When I was first subjected to religious abuse, I was hurt, angry, and confused. My life became purposeless for a long time. When I realized that wallowing in self pity wasn’t making things better, I knew I needed to make some changes. I would never become the person I was created to be by nurturing [...]
Archive for January, 2009
Becoming the Person God Meant You to Be
Posted in Abuse, Anger, Behavior, Bitterness, Care, Dysfunction, Emotions, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Hatred, Healing, Hurt, Jesus Christ, Patience, Pride, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, Self-Absorbed, Wounds on January 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
You Must Come Clean
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Behavior, Bitterness, Christian, Denial, Emotions, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Hatred, Healing, Hurt, Jesus Christ, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Patience, Prayer, Pride, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, Wounds, tagged Confession on January 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
STEP 8: I share my experience with a trusted friend, and I confess to God the exact state of my heart.
READING: After you’ve confessed your sins to a trusted friend—or after someone has unburdened their soul to you, prayer is the next thing mentioned in the Scriptures. That’s not an accident.
When someone exposes themselves at [...]
Tired of Self-Defeating Behavior?
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Anger, Behavior, Betrayal, Bitterness, Burn Out, Christian, Denial, Depression, Drugs, Dysfunction, Emotions, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Hatred, Healing, Jesus Christ, Love, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Prayer, Pride, Purpose, Quotes, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, Shame, Stress, Wounds on January 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
STEP 2: I refuse to continue living my life pursuing self-defeating behavior.
READING: After you’ve experienced religious abuse, life changes—not a little but a lot. It’s never the same again—no matter how fervently you desire it. It’s just not possible. No matter how much you want to, you just can’t return to a life of naïveté. [...]
Taking Inventory
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Anger, Behavior, Betrayal, Bitterness, Christian, Denial, Dysfunction, Emotions, God, Guilt, Healing, Jesus Christ, Low Self-Esteem, Prayer, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, tagged Taking Inventory on January 26, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
STEP 7: I write down my experience completely and honestly, spelling out my abusive experiences in detail as well as my subsequent behavior.
Steps one through six are primarily vertical in nature, except for the second part of STEP 5. Putting your relationship with God in order is the most important part of recovery. It’s the [...]
How Can There Be so Much Abuse in Christianity?
Posted in Abuse, Anger, Behavior, Betrayal, Bitterness, Burn Out, Denial, Dysfunction, Evangelical, God, Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Patience, Pride, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Self-Absorbed, Shame, Wounds, tagged Arrogance on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Have you ever asked yourself why there are so many church people who are abusive? According to the Zogby poll, there are as many as 30 million people who have left the churches of their youth—many because of one form of abuse or another. Others see the church as irrelevant—as an unsafe place for them [...]
Character Building
Posted in Anger, Behavior, Betrayal, Bitterness, Care, Christian, Dysfunction, Emotions, God, Hatred, Healing, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Patience, Prayer, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Wounds on January 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
STEP 6: I make a commitment to turn away from my pride and refuse to become like those who have abused me. I abandon my desire to spread malice because of my pain and anger and chose to relinquish my right to be self-absorbed.
This is where your commitment to recovery gets tested, and it’s a [...]
Making Amends
Posted in Abuse, Behavior, Christian, Forgiveness, Healing, Jesus Christ, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, tagged Making Amends on January 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
After making a heartfelt apology for poor behavior, there’s an overwhelming sense of relief, which leaves you gratified—feeling lighter than air. You say to yourself, “That wasn’t nearly as difficult as I thought it was going to be.”
If that was all there was to it, you would be correct, but there’s another aspect, which is [...]
Purify Your Heart
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Anger, Behavior, Bitterness, Dysfunction, Emotions, God, Healing, Jesus Christ, Love, Patience, Prayer, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Shame, tagged Toxic Emotions on January 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »
You’ve probably heard this saying before: “The pure in heart see God.” But what does it mean? Is it just a sweet idealistic thought, or does it have value for everyday life?
Here’s a hint: Christ never said anything that didn’t have real, substantive value. Every word out of His mouth had purpose, and understanding this [...]
Alcoholism: Cunning, Baffling, and Powerful
Posted in God on January 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
THIS COMMENT WAS SO RELEVANT AND WELL-WRITTEN THAT PUSHING JESUS DECIDED TO USE IT AS A GUEST EDITORIAL.
You make a valuable point that I often observe. Meaning the recognition that alcoholics and addicts have a more visible problem with more visible consequences than many others have.
You mention those suffering from religious abuse or institutional abuse. [...]
Changing Your Internal Perspective
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Anger, Behavior, Bitterness, Denial, Drugs, Dysfunction, Emotions, God, Healing, Hurt, Jesus Christ, Love, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Prayer, Pride, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, Self-Absorbed, Wounds on January 19, 2009 | 2 Comments »
On the surface, STEP 1 may appear to be the easiest step to recovery. All you have to do is recognize your situation accurately and acknowledge it. That’s simple, right?
In one sense, it is the easiest step; but for more people than not, it’s by far the most difficult. That’s because you have to “admit” [...]
A Prayer When Your Life Isn’t Going Well
Posted in Abuse, Addiction, Anger, Behavior, Betrayal, Bitterness, Burn Out, Denial, Depression, Dysfunction, Emotions, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Hatred, Healing, Hurt, Jesus Christ, Love, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Patience, Prayer, Pride, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures, Shame, Wounds on January 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
PRAYER:
Lord, I want You to have Your way with me, but much of the time I don’t know what that is. Right now—this very minute, I give myself to You. I choose to believe that the pruning You are doing will make me into the person You want me to be. Please, help me [...]
Visions about God’s Plans for You
Posted in Abuse, Amazing Grace, Anger, Behavior, Bitterness, Burn Out, Christian, Dysfunction, Emotions, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Hatred, Healing, Jesus Christ, Love, Low Self-Esteem, Pain, Prayer, Recovery, Religious Abuse, Scriptures on January 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
STEP 1: My life is not where I want it to be. It is shipwrecked.
When I first invited Christ into my life, I had visions about the plans God had for me. Most new converts do. Because I was young, my visions were grandiose and very self-centered, but I didn’t realize it. I convinced myself [...]
God Gives Freely; So Should We
Posted in God on January 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
GUEST EDITORIAL:
Hi Jack
This afternoon I was talking to my husband about the way no one seems to give freely anymore – its like every act of giving is conditional on a return. Either in dollars or in kind.
God loves us freely and hopes we will figure out this is the way to really live – [...]
Tough Times Ahead
Posted in Behavior, Burn Out, Christian, Denial, Dysfunction, Evangelical, God, Healing, Jesus Christ, Pride, Purpose, Recovery, Religion, Scriptures, Value, Worldview, tagged Belief on January 8, 2009 | 3 Comments »
In America, the cultural battle between Christianity and political correctness no longer rages—not like it once did. We’ve lost. The belief that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life is relegated to obscurity—the dominion of weak-minded people who are intolerant of the legitimate beliefs of others. This is the basic tenet of [...]
Your Life Has Purpose
Posted in Abuse, Behavior, Bitterness, Dysfunction, God, Healing, Low Self-Esteem, Patience, Prayer, Purpose, Recovery, Religious Abuse on January 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
When you experience religious abuse, your world is shattered. Your confidence in God is replaced by confusion and apprehension about the future. Nothing seems right, and you loose your bearings. No longer self-assured, you become fearful and timid. Because those in spiritual authority over you have made a pronouncement that you are unworthy, whether stated [...]
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Welcome! My name is John Watts, but you can call me 'Jack.'
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