Spoiler alert: You’re probably not gonna like this post, but it needs to be said. When the Holy Spirt puts a sensitive subject on my heart (then again, everything I write about is), I have to honor it. To do otherwise would be a disservice to others and disobedience to Him.
I write a lot about the presence/influence of negative energy, spirits, and demons. I have been spending more time on it because the Lord wants me to —most churches don’t even believe in it, let alone talk about it. Trust me, I don’t enjoy writing about it. I’d rather talk about angels and all things nice, but for now He wants me to share hard truth.
Did you know that there is a spirit of “religiosity” running rampant with the Christian body right now? It’s not a good spirit, either. It’s legalism. It’s harsh. It’s Old Testament. It’s “Do it my way or you’re d#mned.” It’s “You did what?! We’ll, you’re going to h#ll for that.” It’s “My denomination is right. Yours is wrong.”
This evil spirit is deceptive, dangerous, and destructive. Anyone operating under it will think they’re serving up God (and others) the right way. Sadly (whether they realize it or not), they are doing the opposite. Every denomination has them. They’re hard at work wreaking havoc in the body when they’re pitting Christians against each other and causing division. It’s bad, people. And we’re not doing enough, collectively, to stop it.
Truth: Your denomination really doesn’t matter to the Lord. Your heart and actions speak volumes, though. Your everyday relationship with Christ is what matters, not whether you go to church every week (but mistreat others and call your own shots on the other days).
Truth: Denominations get some of God wrong and don’t fully encapsulate all that He truly is.
Truth: God wants us United in Christ. Things that cause division in unhealthy ways are not of Him.
Truth: We are to build each other up, not break each other down. We are to offer love, kindness, forgiveness, tolerance, and generosity toward others.
At the end of the day, it’s the Lord’s place to convict when there is wrong behavior, not ours. Yes, He will sometimes use a person to convict another person’s behavior, but it’s always in a considerate and conscientious way (anything but that is not His way). We’re a mean-spirited Christian body, folks. We judge. We condemn. We malign. We wall off. We turn our heads away from those in need. We aren’t extending grace and unconditional love—well, not enough. Think I’m wrong? Look at the state of all affairs of this country, of this world.
Thankfully, that doesn’t include all of us. There are really good people out there serving the Lord, but they’re being outnumbered right now.
The good news? This can change! You can change —through repentance, prayer, and petition, you can submit your heart to God and He can help you change your ways. If you have a heart for the Lord (if you’re reading this, you probably do), you’ve got what it takes. In the spiritual realm, it’s never too late to change course. With Christ, people CAN (and do) change. In Him, all things are possible.
