Leaving Organized Religion
Part 1
This post and the next one are longer than most, but I wanted to share with you part of my journey that got me where I am today.
Several years ago, something in my husband’s spirit and mine wasn’t resonating with the church we were attending. After volleying back and forth about what we were feeling, we decided to take break. We needed to see clearly. We resolved to dwell in God’s pure truth away from the doctrines of man, his opinions, philosophies and cares and explore what we were sensing.
In the quiet away from the opinions of man we probed God’s heart . . .what is going on? Why are we feeling this way? We had been deeply integrated into the church; participating in Bible studies, home groups, and helping out at the church. We had built friendships and had become a part of their lives as they had ours. Over the next couple of months, God moved things more into focus. After we were gone for a couple of months, we decided to return to see if the Spirit would confirm once more what we felt. How patient He is with us. It was clear, leave. The break ended up being an exodus from the church system.
In the following months, the questioning looks and tone of disapproval from my previous pew pals revealed what was in their thoughts, I had fallen to the wayside. And rightly so, many who leave the church leave God too. They think the two are one, which is a grave travesty. It was difficult knowing the opposite was true. It felt strange to be the odd man out, but I knew I was doing what God wanted and that is what mattered most.
With no one else to depend on, the Spirit became my trusted teacher. With the Bible and a piece of paper, I poured out my heart and began to listen for the first time. I wrote down my thoughts, fears, prayers, and questions. I read, sought, asked, and waited on the answers. God started to unfold the truth before my eyes. My trust in Him was tested, refined and strengthen and in time my relationship with Him grew into something I had never imagined, something wonderful, real, powerful and amazing. He taught me percept upon percept and started to put together His truths into a perfect puzzle of understanding. It was like someone had lifted the veil from His Word and the truth started pouring out.
As for the church, I continued to seek for understanding to why God didn’t want me in the church. When I say church I am speaking of the Institutional church, the church system, not the true body of believers who hold the spirit of God. They are two different things. Churches are full of believers and not. I wondered if other believers where experiencing a similar thing. After some searching around, I found other believers were feeling a similar thing. One in particular that resonated with how I felt was Len Hjalmarson. Then I thought something is going on and I dug deeper.
At dubious moments, I wondered if I had heard God correctly. Is the church that far off that I shouldn’t be there? The church has always had major flaws, it is made up of humans after all. And I haven’t met a perfect one yet. Those flaws are what kept Paul so busy as he tried to keep things straight. So what is the difference now? But every time I asked, the answer was the same. Piece by piece the answers started to come and He is still putting the pieces together.
To get a better perspective of any situation you have to pull back to get a bird’s eye view. Having been out of the system for about four years now, I see a change happening. In general, the church is moving further away from its original purpose, it has become corrupt and overgrown with weeds of lies. Lies that steal life instead of give it. What is good has become profane, a cherished relationship has become a set of rules for moral living, and freedom is traded for bondage.
As a result of what is occurring in the church, a shift is happening. God is moving and becoming our sanctuary, not a system corrupted by man’s doctrine. Just as He said He would in Ezekiel. (Chapter 34) The church is no longer the one to feed, nourish, provide and protect His people. He is calling His people to Himself to be their Rock. With the wide spread availability of the Word and the Spirit residing in the souls of His people, God has moved in as the Good Shepherd, Teacher, Provider, and Protector. He is opening up the scriptures to laymen, like me, and is revealing Himself in mighty ways, outside of the church system.
To be continued . . .
Living Light 
September 23, 2010 at 1:36 am
Just found your blog because of WordPress. I have to say, I am digging it pretty well. You are touching on some things that seem to be being revealed to folks who walk covenantally with Christ Jesus as sons.
Example:
http://christiancommentator.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/jesus-his-kingdom-and-the-scriptures-treated-like-a-cafeteria/
Nice to have found your blog. I shall definitely be back when I can take the time to read everything!
Donald Borsch Jr.
Bethel, CT
September 23, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Hi Donald, So glad you found my sight. I just think it is tremendous how the Spirit connects us through this means. I look forward to checking out your blog!
November 27, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Hey Rachel, Have you studied Daniel, where there will be one rise with a thought to change God’s times &law. -Read Constintine &see where his plan to bring pagons &christains together; pagons didn’t change much. -In fine print(so to speak) another will carry this on. Study the breakup of Rome: out of one of the seven churches/nations/horns will rise a little horn/nation/start of the beast kingdom: from the sea/water is peoples/tongues/nations. The smallest kingdom in the world is 109acers in the middle of Itally. It is an ecclesiastical government/one man is soul ruler: and the whole world wondered after the beast and worship his image. -all denominational church is built after the pattern of the son of perdition(teaching contrary to the word of God): buildings built by the hands of men (“your house of prayer will be left unto you desolate”), a man stands higher than the congregation/he has the only personal relationship with Jesus &imparts it to the congregation?: the denomination I attended for years had a man comandment that one must come before the preacher confessing &take a dunk in the big tub before being added to church roll. this says to me, men make entres &blot out names for the book of life? -Is this perception through delusion? Look to 1929 newspaper headlines, “TheWound Has Been Healed” count back 140yrs.(the time “God gave to repent, but they would not”) 1789AD the year General Berthiar imprisoned the pope in Valance, south France, where he died that year. Then count back 1260yrs.. 529AD the year of reastablishing in Itally. -If the Lord leads you to truth in this statement, I would be pleased to help others in finding the three missing toes of the great image.
November 28, 2011 at 2:15 pm
Hi Eldon, a lot to take in here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m continue to seek and learn from God in this. There are a lot of pieces that I feel are coming together in these days.
November 29, 2011 at 4:01 am
Eldon,..as its wrote in Daniel these things were sealed up to the end times.
With Bible Study,…and total Spiritual guidance
..and a study of history ancient and modern
..and world politics….past and very present
…and again pondering the Bible texts about the ‘great delusion’..the ‘stupor’……and what ??..could fool The Elect,..if possible??
….The Truth begins to appear
theres 2 types of Worship in The OT from the begining,..Baal,pagan
worship,of the sun ‘god’ diety,..dagon,zeus,jupiter,..Isus Horus Set,.etc…..all worship of the devil…..and all its false idols and silly symbols,..and pagan holidays
then the Only True Worship,.of The Almighty GOD of Israel.
..Who created this Earth in His Universe,..for His Son,
..and a people,….again for His Son,…a Fatherly Gift,..to His Son.
it is Wrote many times in Scripture this is His,The Sons’,Inheritance.
and anyone who wants to Worship The Alahym of Israel,..must do it through His Son,..through the Holy Spirit,…just like all the ancient Biblical fathers did,..Abraham,Moses,king David..etc,…what is grossly overlooked, is the Voice in The Burning Bush was,The Son,…and at times appeared in body and talked to some of them,…and was with the Israelites in the ‘wilderness’ most if not all the 40 years
…many if not all man taught churches,..mix Holy Scripture… with pagan sun god worship,..most non christian religions blantantly worship the the sun ‘god’
..hmmm,..christain churches do it less overtly,..but do it nevertheless,..be they roman catholic,..all types of ‘protestant’ churches,..presbyterian,baptist,methodist,7th day adventists,jehovah witnesses,..etc
..all mainstream christainity (so-called)..can be traced back to ,rome,
..where as you correctly said,..just as satan himself said,..he would change times and dates,..so he did via his church system, the roman one,…and names as well
…but thats all thats changed from pagan baal worship,..or has it?,..the roman church still have the I. H.S…on a sun disc,..head of their insignia,..and the holy ‘see’…in place of The Father Almightys Son,…protestants can deny and jump up and down all they like,..but all protestant churches take their lead from roman,..and although dropped some,..kept and still keep most of the doctrines,..check history,..martin luther,..NEVER !..denied or rebuked or changed,the worship of the queen of heaven,..whom they now call mary,..the same queen of heaven the Bible called pagan,..call her what you like,..hera,..mary,..isus,..etc…..some will say protestant churches dont recognise Isus/mary,..BUT,..they worship her son,..horus/ie’sous/or his real kept sercet identity,christ helios….and all his sun diety symbols are on every single church or chapel you look at,..actually everywhere you look and on everything you buy,..hidden before our eyes in.. words,..symbols…decorated seasonal
trees….flags…houses,…even lay out of cities,..the list is endless
November 29, 2011 at 4:29 am
…..that takes us to the more mordern times of last century,..the set up of the federal bank in america,..just after all the bankers who opposed it,.with quite a stroke of luck,(did you know luck/tee chee is the name of satans daughter)..anyways..all drowned,..on a ship built by a company traceable back to the roman church,..who just happened to claim the insurance for the sunken ship ….
..meanwhile a few years later around,1923, the same group,..in rome,..set up the nazi party!…they dont teach that in school history.
..formed its own state,.the small one you speak of,…the vatican!..where they run their puppet Mussolini and Hilter from,…and the royal in England,..who had to step aside because he was traceable to hitler!..fact !!
..the object of WW2 was to set up the Israel state,..joined effort,..of the romans,germans,english/british and americans,.(did you know the roman catholic church actually owns many of the building in jerusalem)…so as to make
way for the arrival of the anti christ/apollyon/abaddon or as we know, christ helios that will take up residence in
Jerusalem,..when he arrives in ‘spacecraft’.. faking the ‘second
coming’ as helios or je’sus…and fooling many,(not the awake spiritually or the very elect!!)..and fulfiling prophecy.
very interesting times ahead,..i guess if you want to consentrate on Daniel,..the next major thing would be America attacking Iran..
earth being struck by an object or 3 from the ‘heavens’
the ‘locusts’…the fallen ones from the ‘days of Noah’.. and …the anti christ,apearing,..from the air,..but coming from ‘the sea/abyss’
The Witnesses appearing….
and all that that will bring.
November 29, 2011 at 11:08 am
Hi Brian, A lot to take in here. No doubt we see the physical ramifications of the spiritual war. I feel much of what the end entails has been hidden and it beginning to be unsealed in these days. May we continue to seek with open minds from God to hear what He has to say.
November 29, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Hey Rachel, I know for sure there is some truth in what Brian said &some is interesting &some I have never heard before. All in All It creates thought process. However, as you keep insisting, we must not take man’s words at face value, but proove them through the Spirit. Scripture is my #one source of imformation. History ¤t events is how I know prophesy fulfillment. FIVE of SEVEN … “by this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is of God.” the son of perdition daily says the words christ &god but have you heard him say Jesus is the Son of the Almighty God who was made into flesh(not his close followers, but him)? he does claim to be the vicar of Christ. Jesus-of those who love God &have faith in Jesus’ saving power, He has no partiality. Paul was not high on denominational church but said at lest through it some hear of Jesus. THE HORSE: God’s symbol of power &speed (1)”Behold, a white horse(sym. of righteous judgment) its rider had a bow(sym. of war); acrown was given him(sym. of God’s purpose) and he went out conquering and to conquer” Napoleon was near to conquering all seven toes of the great image & wounded the little head/horn unto death(1789) However, God said they would inter-marry (7 toes)but would not again cleave together as in a one world government(blows a lot of delusion). (2)Bright red horse (sym. much blood; take peace from earth, men should slay one another; the rider was given a greatsword, named World War One. (3)Behold a black horse(sym. darkness/God has turned His back to sin as He did when Jesus held all sin on the cross) son of perdition &followers of beast kingdom were given time to repent &come back to truth. (1929)man brought back to life the head with mortal wound: the earth was weighed in balances and found wanting. through it all the anointing of new believers &the spreading of Jesus’ testimony did not stop. (4) Behold a pale horse(sym. strife between light &dark)its rider’s name was death and hell (ask any combat war vet), it was called World war 11. (5) Jesus opened the fifth seal: the HOLOCAUST was revealed to the world. We are now awaiting the opening of the sixth seal! Jesus said, the second time he rose, would be a little while.
November 30, 2011 at 10:46 am
Hi Eldon, I appreciate you sharing your thoughts on this … it is right and each one’s role to seek instruction from the Holy Spirit and not from another. Others confirm what we are learning, but it’s from the Holy Spirit that we truly learn.
September 24, 2015 at 1:02 am
I like this, why reading this post ⚡
September 24, 2015 at 1:03 am
Reblogged this on Jedi of Christ.
September 24, 2015 at 1:29 am
I too have felt that I not need to go to church. After chosing to become a Seventh Day Adventist… I felt I didn’t need to attend the Church. I think I actually saw and experience some things, that I believe were not good for me, since I went there.
I’m not fond of hearing Pastors speak quite loudly to the point where I feel like my ears have to adjust, like when going up in altitude on an air plane. It kind of hurt my sensitivity…. and I don’t like making excuses for that, saying its just thier conviction,when it is a silent church. And where some people say amen over repeatedly in an irreverent way… I think all this affects my sensitive and give bad examples.
Though it isnt a bad church overal… I tend not to go often. I believe my main duty is as you wonderfully articulated. To allow the Spirit of Truth to be the Teacher.
I am reminded, of the persecution facing many far off believers in Asia,.. from reading the part on how the Bible is so easily available.
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