where would i go?

one of the most crucial things ive come to understand..and to do otherwise i may as well take the entire book of Acts and throw it out.....over the past 2+ years.....in my walk with God is how imperative it is get involved with a local Word based church. is everything going to run smoothly
once i do this? of course not. if im looking for a church of perfect people who do everything perfectly all i have to do is look in the BIBLE to see that thats not going to happen. looking at the lives of king david who ran the gammit of every sin you could name, samson who was about as close to a textbook case of a narcissist as you could get, abraham who tried to pimp out his own wife to save his own hide, even joseph who provoked the wrath of his brothers to a large degree by being a smart-alecky kid who didnt know when to keep his mouth shut...uhmmm NO my finding a body of believers who do everything nice and wonderful..i dont think thats going to happen.. all these examples are given to show that God doesnt use perfect people..just forgiven ones. fellowshipping with people i may not always like.. i need to remember that i may not always be THEIR cup of tea. in AA theres a saying that applies most definitely to any body os Spirit filled believers PRINCIPLES OVER PERSONALITIES. i have to LOVE others even if i dont LIKE THEM all the time. that IS His greatest commandment. and its not an option. and it doesnt just apply to those who love and like ME.

its by learning to live out this very basic principle amongst others in close quarters with other believers on a regular basis that is largely responsible as to whether or not im going to develop spiritually in a healthy mature way. we have a product we want to sell to the world THE GOSPEL. the local church is like a laboratory where we take that product and show the world how well it works. can i take offense when people complain about me? of course i can? can i take offense and go to another church? of course i can. but im going to run into the same thing there. wherever i go there i am and im the lowest common denominator in everything. in the AA big book theres a chapter called 'a vision for you" its all about THIS IS WHAT MY LIFE CAN BE LIKE IF I GET AND STAY SOBER. THIS IS ALSO WHAT MY LIFE WILL BE LIKE IF I DRINK. I KNOW WHAT MY LIFE CAN BE LIKE IF I CONTUNUE FELLOWSHIPPING WITH THE SAINTS. I ALSO KNOW WHAT WIL HAPPEN IF I WALK AWAY. of course its easier to walk away from any situation when offended instead of looking to see where im the lowest common denominator but theres no growth.

to not get and stay grounded in a local church like i said is like taking the book of Acts and rip it out. once i do that as when i do that with any part of the Word i may as well throw out the whole Word while im at it because none of it is going to make sense anymore. The Word of God is full of his PROMISES. its also full of the NOT SO NICE promises of what happens when you turn your back on Him. theyre not promises. theyre more like GUARANTEES. if i quit going to church then ive already walked away from Him. especialy when its rooted in offense. thats an act rooted in pride and rebellion. and pride and rebellion are the equivalent to witchcraft. im taking MY will back thinking i can do a better job at running my life than He can. and He wont stop me if i want to leave. to do this is like asking for a refund on my misery. IF I GO MY WAY AND SIN AGAIN A MUCH WORSE THING WILL HAPPEN TO ME. if i dont have a system of checks and balances
all i have to go on is my own itching ears. its like taking a class without an instructor. the manual wil stop making any sort of sense.

IRON SHARPENS IRON. i remember in the past when i didnt think i needed to be in church and thought i was getting all these revelations of His Word that were special and unique. they were all squirelly. WEIRD revelations. people looked at me doing the blonde head tilt like HUH??????
none of us hear from God perfectly but when what i was getting wasnt even in the ballpark...we have a problem here. to have that black and white tile foundation thats solid and based on His Word i have to have as part of it checks and balances people i trust that i can talk to pray with to make sure that what im hearing IS from Him and not coming from the realm of my own addictive thinking.

being in AA ive seen from happens when people relapse. theres a pattern that almost always happens in chronological order.
1. they quit calling their sponsor
2.they quit going to meetings.
3. RETURN OF OLD BEHAVIORS.
4.then they pick up a drink. picking up a drink isnt the relapse. its the LAST STAGE of the relapse.

THIS IS THE SAME PRINCIPLE OF WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I QUIT GOING TO CHURCH!!
1 i lose touch with fellow believers ive established a network with
2 i quit going to church
3 i quit spending time with Him and His word
4 my old character will come back.
IVE ALREADY WALKED AWAY I JUST DONT KNOW IT YET!!!