What’s Wrong With Our Churches Today?
The last chapter of this story ended with the sadness of divorce. Divorce is a picture of shame, defeat, and failure, especially for those that did not want a divorce. Even though I felt shame and was broken in the spirit God had a better plan for me.
Long before the divorce whenever I prayed I would write down my prayers in a journal and date the prayers. I did this so I could go back and read the prayers to make note of those prayers that God had already answered. There was one prayer, in particular, I remember because I prayed for a wife of specific values and beliefs that were close to mine. I think I was assuming God would make some changes in my wife, at the time, so she could be more in line with the type of woman I felt God had planned for me.
Years after the divorce and after I had remarried I found that prayer journal that I had put away and had forgotten about. When I read the prayer I was shocked by what I was reading because the person I described in my prayer was a perfect picture of the wonderful woman I am married to now. I realized then that God had heard my prayer years ago and answered it in His own way and in His own time.
God’s ways and His plans are so much better than what I could have thought of or even asked for. After the divorce, I had this strong desire to attend a meeting of an organization for single parents called PWP or “Parents Without Partners”. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life because the friends I made there helped me to survive the lowest point of my life. I had dated several different women and after a three-year relationship with one particular lady, the relationship ended abruptly. One of my PWP lady friends told me she was going to fix me up with someone and she suggested some people we both knew. I told her that the people she suggested were not of interest. She then said, “I know someone that is just perfect for you, but she has just gone through a divorce and is not yet ready to meet anyone right now.” She said, “I’ll let you know when she’s ready.”
As time went on I had forgotten about the lady that was “perfect for me”, but one day my friend called me and stated her friend is ready to at least talk. She gave me her friend’s phone number and said that I should call her first and I can ask her out if I like what she has to say. I did call her and we talked over the phone for about two hours. I was standing outside in the hot Mississippi August sun ringing wet with sweat and enjoying every minute we talked. We had our first date on August 16th, which is the same date as my anniversary wedding date from my previous marriage. Needless to say, we’ve been together ever since and that will be 20 years tomorrow. God has an amazing way of answering prayers and bringing blessings into our lives.
Ephesians 3:20 is one of my favorite scriptures and I quote it to my wife all the time because God had answered my prayers in so much a greater way than I could ever envision it:
“20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” NKJV I give Him all the glory and praise. By now you are probably wondering what this has to do with the subject of “What’s Wrong With The Churches?” After we were married we decided to get involved in a local church and we joined a large Baptist Church in Jackson, MS. The Pastor was a wonderful preacher and our Sunday School teacher was very knowledgeable in the Word. We enjoyed going there, but we decided to change to another church a little closer to home. This was a much smaller church and we decided to move our membership to this church. There were opportunities for service at the church, but the only position I was allowed to be involved in was with a greeter at the front door. Why? Because I was once a member of a pentecostal church. I guess they were afraid that I would burst out in tongues during the middle of the service. We started attending a Bible Study at another denomination and we asked about becoming a member there. We were refused because of my previous pentecostal background. I cannot figure out why these churches were so against The Holy Spirit and His gifts. Why were they so against me because I believe the entire Bible to be the inspired Word of God and not just part of it?
To be continued . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment