I am a beauty...

Rob Bell says the church is a big, beautiful, ugly thing. Well, I am beautiful so you, the reader, must be the one making it ugly....
Just kidding.
But Rob has a good point. We look at the chruch as insiders and are aware of her shortcomings, wounds, abuse, and all other stuff that underlines her humanity.
Only God sort of idealises His church. If I understand my Bible correct, He seems to love His church, brags about her, sees her as clean, holy and absolutely gorgeous.
How does He do that? Since He knows everything, he is supposed to know the real truth about her.
Well, that's the whole issue. He does know her secret and that secret is Jesus. God looks at the church through a veil. That veil is the reality of the blood of Jesus. God sees what, in Christ, the church is becoming and it looks amazingly beautifull.
You know what, He does the same to me. He's not telling me what a bad boy I am and that I'd better give up trying because I will never work my way up to His standards.
God thinks I am beautiful...
If He only knew....
Well, He knows and He has choosen to see me through the blood of Jesus. That blood is so powerfull that it cleanses me completely.

I just needed to get this of my chest.

Have a great life. Believe the blood! He did it!

The First Painless Church

The lady laid hands on the other lady who was ill. De first words she spoke/prayed were: "We know that God does not allow pain in His body". Amens floated about the roam, but I wanted to scream. Or, maybe I shouldn't. Maybe this little church in Mpumalanga, South Africa, was the first painless church on this planet. And, to be honest, without having shared this with anyone, not even my wife, I have been quietly looking for the First Painless Church (FPL). I once considered planting one but I decided not to because if the church planter himself is in pain, planting the FPL would be a big joke. Unless... of course, I don't have to tell people that I am in pain and just communicate that in our church there is no pain since God doesn't allow pain in His body.
If there were such a thing as a painless church, the people in it would be living in utter denial. If the preacher says there is no pain and backs it up with a scripture or two I will live my live as if there was no pain. And when I would feel pain I would tell myself it's just an illusion, deny that it's there.

Why do so many Christians ly about their true battles and struggles? Because we are being told that we have the victory. If that is true how come so many live defeated lives?
Not facing the realities of your inner battles is one of the biggest sins and one cannot be healed from these sins untill these are acknowledged and confessed.

If I deny that I have financial problems I need to pretend that I am doing well and have no needs.

If I deny that my back is sore, I will have to pretend that I am physically fit and will keep my back straight (despite the extra pain that causes).

If I deny that my marriage is not working, I am not communicating with my children, I have to do a lot of explaining (lying to myself and others) to pretend that everything is well.

Bottom line: Face you pain. Acknowlegde it. Confess it. And, God willing, maybe receive healing.

Get real or take a hike