I'm Chewing Again

A little bit ago I went back thru my posts to the start to remember some history and to see any change in me from then till now. The one thing that I realized the most was that having visuals readily available greatly diminished the sharing of my thoughts. I thoroughly enjoy design/visuals and post quite a bit on these. I also thoroughly enjoy spiritual topics/discussions, but these have been pretty much silent since I acquired a camera from my bro as well as the camera on the phone. ALSO my daily hunts of design things/sharing them have overwhelmed the time it takes to share thoughts I'm digesting. In a large way I feel like this is a step back and I'd like to get back to thoughts. I hear the argument of balance on repeat, what all things come down to is discipline. I need this in more areas of my life than in blog posting.

One thing that has been nudging my brain lately is how weary I am of hearing pointed fingers at anything christian by christians/pseudo christians. I got 10 fingers myself that can point and aim with a list prepared, but there's enough critics on both sides already. Is there anything wrong with confrontation in the church? NO. Is there anything wrong with rebuke? NO. I just feel like there are more accusers than doers these days.

I know quite a few people who've been pissed with things that have happened personally or to someone close to them by the church who have overcome it! They confronted the situation, stopped being a victim, they had good people around them to bring balance on the situation and solution, and thru prayer & persistence overcame the wound and now who are stronger in their faith more than ever because they let the love of God be the guide. These are the stories that need to be shared, these are the things that strengthen the bond thru the gifts of the Spirit. If it's all fingers, than it is ALL despair. This quickly oh so quickly turns to fear, and that means our WHOLE focus has been switched, and as the good word says, 'There is NO fear in love". I also know quite a few people who've been pissed/wounded who've never dealt with the issue healthfully who are now outside of church, bitter & complacent. This breaks my heart, it really does. I think responsibility is not just in their hands but to the body of the church as well, to work thru any unjust thing/reason, and while doing so not forgetting the central theme that Jesus is Love, and if we who are called by Him do not have this love in us, we are not known by Him and therefore cannot correctly discern the appropriate steps to bring reconciliation. The church will always receive flack unjustly and rightfully. BOTH are great for shaping the church. It will always be easier to blame than to work through anything, the accuser has done such a wonderful job at making that hook. Our Savior has made away off it,

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30

Our friend Jesus is saying He'll take the weight of the load, He'll partner with us to get thru whatever it is. This means He'll develop us to show us how to overcome, to work with the fruits of the Spirit, to surrender, to forgive. He WON'T abandon or take it all away, He WILL work with us so we are changed by this partnership. The other hooks we have to come off are these: Will we come to Jesus when we are hurt/pissed? Will we give our wound over to Jesus? Will we surrender? Will we be satisfied with His response when it differs from what we think justice should be?

The discipline I need a lot of help with is when I see something wrong with the church, or something that has been personally done to me, is to think/pray a solution MORE than I do of my accusatory stance. Let's put more into building than helping the fire spread. The accuser has enough hands, I want mine to be for mending.

If you consider me a friend do this for me: Think of anything you've been bottling in or have already shared, pray about them alone and with people you trust (I'd be more than willing to be someone to pray with), Our Abba WILL bring things into peace & order. We all have something that hurts us even those people who have been the accuser against us. Think about that when your anger is getting the best of you, we all got hurt feelings! Pain is the quickest thing to make you selfish, so think about someone else's pain as well, this is a step into mending & holiness.