GOD'S HEALING HOPE

The book, GOD'S HEALING HOPE: BREAKING THE STRONGHOLDS OF WRONG THINKING, by John Livingston Clark, is the story of how the author broke free from the bondage of wrong thinking, much of which was incorrect church or biblical teachings. It is available on amazon.com. Please scroll down to the bottom of this page for more information and to click on the links for ordering.

A WORD ABOUT HEALING HOPE MINISTRIES

HEALING HOPE MINISTRIES is a unique ministry designed to help Christians, especially the 20-30 age group, identify and break free from the bondage of incorrect religious and "biblical" teachings, that hold a person back from spiritual maturity and moving ahead successfully in life.

Each person has grown up with a particular set of beliefs. Some of these beliefs have been caused by incorrect biblical teaching. These beliefs can become so engrained in a person's subconscious that they are not even aware of how that belief is affecting their life in a negative way.

Even though this ministry can apply to any age, it is particularly focused on younger people between the ages of 20-30, give or take several years. This is the time when incorrect beliefs which a person has developed over the last 18-20 years, will begin to be manifested in the real world of marriage and family, vocation, success, God's will, spiritual walk, and virtually every area of life. This is also the age at which people will find out whether or not all of the beliefs that they have grown up with, are bringing positive results in their lives, or are they on a downhill slide? The negative results of wrong beliefs sometimes do not surface until later in life, and in more overt and serious forms. These beliefs and their outward manifestations are often hidden from people, especially when they attend church and act and talk like everything is fine. This is why the motto of this ministry is: Helping Heal Hidden Hurts.

What makes Healing Hope Ministries unique from all other healing and recovery ministries, is that it focuses on helping people in this age group evaluate and examine their lives, to see if it is moving in a positive direction in every area. If it is not, hopefully, the wrong belief from the past will be identified and corrected, so that the individual can move forward in spiritual maturity and success in life. This is done through writing, speaking and mentoring.

TWELVE LIFE ASSESSMENT AREAS

There are 12 areas that young Christians in this age group may find helpful when it comes to evaluating how their lives are progressing, in terms of both spiritual walk and overall success in life and relationships. They are not in any particular order. In each of these life assessment areas, there is wrong church or biblical teachings, that have caused people's lives to not progress and mature in the way that God has intended. I can speak on each or all of these 12 areas, giving examples of wrong teachings, and providing questions for self-evaluation. Here are the 12 areas:

1. Success and goal setting.

2. Money and giving.

3. Healing and forgiveness.

4. Marriage and family.

5. God's will and calling.

6. Self-esteem.

7. Emotional baggage.

8. Biblical interpretation.

9. Church attendance.

10. Life purpose and passion.

11. Lordship and discipleship.

12. Know what you believe and why you believe it.

BREAKING FREE FROM WRONG THINKING

Here are a few examples of what I mean concerning wrong teachings in some of the life assessment areas that need to be revisited and corrected:

l. Many Christians have been taught that if one has a Christ-centered marriage, you will have a better marital relationship, when in reality about 40% of even Christian marriages end in divorce.

2. Wrong biblical teaching concerning submission and headship in marriage has led, in some cases, to spousal abuse on one extreme, and passivity on the other.

3. Many Christian leaders teach that God's will for one's life has to be discovered, when in fact, the Bible already clearly states God's will for all believers.

4. Many Christians quote Romans 8:28, "All things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose," in times of adversity, to mean that circumstances will get better, when in fact, this verse has nothing to do with circumstances getting better, because the context clearly refers to developing Godly character. This kind of taking verses out of context leads to a questioning of one's salvation and love for God. God can and does make good out of bad, but this is not the verse to use to support that teaching.

This incorrect thinking must be broken if one is to live the life of freedom and liberation that God intends for Christians to live. If these examples have generated food for thought, and possibly even some controversy, I welcome your comments.