Lifting Up the Downtrodden
”Don’t let the downtrodden be humiliated again.
Instead, let the poor and needy praise your name.”
Psalm 74:21
There is truly good news for all who have been abused and beaten down by those who call themselves followers of Christ. These encouraging tidings of Truth flow as a river through a desert. Picture drinking from clear pure refreshment. No longer feeding upon dried stalks and drinking from pools of mud produced by False Teachers.
Oh my gosh, what we were caught up in is found in the Scriptures written thousands of years ago. It has Satan’s earmarks on it. The Bible actually says it is based on doctrines of demons.
Who else would pervert the gospel of Christ so skillfully? Who else would attempt to turn “Christianity” into a mud hole, even a pit? Who else would laugh about stealing our joy? It is the most hideous thing that could happen to Christianity. So sneaky. So undermining. And most camaflouged of all, it is set in place through men masquerading as “God’s leaders”. Some knowing, some unaware agents of Christ’s enemy.
Oh my gosh, there it is in Galatians, in 2nd Corinthians, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. Those prophetic writers had a timeless story to tell. A set of events to warn about. It’s right there in the Living Word. It’s still happening thousands of years later. It’s alive in our real stories. We were very much blindsided.
The deceitful covering is a supposed “man of God”, a pretender leading God’s people. Concealed by a spattering of scripture. Cloaked in SHEPHERD’s garb. How deceptive and dangerous to our journey of faith!
Don’t feel bad about rejecting his teachings - they are not of Christ. They are twisted and perverted for selfish gain. Don’t feel guilty for being uncomfortable with these supposed “surrender to Jesus” teachings.
Leaving your friends, your family, your education, your career, and even your power to make personal choices to follow a human, his disciples, and his “church” is evil persuasion riddled with ungodly manipulation and unbearable false guilt. The Bible actually states they are neither Jesus’ methods nor his foundation for faith.
What do many people say who leave these “churches”? They were faking their spirituality. I don’t necessarily mean their initial acceptance of Christ and his personal redemption for them. I mean their fast paced growth. Their artificial joy. Their contrived peace. People I have talked to or heard about have actually claimed, “They were miserable there”.
Please give yourself room to reject what was very wrong. It takes time to discover what was brainwashing of lies threatened and repeated hundreds of times.
Cutting those lies away from the truth of the Grace of Christ; his real unconditional love for us and his very patient relationship with us removes their heavy weighted burden. How do you separate the two, especially when you were raised in it or it was your first exposure to “Christianity”? The lies seem to be so entangled with the truth, for some it has seemed easier to reject the whole. It seems safer, less triggering, less guilt ridden. Fear of not getting caught up again in such a counterfeit and manipulative operation of Christianity is real. It might seem easier to simply retire from this pursuit of God. I believe God understands, but desires us not to stay there.
As Michaelango’s Classic painting of God reaching his fingers out to touch Adam depicts,
the depth of our being craves to connect with Him. To be moved by Him. To experience the intimacy of his securing love. To live in abundance of His Spirit. To ultimately be filled with His inexplainable Peace and Joy. Even evangelist turned agnostic, Charles Templeton, says as he reminiscently admits about Jesus with much sobbing, “I...miss...Him” in Lee Strobel’s interview with him in his book, “The Case for Christ”. (
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/charles-templeton-missing-jesus/)
Galatians gives us hope that what we were involved in was not a picture of real Christianity. Imposters painted a perverted picture of God to us. One of militant and unmerciful expectations. One with scary fingers angrily pointing right at us. One with Christ as our accuser rather than our defender. One with arms crossed and great huffs of impatience, turning away at our imperfect surrender. As if it was all or nothing. There was little mercy, little compassion, and no patience. It was ‘Get in line’ or ‘don’t bother to come at all’. Teaching us that everything you love and enjoy must be sacrificed to serve this “church” or there was little love for Christ in us. As though our heads should be hung low until we GIVE UP even who God made us to be, with all our desires, interest, plans and goals. This impossible request can never be fulfilled. And so we remain low headed and low hearted.
Be encouragingly informed that the real imperfect you is not alone.
Even the greatest man that ever lived this side of heaven, John The Baptist, had a crisis of faith and doubted after completing the most honored mission regarding Christ - his revelation and introduction as God’s Messiah. Peter, who was one of Jesus’s best friends and disciples denied ever knowing him. Abraham, the father of all who believe on Christ, acted as a coward and so lied (to his wife’s potential peril) and didn’t always walk on the path God had for him. I believe scripture tells their honest story to encourage us not only in their growing journey of faith, but also in their imperfection. They are just like us.
We are in good company among the men and women in God’s Word. Excerpts of human history. As scripture tells us, “TAKE HEART. Your sins are forgiven you.” This is what the real and full gospel of Christ is ALL about. Oh, praise you, our sweet Savior.
“The poor and needy seek water, but there is none;
their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the LORD, will answer them;
I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.”
Isaiah 41:17