WHERE Did the Marriage Vows Come From Anyways?

In this journey of detoxing from church, I often challenge myself to openly examine any and all religious teachings and practices that are in place within the institution of church.  

Let me just say upfront that I do so NOT because I don't believe in God, or I don't believe in marriage.  I do so out of a very reverential and devoted love for God and the highest respect for marriage.

Last night, I was posting on relationships and marriage and before I went to bed the question popped up in my mind, 'WHERE DID THE MARRIAGE VOWS COME FROM ANYWAYS?'

We've all been to weddings:  most of them have sort of the same 'template' or 'format,' if you will.  The priest or preacher recites a scripture, maybe two.  Most people -including the bride and groom themselves - are not really paying attention to them as they ramble on.  They are mostly looking forward to the preacher getting to them repeating the vows.

It goes a little something like this:

"...I, ____, take you, ____, to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

"I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

And then the priest/preacher says:

"The priest will then say aloud "You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide. Amen."

Some preachers recite scriptures beforehand that says that the husband should love his wife as Christ love the church...again, I want to reiterate, most people simply do not be listening to the preachers go through their spill.

The only part of the actual vows themselves that are based in scripture is the part that the preacher tells the WIFE to recite where she is made to promise that she will obey her husband!

Now, I used to work for a lawyer.  In a law school.  As a matter of fact, TWO law schools.  Boston College and SUNO (Southern University at New Orleans).  So I know a thing or two about law.

When you take vows in a legal ceremony, they are legally binding.  It's called a legally verbal agreement.  All you really need is one for it to be binding...that is where the witness in smaller, civil ceremonies come into play.

But I want to back up a bit and ask the VERY NEEDED QUESTION:  WHO CAME UP WITH THE PRACTICE OF WEDDING CEREMONIES????

According to Wikipedia, 'In the time of the Roman Empire (17 B.C.- A.D. 476) the lower classes (proletarians) had "free" marriages. The bride's father would deliver her to the groom, and the two agreed that they were wed, and would keep the vow of marriage by mutual consent. Wealthy Romans, though, would sign documents listing property rights to publicly declare that their union was legalized and not a common law marriage. This was the beginning of the official recording of marriage.

The oldest traditional wedding vows can be traced back to the manuals of the medieval church. In England, there were manuals of the dioceses of Salisbury (Sarum) and York. The compilers of the first Book of Common Prayer, published in 1549 based its marriage service mainly on the Sarum manual. Upon agreement to marry, the Church of England usually offered couples a choice. The couple could promise each other to "love and cherish" or alternatively, the groom promises to "love, cherish and worship", while the bride to "love, cherish and obey."  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_vows]

Now I find this very interesting.  That the very institution that - as far as I'm concerned - polluted the Church that GOD built - THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - started this practice.

Most marriage ceremonies, according to the Wikipedia article are variations of the Catholic wedding ceremony that the pope(s) and the Diocese started.  This is very important to remember.

While I believe in marriage, I have no choice but to question the validity of 'wedding ceremonies' of ANY kind, ESPECIALLY THOSE PERFORMED BY A PRIEST, A PREACHER...EVEN A JUDGE.

Now, I know.  Someone is gonna say, 'But Wenona.  How will the marriage be 'official' in the eyes of man if it's not officiated by a priest, preacher or some other legal party?'

WHO came up with the 'idea' to make marriage a legal matter anyways?  WHO started the whole practice of filing papers with the government to make marriages 'official' anyways?

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!!!!!!

ANY TEACHING OR RELIGIOUS PRACTICE INSTITUTED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH I HAVE VERY GOOD REASON TO DOUBT, QUESTION AND SHUN.

-Why aren't the wedding vows not totally steeped in SCRIPTURE?
-Why aren't men made to vow before man and God that they WILL love their wives as Christ love the
  church?  Make them SAY IT.  Not just hear the preacher say it...
-Why is it that the only part of the vows that have scriptural basis is where the woman is supposed to 'obey'
  her husband?  (based loosely on the scripture about submission to husbands)  Why not make the vows so
  that BOTH parties vow to submit to ONE ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD??

Also, how valid are these marriages when they are 'doomed from the start' because they are officiated over, chanted over, by a bunch of men (and women) who are known pedophiles, adulterers, fornicators, lesbians, and gays?  INSIDE of a church building, to boot!?

It seems to me that the whole concept of 'church weddings' is asking for religious demons to infest the marriage....

Is it any wonder that over HALF the marriages officiated IN THE CHURCH end in divorce?

And now we have same sex marriages.  And everybody wants to get all up in arms about gays and lesbians legally allowed to marry.  But we have to look at this thing:

If the weddings/marriages between STRAIGHT FOLK who have these religious ceremonies within these religious institutions, officiated by a bunch of freaks don't last, and marriages between STRAIGHT FOLK is in such disarray, how can we honestly bash same sex marriages when different sex marriages have become a joke to so many????

Now please understand:  I am staunchly against same sex marriages.  Yall know my testimony.

But to try to IN-validate or make void - same sex marriages by using the 'examples' of different sex marriages is kind of ...well, FOOLISH!

See my article, First Gentlemen, First Ladies, And Other Foolishness In The Church

Think about it...the whole concept of having a wedding ceremony - IN A CHURCH - of having ceremonies period...is steeped in religiosity and lunacy!

Again, I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of marriage.  I think that marriage is a beautiful thing.

I just think the whole religious posturing of it needs to be TOTALLY revamped.

I don't think that another preacher or priest should officiate over another wedding!  REAL TALK!

Them jiggers are cursed from the get go...HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY BLESS YOUR UNION IF THEY DOING ALL THE DIRT THEY ARE DOING ANYWAYS?

Then...you have to realize that the institution of CHURCH is a cursed institution.  It is currently under JUDGMENT.

I don't know about you, but I don't want no cursed folks within a cursed institution to officiate over NOTHING concerning MY life.

Just some things to ponder....

WHERE Are You Shopping? Im Looking For A Church Home...

Where are you grocery shopping these days?  

I have noticed that groceries, fresh produce, meats, and grocery items in general have lost somewhat of their 'shelf life.'  The quality of products we normally purchase at the grocery store is not as fresh as it used to be.  Nor does it last as long as it used to.  

Not to mention that the prices have gone UP!

But even though this is a growing phenomena, how many of us still go to the grocery store - you know, that same store that continuously sell stale, poor quality products time and time again - even though we are totally dissatisfied with the products they sell?

How many times have we found ourselves running to that same store we complained about for a quick run?  To pick up a few items for dinner?  Or for a late night snack?  

Then we get home and find that the products have NOT changed.  The quality has NOT changed.  The prices?  They may have actually gone UP...but that's as far as it goes.

Why do we continuously do this?  

Why do we continue to frequent a store - or many stores - that by and large, continue to sell us genetically modified products created to last longer on the shelves but STILL go bad after a few days?  Or make us sick?  

Is it that we feel there are no other options?  Do we somehow feel trapped into grocery shopping?  And that at the local grocery stores, that continue to sell us over-priced, poor quality products....week in and week out?  And then have the nerve to have these 'sales' to make us believe that we are saving money, when, in actuality, we are not?

The store branch managers and franchisers do this because they know that you, the consumer, are going to obsess over WHAT ARE WE GONNA EAT?  

They also know you are a creature of CONVENIENCE.  You will do whatever it takes to make life more CONVENIENT.  It's inconvenient to go miles away to a farmer's market or another store - perhaps a Whole Foods store - not to mention even MORE pricey - so they do all these things - price-gouge, sell, poor quality products, hold 'sales' events to make the consumer believe they are saving money - to draw you into their STORES!

They know that for you to grow your own crops, for you to go out and kill your own cattle, to grind the meat, for you to make your own cleaning products, paper products and the such would take up WAY too much of your time...so they sell you the products they know you need to survive...at inflated prices...and most of the time NOT the best quality!

****These store branch managers sound a lot like these preachers in these churches.****

These preachers know you've been conditioned to believe that if you need Jesus, you got to go 'shopping' (or should I say 'church-hopping') for him and need to go to church to find Him.  

These preachers know the Word, but they dole it out in such POOR QUALITY, in such POOR CONDITIONS, they offer to you STALE manna, spoiled rotten meat, and then have the AUDACITY to sell it to you at exorbitant prices....and make you believe you have been 'fed' the Word of God!

They know that those prophecies, that Word, that sermon, that teaching series, etc. they are peddling to you is poison and hazardous to your spiritual health.  But they simply DO NOT CARE!

They also are banking on you being TOO LAZY to crack open your Word for YOURSELF and getting your OWN Word from the Lord...that would be WAY too inconvenient ... so they open up these church drive-thru franchises.  Where you can drive up to the church window, order the 'word' you want, get a quick word to satisfy your temporal hunger, and then drive off not realizing that every time you do so you are poisoning your spirit even MORE!

And you don't even realize by going from church to church you are injecting all kinds of different poisons into your spirit.  

Each type of poison requires its own specific type of antidote as a cure.  There is no one antidote that treats all types of poisonings.

An antidote is substance which oppose the effects of poisons without causing damage to body.  There are antidotes that prevent certain types of poisons from being absorbed into your system.  Then are antidotes that neutralize the poison making it ineffective.  Then still there are other antidotes that produce the opposite effects of the poison.

Each church building has its own specific type of 'poison,' if you will.  And one won't get 'poisoned' unless they continue to frequent and fellowship at said buildings.  To shop there.  To ingest what's being served there.  It's a spiritual thing, folks.

And because each type of church has their own brand of poison, if you get 'infected,' you will need a specific type of ANTIDOTE to be cured of it!

If you leave Church A and then think God is calling you to Church B, then after awhile start going to Church C to help them out in the ministry....only to find that you are 'better received' at Church D....

And this cycle continues for years on end....it is very conceivable that you will need 'antidotes,' to be 'cured from,' delivered from, SEVERAL different types of POISONS you picked up at these churches??????

And the more churches you've attended and been a part of, the longer it will take to be healed from all that nonsense.

All of this...only because you wouldn't just SIT STILL and HEAR FROM GOD FOR YOURSELF!

You wouldn't crack open your Word and allow the Spirit of God to feed you...and you trusted charlatains and wolves to feed you.

Contrary to popular religious belief, you do NOT need a preacher to feed you.  IF God sends one your way, the way to know He is telling the truth and it is TRUE MANNA is that it WILL line up with the Word of God.

Grow your own food.  Harvest your own Word.  Eat from YOUR OWN table...right there in YOUR HOUSE.

At least you KNOW what you're eating when you do!

The Harlot MANIFESTS!

NEVER BE SURPRISED AT WHAT A WHORE (STREET TERM-A HO!) WILL DO TO SURVIVE: 

Many within the church system are constantly allowing themselves to be shocked by the things that goes on within her walls. The Harlot Church NEVER WAS alive...or there were many 'shakings.' A lot of movement was going on...but NO life!

Now she is beginning to actually SEE her condition...and what we all see unfolding right B4 our eyes are merely her vain attempts to resuscitate herself.

Its really sad to behold....which is why it may be necessary to look away.

Not to be in denial. Look at it. Acknowledge it IS going down....but then look away in disdain and disgust...just like you would in the red light district if you saw a ho on her knees in an alley...

That's what it's come to in the church...

It will become necessary for you to observe the practices of a prostitute to begin to understand what is happening in the church system today.

I'm not the one who originated this....

God calls the fake church the Harlot Church in His Word.

He warns His Remnant to COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE....

There are many references to 'the harlot' in the Word of God. Find them for yourselves!

But if you look at the life of a prostitute, a whore, or (more contemporary) a HO, you will find that a HO can be a MAN or a WOMAN that would do ANYTHING for a dollar, a meal, a place to stay...to survive basically.

They have made a life decision that they won't go about taking care of matters legally or in a way that will not put them in jeopardy. NO.

They decide to take the easy road, get on their knees, bend over or open their legs for everything that will stimulate them and give them something...

Jeremiah 3:6
....she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
Jeremiah 3:1
.... thou hast played the harlot with many lovers...

Jeremiah 22:21-22

...I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou said, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obey not my voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

Instead of working for a living, they figure they'd go the easy road and trick.

They do not care if they catch diseases, get pregnant or give birth to children and raise them in their present condition. ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE HOOKED ON/ADDICTED TO DRUGS and trick to support their 'habit,' they will really throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to get that next hit!

This is the reality for many within the church system today.

It is easier for them to rely on others to 'give them a word' than it is to WAIT ON THE LORD and let Him give you a word. Or stand on the LAST WORD He gave to you (no matter HOW long of a time has passed since He gave you the Word!).

Why?

Because that would mean you would be walking BY FAITH and NOT by sight. Or feeling. Or smell. Or any of your five senses. If whatever doesn't tantalize YOUR FLESH, then you think you are hungry for God, when you are nothing more than HOOKED ON A FEELING!

HOOKED ON RELIGION. HOOKED ON BEING HIGH IN THE SPIRIT. HOOKED ON BEING IN DENIAL. HOOKED ON DECEPTION.

A church addict will do ANYTHING for their next hit.

MANY church addicts spent their LAST to go see Mega-Mess 2013 this past week. There was indeed a lot of foolishness that went on in there....but by FAR the CLIMAX of it all was when Movie Mogul and Idol Tyler Perry supposedly preached/testified at the Potter's House after donating $1 million dollars towards the Youth Center there...and then laid hands on T.D. Jakes...after spouting off 'tongues.'

Watch the video HERE.

The following is a 'testimony' of a Mega-Mess 2013 attendee:

"...The last session on megafest was today..... And I just have to thank God for real..... Like I was treated soo great there...... I felt what God says I am special..... Omg the WOD's are going to be so amazing u guys God has truly ignited my passion for me to give u what he had placed in me..... I can go on about how I have been blessed out here I mean from free close seat passes to ppl taking me out to eat.... I had ppl coming to me stressing that I come down here and do hair..... Ppl asking me what do I do and am I famous.... And for some reason I kept attracting all these first ladys of great pastors..... i mean telling me that my presence make them feel god.....This one girl after i worshiped ask me if i could please take a picture of me..... i mean the love of God I felt out in Dallas was amazing..... And I am Sooo grateful..... But Guys I am Sooo proud of me.... I mean from someone who has been counted out time and time again.... Rejected.... Mistreated..... And heck persecuted and lied on I mean it just goes on..... But I say this to say I am proud of me because I didn't quit and for the first time in my life I'm no longer depending on who is there for me or not who likes me or not who believes in me or not..... Because God believes in me and because I was driven off of how he feels about me I took a leap of faith to go to this event I planned this trip for myself by myself..... And I just feel Sooo great and Sooo on top of the world and I just thank God for showing me that I am more than a conqueror...... And I am more than qualified to go after what he has for me by any means necessary..."

I'm sure some of you know folks like this...church celebrity groupies who attend their 'concerts,' then go backstage after their 'performances' so they can sleep with their favorite preachers, or prophets or apostles. And I am NOT talking about sex either!

I'm talking about spiritual adultery. I am talking about millions of people drinking the Kool Aid. They wouldn't know sound doctrine or the voice of God if it slapped them in the face.

And I don't know if you notice the 'trend' within the church system to make preachers out of celebrities (and vice versa). But you need to understand: THIS IS NO ACCIDENT!

The more famous and popular, the more people will accept their message or doctrine. The more money can be sowed into their 'ministries/brothels.' The more they can 'grow,' or recruit more gullible souls into lies and deception.

The HARLOT CHURCH HAS TRULY MANIFESTED HERSELF AS SUCH!

She has drank the wine of those of this world so she could be prosperous.

Notice the life of high level prostitutes. High level prostitutes only 'serve' high level clients. Clients that can afford to 'pay them' after their services are done.

Tyler Perry is a high level whore. And he will 'sleep with,' go into alliance with, partner with, make films and plays with ANYONE who can 'afford' his price.

But this is not to demonize TP. There are MANY TP's within the church system, as there are MANY pimps, brothels and madams in the church. Those who FUNCTION as such!

Many don't know this, but Richard Pryor's mother was a whore. His daddy was a pimp. His uncles were pimps. His GRANDMOTHER was the madam of the house. She actually SOLD her daughter to these johns!

Richard was raised by his grandmother. He worshiped and idolized the ground his grandma walked on. In a powerful documentary, Richard Pryor: Omit The Logic, his grandmother would often allow all kinds of influences in front of Pryor as a child...and he was not allowed to talk about it or protest...or speak out on the abuse.

According to www.richardpryor.com/biography.php, "Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel, Richard experienced rape at the age of six (by a teenaged neighbor) and molestation by a Catholic priest during catechism. He watched his mother perform sexual acts with Peoria's mayor..."

I bring this up to give some insight into the life of a hooker and those under her influence.

Pryor's grandmother can be likened to the many so-called 'mothers of the church' who are so revered, idolized, worshiped, adored and love...but I ask FOR WHAT?

For prostituting the babes in the church?

For covering for these 'pastors,' sometimes for decades?

For perpetrating a fraud?

For funding this nonsense all their lives?

For facilitating the turning out of a generation of would-be people who came to church because they LOVED God and wanted to be saved, but only found dysfunction and abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to be their protectors?

The point is that harlots are dangerous people. They don't start out that way...they usually get in the game because it is the only way they can survive...they feel they have NO WAY OUT.

Many in the church systems are being trained to become spiritual WHORES. And once that happens, the only way for them to turn around is that THEY have to make a DECISION to COME OUT of WHOREDOMS!

They have to turn their backs on that lifestyle.

They only became a harlot because their mother was a Harlot. What else would they become?????

The 'daddies' in the Harlot Church are the pimps. They pimp anyone who will allow themselves to be pimped. Many prostitutes don't feel 'safe' on the streets, so they go and get A COVERING (i.e. a pimp) who is supposed to protect their best interests and look out for them...

Only problem with that is that most of the time, these pimps, these 'coverings,' these wolves in sheeps' clothing, are only exploiting the prostitute, running game, using them for what they can get. And then when they're done, the pimps/pastors 'spit them out.'

DO YOU SEE THE CO-RELATION TO HARLOTRY/PROSTITUTION AND THE HARLOT CHURCH SYSTEM YET????

What more evidence do you need to know that the Harlot Church has indeed manifested herself? And that it is time to COME OUT THE BROTHEL/CHURCH?

The Harlot Church has done nothing more than bred a bunch of harlot babies....

And-as is the case so many times-when you grow up in that environment, it is VERY difficult-sometimes impossible-to get that lifestyle OUT of you! (LOOK at what happened to Richard Pryor)

You grow up to become what you saw growing up...johns, tricks, hos and pimps. THAT'S your family!

Unless a harlot WANTS to get out, they won't. Church folks won't come out of the Harlot because they have become the harlot and enjoy the benefits and privileges of harlotry.

And as long as they are doing that, it probably will be necessary for those who know better to part ways with practicing harlots who don't want out...

Meagan Good is Not the Problem...These Nasty Preachers Are!

It often has been said that preachers are the nastiest, freakiest things walking out here.  They are nastier than the pimp, the drug dealer, the guys who own strips joints and massage parlors.  Even nastier than those provocateurs of the porn industry.  So called christian men make up a mass majority of porn customers anyway.

With that being said, I want to say that we can't be too hard on actress Meagan Good for her J-Lo type dress she wore to the BET awards.  While it was in poor taste, and I do believe that she really wants to be saved and serve God, I have a WHOLE lot to say about her nasty husband who allowed her to leave the house like that.

I think awhile back, Good and hubby Devon Franklin were going around bragging about how they were going to wait til the honeymoon to consummate their marriage.  Now, I didn't pay much attention to it, I'm a busy lady.  But the first thought that came into my mind was 'ITS NONE OF MY BUSINESS.'  So I didn't care.

Now we see why they were so adamant about pushing abstinence til marriage.  

Preacher Franklin is a freak!

The reason why he didn't say anything is because he married Meagan Good BECAUSE she is a hotty. That's why he married her in the first place.  He got a nasty, stink, perverse, lustful spirit in HIM and she fulfilled it. I mean the number of so called 'first ladies' that are plainly freaks is astounding. But this is only because these nasty old preachers WANT them that way. That reality show about the first ladies that came out earlier this year....freaks. We can't get on the ladies -even though its trifling. Its what these nasty preachers want.

Only a freak who is just so glad to finally get some would allow his wife to show all her jewels in public like that.  

You guys already know my stand on going to church.  This is one of the many reasons why I won't go.

These preachers publicly say they are for abstinence, holiness and the such, but behind closed doors, they are worse freaks than the freaks they preach against!

And then it all comes out in the wash....some air their own dirty laundry....(as in the case of the reality shows coming out of the church).  And others are exposed by enemies and people who get the dirt on them.

I heard a preacher say awhile back that there was a trend of preachers wanting their 'first ladies' to be more and more seductive, provocative, sexy...this was in the 1980s.  And this was a so called pentecostal church, where the women can't wear pants, makeup or jewelry.  

Porn was popular in the pentecostal church back then!

WHY is it that church men, religious men, are such perverts?  

WHY are they so sensically driven?  WHY is it that these men so driven by what drives THEIR senses?  

WHY do they need freaky, sexy wives to fulfill their lusts?  Or spirits?

WHY do they need to have Nikki Minaj, Rihanna, Beyonce type women as wives...and then get in church or on TV and brag on how they are 'hitting' that?

Clearly, the 'mendove God' have a problem with their flesh.

THIS is why they don't have a problem with their wives coming outside looking like porn stars.  

This is NOT a negative reflection on the women, but the men. The fact of matter is that what goes on in these peoples' bedrooms is NONE OF OUR BUSINESS.

Sex between husband and wife is a sacred, beautiful thing.  But it should ALSO be a PRIVATE thing.

If you are freaks behind closed doors, KEEP YOUR DOORS CLOSED!

You should not allow your wife to come out looking like she just stepped out of a Playboy magazine, 'Mandove God.'

Woman of God, you need to put some more clothes on!  

EVEN IF YOU DON'T DO CHURCH, whatever happened to modesty, discretion, tact, and taste?

NO man who truly loves his wife should feel comfortable in her coming out the house looking like a street walker.

It speaks to the depravity AND the downplaying of marriage between man and woman.

THIS is ONE of the reasons why the world doesn't even pay it any mind....marriage between husband and wife...ONE man and ONE woman.

They don't respect the institution themselves.  So why should anyone else?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're struggling with your own sexuality, I want to share with you MY OWN PERSONAL STORY of deliverance and TRUE sexual healing.

"Down Low Deliverance: BE SET FREE!" is my own story of how sexual abuse in the church led to my own struggle with my sexuality...and how GOD set me free from sexual bondage and confusion.

Barbies DON'T Get Blessed! REAL Women of God DO!

TOO many women are primping and propping their hair, their nails, their feet, their flesh and NEGLECTING their SPIRITS.

I look at all these women (in church and beyond) who are crying for husbands all day long. They follow some folks that tell them 'Oh, dont you worry, baby. God's getting ready to send you your husband!'

But they think its about what they LOOK LIKE and not about WHO THEY ARE.

These poor men get these fly young honey dips and don't find out until the honeymoon that they married a schizophrenic, bi-polar, mentally ill, no cooking, won't wash a dish, don't know how to pray, cry at the drop of a HAT, don't know NO word, weak as a hangnail....

Need I go on?

Look, girls.

IF you are praying for a husband, you may get him initially with your eyes, your body, your sex appeal.

But you won't KEEP him that way!

These men are tired of the L'il Kims and Rihanna's...all up in the so called 'church!'

Instead of trying to turn these men out with your bootays, your weave, your heavy makeup, your spikes, and the provocative dress, IF you're in the 'market' for a husband...GET YOUR MIND RIGHT! GET YOUR SPIRIT RIGHT!!!!!

Bipolar, cray cray, demonic, possessed, religious and Jezebel comes in Barbie flavor, too!

Men are tired of it, Ladies. Y'all done prayed and prayed for God to grow the men up. Make them the head. Let them take the lead spiritually.

WELL GUESS WHAT?

GOD IS ANSWERING YOUR PRAYERS!

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU PRAY FOR!!!!

YOU DONE PRAYED FOR THE MEN FOR SO LONG, BEEN ON THEIR TIP FOR SO LONG, SO THIRSTY FOR SO LONG, HOLLERING, FASTING AND SCREAMING FOR A HUSBAND FOR SO LONG, FOLLOWING BYNUM AND THEM FOR SO LONG TRYNA GET A MAN...YOU DONE NEGLECTED YOUR SPIRITS!!!!!!!!

The church and the world (and can you REALLY tell the difference nowadays?) tell you you have to be sexy, fine, got it going on, and play dumb to 'get a man.'

Smh.

Delilah didn't have Samson for long. Bathsheba got David by trapping him into pregnancy...but look at all the hell they had to go thru...and she STILL was not David's ONLY wife ....after ALL of that she went thru with that man, too!

Jezebel. Well, we all know what happened to her...she thought she was big and bad enough to rule ALL the prophets...

No man is gonna be enthralled with the bootay, the eyes, the hair, the figure, your techniques in bed, or that fake anointing you operate in.

God is growing the men UP. And they don't have time for little girls.

They're gonna pass you RIGHT on by for a LADY, a WOMAN who took to the time to beautify HER SPIRIT!

The BITTER Truth!

I don't know who came up with the term THE BITTER TRUTH, but I absolutely LOVE it!

Many of us think that the truth is this sweet to the taste, pleasant, sweet smelling, tickling the senses (the flesh).

Often, I find that the truth is NOTHING BUT sweet!

The truth is HEAVY.  HARD HITTING.  ABRUPT.  NEVER POLITICALLY OR RELIGIOUSLY CORRECT.  

Truth interrupts our plans.  It sinks our agendas.  It most often cancels and eradicates what WE want.  

Because the TRUTH is bitter to the taste, those who administer it are OFTEN called bitter.

Are doctors and pharmacists bitter?  How about Nursing Assistants and practitioners?  Or Patient Care Advocates?

Some of the nicest, caring, kindest, most servant like people I have EVER had the pleasure of knowing are in the medical field.  I have been blessed to have had great experiences with many in the medical field.  

They genuinely care about the well being of their patients.  Even when administering their medical care OFTEN requires them to give treatments and medications that are - at first - EXTREMELY painful and unpleasant.

How many of you have had a colonoscopy?  Or a mammogram?  Or had a catheter?  Or had to recover from some sort of surgery?

It HURT and was VERY uncomfortable, wasn't it????

Well, God speaks through folks who are a lot like doctors, nurses, others who work in the medical field.  

OFTENTIMES, they have to give a hard word.  They ARE on assignment (I know that makes some folks cringe...but I STILL believe that God uses folks!)

God will tell someone to say something, write something, that may offend.  Some will misinterpret that as bitterness...but its NOT because the person giving it is, in fact, bitter.

ITS BECAUSE THEY TASTE THAT WORD, THAT ADVICE, THAT COUNSEL, THAT TEACHING, THAT REBUKE, THAT WRITING...AND IT IS NOT SWEET!  

As soon as that word hits that tongue, they make this face.  'That doesn't taste good!"  They balk.

If you got a word that 'tastes good,' if you come across a teaching that appeases and pacifies you, if your senses are all tingly and warm feeling...you got the fuzzies reading something....

CHANCES ARE IT IS NOT FROM GOD!!!!!!

Do you remember JEREMIAH: THE 'BITTER' PROPHET?

When God speaks through you, OFTEN folks will want to label you as 'bitter.'

Jeremiah was a prophet who was OFTEN misunderstood and labeled. Folks tried to sum him up based upon the HARD, BITTER word and prophecies God spoke through him. In Jeremiah 15, Jeremiah was feeling sorry for himself, saying that 'he' was the source of derision and conflict that was upon Israel. Why?

Because God was consistently speaking JUDGMENT on Israel...THRU the mouth of the prophet! And that speaking forth of the word of GOD was a constant source of inner conflict for Jeremiah. He began to feel like because of the Word God gave, it was somehow his fault.

The folks sure made him feel that way!

I want you to read Jeremiah 15-17. In Jeremiah 16...God sent warning telling the people to not have kids or marry while in captivity.

SURELY once Jeremiah OBEYED GOD and gave SUCH A HARD WORD to GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE, he was accused of being 'bitter.'

But he was not.

He was just OBEDIENT.

How does the saying goes?
Dont hate the messenger, HEED THE MESSAGE!

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"You Better Not Leave My Church!"

Any of us who have gone to church before have heard the threats the preachers have hurled at us when we told him (or her) that we were leaving their church....

"You need a covering!"

"You will be cursed if you leave this church!"

"You are outside the will of God if you go..."

"You are not saved (backslidden) if you are not here..."

Some of the preachers were bold enough to just say it, preach it from the pulpit, hurled at you like a boomerang!

Other preachers didn't say any of these things to your face in fears of being labeled as unloving.

But once you are gone, they will 'preach on' the ones who left, who 'abandoned ship,' they will call you 'Judas.'  They will turn the whole congregation against you and make it seem that YOU were the problem.  YOU were the 'devil.'  YOU were causing strife and division.

And really, there is no one person that 'causes' strife and division among a group of people.  The fact of the matter is if you have two people in a setting, those two people are not going to agree on SOME thing.  That is division.  

Church people have this inclination to label a situation as 'strife' when two people simply do not see eye-to-eye on the situation.  Invariably, the 'disagreement' is blown out of proportion, most times by the leader or pastor whose ego was bruised because a 'sheep' dared to challenge him/her on a teaching or doctrine.

I want to help you out here.

1)  The Church 'Curse

NO ONE can curse you.  But YOU.  The devil can't curse you.  Your pastor/leader can't curse you.  Your enemy can't curse you.  Your ex husband or ex wife...they can't curse you.

The Word of God says a curse causeless will not stand. (Proverbs 26:2)

That means if there is NO reason for a curse to stay, it won't.  And if you are BLESSED of the Lord, then NO MAN can CURSE YOU!!!!!  (Genesis 12:3, Numbers 12:2, Galatians 3:13)

You are BLESSED, and it is NOT a matter of location.  It is a matter of POSITION IN CHRIST.  The Word says we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus, FARRRRRRRRR above ALL principalities, and powers.  

You are BLESSED whether you're in the city, in the field, leaving a place, going to a place, everything you put your  hands to is BLESSED!!  Go read Deut. 28...study it.  

THATS YOU!!!!

2) "You Better Come to Church!"

Your salvation is NOT dependent upon church attendance.  Your salvation is a matter of FAITH.  (Ephesians 2:8, Luke 7:50, Luke 18:42). I want you to pay close attention to the scriptures in Luke, btw.  Did you see that after Jesus Christ of Nazareth healed those people (according to THEIR faith), WHAT did He tell them afterwards?

"YOUR FAITH HATH SAVED THEE!"

When you are REALLY saved, NOBODY and I DO mean NOBODY, can shake that faith in your salvation.  NOBODY can tell you you are NOT saved.  YOU KNOW IT!!!!

Don't let these bully leaders tell you you ain't saved because you are not dancing to their song and dance, or putting your money in their collection plates.  Or 'obeying' THEM.  

It is your obedience TO GOD, not obedience TO MAN, that will save you!!!!

I mean - if church attendance was all there was to being saved, there would be a WHOLE lotta folks saved, don't you think?

But look at them..(churchgoers). 

If you watch the lives of church attenders, you would see some CRAZY stuff!  Just sit back and watch.  

There are more whoremongers, lesbians, homosexuals, down lows, molesters, thieves, robbers, extortionists, rapists and just plain old criminals......IN CHURCH!

I'm not talking about REFORMED, REHABILITATED, DELIVERED criminals.

NO!

I'm talking about folks who shout the house down on Sunday.  Then on Wednesday they are in at the gay club tryna pick up their spoogie for the night.  And THESE are PREACHERS!

So, my Bible tells me that such people WON'T inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.  (Ephesians 5:5)

I don't see anywhere in the Word where it says 'If you don't attend church, if you leave a church, then you shall not be saved...'

It's NOT there!

3) "YOU need a Covering...."

And this covering thing...let me tell you something.  YOU DO NOT NEED 'A COVERING!'

That is a man-made lie to keep you under the control of your pastor, your apostle, your bishop, your leader. As a matter of fact, in Isaiah 30:1, God called the Israelites 'obstinate' and 'rebellious' for going get 'a covering.'

Isaiah 30:1

"WOE to the rebellious children that take counsel, but not of me....that cover with a covering, but NOT of MY Spirit, that they may add sin to sin...."

This covering doctrine was made up by charismatics and pentecostals who think that you and I need THEM to live for God, to live holy, to be delivered.  

When from what I can see, ALL I NEED is to TRUST GOD, have FAITH IN GOD, and OBEY GOD....and HE WILL COVER ME!!!!!!!!  

He will cover YOU, too!

But in order for HIM to cover you, you got to get rid of all those other 'covers.'  

NO MORE SHEETS!!!!!  FOR REAL!!!!!!!!!

Even in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve went to get leaves to COVER themselves their nakedness, God saw it and rebuked them.

God does not want us to attempt to cover OURSELVES.  That is what He sent Jesus Christ of Nazareth for....so that HIS BLOOD could not only COVER but WASH away our sins!

LET THE BLOOD DO ITS JOB!!!!!!!

NO MORE MAN MADE COVERINGS!

4) In the Will of God, Backslidden if you not in Church????

I think this one really sends me reeling when I hear preachers use this one.

Look.  

I have written an entire other blog post on 'being backslidden,' entitled 'The Religious Lie of Backslidding.'

I think that this is the most reprehensible, diabolical teachings of all.  If the preacher can get YOU to believe that you have 'backslided' and are not in the will of God for leaving their church, then they have gotten you in a state of FEAR.  They are now controlling you; they see you love God and want to be in the will of God.  So they use that love FOR GOD against you by making you believe that being faithful to THEIR church is somehow your ticket into being 'in the will of God.'  

If you don't stay, then they say you are 'rebellious' and outside of His will.

This whole 'will of God' thing is another blog in itself, but I will attempt to summarize here.

The will of GOD is not determined by what WE DO.  The will of GOD is determined SOLELY BY GOD.

It is HIS WILL.  And best believe, HE WILL do HIS WILL!

Us going to church and paying obeisance to a man, allowing ourselves to be 'covered' by a man, being in alliance with a man who is most probably IN SIN, THAT is NOT the will of God.  I can PROMISE you that!

When we just do what God says, then we are in THE WILL OF GOD.  

And I want you to go read my post on backsliding.  You will be surprised at the lies these preachers have told you.

WHY?

Because they are wanting to CONTROL you.  They want you to continue to go to church to get your money.  Or to exploit you.  Your gifts.  They have found a way to gain off you..and if you leave, they will lose out.

THIS is why the preachers seek to CONTROL and MANIPULATE you.  

They use these and other fear tactics, abuse their authority and say GOD is in it...when He is NOT!

Do not allow preachers to do this to you.

Get in your Word.  Seek God.  And know HIS WILL for your life...FOR YOURSELF!

Do You Have An Spiritual Infestation????

YUCK!!!!!!

That is SO nasty!  Creepy!  Makes you itch, doesn't it?

Many times, folks have an infestation in their home and don't even know it!

The only time you will know what's plaguing you is when you have been pre-informed on the symptoms, the signs that your house has been infested!

Yes, I know about this, unfortunately.  

It became necessary for my son and I to seek the help of a domestic violence shelter for our safety.  We lived in a Motel 6 for a short time, til money ran out...then I had to swallow my pride and seek the assistance of a shelter.

We found a slot available after a few days...we were so glad to be there.  We thought, 'Whew!  We have finally found safety!  Help.  We can go on with our lives!'

We settled in that first night, went to bed, then BAMMM!  

Once the lights went out and we were asleep, we were ASSAULTED by bed bugs!!!!!!!!!

I never seen a bed bug, only heard the little saying, 'Nite, nite.  Don't let the bed bugs bite!'  All I know is that I started itching all over.  My son was whining in his sleep in the bunk bed above me...and I was like WHAT is going on!

I turned my cell phone light on and to my HORROR there were these red little bugs all on my pillow.  I saw blood on my pillow, on my sheets...I was like WHAT THE?????

I got up turned the lights on and stayed up the whole night keeping those bugs off my baby!

The next morning I went to the staff and thats when they decided to tell me, 'we do have a bed bug problem...you are free to leave if you want...'  Well, here we were with NO money, nowhere to go.  We had no choice but to stay.  

My son and I suffered every night with bed bugs for two months straight.  It was one of the most humiliating, debilitating experiences EVER!

I found a job in NY and saved up enough money to get our place in that two months time.  NOBODY was happier than we were when we moved out that shelter!

And when we moved in our new place, the only way I was able to keep those bugs OUT of our home was to THROW EVERYTHING AWAY!!!!!!!!  Start all over from scratch.  

Everything we gained in that shelter, stuff folks gave to us, gifts, donations, etc, I threw all that away once we moved into our home.

And I am GLAD to say my son and I have NEVER seen a bed bug since leaving that shelter!

Anybody who has ever had a bed bug infestation knows that there can be emotional stuff that lingers as a result of all that.  Loss of sleep, paranoia, getting 'the itchies,' and all that can happen as a result of long tern lack of sleep are just a few things some experience -some long tern, some short term - as a result of their experience with 'bed bugs.'

I want to show you how a 'bed bug infestation' in a home is MUCH like a 'demonic infestation' in a church.

A lot of times, folks go to church seeking help, assistance, whether it be natural or spiritual.  Very real needs are present and it's a good thing they seek help in the time of trouble.  ALL of us need help sometimes!

So they go to church....expecting help.  Help seeking God, getting saved, delivered, etc.  And once you step foot inside the church, there is a sigh of relief that most exhales--just from being 'in the house.'  In 'the ark of safety.'  Sheltered (supposedly) from the forces of darkness.  Now 'you're covered.'  

You feel like 'the pastor's got us' or 'now you're sheltered' and you don't have to 'fight' alone.  

This is especially true of single mothers and their kids.

Then once you get settled in, you start 'itching.'  You start seeing signs of injury, perhaps your blood has been spilled.  You start getting 'tormented.'  You start dealing with 'things' you ain't NEVER had to deal with before...and yet, you don't know WHERE it's coming from!

You go to the pastor, you go to church...and, of course, the pastor, the mothers, the new convert's teacher all tell you 'the devil is fighting you since you're now in church.  Don't let that stop you.  The more you come to church, the more the devil is going to fight you and try to stop you from coming...'

And because it sounds good, it makes sense and you want to belong, you accept that as a viable excuse for all the HELL you're going through.  

It never ONCE crosses your mind that the torment is NOT the devil on the outside (of the church) trying to 'keep you from going back to church.'

I mean COME ON!  Think about it!

IF God is the HEAD, and your church is 'the bride,' and the enemy is supposed to be 'outside the doors of your church,' just waiting to pounce on you and keep you from coming back, then WHAT explains all the torment going on on THE INSIDE OF YOUR CHURCH?????????

If GOD is GOD, then shouldn't He be God OVER ALL?????

Couldn't He keep the enemy from biting you?  Tormenting you?  And your babies?  

I understand...it is a blow to what you've been taught.  

I want to give a short list that will help you tell if YOUR church has a demonic infestation:

  1)  Continual strife and confusion...IN the house

  2)  Folks can't stop sexing. Lust fills the air of your 'church.'  You feel it from the pulpit.

  3)  Greed, covetousness and continual pressuring of giving financially to different programs

  4)  Extreme control, manipulation from leadership (i.e., you have to ask pastor if what color to wear, where     

       to live, who to marry, etc.)

  5)  Unexplained bouts of depression, mania, fear, thoughts of suicide....things you NEVER dealt with 

       BEFORE going to church start to plague you AFTER going to church

  6)  You are constantly bombarded with 'visions,' dreams and the such of ministering to the nations.  

  7)  You feel like it is your God-mandated responsibility to 'get your church right.'  Thats why even though 

       you SEE the blatant error, you continue to go...thinking it's your 'calling.'

  8)  Extreme legalism...(can't wear this, do that, have this in your house, etc.)

  9)  Leadership forbids you to seek ministry anywhere outside of their jurisdiction

10)  An over emphasis on supernatural signs, shouting, dancing, kundalini, laughing in the spirit, rolling in the   

       floor, etc. 

By and large, if your church is consistently focused on the flesh, on the outward things, on comfort here and now, if your pastor has fallen into sin....over and over again..., these are telltale signs you are in a DEMON fest...and need to do like FORREST GUMP......

RUNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!

I kid you not, I knew of a church in Louisiana (I will be nice and not name names because a lot of you would know of it if I told you a name).  I visited this church...this church has a long history in the city its located in, highly respected, VERY charismatic/pentecostal.  GREAT singers, much praise.  But they are also known to literally lock you in their services at a certain point in the service, as to not 'disturb the spirit of God.'  

My cousin took me to this church to visit and I was like, 'Where are you taking me?'  She was like, 'Trust me, we will just go in and out....I promise!'  

So we get to this church, and the service is VERY 'lively,' to say the least!  Lots of shouting, dancing, singing, running the aisles, speaking in tongues, etc.  Stuff I was used to.

I didn't do anything though, because my spirit was really VEXED.  

I mean, on the outside, all seemed real 'spiritual.'  This was a historically baptist church, with a little charismatic/pentecostal flavor...and since I had grown up baptist, and converted to pentecostalism (then), I was like 'Ok.'

But my spirit was V.E.X.E.D.!!!!

I look down on the floor, and I KID YOU NOT...there was a HUGE COCKROACH!  The FLYING kind! I was like 'WHAT THE??????'

I moved to another aisle to get away from the roach, and lo and behold, WAYYYY across the aisle on the other side of the church, I sit.  Feeling really awkward at that point...b/c I have NEVER been in a church with HUGE COCKROACHES like that before!!!!!

I sit down, go to put my purse down, and on the floor are two dead cockroaches!

At that point, I did want to cuss, but the Holy Ghost stopped me!!!!!

So at that point, amidst all the shouting, dancing, praying, etc., I was like 'ENOUGH.'  I go for the door, and this huge dude usher clamps down on the door and says to me 'No one can leave while the spirit is moving!'

My mouth dropped to the floor!  I was like 'Uhhhhh????'

I went back into the church to look for my cousin, I stopped her dancing and clapping, pulled her to the side and was like 'Uh, we gotta go.  And WHY are these people LOCKING US IN HERE?'  

She just laughed and said 'Oh, they just do that.  Sit down.  Relax.  We won't be long...'  

I was TOOOO done!  

To make a long story short, an HOUR later, they finally let us out the church!  Smh.

That's a funny story (a REAL one, btw!) of crazy church and a weird infestation...but I want to present to you that many churches are JUST LIKE THAT church.

They stomp, holler, jump, speak in tongues, dance, hoop, prophesy....all ON TOP of demons.  

They think that all that natural activity is going to 'keep them under their feet.' Keep the devil at bay.  Give them victory.

And I also want to add that there obviously was a demonic infestation at that church as well.  How do I know?  

Because of the rampant homosexuality and DL-ism that is resident there!  (Please don't ask me how I know!  Just take my word for it!)

I do liken demons to bugs, roaches.  They both are nasty, creepy.  And once you got an infestation on your hands, the only way to get rid of them is to throw AWAY any and everything that they live in.

Just like when I transitioned from the shelter to my home and had to throw away ALL my stuff and start afresh...so is it with transitioning OUT OF CHURCH.

EVERYTHING you learned in church HAS TO BE DISCARDED, THROWN OUT.  You have to be willing to start afresh.  UNLEARN and RELEARN even the most fundamental of things.

I was so serious about making SURE I carried nothing into my new home that I had me and my son take off the coats, boots, and clothes we had on our backs and threw those bad boys into the HOTTEST DRYER to kill off any bugs that even thought about lingering onto us!

If you expose bed bugs to EXTREME HEAT, like the kind in a dryer, they will die.

That stuff you GOTTA keep from what you learned in church, don't be afraid to PUT IT TO THE FIRE!!!!!!!!

1 Corinthians 2:13

EVERY man's work shall be made manifest, it will be revealed by fire; the fire shall try every man's work, to see what sort it is...

I dare you to read that ENTIRE chapter.  It is a POWERFUL chapter.

Don't be afraid to put what you have believed about God, the Word, WHATEVER knowledge you've gained while in church...to the FIRE.

Don't let GOD have to put it to the fire.  YOU DO IT!

If it be of God, if He wants you to keep it...God will allow you to keep it.

But first things first.

If you are suffering in your church, DO NOT THINK that its God trying to teach you something.  The Spirit of the Lord can teach you things without you having to suffer.  Yes, due to OUR OWN STUBBORNNESS and STIFF-NECKNESS (I know that's not a word...lol), He may allow suffering.  But that's only after Him just telling you, 'Thats not me, don't receive that.  Don't believe that.  Don't touch that, or don't do that...' and you DON'T take heed, then that's when He has to let you go through.

I know there are some who TRULY believe that it is their job, their 'calling,' to go back or stay in a church where clearly God has revealed to them is demonically infested...

They feel like they are the 'spiritual Terminix, spiritual Orkin.'  They proudly exclaim, 'Im staying in my house of God!  It's ride or die!  The gates of hell shall not prevail!  Im a prayer warrior!  I got the goods to deliver!'

What I say to you is 'YOU ARE THE MOST DECEIVED OF THEM ALL!'

To share more of my story about the shelter, Terminix had been treating that house for 8 months straight...6 months before we arrived there!  AT LEAST once per month, sometimes twice.  But with all that power, with all the testimonials of how great Terminix does, all the latest equipment and pesticides...and THEY couldn't get this thing under control.....

WHY?

BECAUSE there is a difference between a bug problem...and an infestation!

Anyone who has dealt with pesticides and pest control will tell you, there is a point where it is best to abandon the house...MOVE....when you have an infestation.  Save what you can, salvage what you can salvage...and just start afresh.

For the health of the residents they will suggest this.  Its not a matter of who has the goods or who is more powerful, Terminix or the bugs?

There are health risks to being exposed to bugs for a long period of time.

What a lot of these spiritual wonders do not realize is that they can suffer things God NEVER meant for them to suffer from staying around a demon infestation for a long period of time.

At some point, I do believe God loves us so much that HE will say "ENOUGH is ENOUGH," and HE will tell you to leave a spiritually dangerous place.  NOT because HE isn't all powerful, or that you're not saved, or whatever....

BUT BECAUSE HE SEES HOW ITS BEGINNING TO AFFECT YOU SPIRITUALLY!!!!!

I have known some for real saved folks who have literally lost their minds behind some of these churches.  Who stayed in the churches when they SAW what was wrong.  After God TOLD THEM to go...maybe not so much in an audible voice, but when you see a house imploding from the inside, and danger is lurking and you still are hardheaded and say, 'Im gonna stay and hold up the walls!  This is my house of God!'

That is foolish...and the surefire rantings and mockings of a religious spirit that SOUNDS like God.  But it is the plot of the enemy to DESTROY YOU!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SO ask yourself...."DO WE HAVE AN INFESTATION?"

You just may....

WHAT are YOU gonna do about it?