God is Good, always.
Rescued from the Hands of Evil
Our thoughts,
"Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding."
The Devil was covert and very crafty; through psychological word salads, he had us convinced that we were mentally ill, sick, toxic, isolated, and abusive, the reason the church would never grow and the grounds we needed to step down from preaching and teaching. The Devil tried to get between my parents and me, my wife and me, and our children, to no avail; our love for each other was too strong. After months of removing us from various wonderful gospel works, he almost convinced us to give him all control over the AddedSouls ministry. Still, he grew more indignant, jealous, and plotting when we refused. This Devil used us and took advantage of our charity. And once he had devoured low-hanging fruit against us, his stratagem was accomplished, and we were broken, divided, and had no other path but to withdraw, trying to make a sense of purpose; I still see and hear his beady eyes as he told me "well what did you expect was going to happen?" As if to say, "You fool, did you not know I came to destroy?" The Devil is the most cunning deceiver you will ever know. He has a way with dialect, charming many with the Bible for his nefarious ambition, leaving a trail of grief for all his victims.
The Devil infiltrated and dismantled for his preeminence, devouring the weak, worldly, prideful, idle, hypocrites, and self-righteous members we should have removed ourselves from a long time ago. But you see, the Devil could not allow himself to be recognized, less we grow wise to his tricks, so he knew he had to come up with a persuasive slander against us, bearing false witness, marking us as dishonest, which, of course, was erroneous accusation reflecting his guilt for practicing fraudulent maneuver, accusations we had evidence to refute. Still, it did not matter anymore; the carnage was done.
The Devil would have won us over if not for the power of Christ. We've had dozens upon dozens of faithful Christians contact us with their witnessed accounts of the same disaster from the Devil: split marriages, families, churches, and friendships. The Devil pushed out the faithful who found refuge with us in Christ. In profound sorrow and confusion, we begged God for answers, and He replied, through the Scriptures, He gave us insight into the attack, its consequence, and its result. And today, we are most blessed to have been rescued from the clutches of the Devil and the vain souls he digested for his corrupt pursuit.
Kind friends, please know this spiritual truth: the Sanhedrin, Judas, Diotrephes, Alexander the Coppersmith, Hymenaeus, and several other evil workers ("believers") have caused more damage to the local assembly than any Hollywood heathen, corrupt politician, or denominational leader, could ever dare to achieve—the shame of those who continue to encourage and support these devils even after being informed.
We must learn to discern, dear saints.
Today, we've long since moved on from the hurt, though still dealing with the trauma, and we see the power of God and His incredible wisdom, discipline, and guidance. His local body, the EastCoast congregation, is the best thing that ever happened to us; it saved us, healed us, cultivated meekness, and continues to grow His family; we "seek ye first" with humble hearts (Mt. 6:33). We are committed to the lifelong labor of the gospel in this land, representing a healthy and growing body of addedsouls (Acts 2:47) for the curious community.
There is hope in Christ; you are not alone; remain focused and positive.
Your servant,
SM