John and I have worked with many many people in crisis and had a fair amount of trauma in our own lives: and this question has been asked both by our clients and by ourselves….. if God exists and if He cares how can I receive the help I desperately need.
We are both well aware that many of the difficult situations we find ourselves in are complicated and multi-faceted and in no way do we want to appear to be giving trite simplistic answers to painful and traumatic circumstances; however we do firmly believe that not only can God help us but has gone to huge effort to make that help accessible to those who need it. (If you listen to the video on Redemption all of that is made clear).
Clarifying our understanding is quite an important part of accessing this help. There are a lot of weird ideas concerning the basics of who God is from a Christian perspective, and a lot of misconceptions about His nature and His family. Sadly, much of how God is portrayed in the media is a caricature or parody of the real truth, made worse by the fact that narrow minded fundamentalism is hugely unattractive and assumed to be the real thing by so many people. Persecutory, judgemental religion is the arch enemy of true Christianity and the exasperation of our lives!!!!!
However; the true God is loving, wise, kind, deeply compassionate and powerful in an upbuilding way that is beneficial and transforming for us all. Yes. He is majestic and awesome as well but that only adds to the excitement of exploring the Realm in which Jesus is King.
We hope we have covered a lot of those misconceptions in the first two sections of Beauty For Ashes. As we have no way of knowing whether people will watch all the videos or just try a few; we will, in all likelihood, repeat some of the key aspects as we go along; to ensure that any help sought is truly being explained and readily accessible.
The Principles and Nature of the Help we are Exploring
The following short videos attempt to explain what the Christian tenets truly ARE. If you are wanting help then each one is worth a listen because they all unpack the nature or the functioning ways of the God we are pointing you to; and give helpful steps towards the journey of love, help, healing and freedom which is a normal part of getting to know the heart of God.
We talk about prayer which is the Christian word for accessing (or logging on!!) to the spiritual realm where God lives. Praying can impact our lives in so many different ways.
There is a video about why Jesus is key to accessing this life, how freedom of choice is sacred to all loving partnerships and how ultimately faith is all about our relationship with God, worked out in the context of family.
This works best when interactive toxins are removed from the way we treat each other and integrity forgiveness and love become our core value systems.
And lets not forget the manual (The Bible) which explains all the above in much more detail !!!!!
Lou talks about what prayer is; and then John and Lou talk about ways in which prayer impacted their situations.
John and Lou talk about what it was like when they first met God; Lou shares about God being a loving Father.
Lou talks about the vital passcode that unlocks a relationship with God to us; and the sanctity of freedom of choice.
God’s heart is for community. The church is called the family of God. You may have hear the phrase “born again” bandied about. Lou talks about what it really means.
Lou explains about inner hygiene and the joy of feeling clean outside and inside.
Receiving and giving forgiveness. What does that really look like.
Reading the manual really helps.
All the above is undergirded by the two most important keys to getting spiritual help. Getting connected in the first place, and then always knowing you’ve logged on.