Category: God’s Heart

The King’s Daughter

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Parable: The King’s Daughter

The King sent his daughter into neighboring countries for diplomatic service. She was not adorned in royal garb. She blended into the crowds. She was there to serve and bless the town’s people. They soon recognized her generosity and made plans for exploitation. They could get their needs met without offering much or anything in return. They offered her what had the least or no value in exchange for her best offers.

They mocked her in private, and some to her face. They gossiped, and tried to sully her reputation. Obviously she was either stupid, weak, or had an ulterior motive. They worked against her efforts to help their poorest citizens. They needed the poor to feel good about themselves, “At least we are not like those people.” Some helped and were generous too. Many were offended by the expressions of kindness.

The daughter of the king kept showing up to serve, give, love. Even when those offerings from her father’s table were trampled under foot.

One day the king appeared and found his daughter. “Come with me,” he said. “I have other countries that desperately need what we have to offer. You do not need to to stay where the gifts are unwanted. Pack your things. We will leave today. I did not send you here for exploitation.”

The daughter packed her things and departed with her father. Though the town’s people did not value what was given to them, they were full of rage that the king’s daughter departed. How dare she. She owed them. They were entitled to receive from the king’s table.

They demanded she return. She did not. She and the king took their gifts, generosity, and blessings to other countries. The people in other countries were open to the king’s decrees. They rejoiced that the king chose their town to be recipients of his goodness.

The king’s daughter flourished in her new assignments. She made new alliances and assisted the king in building an empire focused on loving people. The daughter learned a valuable lesson; do not waste your gifts on those who do not appreciate them.

Warmly,

Erin L Lamb

When You Change the Access to You-Everything Changes

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"Not everyone deserves that much access to you". My sweet sweet ...

I am breaking from the myths about God to discuss relationships. There is a well known quote that reads, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”

Recently I was listening to an apostle/pastor from Africa and he said something that stuck with me. He said, “If you have loads of people around you, you may feel popular. It does not mean you are popular. It means you are careless. You do not place enough value on who you are and therefore, you provide everyone access to you.”

I have lived this careless life. I wanted to desperately love people and share with them all that God was to me. I desired God love through me for other people to encounter His great love.

It sounds beautiful, doesn’t it? To love the world the way God loves us. It’s certainly biblical. Yeshua stated, “Go love your neighbors and love your enemies. Go into all the world and tell them who I am. God show them who I am. Go and be an example of my light and love to the world. They will know my true followers by their love.” Ah, the eloquent and lovely words of Jesus.

These words, if they are not coupled with wisdom and discernment, have the capability to destroy your life. The same bible that tells you to love your neighbor as your self also proclaims that “a companion of fools suffers harm” and “how can two be joined together unless they agree.” Wisdom and love are not separated with God. There were people Jesus avoided until His appointed time because He knew they desired to kill Him. There were times that He separated Himself from the crowds and the people who clamored for space next to Him. He was loving, purposeful, and wise.

I have spent years of my life forsaking wisdom with my attempts to love. I simply showered love on people. I gave people access to my home in bible studies. Some destroyed my carpet, some broke my heart, some betrayed me, and some gossiped. People will tell you that what you are doing is for the glory of God so it does not matter if people destroy you or your things. If they harm you, God will heal and restore you. Here is the part people leave out. God DOES NOT desire you are destroyed in the process of loving people AND you get to decide the level of access people have to you.

There is the popular minister, who’s name I won’t say here, that I befriended on Facebook. After a week or so, he realized he did not know me. He accepted my friend request because we had mutual friends in common. You know what he did? He unfriended me. He did not have a conversation with me. He did not ask about my feelings. He simply deleted my access to his personal FB page. He had the right to do that, as I am not his real friend.

I, in my unwise attempts to love people, have given people way more access to my life, time, resources, gifts, talents, intercessory covering, friendship, etc…than they demonstrated they could steward well. In return it was not met with some horrible situations. Why might you suppose? Because when you give too much of yourself to other people without limits, you teach them not to value you. People value what is scarce, expensive, just a bit out of their reach.

People disrespect what is common, too available, too generous, and abundance. I say this with the caveat that there are people who appreciate and value what is abundant in their lives. It’s not the normal, sinful nature of mankind to value what is abundant. Look what humans have done to the environment, other humans, and the earth. They have exploited it and other humans.

What is my point? It is unwise to provide everyone access. It unwise to forsake healthy boundaries and limits. It is unwise to provide abundance for people without wisdom. It is wise to have criteria for who has access to your life, information about your life, and who you partner with in ministry or anything else.

Every person and everything you say yes to is a no to something else. Are you wasting your life on people who are not tied to your purpose or destiny? I wasted years of my life fighting battles with people that were absolutely unnecessary. They are long gone. They ditched me and moved on with their lives. They left behind messes they did not clean up because of course that’s “God’s job.” One of the greatest relational lies I have witnessed in western Christianity is, “If you are the martyr in relationships and you are harmed, God is delighted and will fix you right up.” It can take years of soul healing to recover from one bad relationship. I believe God desires we exercise wisdom with who has access to our lives.

My life is rapidly changing because the wide nets I cast to ensure everyone was loved, included, cared for…has shifted to, “Is it wise for me to invest here? Is the Spirit of God calling me to invest in this person or thing, or am I in a mindset of over giving and forsaking wisdom.”

It is not true that setting limits with people means you don’t love them. It is not true that boundaries make you evil and uncaring. What it means is you value yourself. What it means is you value the destiny God placed inside you and it is important to you. What is means is you value your life and desire to make the most of your life. It means you love yourself. God actually desires that you love yourself.

You don’t owe everyone access. Trust is earned. Friendship is a gift, not a privilege. The ability to know what is going on in your heart, life, family, and business is not for everyone. Your story is not up for grabs by everyone. You control how much of yourself, your time, and your life you give to other people. God expects that you and I to guard our hearts. We are expected to guard the access to the most precious parts of ourselves. Don’t look to others to do it for you.

Lastly examine who you have given access to your life. Are they adding any value? Or are they simply taking up time and space? If you look at the 5 people you spend most of your time with, do you desire to be like them. Are you inspired or tired? Are you growing or fighting off unnecessary drama? Are you moving closer to becoming who God created you to be or are you perpetually distracted?

I hope you stay tuned in to posts. They are leading up to the fourth book-Relationships 101. I have learned quite a bit over the years and hope something shared is helpful and blesses you.

Warm Regards,

Erin Lamb

Author & CEO of Lamb Enterprises LLC

Empowered-Free.com

Myths About God-God Does Not Care About Your Tears

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Image Source: HelpForIsrael.org

Maybe you have heard someone say to you that God does not care about your tears, He’s only concerned with your faith. I heard that growing up and it did something to my view of God. I believed all I needed to do was muster up enough faith and God would be so proud of me. If I was sad, hurt, damaged, or needed to cry-God was unconcerned. He was shouting from His throne, “Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and forge on in faith. Your feelings are meaningless to me. All I care about is you believe what I say.” God was impersonal and cold. God was unconcerned and task driven. God cared about my performance and not my heart.

Guess what? Believing a lie about God damages the way we view God and blocks intimacy with God. My response when hurting was to remove God from my emotions and handle them by myself. I also learned to bury sadness and live numb. I ran across Christians similar to myself who were shamed for crying, shamed for feeling anything but powerful, made to feel inferior because their faith did not change all their feelings. Instead of running to God, there was a wall erected. Their humanity is reduced to acts of religious duty, pretending to have it all together, throwing scripture on every problem.

You’ve kept track of all my wandering and my weeping. You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle—not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance.-Psalm 56:8 (TPT).

The Lord is close to all whose hearts are crushed by pain, and he is always ready to restore the repentant one,-Psalm 34:18 (TPT).

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.-Isaiah 25:8 (ESV)

“Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.”-God (Isaiah 38:5)-ESV.

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.-John 11:33.

Jesus wept.-John 11:35.

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.-1 Peter 5:7 (ESV).

There are plenty of scriptures where God responded to the hurting and promised that those who go forth in weeping, would come back with joy. He promised to wipe the tears from our faces. He promised to be close to the brokenhearted. God is not cold. God is not off put by emotions.

God cares about your feelings and my feelings. God also cares about faith. I believe it’s an act of faith to run to God instead of away from Him in times of pain. It requires faith to allow God into the pain versus trying to do it oneself. To turn to God when we are hurting, when we don’t understand, and in grief, is a sign of trust.

I want people to run to God and cry it out if necessary. It does not make you weak or faithless. Jesus had perfect faith and shed tears. I honestly hope one day the traditions of misrepresenting God fall by the wayside and people encounter God as is, not as humans have presented God to be.

God cares about you.

God cares about what damages your heart, mind, body, and emotions.

God is close to the brokenhearted and cares about every detail of your life.

My encouragement is run to God with what hurts you and trust that God cares. My other encouragement is do not ignore your emotions. Emotions are indicators. Process them. Tend to them. Forgo stuffing them. Throwing scriptures at them may not remove them. It may require sitting with God and/or someone training in soul health to process through the pain.

I have spent the past 8 years helping people with soul wounds process their pain. Every time God is invited to help them, God responds. There is more kindness in God than there is in humans. There is more compassion in God than in humans. God is far better at caring about people than we are. Sadly the religious and humans who claim to know God have grossly misrepresented Him.

Seek God and know that you are loved.

Warmly,

Erin

Myths About God-Suffering & Pain

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One of the myths I have seen passed around about God, mostly from evangelical Christians is if you have enough faith you will never get sick, never suffer, never endure anything painful. Faith becomes this buffer to bypass the impact of sin on this world. I have witnessed evangelical Christians use faith as a crutch or billy club or some elitist badge of pride. “Look at my life and how blessed I am, I certainly have more faith than you.”

I have seen people who believe in this “faith prevents all pain and suffering” as a tool to condemn those hurting or sick, “Well, you must not have enough faith or you must have sinned.” I have also sadly witnessed people who are deathly ill die because they refused any medical care, mental or emotional care. Their faith in God was supposed to do all the work and if God did not heal, they would rather die.

I am not telling you to not believe God, nor to forgo praying for miracles. I am a huge proponent of praying for the sick and have seen God move mountains for people where doctors had lost all hope. I spent years working at the free clinic and my team saw amazing things that transcended my logical understanding. I have seen God raise the dead, open deaf ears, cause the lame to walk, open closed wombs, heal cancer, shrink and dissolve tumors, completely change the life of someone. I believe in healing. I believe God loves wholeness, health, and for us to live abundant lives.

The point I want to address today is this myth that walking with God prevents us from all pain, suffering, hurt, loss, grief, or even pain in the body. People who believe that it does, I question if they have read the full counsel of scripture. Jesus plainly stated that in the world there would be trouble, yet take heart because He has overcome the world. Jesus was beaten and his flesh ripped from His body (that was an injury). They pierced Him, beat Him, whipped Him, mocked Him, and hurt Him physically. Jesus had and has perfect faith. If the one who is perfect in faith was not shielded from all suffering and pain, why do we think we would be? Not only Jesus, read about all the apostles and early Christians who were martyred for their faith in Christ. We have Christians all over Asia and the Middle East today who are dying because they refuse to deny Jesus as Lord. I would say they have exceptional faith to stand in the midst of severe persecution and not waiver in their love and devotion to Christ.

In my Western culture, there are people who think persecution is someone refusing to agree with them politically or losing an election or not getting their way to press Christian beliefs onto someone else. They are not being beaten, jailed, or executed for faith in Jesus. How smug it is to tell someone they have less faith when yours has not been tested to the same level of intensity.

Let’s examine what scripture says…

Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;  and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].-James 5:14-16.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.-1 Peter 5:10.

In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.-2 Timothy 3:12.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.-Isaiah 43:2.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.-Isaiah 53:3.

The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all;-Psalm 34:19.

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.-Romans 8:18.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.-1 Peter 4:12-13.

If you are sick or suffering, I would like you to be released from any guilt or shame that it’s simply because you don’t have enough faith. I want you to be released from any guilt or shame if you choose to seek medical care, therapy, counseling, soul healing, or use medicine. Yes, I know that is blasphemy for the “faith healing” community. I will say I have seen too many Christians die early or commit suicide because they could not muster up the “faith” to be well.

I attended a church for awhile and the pastor was diagnosed with Leukemia. He chose to use medicine and believe God for healing. He’s alive today. He was judged by the “faith healing” community for using any treatment other that quoting scriptures and believing God. I will say to those people, when you are up all night in excruciating pain, unable to eat or dress yourself, and you have prayed til you are blue in the face-then you can judge someone. Yet, if you have never had to go through what that person is going through, it may be best to remain silent about their choices of care and pray.

I have lived a pretty healthy life. I thank God for this. I do not believe its because I believe God so well. I think there are plenty of things that come into play with health. The injuries I have suffered in life have been the results of trauma. Someone outside of me did something to injury my body. God did not prevent those circumstances, God did and does walk me through them. I understand agony and getting to the place where you have no words to pray. There are only groans that come to the surface. I cannot imagine what people go through who have chronic pain, 24/7 and they have all these Christians telling them that if they just had more faith they’d be whole.

I am not stating God puts sickness, pain, nor suffering on people either. That is the other side of the pendulum. There are people who think God needs to beat you senseless to perfect godliness in your life or sickness/suffering is some badge of honor. The more they suffer, the more God is refining them. This too is not accurate. Everything we face is not from God. There are things we encounter because we are living in a sinful world with selfish people. There are things we encounter where it’s part of living in a fallen world; pesticides in food that make people sick, pollution, environmental crisis that impacts weather and causes tragedy, humans not caring properly for the planet, humans not caring for themselves, we have spiritual battles with good vs. evil, and we have human beings that make choices that are destructive which set up consequences that are not good.

God promises us comfort in our suffering and hard times. God promises to be with us. God promises to provide assistance to us. God does not promise we will bypass all pain and suffering while on this planet. This is not the perfected state, that is yet to come. We will all die some day. I know it is a harsh reality, yet it’s truth. Only the soul and spirit are eternal. These bodies came from the earth and will return there. Yes, we pray for divine health and strength. Yes, we pray for help with suffering and pain. Yes, we want the Kingdom of God to come in it’s fullness. Yes, we cling to the promises of God. We must all trust in the one who is LOVE.

God bless you!

Erin

Myths About God Intro

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It’s late and I should probably be tucked away under blankets sleeping. Instead I’m writing to you. I decided to start a new series entitled, “Myths about God.”

A myth is something that may be wildly believed, yet may be unproven to be true.

Myth: “A popular belief or story that has become associated with a person, institution, or occurrence, especially one considered to illustrate a cultural ideal.“

These myths can be passed down from generation to generation without verification of whether the stated myth has any legitimacy. In my walk with Yeshua (Jesus), I have encountered countless people who have repeated something they learned in their church or community about God that I could not validate against the written texts about God, the character of God, or experiences with God. They were passed along as the truth, and people acted upon what they heard from others versus engaging in their own relationship with God.

One of the myths that is untrue I have heard and seen repeated is God requires nothing from us. People mistake “God is love,” for “God approves of everything and everyone is in relationship with God with no stipulations on that relationship.” They mistake unfailing love with covenant relationship.

Jesus was quite clear on what the requirements for family/covenant relationship with God entailed. It was not something to be taken lightly. It cost Him life. A life for a life. This belief that God requires nothing from us, that everyone has the same access to God with no regard for what He stated were His requirements, and that love means unconditional acceptance is dangerous. One, there would have been no reason for Jesus to go to the cross if God had zero standards. Second, it teaches people that God does not care how they live, love, believe, treat others or treat Him. Third, it’s simply false.

God does not just ask for our repentance and faith in His Son, He asks for our ENTIRE lives. God is asking for relationship stronger and more committed than an earthly marriage. Imagine getting married and your spouse tells you, “Don’t expect me to be faithful, spend time with you, love you, care about you, be supportive, talk to you, invest in you. You can do all those things for me, yet don’t expect anything from me.” Would you say you were truly in a loving marriage? Probably not. However, I meet people who treat God as though He should have zero desires for their devotion, faithfulness, and faith.

Since there are people who believe this myth about God, they are content living how they desire to live independent of God. I’ve also met countless Christians who think I am evil for requiring anything from them to say we are in a relationship. How dare I expect them to initiate sometimes, to care about me, to show up, and invest anything. If I loved them, I would be everything they needed me to be without expecting anything in return. This mindset is called entitlement. It’s rooted in pride, selfishness, and deception.

In order to have a thriving relationship, there needs to be two engaged participants. I am not saying that if we have genuine faith in God and do not speak to Him for season or do not give that God abandons us. I am saying it is a flawed mindset to believe that God requires nothing in order to be in relationship with Him. It is not theologically sound. He requires repentance and faith. Jesus told His followers to die to selfishness, pick up their cross, and follow Him. Paul reminded churches that their bodies were not their own but were purchased by God through the sacrifice of His Son.

Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a price [purchased with a preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.-1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (Amplified Classic Version).

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you?”-Jesus (Luke 6:46, Amplified Classic Version).

I am not promoting legalism. I am putting forward it is unwise to tell people that God expects nothing from them for relationship and in a relationship. I would say that God’s love is unwavering, not use the term unconditional. Why? In our society, when people hear unconditional, there are people who think that means that no matter how horribly they behave, there are no consequences. Israel thought this about God and had a rude awakening. God is not a joke. God is to be reverenced. God’s kindness, mercy, and grace is not to be mocked and treated as “He owes this to me.” God owes us nothing.

I am thankful, though at times grossly irritated by, the people in my life who have treated me poorly. They taught me what not to do to God. When I was an intercessor for ministries, people would send me long lists of things to pray for and sometimes treat me like a slot machine. People have contacted me all hours of the day and night with their problems, then excluded me from the joys of their life. I was their help line. There were the seasons of thankless service where people acted as though I owed them my time or they only showed up when they need assistance. One lady even told me at a church that she loved me so much because no matter how poorly she treated me, I kept loving her and showing up for her. God does not enjoy being mistreated, nor do I.

God has feelings. I do too. I realized I never want to treat God this way. Therefore, there are times where I just tell God I don’t want anything except to love Him. There are times I simply listen to God’s heart. I tell God thank you. I help God accomplish His mission on earth. I check my entitlement at the door because God owes me nothing. I additionally take seriously the commitment to God and invest in our relationship. God is not my Sabbath and holiday friend. God is not my part time friend. God is not my crisis hotline and God never hears from me otherwise. God is my every day, full time, love of my life. I cherish God. I love God with my life.

My hope and prayer in this series is that you and I encounter the genuine Jesus of Nazareth and grow to love Him and others more.

In closing, God is asking for our whole heart!

Sincerely,

Erin

Performative Christianity

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I’ve spent time this past week listening to people who used to go to church and an atheist talk about their experiences with Christians and the organized church. I listened and I cannot state I disagree with their assessments. One talked about the extreme hypocrisy of Christians who got drunk and partied with him, who behaved no better than he did who put on an air of superiority and self righteousness. Another talked about the church’s obsession with former President Trump and forcing their religious beliefs on the masses with political control. She stated her mom left the church after 13 years because all they talked about was money and Trump. It wasn’t about Jesus, the poor, the Gospel, or loving one’s neighbor. I sat in a room with people who decided to divorce themselves from organized religion and they vowed not to go to anyone’s church. I told them I was done with religion too. I just want God.

There are people who say that you cannot know God outside of organized religion or membership at someone’s church. I disagree. Jesus met people outside the synagogue. He invited people into faith and relationship outside the Temple. Jesus never performed an infant baptism into a church. He did not push religion upon people as the Pharisees did. He invited people into relationship with the Father. He broke down the barriers the religious set up between the people and their Creator. He built a bridge, not a wall.

Am I anti worship gatherings? No. A healthy community of people seeking to know God, love God, love their neighbors and enemies is a blessing. A community of people centered on relationship with God is a gift. Sadly many people I have encountered have not been in Christ centered communities. They have been planted in religious entertainment centers that focus on raising money, entertaining people, becoming the biggest/ most influential church, celebrity and performative Christianity, controlling people, politics, and/or putting on masks to appear good while not having genuine love to offer.

Am I anti followers of Jesus voting or involvement in the political arena? No. It is not the role of the church to use the pulpit as a campaigning tool. The purpose of the worship gathering is to glorify God, point people to God, assist people in knowing God, and caring for one another. It is not campaign headquarters. I tell people, vote how you’d like, however do not put the Lord’s name on your party or candidate. There are Christians who did this with Trump and it cost the church millions of people. The small strand of respect people had for the church was disintegrated. I meet people who’ve vowed to never trust the church again.

The atheist who spoke on Christians this week had thought provoking comments. She said, “Something is wrong with you if you need a book to tell you to be a decent human being who is good to people. I meet Christians who state they are good because they are doing what will please Jesus. They are not good on their own. They do it to bypass judgement from Jesus and hell. So, they are not genuinely interested in loving you or being kind. They are, out of obligation, doing what will make them look good to others and make Jesus happy. I have met some of the cruelest people who claim to be Christians and maybe they need the bible because I cannot imagine how evil they would be if they weren’t afraid of hell. I don’t need the threat of hell to keep me from doing evil to people.”

What she explained was performative Christianity. It is performing or pretending to be something that pleases God without it flowing from the overflow of the heart. It’s not sustainable. I cannot tell you how many fake nice Christians I have met in my lifetime who knew all the right things to say, yet the fruit of their behavior over time was manure. I have also encountered in the evangelical space the ones who want so badly to be the one to see the most miracles or lead the most people to Jesus. Jesus was moved with compassion to heal the sick and did what He saw the Father doing. He was not performing or pretending. He was not keeping tally so He could pat Himself on the back. He lived out of the overflow of intimacy with the Father. He was a walking blessing, not a performer.

Performative Christianity is the bedrock of the Pharisee. Jesus said this about them, “Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. 4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. 6 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”-Matthew 23:1-7. He also stated, ““Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, 39 and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”-Mark 12: 38-40.

If we removed heaven and hell from the equation, would we be good to people? Would we serve God and love God? Would we help our communities and even our enemies? When all the fear of punishment is removed, who are we? Do we love Jesus and our interactions flow out of the fruit of God’s spirit? Or are our actions just like those of the Pharisees? Fake and phony, a religious act done to try to win the favor of God and approval of people? Honestly, only God knows the heart of every person, yet it was worth pondering. The religious mindset produces performance and self righteousness. Genuine relationship with Jesus of Nazareth produces the fruit of God’s Spirit. Unfortunately people are encountering more modern day Pharisees than people overflowing with God’s Spirit.

My encouragement is seek God for yourself. Center worship gatherings on Christ and what God wants to do, not the programs of man. Abide in Jesus of Nazareth who is not a politician. Focus life on knowing God and making Him known. Understand the way Christians behave does reflect back on God’s reputation. I have had some wonderful experiences with people who claim to know Jesus and an overwhelming amount of heart breaking ones that left me with trauma, scars, and wondering how God allowed these people to claim to know Him.

I will keep sitting with those who have PTSD over their experiences with professing Christians. I will keep seeking God for my own healing from the damages done by those who claim Him. I will keep praying for the entire world to have a genuine revelation of who Jesus is!

Dios te bendiga (God bless you)

With warm affection…

Erin Lamb

It’s Been Awhile…

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It’s more challenging to blog without WordPress on my phone, yet making time today to write from my laptop. Life has shifted dramatically since I last penned a blog. My father has moved locally due to his health concerns. I was promoted to a leadership position in corporate and took on a staff of 8, now I have 5. My leadership responsibilities have expanded. Similar to previous seasons, I have not been seeking leadership opportunities. They’ve found me. Someone told me, “God must trust you.” I confess there are moments where I desire to whisper back to God, “You can trust me less.”

I spent last summer remodeling my house and upgrading things that were long overdue. Redecorating and remodeling brought more joy than I expected. Beyond the house things, I ventured to Hawaii last autumn and fell in love with the islands. What’s not to love? It lead me to invest in time share properties there so I can visit yearly if I’d like to do so. I took the leap to travel to Costa Rica this spring and fell head over heels for the people, the country, and the culture. Pura Vida is certainly a motto I brought home with me. It’s the pure life, the good life, and make the most of life.

I believe it’s imperative to make the most out of life. I share what I have been doing not to boast of the good. It’s hopefully to inspire you not to wait to live! I have spent a good portion of my life serving the church, leading bible studies, helping the poor, going on mission trips, giving the coat of my back to people in need. I gave until it hurt me. I mentored, loved, prayed, interceded, and attempted to share what God gave me. 2020 was a tremendous wake up call for me that I was investing more in loving people that I was in loving myself.

The people I so freely opened my life and heart to, would easily vacate my life over politics, face masks, or the social justice imbalances highlighted in society. I learned the people I had extended love, mercy, forgiveness, friendship, encouragement, and the best of me to, were not interested in loving me the way Jesus told them to…I was expected to love. They could do as they pleased.

God instructed me and you to love our neighbor’s AS we love ourselves, not MORE than we love ourselves. I was failing at loving myself with the same intensity and intentional focus as I was loving people in the church. I was showing up to serve when exhausted, hurting, in need, in pain, and putting others first. Isn’t that what we are supposed to do as “Good Christians”? I learned religion taught me things that God never intended to be. God expects we will take care of ourselves, set boundaries, have balance and love ourselves.

The journey since 2020 lead me to write…and though I have not been blogging, I have been journaling and writing books. The next book, which is currently finishing up and heading to editors, is focused on foundational wisdom for relationships. I include things I wish I knew earlier and insight from the past 8 years of doing soul healing sessions with people. There is nothing I can think of outside of disease that has derailed more lives and hearts than relationships. The people who’ve done the most damage in my life have been bible thumping Christians.

Sadly, a chunk of the counsel we are given in religious circles leads to toxic relationships and abuse. I know the pressure to stay connected to people who made my life hell or they added zero value. I was encouraged to give everyone access and friendship, that forgives means reconciliation, and I was not to consider what I needed in connections. All of that guidance is incorrect.

“A companion of fools suffers harm,”-Proverbs 13:20.

“Don’t befriend angry people or associate with hot-tempered people,”- Proverbs 22:24.

“He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”-add’l view of Proverbs 13:20.

God actually cares who we connect ourselves with and intended for relationships to be mutually beneficial, not one sided. Relationships were designed by God so we could experience the love of God through another person. God desires we have relationships that reveal His heart for us, encourage, strengthen, affirm, correct, refine, and help us step into destiny and calling. I looked around my life and I was doing copious amounts of giving and not much was flowing back. I am looking at the grand sum of connections, I do have some that are balanced. The unbalanced ones were mostly tied to church people. Before you insert, “You should give expecting nothing in return,” I want to challenge you with these thoughts.

  1. Charity is intended to be done with little to no expectation of reciprocation of relationship/connection.
  2. Charity is NOT the same as having a close friendship, partnership, or marriage.
  3. If every connection you have is you giving and no one ever reciprocates, you are not in a relationship. You are doing ministry/charity.
  4. Jesus offers us salvation and asks for our entire lives. It’s not a one sided relationship (though people paint it as such). He expects something in return. Jesus also ministered to the disciples AND asked them to stay up and pray for Him.

This next book, Relationships 101, I pray helps people to see where they may be missing out on God’s best in connections. I hope it helps people to forego being heartbroken. I believe there are things that need to be adjusted and refined in Christian teaching on relationships. I believe this because of the number of couples I see in soul healing sessions who are living in hell and told just to keep praying and God will magically fix everything. The truth is God gave us a brain and heart on purpose. We have things we need to do to have healthy relationships. One of them is to ask for wisdom. Another is to have proper boundaries. The last nugget I will leave you with is to ponder why you are spending time with the people around you and are you becoming more like Christ as a result?

My encouragement is make sure you are receiving God’s love for yourself and seeking to love yourself as God does. We cannot give away that which we do not possess. Love yourself! If you struggle with this concept, ask God for assistance. The relationship we have with ourselves sets the tone for all our connections. If we do not appropriately love ourselves, we will accept less that what God would offer us in relationships with others.

I hope you pick up the book when it’s released later this year and share with others! God longs for us to have life giving, not life draining connections.

Love,

Erin Lamb

Founder & CEO of Lamb Enterprises LLC and Operation God is Love (OGL

Are You Following Jesus or Religion?

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I have been on this kick of decolonizing and deconstructing my faith and what people in my country call “Christianity.” At the root is not a heart of judgement. It is a heart plagued with confusion. What we say we believe has not matched what we are demonstrating to the world. If I notice it, who else notices? I am running into more and more people completely over American Christianity and some have abandoned God altogether.

I will tell you 2020 opened the eyes of many people, myself included on how crazy Christianity is in America. I have never seen people go so insane over politics, vaccines, masks, conspiracy theories, etc…People dumped long term friends over things that will not matter in 5 years. People disgraced and dishonored the name of God for politics. I saw racism spring forth out of white church friends. There were Christians who made a mockery of God’s name.

I used to think using God’s name in vain was primarily about using swear words. It’s not. It’s also about assigning God’s name to things, ideas, and ideologies that have nothing to do with God or for selfish gain. The “God told me crowd ” are some of the greatest offenders when it comes to using God’s name in vain. What they say does not match the character, heart, or person of God.

It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for me since 2020. I have honestly been jaded by church (religious activities). I don’t want to go. I worship at home and fellowship with my biological family. The church I was attending was more focused on getting Trump re-elected than preaching the Gospel. There was more focus on trying to get people into church buildings than addressing the hurting and dying on the street. I recall going out to feed the homeless in lock down and the line to my car was unreal. There are people in my city who eat of the trash and sleep on the cold streets, yet the highest concern was getting back into a building or forcing God to make someone President.

I think I am strange because my main concerns when it comes to my faith are honoring God, helping the poor, sharing the Gospel. We are filling buildings with people who may still be on their way to hell. I am not sure we are teaching people how to have their own personal relationship with Jesus.

When I have tried to mentor or disciple people for Jesus there has normally been some form of conflict that arose with some people who wanted me to simply tell them they were amazing instead of teach what Jesus taught. They bucked any form of correction or anything that held them to a higher standard. Quite a few either left and abandoned the group or picked a fight with me or said God was calling them elsewhere. We have created in America a “Me-Centered gospel,” that promotes calling out the gold in people rather than teaching them they are accountable for their choices. It keeps people immature and carnal. The early apostles never changed the words of Jesus to make people feel good about themselves. Unfortunately we have a pendulum that has swung from intense judgement to anything goes (un-sanctified mercy).

Aside from the priorities, I have heard the most ridiculous conspiracy theories that make God seem like an incompetent loser. We tell people God is all powerful, all knowing, undefeated, cannot be sabotaged, and then pass around these theories on how the social elite can overthrow God’s plans. It is lunacy to me. Either God is who He says He is or we need to just all go home and sit down and be quiet. The same God who saved the life of Moses and Jesus from being murdered before their time, who delivered His people out of Egypt, parted the Red Sea, raised up King Saul and then took him down is now powerless against secret societies and those pesky Democrats. It all came off as crazy and as manifested unbelief to me.

It’s puzzled me because I have thought, “Maybe I am following a different Jesus.” I truly have sat with the Gospels and studied the life of Jesus. I have read the bible cover to cover many times and even studied some texts in their original language. What I have struggled with most are the priorities of the modern Western Church vs the priorities of Jesus. The behavior part, well we are all still in process. God is still working on me and I do my best to yield to God. We can only expect perfection from God. The world (people who do not know God) should see something different in a person united with Jesus. Those are His words, not mine.

The Jesus I know is highly concerned about the poor, outcasts, the rejected by society, widows, orphans, human beings being sold as slaves, injustice, racism, sexism, all the isms that seek to subjugate or diminish His father’s creation, the broken hearted, the oppressed, those who are not reconciled to the Father (evangelism is a priority), revealing the Father’s heart, delivering the oppressed, truth telling, service to the world, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, bringing God’s hope to the hopeless.

I do not know self centered Jesus who is mostly concerned with Himself, His rights, pushing Himself on others, bullying, excessive rudeness, doing all He can to make Christians rich and comfortable while asking nothing from them.

I do not know political Jesus who rants and raves that you must support whatever political party He chooses or be doomed for hell.

I do not know Jesus of the patriarchy, because Jesus shocked the world by loving women, empowering women to speak for Him, listening to women, protecting women, cherishing women, honoring women, and healing women. Jesus came to serve, not be served.

I do not know white Jesus who mainly cares about white people and their desires. He cares nothing for the other 90% of the world’s population nor the billions of people of color who existed before there were any white people. I know brown Jesus from Nazareth who died for the entire world.

I do not know capitalist or American Jesus who values money and profits more than people. Money is not the highest goal of Jesus, it’s relationship with people. Jesus is not a consumer. Jesus does not treat people like commodities. He loved people enough to die for them.

I do not know the Jesus who quotes scripture at people without helping them to understand it or live it out. Jesus enters into the suffering and lives of flawed people to assist them, not harm them.

I do not know nationalist Jesus who only cares about certain nations. God so loved the world! The entire world.

I do not know the Jesus who hates Africans or black people, nor uses them as the scapegoat. God’s first humans were African. Their melanin rich skin was not called a curse. It was called a blessing.

I will keep inviting my heavenly Father to teach me who He is, and I will keep pursuing Jesus of Nazareth-Yahusha. I don’t know who others are following if it does not match the scriptures of who Jesus is. Cultural Jesus can save no one. He’s not real. He is the god made in human’s image, not the Son of God.

I know this post is long, yet I hope it helps someone. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus did not come to establish a religion. He did not come to form a political party. Jesus came to reconcile the entire world to the Father. He came for RELATIONSHIP and out of that relationship we are transformed. Transformed people transform cities. Jesus changed the world starting with 12 disciples. There are supposedly 2.2 billion Christians on this planet. What are we transforming? Loads of people are running away from Christians and it’s because the agenda of Christians does not match the agenda of Jesus. Our agenda needs to align with Jesus, not the current Christian culture.

I leave you with this note I sensed from Father God on New Years. I am not saying, “Thus sayeth the Lord.” I am sharing something you are invited to pray over and test/weigh against the full counsel of God, the character of God, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. God is not mocked. Claiming the name of Jesus is not a joke. He asks for our entire lives. Our lives are no longer our own, they were purchased with a high price.

What I sensed from the Father, certainly test and weigh it.

“You will see a continued dividing line between those united to my heart and those united to their religion. Their festivals and conferences bring me no joy. They have set their faces to be like Israel was; honoring me with their lips while denying me with their actions. I will purify my true church, my people. You will see more clearly who is following my son and who is following their own agenda.

I am not mocked. I am calling those bearing the name of my son higher. I’m calling them into agreement with my son. Some will listen and grow; some will ignore my correction. Those who ignore my correction will notice a tension and struggle upon their lives. My grace abounds upon those yielded to my son. Your nation has polluted the other nations with her greed, sexual immorality, gluttony, perversion, and pride. She must be purified.

I have sown pockets of my remnant in your nation to pray, to preach, to model the precepts of my son. Those who do not have true unity with my son will see tension in the years to come. The idols of America will not save her. Her military will not save her. Her police state will not help her. Her economy will not save her. She will see that I alone am God.

Mankind has repeatedly played the role of desiring idols over my presence. I continually invite my people into relationship with me through my son and to live out of my presence. This is where they will find life, hope, peace, joy, goodness, identity, love and their purpose. Invite people into my presence.

I am tired of man’s religion and systems of oppression. I have watched pastor’s rob the flock while denying them any access to their presence, counsel, and love. I have watched my people in churches suffer in silence and it rips away at my heart. I will purify those who claim my name.

I have given many opportunities to the church to repent and they do not. They believe they are the “Untouchables” due to my promises of mercy and grace. They forget that I am just. I am the God of Perfect Justice.

Your world will continue to try to contain plagues environmental challenges and discord. They have collectively opened the doors to evil and partnered with the evil one. He comes to steal, kill, and destroy. The world, the earth, the environment responds to spiritual allegiances. Your world has given their allegiance to sin and idols. Behind those idols is bondage, death, destruction. I’m not punishing the world. The world is suffering because of mankind‘s allegiances. They are partnered with death.

Even amongst the people who call themselves the church there are idols. They play the harlot worse than Israel. They prop up their agenda, politicians, festivals, conferences, and services and then stamp my name on their agenda while neglecting what I actually told them to do!

I love my son instructed my people to love me with all of their being to honor me with their entire lives; to seek first my kingdom, to care for the poor, to fight for for holy justice; to make disciples, to add value, to preach the genuine good news of my son.

Your world must pursue my son to live; seek him and live. Come out of agreement with what does not align with the kingdom of heaven; come into alignment with what my son is doing. This requires those who are called by my name to seek my voice, know my voice, and follow. Lay aside personal and cultural agendas to pursue heavens agenda. We are calling your world to repentance and relationship.”

I am blessing you. May you and I pick up our cross and follow Jesus.

Love in Him,

Erin Lamb

Are We Different or Just Like the World?

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Do we look, talk, or behave any differently than those who do not claim to know Jesus? I ask myself this question, so not picking on anyone else. I will say since 2016 I have encountered countless people who exited Christianity over the church’s obsession with a political party and candidate, over the blatant ignoring or horrible responses to racial unrest (our job is supposed to be justice and reconciliation, not throwing black on black crime stats at people (btw white on white crime is higher!)) or ignoring the pain of hurting people, over the nastiness, rebellion, and vileness that has come out of some Christians over face masks or not getting their way.

The primary allegiance is to be God for a believer, not the earthly country where we were born. Our greatest loyalty is to God, not a flag or nation. Our mandates first come from heaven, not the government. We are Ambassadors of Heaven on earth if we are truly united with God. We showcase who He is, His vision, His character and attributes. We are not our own! We live under the jurisdiction of a Higher Power, the highest power. We reverence God first!!! We worship God, not politicians, not political party, not ourselves, not ideologies, not the church, not ministers, not money, not pleasure, not youth, not marriage, not sex, not keeping up the Joneses, not miracles/signs/wonders, not material possessions. We worship GOD; the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

We are in this world, yet not of this world. We are children of the light, not traffickers of the darkness. We are royalty. We are are seated in heavenly places with Jesus, if we are truly united with Him. We are not led by our flesh or worldly passions. We are led by the Spirit of God who continually bears good fruit.

Those who do not have the Spirit of God in them are NOT the children of God, not heirs, and will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no condemnation (final judgement of God’s wrath) for those who are in Christ Jesus who LIVE according to the Spirit and NOT after the flesh. If you and live according to the flesh (the selfish, self centered, ego, me first, lustful pursuits) we are unwise to think God is going to slap a gold star on us and say, “Good job.” God corrects those He calls a son or daughter.

I ask God to deal with me more than anyone else. God change me from the inside out and allow that transformation to manifest in such a way that it glorifies your Son. He paid the highest price to pull me out of death and into the light. I am no longer a slave, I am God’s friend. I ask God to purge me of limiting beliefs, any false beliefs from growing up in church (some people meant well, yet they taught things the wrong way), and I ask God to help me crucify my flesh so it comes up into alignment with heaven. What does this mean. I ask God to help me to not live out of my ego, out of selfishness, out of the me-centric worldview. You know, the “God bless me and no one else,” mantra.

So my prayer for us today is we cast aside living like the world and live abiding (remaining intimately connected) to Jesus. May we know Jesus for ourselves, know God’s love, and then reveal who He is to the world. God cares far more where people spend eternity than for our comfort. Earth is our temporary assignment, heaven is our permanent home. We live from and for eternity!

God bless you! Seek first the precepts, presence, and knowledge of God.

Warmly,

Erin

Leaving American Christianity to Find Jesus

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Happy New Year! I hope this year is an incredible year for you. God is good. God is incredibly good. One of my favorite verses has been out of the Psalms, it is Psalm 84: 11 and it is as follows:

 For the Lord God is brighter than the brilliance of a sunrise!
    Wrapping himself around me like a shield,
    he is so generous with his gifts of grace and glory.
    Those who walk along his paths with integrity
    will never lack one thing they need, for he provides it all!

God withholds nothing good from those who walk uprightly. When I look over my life, even in my challenges I have seen the goodness of God. He is a sun and a shield. God is a strong tower. God is truth. God is faithful. God is kind. God is unlike anyone else I have ever met on this planet. God is my family.

The Bible states that those who believe in God are to be family to each other, safe, kind, loving, generous, helpful, servants, trustworthy, and forgiving. I have spent my life in churches and I would not call most Christians safe or loving. I would say my greatest betrayals in life came from people who still show up Sunday after Sunday saying they love God. I am not a perfect person. I have flaws, we all do. Yet I cannot think of one person I have betrayed. I cannot think of one person I knowingly worked against them or tried to harm them. My experiences with the collective called “Christians” or “Christianity” has not been this way. I will say there are a handful of professing Christians who have been amazing (outside biological family), yet they are few and I cherish them.

What is this good thing that Christians are offering to the world? How are we living that is so different than the world? Honestly, I have connections with people in the marketplace who do not even know Jesus who have treated me better than professing Christians.

I started examining what we teach people Christianity is in my country. This version of Christianity was okay with murdering Indigenous people, okay with raping/enslaving Africans, okay with subjugation of women, okay with violating the very nature of Christ. The version of Christianity I have seen the past 4-6 years is more concerned with who you vote for than whether you know Jesus. More concerned with building mega churches than helping the poor. Chanting for the rights of the unborn while ignoring loving the person in front of them. More concerned with whatever the current conspiracy theory is or being anti-vax or anti-facemask than loving thy neighbor. I don’t care where you stand on the face masks or vaccines, it’s the level of hatred, vile, and cruelty I have seen emerge from people when they encounter someone who does not agree with them.

I look at Christianity and go, “What is this? This is not the Jesus I read about in the Bible, nor the one I know from years of relationship.” Along with that, people add God’s name onto whatever unkind agenda they have. God is telling them to be unloving, unkind, cruel, brutal, or savage.

I thought that maybe we are dealing with something new, yet we are not. What we are seeing today is a manifestation of the version of Christianity that was sown on these shores in the 1400s, the “Me-Centered Gospel.” It’s the “God bless me and no one else.” It’s the “I will do whatever I need to do to get my way.” It is the “I will push you in the dirt if you don’t agree with me.”

I am not this type of Christian and ceased telling people I am a Christian at all. I tell people I am a follower of Jesus. I am not interested in America’s version of Christianity. I am not interested in worshiping a flag, political candidate, or political party. I am not interested in love of country and getting my way over love of the Kingdom of God.

The American church is not my family. Many times the collective is focused on things God is not even doing. However, they add His name to the agenda so that must be it right? Wrong, like ancient Israel my Nation has often missed the voice of God and traveled her own way after idols. I say as Jesus said, “My family are the ones who do the will of my Father.”

If you are not American, please do not follow our example. Look to Jesus. Follow Jesus. If you are American, please do not follow the example of other Christians. Follow Jesus. To those who say to me that I am cynical and God is pleased with the American church, I beg to differ. I sensed from the Lord in 2018 that a shaking was coming to the church and America. Many platform Christians said blessing was coming. Nope. 2020 shut the doors of many churches. While many blamed the devil or Democrats (which I have no party affiliation, so please do not send me a nasty message. I will throw it in the garbage), I rarely heard anyone saying maybe God was reprimanding the church. You see, I have been doing street ministry for almost a decade and one of the number reasons people want nothing to do with Jesus is because of Christians. God is NOT represented as He is or even well. It’s difficult to represent someone you don’t know! America’s version of Christianity is rooted in religion. Religion is not the same as relationship. We will NOT bear the fruit of Jesus through religion. Jesus stated “I am the Vine, you are the branches. If you abide in me, you WILL bear good fruit.” The reason the fruit is bad in my Nation is because you and I cannot bear fruit from religion or a political spirit or nationalism or even pride.

In 2020 when I did not agree with all the prophetic words about who would be President I had Christians literally curse me out, tell me I was not saved, threaten me, harass me, and send me nasty messages. I have been talking about racism, sexism, and other things that go on in Christiandom that are not aligned with Jesus and have made more enemies and lost some connections. I truly don’t care about any loss for me. I am used to Christians being offended with me and then showing their butts. I know it’s a graphic phrase, yet church people have done things to me I would not do to my worst enemy. Some of them attach God’s name to their meanness and if their God is the one I am worshiping I question why. Jesus has never cursed me out then said the the Father told Him to do it.

I am sad for the world that has poor examples of what God is like. There is a MASS exodus from churches and it’s not because people hate God. They see the devil in the church and prefer the devil who knows he’s the devil. Or they are seeking house churches or online church.

The other day I cried for God. I shed tears for Him. I keep asking Him to make me a better person, not a bitter person. I do understand why people are deconstructing their faith, leaving organized church, and moving away from American Christianity. I hope I never walk away from Jesus. I do know the past few years have made me question greatly what American’s call Christianity. American Christianity is not for me. It does not look like Jesus to me. Jesus is my hope. The Kingdom of Heaven is my home. Following Jesus is what I desire to do. I am not into the other things people say is “Christian.”

I leave you with this dream I had a year or so ago. I was in this beautiful white church filled with people. I heard a commotion outside. People were screaming. I looked up and a man was standing next to me. He said, “You must get out now.” I told him I needed to help others and he said, “You must go now.” I got up and when I went outside there was a gigantic lion attacking people. They were being shredded to death. I still wanted to stop and help people. The man yelled loudly, “Get in the car and get out now. Don’t look back.” I drove off and did not look back. I sensed in 2020 there would be a major dividing line in churches, like two distinct camps emerging. I saw that transpire over politics. I sensed again in 2022 (last week) there would be an even deeper divide. There will be those who seek to follow Jesus and those who seek to keep going with religion.

I am not asking you to take my words and run with them. Talk to God for yourself. Pray. Fast and pray. Ask God what His heart is for what America calls “Christianity.” Is He pleased with it? Or have Christians just attached God’s name on the agenda and it’s not even worshiping the real God.

I have never seen people behave as poorly as what I have seen the past 4-6 years. I pray for my nation, yet as stated my heart is to simply follow Jesus. Even if I lose mother, father, sister, brother, church people, etc…they will never be more important than Him and completing the mission for Him. The church is not a building, it’s supposed to be a people. God did not send Jesus to build a religion or political party, He sent Him to build a family. My prayer is God continues to purge me and that I finish this race well. I hope that God changes the American Church so she resembles Jesus.

Leaving American Christianity in search of the real Jesus…

Love in Him,

Erin Lamb