This morning I read an
article written by a beautiful, young woman. Her photo was next to her article.
She was questioning the money she just spent for a retreat of meditation, crystals,
and a pendulum. She left empty and
because she felt nothing she was told she was already full of “light.” She wrote her doubt-filled article and
wondered about the methods of finding God. She was left disappointed. My heart broke for her and many women like
her.
We have a nation of young
women mostly, some men, that are searching in this way for their connection with
God. They didn’t find it in church or
they didn’t go to church.
As a pew sitter, I know that
much of the teaching given in my half century was done from a platform that
cried, “Fire!” Most of those who chose to
connect to God was through a fire escape avoiding Hell. Often what was missing was the love. The power. The peace. The joy. The
fulfillment of a relationship with the One and Only and how to have it in
hearing Him and knowing Him.
I managed to find these
things through a charismatic experience when I was twelve years old. I got to know His power in healing, in the
gift of peace and joy through His Holy Spirit and that He continues to talk
with us and through us. Most churches didn’t teach about the power of
God through His Spirit. They didn’t
place hands on people for healing, but instead would pray from a distance.
Some did the Job’s–friends-thing and sat and
discussed what Job could have possibly done wrong to bring all of this illness
and woe on himself. Wrong! These people were judgmental. When Jesus walked the earth His biggest criticisms
were on religious people that were judging others and making rules more
important than grace and love and the gifts of His Spirit.
We have people reading horoscopes, the
counterfeit to prophecy. What they are looking for is a prophetic word from
God. By His Spirit, He gives the gift of
prophecy. We crave this and most of our
churches are not supplying it or encouraging people on how to hear God for
themselves.
No wonder why we have a
generation of women headed to retreats like the one the writer wrote of this
morning and men, too, looking for Who God really is. But, what is happening is that it is being
masked. Some of it is brought through
methods called reiki, a named energy of
healing from their own energy and God of Life and Universe. I believe this is a name meant for the power and healing of
His Holy Spirit. This generation has not
been taught of the fullness of God in this healing from His Holy Spirit for
them. They look for it, they crave it,
they are created to long for it; for the power of His Spirit in healing
physically, mentally and emotionally.
There is counterfeit. Where there is real there is false, truth and
lies, good and evil. These things are in
the physical world and in the spiritual Universal world. Satan is said to masquerade as an angel of
light. 2 Corinthians 11:14.
This energy seeking, light
searching, crystal worshiping generation wants what they have not been taught
or given. Their souls are longing to be
filled. They are led to what they
desire and they get tantalized, but eventually they end up disappointed. Empty.
I stand guilty in not having
made the kind of power in His Spirit more known out of fear of, “What would
they say?!” from conservative church goers or doubters. Those that moved in the fullness of His
Spirit that I knew of were a handful of women.
They would meet in private settings like their houses and pray in the
Spirit, share prophecy and lay hands on one another and walk and live in this
power, but we were often too timid to bring it to the masses.
A lot of churches that know
God have not taught the fullness of God, His mercy and His power of His
presence of His Spirit. Resulting, we have these precious and beautiful starved souls
searching and getting caught in a mysticism that is not giving them what they
really need; freedom, life and value!
Freedom
in the saving grace of what was given to them through Christ Jesus and in that
His Spirit and power they so desperately seek.
Valued and loved so much that
Christ made that sacrifice for them so that they could live a life in all that He has! We aren’t supplying through His Spirit
everything that Christ died for, for them.
Despite these energy healing
sessions and meditation moments, they are not finding freedom nor are they comprehending
their full value and how much they are loved. Guilt is still prevalent, fulfillment is not
met and discontentment and discourse prevail.
They are not freed, but appear to become more tangled, frustrated and
searching. When we understand how much
we are loved, we can’t help but love others in return.
These dear people seek mercy. Mercy from illness, heart-aches, weariness,
confusion and guilt. When the guilt is
removed then there is peace. No
religion, meditation or reiki is capable of removing guilt, except by Jesus and
His forgiveness.
With the “Fire” teaching, we
are taught to stop the sin, but we rarely understood the love of the “once and
for all” sacrifice forgiving every sin done and yet to be done; the total
removal of guilt and condemnation.
Romans 8:1-2 ESV 1There is
therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in
Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
This is the place of the
deepest, filling, fresh, breath no meditation can provide unless it is
the meditation of that love. And
honestly, the more I love someone, the less I want to do wrong by them. When we receive His love, we can’t help but
want to show our love back.
This is my plea to all in
the churches in ministry proclaiming Jesus Christ. Teach His love, His mercy, His promises kept,
His power, His Spirit in healing and empowering. Stop sending our beloved daughters and sons
into dark rooms with wounds or emptiness to the hands of healing they so desperately
seek but are not in His Name. Let them come to His power, Spirit, presence,
healing, love and wholeness the way He started the church, by the powerful wind of
His Spirit. Let our
children find it taught, given and
provided for them. No more inflicting wounds of condemnation,
because it has been removed. Instead,
offer hands of healing, words of love, the vibrations of His Holy Spirit moving
through them and balms of oils that anoint, bless and give life and hope in a
near and real relationship with God that once and for all fulfills them.
As the huge growth of
Christianity continues in Eastern cultures, the irony is that people here are
going to the Eastern practices that the East is leaving. My interpretation of this is that the message
of Christ has been distorted here. It
had not taught the power through His Spirit that they so desperately seek or
the peace of His love, breathing Him in.
I think of when we train our
pets. I can get them to obey by scolding them, but they will not want to be near me or walk with me. But, when I train them in love, rewarding them
but also letting them know where the boundaries are, we are in a relationship
and the trust and nearness in that is good for them and for me.
As Job’s friends considered
themselves friends of Job, they tried to help, but had misunderstood. They were causing more hurt than help. They themselves were not understanding the
LORD and hadn’t had a close and trusting relationship with the LORD. Their message was as good as it could be for
what they had.
Yet, Job knew and revered
God enough not to curse Him. God drew
near to Job and let Job know Who He was as Job drew near to Him even in his
complaints. That’s relationship.
Following this time, Job
understood God for himself. Instead of
being angry with his friends for their wrong take on who God was in relationship
to his suffering by ending their friendship, he remained friends and prayed for them. He prayed for the ones that added a little
more misery and misguidance. He forgave
them. What followed is beautiful. It says that God blessed Job. As Job came into a fuller relationship with
God and prayed for those that caused him hurt by showing love and the power of
God, it says that God gave Job double blessing of what he had before and the
most beautiful daughters.
Job 42:15 Nowhere
in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and
their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers
In praying for our churches and leaders we
have had over our life time that may have added more misery than mercy, we don’t take a place of judgment, but rather, some of
them really didn’t know any better. It
was taught from what they knew. If they
weren’t in the full relationship and power of His Spirit, they couldn’t teach
it or offer it.
As we pray for them I know that the LORD will
bring blessing. We release the wounds,
we move freely with Him and knowing Him and our daughters will be beautiful. Don’t let your past hurts from church keep
your daughters and sons from knowing His love, His freedom, His peace, His
presence, His power and their value in Him. Let’s grant our daughters and sons their
inheritance.
If you are looking for churches that offer
more in way of healing through the Holy Spirit, I recommend in the Twin Cities
area groups that are called SOZO. It is
a Hebrew word for healing and deliverance.
These are a few that I am familiar with.
Also, there are small groups all over the Twin
Cities for women on hearing God and living in His power through Arise! Women’s Ministry. You can get more information on this
organization and other things that they do here.
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