be in a place of eternal darkness and suffering but it's your choice."
Jesus is Hope. He is the hope of an eternity filled with love, peace, good health and beauty. No proving yourself, no measuring up. Just trust in Him. He does the rest.
The day that I accepted Christ was the last day that I struggled with debilitating depression. I have never needed another medication for depression. I have never felt overwhelmed with suicidal thoughts. And I have never felt completely hopeless or alone again.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
Calling myself a Christian no more....
2 billion people on the earth call themselves Christians.
2 BILLION!!!
I'm not buying it.
If 2 billion people on this planet are truly followers of Christ, I have to ask the following:
How are there millions of abortions happening each year?
How do thousands upon thousands of children die from lack of food and clean water each year?
Why are veterans and seniors and the mentally ill homeless?
Why are people not being healed of diseases, raised from the dead and delivered from demonic oppression?
From here on out, I no longer identify as a Christian. I am a following of Jesus Christ.
So what's the difference?
Well, let's look at the church! Look at all the people that file through the doors on Sunday morning, and what do you see? They look no different than the rest of the world. They dress the same, they mouth the songs, they bow their heads, they warm the seats, they shake hands with the people and then it's back into the world. They struggle with infidelity, immodesty, foul language, alcohol/drug/sex/food/internet addictions, illness, jealousy, anger, anxiety, depression and so on and so on.
So what is missing??
The Power of the Holy Spirit and a true relationship with Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 10:18 Jesus told the disciples to Heal the sick,[d]cleanse the lepers, [e]raise the dead, cast out demons.
In Matthew 16:17 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
As followers of Christ, we should also be doing these things. But in the church these days we see people attending church every Sunday with no relief from their afflictions.
And why?
Fear
Pride
Control
Unbelief
Lack of teaching
Over the past five years, I have been on a personal journey learning from amazing authors and preachers about what the bible says about healing, deliverance and spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The secular world mocks Christians while they flock to psychics, ghost hunters, clairvoyants, mediums etc. not realizing that they are exposing themselves to the spiritual realm. These are all things that Christians have been warned to stay away from but some regularly visit energy healers and participate in all kinds of new age practices which give the enemy legal authority over them.
While a Christian cannot be possessed, they can be oppressed, tormented and become physically ill due to the influence of evil spirits in their lives. So why is the church not doing what Jesus told his followers to do?
Fear
Five years ago when I first experienced deliverance for myself, the reactions I got from friends and family ranged from mild amusement to outright "Cori's a religious freak." And at first, I was a bit hesitant to talk about it again, but then I got mad. Was I going to allow my worry about what other people might think to stop me from doing what Jesus asked me to do? No!
Pride
My experience with deliverance was pretty drastic. I think that some people are afraid of looking like a fool if they go for deliverance. Sometimes deliverance is quiet and calm, but sometimes there is shrieking, belching, and vomiting.
Control.
People don't want to give up control but the control they have is just an illusion. When healing and deliverance happens, sometimes a person loses control of themselves. Sometimes they go into a trance, sometimes they scream uncontrollably, sometimes they start laughing uncontrollably. A person who is afraid to give up control to God will have a hard time going through full deliverance.
Unbelief
A lot of people that go to church don't believe in demons, the need for deliverance or the gift of healing even though the bible talks about it a lot. 25 times, Jesus cast out demons. He healed a great number of people throughout the gospels and the disciples after his ascension did as well.
Lack of Teaching
Over the last 100 years, the church has focused more on teaching the gospel and getting people saved then it has teaching on the reality of spiritual warfare, healing and deliverance. The results are congregations full of people not living in the freedom that Jesus died for. And for the outside world, what we have is not attractive because we look just like them. We're living with mental and physical illness, addictions, and so on. The church needs to get back to teaching about spiritual warfare, healing prayer and casting out demons, otherwise, we will not walk in our full authority in Christ.
In Africa, missionaries share testimonies of demonic manifestations, blind people receiving their sight, the sick being made well and the dead being raised. Reinhard Bonnke, an evangelist from Florida-based Christ for All Nations, has witnessed amazing miracles when he has preached throughout Africa. A young British woman* whose right side had been paralyzed since infancy. experienced a tingling in her disabled extremities and as people watched, the woman's underdeveloped right foot grew to its normal adult size.
The Western church needs to set aside their fear, pride, control issues, unbelief and lack of teaching return to teaching the fullness of the Scriptures to see true transformation and revival.
*as told to the houston chronicle - https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Known-as-conduit-for-divine-miracles-in-Africa-6083035.php
2 BILLION!!!
I'm not buying it.
If 2 billion people on this planet are truly followers of Christ, I have to ask the following:
How are there millions of abortions happening each year?
How do thousands upon thousands of children die from lack of food and clean water each year?
Why are veterans and seniors and the mentally ill homeless?
Why are people not being healed of diseases, raised from the dead and delivered from demonic oppression?
From here on out, I no longer identify as a Christian. I am a following of Jesus Christ.
So what's the difference?
Well, let's look at the church! Look at all the people that file through the doors on Sunday morning, and what do you see? They look no different than the rest of the world. They dress the same, they mouth the songs, they bow their heads, they warm the seats, they shake hands with the people and then it's back into the world. They struggle with infidelity, immodesty, foul language, alcohol/drug/sex/food/internet addictions, illness, jealousy, anger, anxiety, depression and so on and so on.
So what is missing??
The Power of the Holy Spirit and a true relationship with Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 10:18 Jesus told the disciples to Heal the sick,[d]cleanse the lepers, [e]raise the dead, cast out demons.
In Matthew 16:17 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
As followers of Christ, we should also be doing these things. But in the church these days we see people attending church every Sunday with no relief from their afflictions.
And why?
Fear
Pride
Control
Unbelief
Lack of teaching
Over the past five years, I have been on a personal journey learning from amazing authors and preachers about what the bible says about healing, deliverance and spiritual warfare.
Ephesians 6:10-12 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the [b]wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [c]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
The secular world mocks Christians while they flock to psychics, ghost hunters, clairvoyants, mediums etc. not realizing that they are exposing themselves to the spiritual realm. These are all things that Christians have been warned to stay away from but some regularly visit energy healers and participate in all kinds of new age practices which give the enemy legal authority over them.
While a Christian cannot be possessed, they can be oppressed, tormented and become physically ill due to the influence of evil spirits in their lives. So why is the church not doing what Jesus told his followers to do?
Fear
Five years ago when I first experienced deliverance for myself, the reactions I got from friends and family ranged from mild amusement to outright "Cori's a religious freak." And at first, I was a bit hesitant to talk about it again, but then I got mad. Was I going to allow my worry about what other people might think to stop me from doing what Jesus asked me to do? No!
Pride
My experience with deliverance was pretty drastic. I think that some people are afraid of looking like a fool if they go for deliverance. Sometimes deliverance is quiet and calm, but sometimes there is shrieking, belching, and vomiting.
Control.
People don't want to give up control but the control they have is just an illusion. When healing and deliverance happens, sometimes a person loses control of themselves. Sometimes they go into a trance, sometimes they scream uncontrollably, sometimes they start laughing uncontrollably. A person who is afraid to give up control to God will have a hard time going through full deliverance.
Unbelief
A lot of people that go to church don't believe in demons, the need for deliverance or the gift of healing even though the bible talks about it a lot. 25 times, Jesus cast out demons. He healed a great number of people throughout the gospels and the disciples after his ascension did as well.
Lack of Teaching
Over the last 100 years, the church has focused more on teaching the gospel and getting people saved then it has teaching on the reality of spiritual warfare, healing and deliverance. The results are congregations full of people not living in the freedom that Jesus died for. And for the outside world, what we have is not attractive because we look just like them. We're living with mental and physical illness, addictions, and so on. The church needs to get back to teaching about spiritual warfare, healing prayer and casting out demons, otherwise, we will not walk in our full authority in Christ.
In Africa, missionaries share testimonies of demonic manifestations, blind people receiving their sight, the sick being made well and the dead being raised. Reinhard Bonnke, an evangelist from Florida-based Christ for All Nations, has witnessed amazing miracles when he has preached throughout Africa. A young British woman* whose right side had been paralyzed since infancy. experienced a tingling in her disabled extremities and as people watched, the woman's underdeveloped right foot grew to its normal adult size.
The Western church needs to set aside their fear, pride, control issues, unbelief and lack of teaching return to teaching the fullness of the Scriptures to see true transformation and revival.
*as told to the houston chronicle - https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Known-as-conduit-for-divine-miracles-in-Africa-6083035.php
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