I saw it for the first time in a meeting I called and led. No. Actually: I realized then what I had been seeing for years. It broke my heart. I’ve tried to tell the story twice before. Both times, I described what happened in that meeting, but did not include any backstory. Now it’s time to write the whole story. Bring honor to your name, holy Lord.
In the beginning, a divided heart may look very much like an undivided one. It’s as if you’ve reached a subtle fork in the road, where the two paths before you appear to run side-by-side. It seems you can take both paths at the same time. It seems you don’t have to choose. Lord, help us to learn from a king who did not.
May I tell you a story? It’s a true story. And it shows what can happen when God sees courage in you that you do not see.
Ultimately, collectively, the church quenched the Spirit’s voice in order to embrace the society’s values. The church began to preach - and to try to live - a righteousness unencumbered with justice. But. God.
The preacher urged people to love the Lord with all their hearts. Yet, tragically, he himself did not know how to do it. He did not know what wholehearted devotion to God looks like. He could only offer a checklist.
Mobbing, or adult bullying, is abuse. It's a form of psychological violence. It's agonizing to experience, and the agony multiplies when you have believed the abusers and their colluders to be godly Christians. Bullying thrives in systems where manipulation, coercion and control are accepted as the norm.
"How long will you try to go both ways?" Elijah cried. Where people identified with God cling to deep double-mindedness, they empower a two-headed snake.
You want to know Christ, to love him and serve him with an undivided heart. But in seeking to follow him, you've been blindsided by violent spiritual assault. Worse yet, it's come from a place you would not have dreamed.
We Confess! The Civil War, the South, and the Church - Q&A 4 What would you say is the most crucial thing that needs to be seen and dealt with?…
Be blessed to see past strong deception and skillful misdirection, to recognize Ahab and Jezebel at work.
“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves ... then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”