Don't Play Church: New Edition

By Dr. Shon Shree Lewis

Have you been trying to heal from church hurt and struggle, with trusting people in the church because of the hypocrisy or betrayal you or someone you know experienced from people in the church? This powerful book will empower you to forgive those who have spiritually wounded you in the church. God will strengthen you to move on with confidence with your purpose in life from him as you learn the importance of never putting your complete trust in people but solely in God. That’s because God is the supernatural power who gives you peace, favor, and prosperity to help you live free from past hurts as you enjoy your life to the fullest in God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973669371

Dr. Shon Shree Lewis

I am an author of several inspirational books, a community wellness leader, a professional life coach, and an inspirational speaker. Over the years, I have inspired people with my books and speeches for community wellness and how to live your best life. In my journey of living, I have experienced many challenges and adversities over the years, from my teen years through my adulthood. Sometimes life would seem so dark and overwhelming, and I had to learn how to overcome hardships. However, I learned life is a gift, and I am to treasure it and to make the best of it because life can get better if you choose to make it better. I also believe I have helped inspire many people about healthy living through my inspirational messages, my words of encouragement about the gift of life from the Creator, Almighty God, who gives abundance in life and purpose for humanity. In 2018, I had my own personal hair journey of going from perm hair to natural, and I struggled with a new self-image, from long perm hair to short hair. I even had areas of my hair that was bald, and I had to learn to love myself and my new image. Therefore, I have recently developed an interest for advocacy regarding women's and young girl's health and self-image, appreciating who they are naturally, including their hair care for hairstyling,whether it be their own hair, wigs, weaves, or extensions. I believe women and girls should embrace their beauty and feel good about themselves and how they look. Therefore, my heartwarming fiction novel The Wonder Wig is a tale about a young girl who learns to embrace her beauty, particularly her self-image on how she cares for and styles her hair, and becomes an advocate for others’ hair care. This book will inspire and empower women of all races and backgrounds to learn that their femininity can be an adventure of beauty, confidence, and power; to value who they are, whether they have short or long hair or no hair, that their character and personality brings out their true beauty. By the way, after completing this book, I discovered I the author, am Dashing Dazzle. So in this life time, I will continue to help women love the inner beauty of their character as well as their outer beauty, pursing giving away beautiful wig gifts, is one of the super powers, I possess to empower

Book preview

Don’t Play

Church

NEW EDITION

DR. SHON SHREE LEWIS

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Copyright © 2019 Dr. Shon Shree Lewis.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6936-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-6937-1 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 07/16/2019

Contents

My Autobiography

Chapter 1     The Beginning of Holiness Versus Evil

Chapter 2     Personal Relationship With God

Chapter 3     What Is Church

Chapter 4     The Difference Between Ministry And Church Work

Chapter 5     Discerning Leadership In The Church

Chapter 6     Beware Of Hypocrites

Chapter 7     Recognizing Spiritual Abuse In The Church

Chapter 8     Healing From Church Abuse

Chapter 9     Righting A Wrong With God

Chapter 10   Total Trust In God

My Autobiography

Since my beginning journey as a Christian from September 1995 until this present time, I have learned the power of God’s love, forgiveness, and the spiritual authority I have, over all forces of evil, because of God’s anointing power of holiness, through Jesus, and the precious Holy Ghost who abides in me. I have grown through spiritual and mental stages and processes of walking by faith in God, when I have faced spiritual challenges to defeat evil in my life, and I always solely depend on God for restoration and strength, throughout my years as a Christian. Through time, I have gained a genuine concern to help minister the love of God to many hurting souls for them to experience the powerful transformation of hope, forgiveness, and healing from God, as he refines my character daily, as a woman of God. What is more, I have received my Honorary Doctorate of Theology Degree from GMOR Theological Institute of America, from Munster Indiana, June 30, 2017. As a result, I am living a life of joy and blessings.

I am blessed to be appointed by God as an ordained Doctor of Theology and Christian minister, with a mission to win souls for Jesus Christ to a hurting world, and teach many nations and generations with my anointed books of God, as well as my inspirational video teachings, that there is hope for lost souls to be redeemed from destruction into a life of healing and peace from God, through a relationship spiritually in Christ Jesus. As a Doctor of Theology and Christian Author, I believe this is my mission from God, as Psalm 144:1 KJV says, Blessed be the LORD, my strength, which teacheth my hands to war and my hands to fight.

Therefore, I am confident my teachings and devotionals inspired by God will to help win many souls to Jesus, who will heal many from broken hearts, and change their lives from disorder, to a life of peace.

To Order My Inspirational Books, just visit online.

Chapter 1

THE BEGINNING OF HOLINESS VERSUS EVIL

Did you know that there was a time in eternity with God, that evil did not exist? In eternity before time existed, God who is omnipresent and sovereign, has always existed in the third heaven, with his angels, who worships him constantly for his holiness and power. Yes, the Bible states there was more than one heaven. For example, before humanity was created, Genesis 2:1-3 (KJV) says, Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

As you can see, the Bible explains how there was more than one heaven God created, before humanity was created. So understand, before people were created and animals were on the earth, only God, the heavens, and his Hosts, God’s angels) existed.

There are different type of angels. One type are Archangels. Although, there were two Archangels that are mentioned a few times in the Bible, and their names were the war angel Michael, the angel Gabriel, a Messenger, there are more Archangels in heaven. There are also Cherubs, and Seraphims. Worship and praise to God always existed in the third heaven and was constant with God’s angels. There was one Cherub angel named Lucifer, who was assigned by God to lead praise and worship to God in the third heaven. Lucifer was known to be one of the most beautiful angels in heaven, with instruments in his body, and he was expected by God to lead praise and worship with the other angels in heaven.

However, Lucifer became rebellious and prideful because of his beauty and authority to lead praise and worship, and he became jealous of God’s power, authority, and reverence from the other angels, and Lucifer himself tried to change God’s order of worship and persuade the angels to worship him, as if he was God, and Lucifer was not God. In fact, in the Bible Isaiah 14:12-15 (KJV) describes Lucifer’s judgment from God, that states,

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. As you can see from these scriptures, Lucifer started the first rebellion of producing evil in eternity, and Lucifer acted on the first thought of evil, and was the first one who started the evil in the third heaven. Just like the other angels, Lucifer had his own will, the freedom of choice to choose to continue to obey God, or to rebel against God. Because Lucifer tried to disrespect God and be like him, God kicked Lucifer out of the third heaven, permanently along with a third of his followers that were also rebellious angels. According to Revelation 12:4 (KJV) says, And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. Here, the Bible illustrates how Lucifer was judged with his followers, in eternity and prophetically how he and his followers would be judged by God, at the end of time on the earth.

So this is how Lucifer’s name was changed to Satan, the devil, and his followers, the other fallen angels, were called demons.

As stated before from Isaiah 14:12-15 (KJV), described the fall of Lucifer who became the devil, and his demons were thrown into outer space to roam the atmosphere, dry places, which is the the second heaven, where the devil and his demons had no power to influence any more evil, and they passed through the second heaven into the first heaven, known as earth, where God later created male and female in the Garden of Eden. When Satan went from the second heaven into the earth, he had great wrath and rebellion against God. Therefore, when Satan recognized that God had something new, called humanity, to also serve God and his holiness, Satan wanted to continue to war against God. So Satan, saw opportunity to attack Adam and Eve, by influencing them with fruit, to rebel against God’s commandments, not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

To illustrate after God created the earth and Adam, Genesis 2:15-18 (KJV) says, And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Here, the Bible describes