FALLING AWAY

Is the sun setting on Christianity?

WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON IN CHRISTIANITY TODAY? 

HAS GOD CHANGED? Has Christianity changed? Are we of the Christian Faith in a sieve as culture impresses change? I spent today reading article upon article about high profile personalities leaving their faith in a high profile way. What do I make of it? I'm concerned, not surprised, interested, saddened. I care deeply. 

This is personal for me. I've been through it with people close to me. I get the void, pretending. I also get the denial, emptiness. I understand the angst, disillusionment. To choose their own way is painful because it necessitates loss of connection and community--but the monkey is off their back.

Let's be honest here. People don't always tell everything--what some of the real issues are. We know people get hurt by other's choices. When someone walks away from what they preached, it's utterly demoralizing for those whom they have influenced. Many grieve the loss.

More destruction. More disillusionment. You might think, maybe Christianity doesn't work. Afterall, it didn't work for them. Some will cheer the person's release as some sort of freedom from religion/Christianity, as a choice to be fully who they are and were always meant to be.

However, I don't think that explains any of this. Will you really leave something real to you? Will you leave something life-giving, life-inspiring to you? Not likely. Christianity is nothing without Christ. Christ is its everything, its answer, its basis--its richness and joy.

Christ is life eternal. Christ is loving, living, giving, helping--thriving. Maybe that got buried somewhere along the way. Maybe Christ became irrelevant to the conversation. Maybe it seemed too limiting. Maybe doubt overcame belief. Maybe it seemed fake, all work and no play.

I wish I knew some of these going their own way. My heart is heavy when I think of them. The truth is they missed it. They missed what this is about. They're walking away from something precious, the Precious One. Jesus loves you. Christ's arms are open wide. Wake up to life.

Pray. Please pray.

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For more, visit my author site at nlbrumbaugh.com.
Have a blessed day.

FIRST RESPONDER

JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO

One of the problems is that church people don't know what to do or how to do it when the unexpected surfaces. They're out of their league or have not had the power of God as an effectual healer/helper in their own lives. I recall when it happened to me as a leader. While leading a small group on healing angd emotional issues, sparked by reading "When a Woman Finds Her Voice" by JoAnn Fore, two of the women shared very intimate details of past experiences. 

I knew we were on holy ground and we shouldn't move on without letting it sink in. But I was out of my league, and knew it. I didn't want to brush their honest comments aside. I wanted God to meet them in the recesses of their hearts and to let His healing breeze refresh their spirits in a way. Only He could do. I sent up a silent prayer to Father God, stood up, then lightly placed my hands on the two women's shoulders and prayed a specific prayer of healing, thankfulness, and for God's holy intercession. 

When I finished, the four of us sat there in a pregnant pause with tears in our eyes. The holy hush of God's presence was so very real at the moment of need. There is an intuitiveness from the Spirit that enters such divinely orchestrated appointments. I assume God did some healing during that encounter. 

The Christian community must equip its leaders to become conduits of God's healing grace in people's lives. None of us are exempt. We all need it.
 

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For more, visit my author site at nlbrumbaugh.com.
Have a blessed day.

ARISE FROM THE ASHES

YES, YOU CAN ARISE

because God can

IN DEEP WOUNDS, whether of betrayal or loss, Father God reaches us and asks of us, “Will you give it to me? Will you stop burying it? Will you let me have it?” 

When we give him our sorrow, our anger, our unforgiveness, and our deepest secrets, he is able to begin a soft and slow restoring of peace to our inward self—our soul. In the safety of God’s love, his care, we face the ugliest of demons that reside behind a closed heart. The power of the ugly stuff, with its subtle but real influence over us, is then weakened. 

Essentially, God says to us: My child, I love you. Be free. Come to me. Don’t blame me. There are things you do not understand. This world is cursed—it is doomed—but I have life and I offer life to you. My love can transform the darkest soul. I, alone, can redeem the pain, the loss, and make you anew. I paint a new picture dispelling the darkness of your soul with light and shades of color in beautiful layers of joy. 

Thank you, dear God. Father God, I love you. Amen.

THE MEETING PLACE: Moments with God at Lookout Point  -N.L. Brumbaugh

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For more, visit my author site at nlbrumbaugh.com.
Have a blessed day.

HOPE FOR BETTER DAYS AHEAD

OFFER HOPE to the HURTING and ABUSED

We must acknowledge people's pain while also offering hope for better days ahead. We have a platform for doing so when our own lives have been scarred by hurtful experiences, we are dealing with it, and moving forward in our recovery and healing. This gives validity to our message of hope. I know about this.

I've lived it. I can speak to it. I identify with the angst. I want to help: wherever, whomever, whatever.  I mean it, through and through.

I once had a student who I had concerns for. I was wondering if she was being sexually abused. I didn't know what to look for other than the obvious signs. I asked a special education teacher for advice. She gave me some specifics and then shared a story about a speaker in the field that had impacted her.

The speaker was a survivor of horrible abuse. She said that no one ever told her that it was wrong the way she was being treated, not her teachers, school personnel, or knowledgeable people. It was hurtful that no one validated her, even after it was known. That was the takeaway my teacher friend gained. 

Her comments stayed with me. Hope is the first step toward healing. I think we bear responsibility in offering solidarity in the healing journey. This can be of great benefit to all. Glad for everyone who adds to this poignant conversation. We can validate, encourage, and help. Compassion is where it starts, and ends.

Let's live it together.

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For more, visit my author site at nlbrumbaugh.com.
Have a blessed day.