I had previously thought that I needed to put on " the whole armour of God when I went everywhere. However, last Sunday, I was reminded that I especially need it in the worship service. A lady who I have only politely spoken to on two or three separate occasions in the past 4 months said something to me that I considered inappropriate prior to the worship service. I was amazed by this situation because I normally drop my guard when I go to church but then it occurred to me that the devil is very crafty and insidious and is more likely to attack christians when they are in worship. Without going into the details of what she said, I would like to hear from others as to how the christian should respond to insults from others. I would especially like to hear from Rev. Denise Rogers since she has a background in professional therapy.

JazzMan

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Answers

The devil is in church every Sunday.

Pastor Paris

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Think (very briefly) of the sinful thoughts that come into your mind during prayer, the sermon, anytime. They do not become sin until you give them place and dwell on them. They are in the early stage just temptation which even Jesus had. Hopefully you push them out quickly but the fact they came into your mind at all shows the devil can tempt anytime.

I recall looking into the choir loft and seeing some beautiful women. I was tempted to lust but I found a quick way to shut it down is to quickly cast my gaze to her husband. If he is not where I can see him I look at any man I can find :-) Works for me any way.

The devil can work any where but who cares. In the Name of Jesus and thru His power we can trash the devil every time. If we make the choice to.

In Christ, Nathan Paujo

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

It's amazing that you used the "Whole Armor". As Pastor Paris said the devil is in Church every Sunday.

I was just reading in Acts (in Sunday School) where Paul was giving final instructions to the Church of Ephesus, warning them to beware of wolves, both without and within.

When you think about one of his writings in Ephesians is to put on the whole Armour that we might be able to withstand the wiles of the devil.

As far as how to deal with insults from within the Church. Very quickly. Be wise as a serpant, but gentle as a dove. Many times there is something more behind the insult made to you.

I once insulted a member (without my knowlege). This person finally said something 2 years later. She held it in and satan was about to really stir up some hatred. She decided not to say anything, and later admitted that she was convicted because she was unable to look at me with love. She would smile as if everything was alright, but continued to hold a grudge.

The Lord blessed us to have some type of healing service where it was only woman and we had an opportunity to confess things to each other. We both cried. I had no idea what I said had hurt her, but I apoligized anyway. The fact was she was hurt. Many times we may be insulted by someone and the person doing the insulting has moved on. The burden is still with us. As a result of the service we both agreed to nip things in the bud when they happen. Our thinking was we as Christians should never have the intentions to cause hurt or harm to another fellow christian. But if it happens, to confront one another quickly. We are all members of the Body of Christ and striving for the same goal.

Go to them alone, and let them know you were hurt and you don't want the feeling to escalate. But go with the thought, they were not intentionally trying to cause hurt.

This is if the insult came from a brother or sister in Christ.

Carmen

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Jazzman, I heard a minister once describe church as a "hospital for sinners, some are in ICU and some are still in surgery" Jazzman I have had things said to me as a pastor in church that are unbelievable. I will never forget the first sunday that I was the assistant pastor of a Black United Methodist church, they had never had a woman pastor, and did not want a woman pastor.Well I got up to preach and about 150 people walked out. That's when you are glad you have the full body armor of Jesus Christ on. I stood a few minutes said a quiet prayer to myself and then said "Gee, I am sorry they all had to be somewhere else, I have a fantastic sermon!" everyone laughed. I prayed about the situation and the next time I preached they stayed. I might add that the main person who had planned the mass exodus turned out to be my best supporter and cried when I left. Jazzman Jesus tells us to love one another and especially our enemies. One of the reason is that when we work through prayer and Jesus christ to have those resentments lifted, then we do not carry that poison in our lives. I believe we are all children of God; when my daughter was young if one of her friends started to act up, I would call their parent(s) and say could you please come and get your child. They would come and that would be the end of it. I do the same thing with God's children, when they hurt my feelings, or cause pain I say "Lord will you please come and get your child!" I then pray for that person. It is also important to pray for yourself since you were harmed. And the next time you see that person, let them know that what was said was harmful to you and that you have been praying about the situation. People come to church for a myriad of reasons, and they bring all of their emotional and spiritual baggage with them. Do not let someone abuse you because you are in church. God does not want his children abused. One last thing, for me the hardest thing I have had to do in Montana was to respond with love to the KKK. In the midst of bomb threats, death threats etc. I held on to my faith and christianity. It made me stronger, for I was able to free myself from being stuck in hatred with them. Out of that experience a Non-Violence organization was born that is working in countries around the world. They will know us by our love. I occasionally get attacked on this board and I want to stop writing, but then I say wow! This increases my prayer time with the lord. I pray for those who attack and know that words cannot wound me because as Christians we can put on the full body armor of Jesus Christ. Rest assured that only God can judge you, and to him you are an only child!

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2001

Thank you all for your response to my question. I found it to be very encouraging. After hearing Rev. Rogers account of her spiritual battles with the various hate groups in Montana, somehow my problems appear small to me at this time. I pray that Rev. Rogers will never stop being an instrument of God on this site. We all need to be very careful to be aware of the enemy(satan) because he is smarter than any human being. I have become acutely aware of how he devises subtle and sophisticated attacks against our ministers. For the ministers are the heads of the congregations and closer to God spiritually. Therefore, if satan can destroy the spiritual leader there goes the congregation. Therefore, let us not attack the man or woman of God who is a minister. Instead let us attack our flesh (human nature)and this worldly system through which the enemy seeks to destroy us all by humbling ourselves to the Holy Spirit. Don't give the enemy a victory by allowing him to use you to insult or attack a christian minister. Have you ever thought about how this world would be without ministers?

JazzMan

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2001

Jazzman thank you so much for your kind words! It is wonderful that you say congregations should be kind to their Pastors. It is a two way street, we as Pastors also have to treat our congregations with respect. We all have 100 percent accessibility to God through his son Jesus Christ so I do not feel pastors are "spiritually closer to God" than anyone else. For Christ came for all. I do believe that ministry is a calling from God and when one is called God has a definite plan in mind for that person. There is so much going on in all denominations now regarding clergy, money matters, personal and property issues. Clergy are retiring at a high rate in all denominations, young people are not going into ministry for various reasons. Minister who have gone to college and 3 years of Seminary, which is graduate school have student loans that are as high as someone finishing law school. Most Pastors are not living luxurious life styles their pay do not support that style of living. And there are many rural churches who are waiting for a Pastor. Pastoring often times means being up late at night with a suicidal member of the church, or someone going through divorce. During the day, counseling those who have lost a job,family members who are drug addicted. Couple this with day to day church requirements, supervising a staff, paying bills, when so many members are still only putting one or two dollars in the collection plate. The role of the minister is ever evolving and getting harder every day. How does one juggle church obligations with family obligations. Jazzman thank you for lifting up all Pastors, for the quickest way to disarm a group of people is to eliminate their leader. In every profession there are bad professionals, but they are in the minority. Let us remain steadfast in our love for one another and send encouragement as Paul the Apostle instructs us to do for one another. Remember the Pastor who is working a nine to 5 job during the week and pastoring a church. (I do) and so do thousands upon thousand of Pastors in this country and around the world. Christianity is always about love, and justice. Equality and liberation are the main stays of our religion. Christianity is radical, and an active religion. I do hope that we will not attack all ministers for there are definitely some good ones on the mission field. Jazzman, thank you, thank you for choosing to see the good and the Divinity of Christ in all that cross your path.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2001