What We Believe
Statement of Beliefs
Lamenting Faith Retreat ministry believes that the following statements are true, according to the Word of God. Those who attend our retreats are not required to share these beliefs, only to respect the right of the leadership and other attendees to hold and articulate these beliefs.
1. The Lord is near to those who are brokenhearted. We can have healing through the power of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 34:18; Psalm 147:3). We do not grieve as those who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, God will bring us to himself. We should comfort one another with these words. (I Thessalonians 4:13-14)
2. “God comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort others with the comfort which we ourselves have received from God.” (II Corinthians 1:3-4)
3. God is sovereign over each person’s life. God knows the number of our days and is not surprised by the time of a person’s death. (Psalm 139:16, Psalm 39:4, Matthew 6:25-28, Job 14:5, Ecclesiastes 8:8)
4. It is not a sin to grieve, sorrow, or cry. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. (Isaiah 53:3)
5. Our sin was paid for by Jesus on the cross. Our children have not died as punishment for our sin. (Isaiah 53:5-6, Romans 8:1, Psalm 103:10-12)
6. God does not have need of anything, therefore, the death of our child is not because God needed them in Heaven. (Acts 17:24-27)
7. God is love and He is always good. The death of our child is not a mean or cruel act of God. (Romans 5:8, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 8:28)
8. Man chose to disobey God in the Garden of Eden; therefore, death entered the world. We live in a fallen, sinful world; therefore, bad things happen, including death. (Genesis 3:17-19, Romans 5:12-14, Romans 6:23, Hebrews 9:27)
9. The father of lies is Satan. He may tempt us to feel shame and guilt regarding our child’s death, but we must resist the temptation to believe these lies and draw near to God, who will then draw near to us (I Peter 5:8-11, John 8:42-44, James 4:7-8a). “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
10. No matter how our child died or who is responsible, forgiveness is available through Jesus Christ. (Psalm 32:1-7, I John 1:8-9, Romans 8:1, 31-39)
11. Men are created in the image of God; therefore, people do not become angels when they die. Men and angels are not created equal. (Genesis 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:3, Luke 20:34-38)
12. The Bible clearly states that consulting with mediums and/or attempting to communicate with the dead is prohibited. We believe that God brings encouragement and comfort to us through people, nature, and other different situations. We do not believe that our children send us “signs” from Heaven. (Leviticus 20:6-8, Deuteronomy 18:10-12, I Chronicles 10:13-14, Isaiah 8:19, Acts 16:16-18 1 John 4:1-6, Galatians 5:19-24)
13. Only those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will go to Heaven when they die. It is irrelevant how a person dies. If they have believed upon the Lord, Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, they have been saved. We should not make assumptions of whether a person is in Heaven, only God knows a person’s heart; their salvation is between that person and God. (John 3:14-18, Romans 5:6-11, Romans 10:8-10, 1 John 5-10)
14. Our salvation is a free gift from God. Our salvation is based on grace, not on works. We can never be “good enough” on our own to get to Heaven. (Ephesians 2:8-9).
15. A person who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her Savior goes immediately to Heaven at the time of death. (2 Corinthians 5:1-10, Luke 23:43)
16. “We are created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). Grief should not be an excuse to isolate ourselves from the Body of Christ. We should be doers of the Word while we wait our reunion with our child in heaven. (James 1:22) Let us encourage one another and run the race set before us.