#Praise and worship in church

[bashamanik]

Elevate Your Energy: BatteryBoost, MicDropMoments, MicswapMagic forSpiritual Resilience

K.O.G. Faith Presents K.Will ft,praise and worship songs,praise god with music,spiritual worship,christian praise,praise in the bible,songs of praise,praise and thanksgiving,praise and worship in church,faith presents,popular christian songs,christian music youtube,christian music artists,inspirational christian songs,music for emotional healing,songs about hope and love,K.O.G. Faith ft,hymns of praise,micswapMagic forspiritual resilience,micdropmoments

[fallenxangel-13]

fallen angel worshipping your body for the first time. eyes widening in adoration, as though seeking salvation in your flesh alone. his fingertips ghost over your soft skin, lips murmuring praises against your bare neck- warm and desperate-before he takes you raw.

"you're so divine," he groans in your ear, his large wings shudder, feathers rustling as he thrusts deeper into you-eager for more. his faintest whispers send shivers down your spine. "forgive me, love.. heaven was wrong. you were made for me. only me. understand?"

[zouisalmightie]

as much as i love ethereal fairy king hozier songs, my favorite hozier songs are always the ones that sound like he grew up in a black church.

[alwaysrememberjesus]

Could The Lord Call On You?

[kindsoulbuddy]

The thing about praise and worship music at church is that

It’s catchy

Repetitive simple lyrics

It’s played on repeat every Sunday

So even though I’ve been deconstructing for years from evangelicalism, most days praise and worship music from my youth plays in my head.

So every once in a while I’ll sing to myself something joyful like “I got peace like a river I got peace like a river I got peace like a river in my soul!” ����

Or maybe “ Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere!” 🎶

Or maybe something peaceful like “As the deer panteth for the water so my soul longeth after Thee…”🎶

Mostly it doesn’t bother me.

But then 90s/Y2K Christian pop music gets stuck in my head.

Like sometimes Rebecca St. James lyrics go through my head like this one glorifying purity culture:

“I am waiting for, praying for you darling! Wait for me too, wait for me as I wait for you! Darling Wait!”

Or you know just songs from DC Talk..

“What if I stumble, what if I fall? What if I lose my step and I make fools of us all?”

Or

“There’s no time to change your mind, the Son has come and you’ve been left behind.”

I think about the awful Rapture Anxiety I had for years and years…

And then i think about being in youth group and yes the fun times but also the moments when we had alter calls.

And the crying and sobbing. The speaking in tongues. The teenagers falling on their faces.

The sensationalized, sometimes violent “Human Videos” (just look up human videos on YouTube there are many).

Teens vowing to die for Christ.

When the Columbine shooting happened all we heard about were the apocryphal stories of students being martyred for Jesus.

I wondered “will a shooter come into our church today and ask us to deny Christ or be shot? What will I do if that happens??”

And what if I lose my salvation just because I had doubts? And what if I get possessed by a demon?

Not to mention purity culture and what it does to a young girl. (All kids suffered but we girls had to be modest and never cause any man to stumble by looking at our shoulder or something)

Abstinence class and signing a pledge to remain a pure virgin until my wedding night.

All the teenagers in every youth group were running around with raging hormones and couldn’t do anything about it. So a lot of us got married quickly. (I was engaged at 19, married at 21).

I mean I’m not even getting into young earth creationism or anti-gay rhetoric or pro life marches, etc..

But you can see that so much of my life (as good as it was for the most part, I was fortunate)was fear based?

And the thing is most of the people (congregation, I can’t speak for all the pastors and church leaders) at church didn’t mean for it to happen that way.

See, I was taught that there is freedom in Christianity. But why didn’t I feel free? That must mean my faith is weak, right?

It’s just so exhausting.

And I went to church regularly for my first 33 years of life. I volunteered, I taught Sunday school classes. I was trying to do it the right way.

Then Covid 19 happened.

I was forced to stop going to church for the first time in my life.

And honestly for years before this I was deconstructing. What really sped this process along was a certain Orange president and his very un-Christianlike followers.

And like Paul in the book of Acts, the scales fell off my eyes. I was blind but now could see. Really see.

The way my Christian peers were acting. The way they refused vaccines and even wearing masks. The cult-like behavior toward Donald Trump. The Christian nationalists.

And after a few months of no church…I realized I didn’t miss it.

After 2020, my deconstruction days really took off. I still don’t go to church (outside of a few weeks trying a gay-affirming congregation).

I used to compulsively pray.

And for hours i would pore over the scriptures trying to glean special meaning. Taking copious notes deep into the night.

(have OCD and I now realize that this brand of religion made my OCD symptoms so much worse.)

But it’s weird…

I have religious trauma. I’m learning about how I was literally in a cult. I’m still trying to unlearn stuff. I still get fearful sometimes about “what if I’m wrong?”.

But I still have good memories of growing up in church. Just like how I still sing old church songs in my head.

I’ve been to many churches, but I grew up in a small country church. I knew it like the back of my hand. It’s how I met some of my best friends and in turn, it’s how I met my husband of 17 years.

I can’t say I regret it. Like anything in life it’s complicated and complex.

I miss the social aspect of church too. I’ve never found another social space like it. I’ve tried! I can’t figure out any other “3rd place” that resembles it.

I’m not sure why i wrote so much down except to say i know a lot of people understand where I’m coming from.

In the meantime, I like to go on r/fundiesnarkuncensored, also i watch Fundie Fridays on YouTube…and I do quite a bit of reading on the subject of others who left the church. Recently I just read Tia Levings’ new book “the Well Trained Wife.”

I’m more at peace about it.

But I think my complex feelings and even some doubts will follow me forever.

[beemintty]

the way we were all raising our hands and singing take me to church like we were praising the lord is so incredibly wild!

the irony is not lost on me.

[bibleversegarden]

From the beginning, mankind was created in the image of God, according to His likeness. It is evident, God's glorious nature was on full display in man; until mankind chose to disobey and fell short of the glory of God. 

"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3:8)

All thanks and praise to the LORD God Almighty, who has redeemed us through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, out of every tribe and tongue and people. The sacrifice of animals for sins was a shadow of Christ's work on the cross. The LORD has called and filled His church with the Holy Ghost, empowering us to bear much fruit and glorify His name.

God's people are His holy dwelling place, His peculiar treasure. He is near to those who call upon Him in truth; to those whose hearts are upright before Him; He makes His presence known to those who seek His face and walk humbly in His ways. He takes away the stony heart and gives us a heart of flesh, to obey His voice and do that which is pleasing in His sight.

In His holy temple, there is hope, joy unspeakable and full of glory, peace like a river, grace, and every good and perfect gift. To Him alone, belongs all glory, honor, praise and worship, perpetually.

"Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; See also Chapter 3, and John 2:19-22)

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24)

"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."(Ephesians 2:19-22)

"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5)

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9)

In the days of Solomon, when the construction of the temple, he determined to build for God, was completed, and the ark brought into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place: "It came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD saying: "For He is good, for His mercy endures forever," that the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God." 

Similarly, when Solomon had finished praying at the temple dedication, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 

(See 2 Chronicles Chapter 5 and 2 Chronicles Chapter 7)

God had said to Solomon: "Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel." (1 Kings 6:12-13 )

For the building of the tabernacle, in the days of Moses, God called and filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, in knowledge and all manner of artistic workmanship and ability to teach; in him and Aholiab and gifted artisans, to do all manner of work for the service of the sanctuary, in the building of the tabernacle, according to the pattern God gave to Moses. At its completion, with all things set in place, as God commanded Moses, the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 

(See Exodus Chapters 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40) 

Christ in us, the hope of glory. Fill us LORD with Your glory! Amen.

- A Walk In The Garden Devotions

[theprayingteacher]

#Strength

[bashamanik]

God's Last Message Unveiled: A Revelation from K.O.G. Faith | Must-Watch YouTube Video

Apostle Jimmie Robinson 📜 God's Last Message to a Fast Dying World 🌍📢 | Noah's Ark ⛵ 🕊️🌍 Join Apostle Jimmie Robinson in a profound exploration of "God's Last Message to a Fast Dying World" through the timeless story of Noah's Ark. 🚢🌊 In this captivating journey, witness the divine message of hope, salvation, and renewal as we delve into the biblical narrative of Noah's Ark. 📖✨ 🌈 Discover the significance of the rainbow as a symbol of God's promise and the enduring relevance of this ancient story in today's turbulent world. 🌈🙏 Let Apostle Jimmie Robinson guide you through this enlightening message, offering insights and inspiration for our modern times. 🗝️🌟 Prepare to be moved, uplifted, and enlightened by this powerful exploration of faith and God's enduring love. 🙌💫 Don't miss this spiritual journey!

[gxlden-angels]

"The Lord loves a cheerful giver :)" I'll cheerfully give him these hands

[gramarobin]

Emotional manipulation. I said what I said.

[lightspreader]

Why are people cursing others when angry?

[alwaysrememberjesus]

The Reason You’re Being Tested

[flickeringflame216]

🥢

[squingy]

christian worship that isn't just white people justifying their shitty beliefs is a hell of a lot better than whatever catholics got going on

[nuggetsfromgodsword]

Those Who Abandon Their Faith

DATE POSTED: Thursday, January 4, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Florida Hunting Adventures, Okeechobee, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years. TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Good News Translation (GNT) IS FOUND IN Hebrews 6:4-6 THE BIBLE TEXT IS: For how can those who…