The other day I was talking to a friend about child exploitation and modern day slavery. She is deeply involved in this, and it often weighs heavily on her heart. . I asked her the question, " How would one even begin to combat something so huge? I started thinking about how defeating something so big and prevalent seems almost impossible. Where would one even begin? It seems like a lost battle when you don't know who is facing this kind of thing or even what they look like. I read that this is an epidemic and millions of people are involved.
A few nights after this conversation, I had a dream.
I dreamt that I was sent overseas to combat child exploitation and slavery. In the dream, I felt as if God had sent me to a particular area. He told me that I was going to meet a few people who were deeply involved in these atrocities. He showed me that I was going to meet a victim and a perpetrator, but in the dream, He ordered me to be kind to everyone I met, regardless of what role they played.
In the next part of the dream, I remember meeting the victim. I couldn't tell if I was meeting a boy or a girl. The victim was very small, with short hair, and frail. I remember wanting to love on this person and nurture the wounds inflicted by another human being.
Then, I met the perpetrator. I remembered God's instructions to be kind, so no matter how much I hated what he did, I followed God's orders.
In the next part of the dream, the man is crying. He had not known or understood the language of kindness and it affected him deeply.
I could see that he was suddenly very sorry for the things that he had done, and he asked me what he should do. I told them that he should take the matter to his Father.
In the next part of the dream, the man is kneeling before his Father. He is weeping. Surrounding him were dozens of women that he had hurt. His repentance led him to aplogize to the women who had severely wounded both mentally and physically over the course of his life.
Then, the man approaches me again.. I have gone to my Father, now what should I do?
I told him that he had apologized to the women he had hurt, but what about the children that he had hurt?
The man begins to weep again. Then, God gave me a message for him. His sins would be forgiven so long as he never, ever touched or harmed another human soul.
I once heard and wrote that kindess has ripples. We truly never know just how far reaching our love can be.
The truth is that some people are hard to love. Some have done unimaginable things...but we have a choice. The world is filled with darkness and hatred. We can choose to throw that hatred right back because yes, some truly deserve it..
OR..
We can heed the verse that says that "God's kindness leads us to repentance."
I hate the phrase, "I hope he/she burns in Hell." It is a phrase generally spoken by those who have no concept of hell or what it holds.( I can tell you based on my experiences with the demonic, that is something that I would not wish on my worst enemy.)
It is sometimes a phrase spoken by those who are hurt..or by those who are out to condemn the world.
THE Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible also says that when we are hurt, we can cast every care upon Him, and He will bear our burden. He hears us in all our pain, and He wants to bring us to a place where we are no longer bound in our hurt and anger and our bitterness toward the things that life sometimes brings.
on a similar note,
The other day I was having a conversation about the death penalty. I told someone that I didn't really believe in the captial punishment.
Man's law is the law of justice, and it is often admistered unfairly. Man is often harsh. I also believe in God's justice, but I am enamored by His mercy. It is His attribute that enamours me the most.
God's law is the law of grace, and that is one thing that the judicial sys. does not take into consideration. The death penalty starts with murderers, but what if someone decided that it should be administered to drug addicts and thieves? Did you know that adulterers were once stoned to death? What if the death penalty extended to those who disagreed with a certain way of thinking or to the self righteous? What if someone like Hitler, who hated people based upon their race, took over the world and killed whomever he pleased, at will?
Do you get my drift? Man's laws are imperfect.
I don't like the death penalty because I don't believe that we should ever repay evil for evil. The Bible says to "overcome every evil with good"
There are too many laws, and not enough love.
There is little mercy.
That is why our world looks so dark.
Truthfully, I will never understand why some people do what they do...but i do know that it is rooted in hatred. I think I was there for a short time. I remember hating people because I had been desperately hurt by them, but I am glad that Christ came and showed me mercy. Now, I simply want to give it back to as many people as I can...for the short time that I am here...
I am going to post a few links to sites that may be of use in helping to combat modern day slavery. Take them into consideration, and please, don't forsake kindness. It can be far reaching, and you never know whose faces will see its effects. Maybe it will be a little face, with short hair, and a frail body..
and thanks JeriSue W. for recommending these links :)
http://
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
here are a few good posts by my friend, Stephanie.
http://www.stephaniecherry.com/2010/01/we-traffic-ourselves.html
http://www.stephaniecherry.com/2010/01/we-traffic-ourselves-2.html
One final thought: I was just outside and verse came to mind : Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Christ never called us to exact our revenge. He never called us toward hatred. Instead, He is just. He rewards us based on what we have done, and gives eternal life to those who believe in Him. If we have shown mercy, then we will receive mercy. He is just. He is fair. He simply calls us to leave the judging to Him, and tells us to love one another.
from Galatians, chapter 5 -The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - From John
A few nights after this conversation, I had a dream.
I dreamt that I was sent overseas to combat child exploitation and slavery. In the dream, I felt as if God had sent me to a particular area. He told me that I was going to meet a few people who were deeply involved in these atrocities. He showed me that I was going to meet a victim and a perpetrator, but in the dream, He ordered me to be kind to everyone I met, regardless of what role they played.
In the next part of the dream, I remember meeting the victim. I couldn't tell if I was meeting a boy or a girl. The victim was very small, with short hair, and frail. I remember wanting to love on this person and nurture the wounds inflicted by another human being.
Then, I met the perpetrator. I remembered God's instructions to be kind, so no matter how much I hated what he did, I followed God's orders.
In the next part of the dream, the man is crying. He had not known or understood the language of kindness and it affected him deeply.
I could see that he was suddenly very sorry for the things that he had done, and he asked me what he should do. I told them that he should take the matter to his Father.
In the next part of the dream, the man is kneeling before his Father. He is weeping. Surrounding him were dozens of women that he had hurt. His repentance led him to aplogize to the women who had severely wounded both mentally and physically over the course of his life.
Then, the man approaches me again.. I have gone to my Father, now what should I do?
I told him that he had apologized to the women he had hurt, but what about the children that he had hurt?
The man begins to weep again. Then, God gave me a message for him. His sins would be forgiven so long as he never, ever touched or harmed another human soul.
I once heard and wrote that kindess has ripples. We truly never know just how far reaching our love can be.
The truth is that some people are hard to love. Some have done unimaginable things...but we have a choice. The world is filled with darkness and hatred. We can choose to throw that hatred right back because yes, some truly deserve it..
OR..
We can heed the verse that says that "God's kindness leads us to repentance."
I hate the phrase, "I hope he/she burns in Hell." It is a phrase generally spoken by those who have no concept of hell or what it holds.( I can tell you based on my experiences with the demonic, that is something that I would not wish on my worst enemy.)
It is sometimes a phrase spoken by those who are hurt..or by those who are out to condemn the world.
THE Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The Bible also says that when we are hurt, we can cast every care upon Him, and He will bear our burden. He hears us in all our pain, and He wants to bring us to a place where we are no longer bound in our hurt and anger and our bitterness toward the things that life sometimes brings.
on a similar note,
The other day I was having a conversation about the death penalty. I told someone that I didn't really believe in the captial punishment.
Man's law is the law of justice, and it is often admistered unfairly. Man is often harsh. I also believe in God's justice, but I am enamored by His mercy. It is His attribute that enamours me the most.
God's law is the law of grace, and that is one thing that the judicial sys. does not take into consideration. The death penalty starts with murderers, but what if someone decided that it should be administered to drug addicts and thieves? Did you know that adulterers were once stoned to death? What if the death penalty extended to those who disagreed with a certain way of thinking or to the self righteous? What if someone like Hitler, who hated people based upon their race, took over the world and killed whomever he pleased, at will?
Do you get my drift? Man's laws are imperfect.
I don't like the death penalty because I don't believe that we should ever repay evil for evil. The Bible says to "overcome every evil with good"
There are too many laws, and not enough love.
There is little mercy.
That is why our world looks so dark.
Truthfully, I will never understand why some people do what they do...but i do know that it is rooted in hatred. I think I was there for a short time. I remember hating people because I had been desperately hurt by them, but I am glad that Christ came and showed me mercy. Now, I simply want to give it back to as many people as I can...for the short time that I am here...
I am going to post a few links to sites that may be of use in helping to combat modern day slavery. Take them into consideration, and please, don't forsake kindness. It can be far reaching, and you never know whose faces will see its effects. Maybe it will be a little face, with short hair, and a frail body..
and thanks JeriSue W. for recommending these links :)
http://
http://www.thea21campaign.org/
here are a few good posts by my friend, Stephanie.
http://www.stephaniecherry.com/2010/01/we-traffic-ourselves.html
http://www.stephaniecherry.com/2010/01/we-traffic-ourselves-2.html
One final thought: I was just outside and verse came to mind : Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Christ never called us to exact our revenge. He never called us toward hatred. Instead, He is just. He rewards us based on what we have done, and gives eternal life to those who believe in Him. If we have shown mercy, then we will receive mercy. He is just. He is fair. He simply calls us to leave the judging to Him, and tells us to love one another.
from Galatians, chapter 5 -The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
"Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love." - From John
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