The Autopsy of the Body of Christ

Happy 2024! Look who's back!!! I know it's been a minute, so my desire is to blog more this year as I did back when I started back in 2011. So, let's get started with my first post for 2024: The Autopsy of the Body of Christ!

First things first, autopsies aren’t done on a person that’s still living. They are done on a person who has passed away to determine the cause of death. Now, there will be some who say that the body of Christ (the church) is dead based on our conduct (which I agree with); while others will say that the body of Christ is alive. Let me address the latter first, if you believe that the body of Christ is alive; I say it’s on life support!!! And now, I want to address the former, and provide a plan for us to get us back in action in order to redeem the time remaining as the days are evil.

 

If I had to do an autopsy of the body of Christ, the primary cause of our death is due to too much sleeping and having no oil inside of us (reference Matthew 25:1-13). We place our energy on things that are outside of our control versus the things we can control. We have allowed our minds to be in neutral, thus failing to heed the warning in 1 Peter 5:8 to be sober as the enemy comes seeking whom he may devour. And he isn’t playing fair. Let’s be real, he’s increasing his rage against us to silence us, using our weak points or circumstances to attack us whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally, financially and of course, spiritually.  We see the havoc the devil has wreaked in the culture, now it’s inside the body of Christ. He has turned the gas up and now people are using the Bible to make it fit their agenda (from the pews to the pulpit). This explains why innocent people are offended and are hurt by the church. The church needs to clean house of selfish motives, cliques, agendas and people who are worshiping people and not God. 

 

My heart cries out for the body of Christ. We are so divided on things that are so minor and don’t play a factor in our salvation.  It’s this very thing the devil is using to break up marriages and all forms of godly agreements. We must understand that when there is no agreement but double standards, chaos increases and excellence is lost. 

 

I believe intercession is needed for the body of Christ. My assignment has been towards the body of Christ since the year 2000. We are losing sheep (inside the church) and are refusing to go after the one as Jesus talks about it in Luke 15 because we are too focused on the 99 found sheep.

 

Further in the autopsy report, the secondary causes of death include hypocrisy; lack of personal accountability; unresolved church hurt; lack of focus on our Kingdom assignment; focusing more on maintaining titles and positions; witnessing church and not Christ to the lost; double standards we hold like picking and choosing who we want to agape love and faking excellence to obtain man’s approval, yet our heart isn’t in it. 

 

Our oil has burned out, and this is why we’re sleeping (physically, mentally and spiritually). We’ve accepted anybody in pulpits, and no lives are changed for the glory of Christ. Churches have become social/country clubs and not a place of worship. There’s more that I could say on that, but I’ll stop here. To the body of Christ: we must take our witness seriously! 

 

So what is the plan to get back in action? We must remember that we have a mandate to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We are to keep the main thing, the main thing. We can’t afford to focus on where we sit in church over the visitor who has come and needs to hear about Christ. Yes, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, but we must have a heart for others at the same time. I implore all of us to put our personal agendas down, it’s about Christ, not us. If we really are sincere about surrendering (giving ourselves away like we sing about), then we have to be about His heart. We must be emptied of ourselves so He can fill our hearts. Once that happens, He will refresh our oil to be about His business. Understand this: the time is short. He is returning and the days are evil. We have a job to do! 

 

Blessings,

 

The Mayne Man

 

 

Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 17: Church Hurt)

I made a note in Part 15: Denial that I would address this topic. In fact, this topic has been on my heart for at least 2 years. So let me begin.

Did the church or something that was said that caused you to leave the church hurt you or scarred you? If the answer is yes, then I dedicate this post to you. I want to divide this post into three categories:

1. Quotes that are not Scriptural that can cause doubt
2. No sympathy from the church when you’re going through
3. My own personal experience of church hurt

Let me start with the easy part: quotes or things that are said from church/religious people that are so no scriptural. This will offend those inside the church, and that’s fine.

Quote #1: Tragedies are acts of God. You know, when I was young, I remember reading the instructions to the first microwave my family bought. Under the warranty, it said that the warranty was not covered by “acts of God.” I always wondered about that. And throughout 2017, you’ve heard about hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and many people (in and out of the church) call them “acts of God.” In fact, some people will call the deaths of their loved ones, “acts of God.” If Jesus came to give life, how can He be the cause of tragedies? When people call tragedies acts of God (especially in the church), that causes people to blame God when their loved one passes away, blame God for every death that has happened. And some will say at the funeral, God took your loved one. That right there can cause church hurt in people. But it’s all a trap of the enemy.

Quote #2: God put this test on you, for He knows how much you can bear. Wait, how can God put cancer on you, cause a death to sweep through your family, etc.? Many will use 1 Corinthians 10:13 to back this quote up. The devil is the one who is bringing tests and trials. Which leads me to Quote #3.

Quote #3: Tests and trials come to make you stronger. No! They come to kill you! If this were really the case, we would all be strong by now. Tests and trials come by the devil to take you out. Why is it that when a test or trial comes, people panic? Or they stay right where they are, and they pass away? End result: God is the blame for all of this – therefore, out of the church they go.

Quote #4: He may not come when you want Him to. All I’m going to say to this, is Hebrews 13:5 – He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you.

Quote #5: Do not pass me by! See my Scriptural passage from Quote #4.

I’ll stop there with the first section.

No sympathy from the church when you’re going through. This is where most of the church hurt comes from. I can truly say during this walk, I’m seeing more and more people so entrenched with their own lives that they can’t take a moment to see what’s going on next door. I’m not saying neglect your own life, but if you were to walk in every church, you’ll find at least one person who is internally bleeding to death with something on them. But because so many are just coming to church to get that word for their life, that blessing for them (and forget everyone else), many are hurt because they didn’t even receive a smile, a hug, a “how are you doing today, how can I pray for you?” This particular category breaks my heart. I know I don’t say much especially when I’m inside the church walls, but I’m very mindful of this outside the church walls. Mainly because I know that I am the church – meaning, that I have to be a light to people when I’m outside the church, not just when I’m inside (to impress people). And don’t even get me started on the hypocritical issue. When people are going through, many will say they are attacked, but blame others for their lack of faith. These are half-truths on both sides. It is true that there is an attack, but where’s the love and support (and not just chastisement – or trying to puff how much Word they know or how strong their faith is over another) – and standing in the gap for them? Blaming others for their lack of faith, a real brother and sister will strengthen them and ensure they are not going at this alone (and granted, their foundation may have been shaky from the start due to being in a unscriptural church, bad childhood upbringing – that’s distorted their view of God and what faith in God looks like). I’m finding within the past week and a half, that we are so oblivious to those around us to the point we care more about things we can’t control (like the president) than we do our own lives or the brother/sister living next door. Part of the blame for this church hurt is leaders using their platform as a political platform over teaching the Word. And when they do teach it, they’re teaching it to fit their opinion, denominational teaching, or just to pacify those listening while they’re still internally bleeding to death. So, because there’s no teaching to the congregation how to love their brother and sister, there will be church hurt (and granted, those who are hurt, need to go to a better church hospital).

And let me discuss the final category, my own experience of church hurt. Six years ago today, I wrote a suicide note (When I Wanted To Die). And I’ll be honest, I was going to a church where many in the congregation could’ve cared less if I lived or died. In fact, it was all about personalities and who was in their specific clique. To have that attitude is not showing love (especially when I was crying for help). Today, that attitude in the world as a whole has increased the more. I still thank God that my salvation was based on God’s Word and not a church. When you place their salvation on a church, or a man and not God, your foundation is off. There is no question about that! Anyway, what I’m saying here is that people will let you down, but don’t equate God to the people in the church. I’m not saying that you excuse their behavior, for we are living in a time where people who say they believe need to put up or shut up! It’s just that simple.

In my blogpost Part 15: Denial, I mentioned when it comes to sexual abuse, we deny it because of the shame that it’s placed on us as well as the pain that was afflicted on us. One of the reasons we deny it is because in church, we’re told to either “get over it,” or “that was all in your head.” That’s really putting a band-aid over it and because the root is never addressed, they’re internally bleeding to death sitting inside the church. When it comes to this topic, many churches aren’t equipped to address it, and in the African-American church, the easy drug for anyone who has been abused or suffered in childhood is denial. I understand that denial was taught for decades and centuries, but times have to change, and we have to address it so we can be free. What good is denial when a trigger occurs and you explode? And for the church to frown on those who have suffered in childhood and not comfort them, build them up by letting them know that God loves them and was not the author of the abuse and answering the question roaming in their mind, “why did this happen?” – we are setting ourselves up for casualties in the church, and many will leave and forsake Christianity because of our response. The root of the pain is the devil! And for us to be so passive with those hurting and brushing them off in the church is to literally side with the devil and his purpose to destroy the one who is already hurt. The devil loves to find people (who say they love God) but not loving God’s Word to hurt others. We as the body of Christ have to do better!!

Bonus category that I need to discuss: legalism. This is the biggest area where church hurt comes from. Legalism is all about the rules and regulations to prove your salvation. Now if your foundation was based on legalism, it would not come as a surprise if you have left the church (or you are bound with working as hard as you can to please God. Know that your works don’t please God; it’s your faith and knowing that you are His. Your past is just that in His eyes, let it go.). Legalism will tell you that you have to work on being righteous, which is false. You were righteous the moment you accept Christ. Now, holiness is something you work on. Many who are legalists will be the ones flaunting their perfection over other people’s face, either to control them or to puff themselves up.  In fact, legalistic people won’t pray for you, but will ask for prayers instead – mainly because they want to see you fail because it gives them a reason to act arrogant towards you. If you were hurt by the church due to you being at a church that taught legalism, or you were around people who are too legalist for their own good, I sympathize with you, and you need to be healed and made whole from this (and anything else I mentioned above).

Just know that you can be made whole from church hurt.

Blessings,

The Mayne Man

Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 14: Distorted View of God)

Before I begin this blogpost, some of you, just based on the title may be thinking, “Who does he think he is? My view of God isn’t distorted!” Well, before you discount this blogpost, I want you to understand the perspective I’m about to write from, I promise you it’ll all make sense. I dedicate this blogpost especially to women who have been abused in childhood and/or grew up without a father in the home (or had a father there but was not present emotionally, or enabled the mother to be abusive).

I’ve talked to many women in my lifetime who have shared their story of abuse with me, and I think of one person in particular. I believe her story will show that there are many who are walking around with a distorted view of God. One day, about a month after the passing of my father, a woman posted a suicide note on social media. People ridiculed her and started to become overly spiritual with her, so I sent her an inbox to call me if she happened to get that message. Well, she called me, and proceeded to tell me her story. This woman, at the time, was between her late 20s and early 30s. She shared with me that when she was under the age of six, her father, a minister at a denominational church, molested her and would pass her off to her much older brother (in his late teens). According to her, they told her that she initiated it and wanted it. I had to tell her that there was no way she could initiate anything being so young, and most importantly it was not her fault.

I want to use this story to pull out a few points that clearly define a distorted view of God, and I must say that it’s not the victim’s fault. But the victim can now do something about it, which I will explain as this blogpost progresses.

The first point that I want to make is the fact that her father took advantage of a child who has does not have the capacity to think like an adult. And because he is a minister of the gospel, what does the child think? Her father is like God, and God endorses the ill treatment of His children. That of course is a lie from the pit of hell.

The second point piggybacks off the first point. If the father was never in the home, and if God is a Father, then that would signify that God isn’t there when the child needs Him the most. Thankfully, God is not like a natural father. Humans treat others cruel as a result of sin in the world; God can’t sin because He watches over His Word to perform it.

The third point is that this woman’s father lied to the child saying that she initiated the sex act. Then this will indicate that God can’t be trusted as a result of what the father did the child, if God is supposed to be a Father. And it also gives hints that God endorses abuse. That of course is a lie from the pit of hell. Man lies; God is not a man that He should lie!

If you look at those three points, there are many people who have suffered abuse that could relate to at least one of the three points. Just know that God is not like a natural father.

Let me say this, first and foremost, I’m sorry for any abuse you endured. God does not endorse this type of abuse. It’s recorded in the book of Matthew where Jesus states the following: “Whoever causes one of these little ones (children) who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (18:6). Another way of saying this would go (using the Message Bible): “But if you give them (children) a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse—and it’s doomsday to you if you do.” So, we have here that God does not endorse abuse, and it’s more of a tragedy for a minister of the gospel to abuse a child and/or lie to a child (saying they initiated the abuse, or just manipulating the child). That is pure church abuse (which brings about church hurt). Know that you can heal, but keep in mind that man is fallen, God is not, as He is eternal. Separate the two and know they have to account to God. Keep reading, as I will share on how to get a right view of who God is. If you are an adult, and didn’t grow up with an earthly father, my heart goes out to you. I have more to say on that in just a moment. God does not take advantage of His children. He loves them and nurtures and as you can see from the passage above, He loves children and does not tolerate when adults abuse children. God doesn’t lie to His children because He is the Truth. Man unfortunately will lie to children, and when they do, it skews their perception of God.  So where does this distortion come from? Very simple, the devil! He doesn’t want children to know who God really is. God is so irresistible, that you can’t help but love Him once you understand who He really is. Society and the nuclear family structure is doing all they can to equate God to people, and there is no comparison. I’ll be honest; I thought my view of God was like my parents. Think about it, a child looks up to their parents, and when a parent fails them, their view of the world is negative (granted, mine was on many levels – this is why I go about changing the world the way I do).  Because their view of the world is negative, they’ll equate God like their parents and will be turned off from God.

I want to keep my promise and address those who didn’t grow up with a father (or perhaps the father was home, but was either absent, or was an enabler to a narcissist), you may have what’s called an “orphan spirit.” What’s that? Bishop Joseph Mattera (whom I quoted in Part 7: The Bitter Pill) has this to say about the orphan spirit:

Ever since Adam and Eve were alienated from God the Father in the Garden of Eden, an orphan spirit has permeated the earth, causing untold damage! (By “orphan,” I am referring to a sense of abandonment, loneliness, alienation and isolation.) Almost immediately after the fall in Eden, the fruit of this orphan spirit resulted in jealousy, culminating in Cain murdering his brother Abel because God the Father didn’t receive Cain’s offering. To make matters worse, in contemporary society, with the breakup of the nuclear family, large amounts of people are not only alienated from God but are brought up without the loving care and security of their biological fathers.

I believe all of the emotional, physical and spiritual ills of society can be traced to humans feeling alienated from God and their biological fathers.

One blogpost said the following about spiritual orphans (which can cause a distorted view of God):

https://cbgrace.wordpress.com/2010/02/24/how-to-pray-for-an-orphan-spirit/

Spiritual orphans are the result of several things.  The Bible indicates that when father’s and children’s hearts are turned from each other, a curse can result.   I am not sure about you, but I think we are there.  One of the great things about God is we can start over.    The church has allowed the attitudes and ideas of the world to infiltrate it.  With divorce and unwed mother rates soaring, western cultures have begun to embrace the idea that fathers as disposable and unnecessary.  Many individuals will live their entire lives without a healthy relationship with their father or a father figure.  Fathers have let down their children; they have abandoned and not pursued their own children.   Another attitude we have seen reflected in the church is that the “younger generation” with all their fiery passion is somehow more valuable than the deeply rooted generations that have gone before them.  When society began shuffling the elderly off to nursing homes, the attitude in our churches changed as well.   Most churches market to younger people.  Meanwhile, our older generation has thrown in the towel.  They no longer want to invest in a generation that devalued them.  Rejection begets rejection.

I want to address how to handle the orphan spirit but first we must identify it.

Here are some characteristics of the orphan spirit:

1. Unable to put down roots in a church or change churches frequently
2. Always on the look out for something bigger and better
3. Feeling based faith (if it feels good, feels right, etc then I will follow it).
4. Need recognition
5. Easily offended
6. Feelings of abandonment even when one has not been abandoned
7. Attitude of “No one is going to tell me what to do”
8. Attitude of “I know…” (unteachable)
9. Survivalist Mentality always looking out for oneself
10. Never truly comfortable in the presence of anointed spiritual father
11. Reject others before they can be rejected

In closing, a friend of mine (Joy Robinson) said this (and I believe this will allow you to be made whole from your distorted view of God):

When you have an orphan heart, you have a distorted view of God the Father. A son or daughter can accept correction and discipline because they know they are loved. But an orphan heart has difficulty accepting correction and coming into alignment with God’s plan for their life. Orphans have deep trust issues and consequently they will bail out first in an effort to avoid hurt. But daughters know that they are accepted in the Beloved already. Here are some declarations of being loved that sons and daughters should walk in: 

1. Because I am loved by God, I do not fear being unloved by people so I don’t have to do anything to earn love from anyone God nor people I don’t have to keep track of who loves me and who doesn’t.
2. Because I am loved by God, I am not envious of anyone or anything anyone has. I already have the most precious treasure in the world, the love of God.
3. Because I am loved by God I do not have to retaliate against anyone who wrong with me because nothing they can do to me could diminish God’s love for me by a millimeter because I am loved by God I do not have to retaliate against anyone who wrong with me because nothing they can do to me could diminish God’s love for me by a millimeter!
4. Because I am loved by God, I do not have to seek revenge in an attempt to even the score because the balance of God’s love for me was not and cannot be disturbed by anything anyone does.
5. Because I am loved by God, I do not have to hold grudges because note that any person owes me could ever out measure the balance of the love account got hat for me.
6. Because I am loved by God, I do not have to withhold love from anyone because God‘s love for me is not diminished by me loving someone else. My love tank does not go down from loving someone else. I am not in danger of running out of love because God is my source of love, not people.

Blessings,

The Mayne Man

Will You Be Made Whole? (Part 3 - Abuse & Internal Bleeding)

**Trigger Warning** to those who are struggling with this. This post is also graphic in nature, so please proceed with caution.

Before I dive into the blog, I want to define internal bleeding. Internal bleeding is defined as a loss of blood that occurs from the vascular system into a body cavity or space. It is a serious medical emergency and the extent of severity depends on bleeding rate and location of the bleeding (e.g. brain, stomach, lungs). It can potentially cause death and cardiac arrest if proper medical treatment is not received quickly. Also, internal bleeding can be caused by blunt trauma such as high speed deceleration in an automobile accident, or by penetrating trauma such as a ballistic or stab wound.

Wow, it can be caused by blunt trauma. This is what I want to focus this blogpost on as it relates to abuse. I believe that internal bleeding can happens physically, but also mentally, spiritually and emotionally. I don’t know if you’re familiar with a disco legend named Sylvester. He passed away in 1988 to AIDS. I first heard about him in 1986 (I was 12 years old). I saw a video and was thinking, “it looks like a woman and sounds like a woman.” I asked my father about it, and he said that’s a man. You could say that was a “what the…..” moment. But later in life, I found out some things about his life that I found very interesting. I will not address his homosexual lifestyle, his drug use, and the songs he created in this blogpost. However, I want to focus on his early childhood as well as his latter part of his life. I believe that many of you reading will be able to identify with his life in some way. So, let’s begin.

Sylvester had a rough childhood. His father was an adulterer and left his wife and the children. Sylvester found himself at church with a love for gospel music. At the age of eight, he engaged in sexual activity with a far older man at the church—at the time rumored to be the church organist—although he would always maintain that this was consensual, and not an example of sexual molestation. Sylvester was taken to a doctor after receiving injuries during anal sex with this man; it was the doctor who informed his mother that her son was gay. When the news spread through the church about his lifestyle, he stopped attending at the age of 13.

The first point that I want to bring up is that he didn’t call this an example of sexual molestation. This is a prime example of internal bleeding on a mental and emotional level. Regardless of what Sylvester said in that it was consensual, it’s still RAPE! When I look back at my life, I was molested when I was 10 and it went on for a period of 7 months. I didn’t know it was sexual abuse, but I told people “my uncle popped me in the butt.” It was like I was hit by a car and started bleeding internally on impact (mentally and emotionally). I would learn by a great pastor that it was called sexual abuse (I was 22 then), and he prayed with me and explained to me what it was I went through. I appreciated him taking the time to talk to me about it and that particular church is truly my family. Another thing that I want to bring up is the fact that no child can consent to having sex when they more & likely don’t understand the concept of sex. If you endured this (whether inside or outside the church), I want to apologize to you. If someone inside the church molested you (or had a title that’s church related molested you), know that is not a godly act, it’s a demonic act. God is a God of love and healing, not wanting to strip a child of their identity. There may be some reading that had parents who were devoted to God, but they allowed you to be molested. I can understand that your view of God may be warped as a result. Again, I apologize to you (it was not your fault, nor does God endorse that). I also understand that a child’s view of God can be warped even if the child didn’t grow up in church (granted, it can be warped even in adulthood if there was any type of trauma suffered).

The second point that I want to bring up is that the church ostracized him. Sure, it may have been a sin according to the Bible, but at the same time, where is the love that we are show to everybody? Because this incident happened, this definitely created some internal bleeding. This is definitely a failure on the congregation’s part. Sadly, there are many people in church sitting in the pews who are internally bleeding because they have been abused (physically, spiritually, financially and emotionally). And because the bleeding has not been stopped, they’re slowly dying and we can’t blame them when they isolate themselves and stop socializing with the church. Many in congregations have been so focused on their seats in the pews and have turned to legalism to promote their supposed holiness. If you are one who was hurt by the church (via abuse), I want to apologize to you. It was not your fault.

The third and final point that I want to make from Sylvester’s story is the justice piece. If he suffered injuries as a result of the abuse, the question now becomes “why wasn’t my molester arrested?” It’s a legitimate question. Some cultures will sweep that under the carpet and say “what goes on in the house, stays in the house?” That concept will cause internal bleeding as well as collateral damage. Some families will protect the molester and side with the molester either for monetary gain, or a hidden agenda (and yes, church leaders who know there’s a pedophile doing acts like this will tend to protect the pedophile). For the church piece, that’s a failure on the leaders part. A big failure on church leaders part is that many of them are not even listening to the Holy Spirit as it relates to the flock. As a result, many of them have sheep in the congregation bleeding to death. That is a tragedy. The congregation has a lot of hurts that are unresolved because of legalism, judging spirits, divisive spirits that are hindering the church from operating effectively. The church walls are no different from the human body. If people are dying inside the church, how can they live and be all that God can be? If people aren’t physically healed from the blunt trauma suffered, how can they successfully live? They will die physically.

Let me say two additional things. Here’s the first thing: For a parent to neglect their child, reject their child or abandon their child, that will on impact cause internal bleeding emotionally, mentally and possibly spiritually (and yes, that is abuse). I am sorry that you had to experience that. There may be questions in your mind such as “does God really love me?” If this is you, see this blogpost -> http://mayneman.blogspot.com/2015/10/if-god-really-loved-me-why-was-i-abused.html

The second thing is this: If the internal bleeding isn’t addressed when it’s first noticed, the ramifications could be costly. For church leaders to embrace wrong thinking and wrong living when wounds aren’t healed, that actually causes people to die prematurely (which I believe was the case of Sylvester – he died to AIDS). His final church was the late Rev. Walter Hawkins church (and they welcomed those ostracized by society – which is commendable; but if the truth isn’t going forward and healing isn’t expressed, then it’s a serious problem)!

As I wrap up this lengthy blogpost, I want to ask you if there’s a compartment of your life (that’s painful) that you haven’t opened up to God (and yes, this applies to anyone who has suffered any type of trauma in your life)? That’s a question that I want you to think about. The beauty of God is that He will get our attention either by revelation or by a situation. Now every situation is not your fault, some might be (especially if it’s sinful). But know that His love for you has not changed nor will it ever. If you were wronged (like I was as I was molested), it’s not fair and you are so right. Know that He does NOT cause evil (let me say that again); He does NOT cause evil. However, He might allow it so He can bring good out of it. The key now that you survived it is to surrender to the process of healing. If you know Him, you will do it – He wants the broken pieces of your heart and spirit (along with the negative thoughts you’ve been saying to yourself). If this segment of this blogpost isn’t for anybody, it’s definitely for me.

Also know that there is a difference between where you are and where God wants you to be. I know that your pain has caused you to be depressed, and has probably put you in a state of disconnecting in order to protect yourself. I understand that’s where you are, but you have to ask this: how will you change? You could go to a positive thinking seminar, have a mantra where you say/quote things, etc. The end result is that you’ll change some mental things and get some viruses out of your mind, know that it won’t last nor be sufficient for what you really need. Keep in mind that I’m in the same boat as many of you who are reading this, but know that we’re going to heal together. Now this is going to sting, but you need to let God take over. But He can’t take over until you let Him; you won’t let Him until you love Him and you won’t love Him until you get religion out of your life.

You have to look deep into your heart and want freedom from the pain you suffered and any internal bleeding on an emotional level, mental level, physical level and spiritual level more than anything else. How many of you desire that? I don’t know about you, but I want freedom from it! One ticket to freedom, disconnect from people who are a hindrance to your freedom, who want to sweep the carpet from under your feed to destroy your God-designed future, and those who are focused on themselves (who are not feeding your spirit, but just want to promote themselves at your expense).

Because you have been through something traumatic causing internal bleeding on the levels mentioned above, the enemy might have caused a lid to be put on you causing you to say “you won’t go any further.” If the enemy can cause you to focus on every mistake you made in your life, there’s a strong chance that you will punish yourself. (If you happen to be punishing yourself for the mistakes you've made, please see this blogpost -> http://mayneman.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-dangers-of-punishing-self.html) The God that we serve doesn’t care of the mistakes you made, His love will never change (just receive His love). It’s not His will for you to stay in the struggle.

He wants you heal you from the internal bleeding and abuse. He’s asking you, “Will you be made whole?” I pray that you’re able to shout, “YES!”

Blessings,

The Mayne Man