2 Corinthians 1:3-4
ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Are you going through a hardship? Is your heart troubled and
heavy burdened? Do you not know where to turn next? Are you crying out to God
in your distress, seeking God for answers? Are you confused, wondering why
these things are happening to you? You are not alone. Many people in this world
are where you are right now.
Paul, as recorded in 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, after
listing off all kinds of sufferings that he had undergone said,
“Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?” (2 Co. 11:28-29).
I certainly empathize with those sentiments. The Lord Jesus
has placed within my heart that same burden for the church, and for those who
are being led into sin, and for those who are being trapped by sin’s
deceitfulness, and for those who are being abused and taken advantage of because
of other people sinning against them, too.
I am especially passionate concerning the innocent, children
in particular, who are either falling into sin themselves, and/or who are
causing harm to other children, and/or who are being harmed themselves by
others, even by other children. I wish I could rescue them all, but I can’t.
I Feel It!
One of the many reasons why I feel so passionately about
protecting the innocent, children, in particular, is because I was abused as a
child.
My father was a mean, hateful angry man. Evidently, he had
been abused as a child, and he never got over it. So, he became an abuser, too.
He was the epitome of Satan to me. We were all afraid of him, as far as I can
recall. I know that I tried to stay out of his way and to avoid being with him
as much as possible. I loved it when he worked second shift. I would walk home
from school very slowly each day hoping to miss him before he left for work.
For, he was not only physically abusive to us all, including
or most especially to our mother, but he was verbally abusive, as well, and he
sexually abused me and my two sisters. He began with me when I was 6 years old.
That is my first remembrance of the abuse. And, it continued until I was maybe
15 years old. And, there was no telling him “No” about anything. I was scared
for my life. And, I felt trapped with no way out.
Well, one day he had my mother out in the yard and he was
strangling her and beating her head against a tree. I was not there at the
time. I think I was at my aunt’s. But, my sister, I believe, called my aunt and
told her about it. And, the next thing I recall is that my sister next in age
to me and myself were taken by my aunt to go talk with the pastor about our dad’s
treatment of our mother.
The pastor told us girls that there was nothing he could do
about our dad’s abuse of our mother unless our mom pressed charges. Wow! So,
now I was empowered to share with him about the sexual abuse, which I am
certain I explained to him had been going on since I was a small child. His
response to me was, “But did he force you?” I thought, “What kind of a question
is that?” Of course he forced us! He did so by the power he wielded over each
one of us, for we had fear instilled in us because of the many beatings.
Anyway, the pastor talked with my parents, and my dad
willingly went into a mental facility for about a year and a half. But, not one
person spoke with us girls about what had happened to us, that I recall. My mom
certainly did not talk about it, but she did take us to see him at the hospital,
and she told us we had to forgive him. I remember that part.
But, then they sent him back home. I was scared to death! I
had had a year and a half of peace, and now he was coming back. And, again, no
one talked with us kids about it, or asked us how we felt about it. He was just
there again. And, soon he tried it with me again, only I did tell him “No” this
time, and I did go and tell my mother, and that didn’t happen to me again.
But, the verbal abuse became even more severe, for I believe
he was very angry with me for telling him “No!”
My Concern
I am deeply concerned about all people who are facing
legitimate abuse of any kind. I have experienced much abuse in my life,
throughout my life, in many different forms, so my concern is certainly not
just narrowed to concern for children. But, they are the innocent ones, the
ones not able to protect themselves, so they especially need an advocate,
someone to speak for them, on their behalf, to ensure their safety and
protection.
One of my biggest concerns is all the opportunities there
are today for children to see and to hear and to experience things that no
child should ever have to experience. With the invention of home computers,
then electronic tablets (computers), and then the smart phones (mini
computers), which all have connectivity to the internet, anyone can view every
sexual deviancy known to man in the comfort of his own home, in a corner of a
crowded room full of people, with no one seeing what is being viewed.
And, these devices are being handed to children, often times
unprotected or minimally protected, and children are being allowed to have them
in the privacy of their bedrooms or they are being allowed to be on them in a
corner of a room where the screen is not visible to an adult. And, many, many
children today are being trapped in pornography, which is then often followed
up, in a lot of cases, with self or group experimentation of what they had seen
on the computer or TV screen. And, this is epidemic!
And, statistics are high, not only for the male population,
as a whole, including high among pastors, but now among children, too,
regarding porn use and porn addiction. Oh, God! Help us all!! And, children are
experimenting with each other or doing sex texting, and children are being led
into child prostitution, too. And, with so many men in our society viewing and
addicted to porn, the chances are certainly much higher than they were in my
day for children to be abused by those who are porn addicts.
Women are included in these statistics, too, but their
numbers are much lower, and they are much less likely to sexually abuse a child
than a man would be, but that is not to say that children are not at risk from
women abusers and users, too. I am certain they are.
The Church
So, what is the church doing about this? Largely nothing!
Instead, most are teaching a cheap grace gospel which just coddles people in
their sins and which tells them that God does not require they forsake their
lifestyles of sin, and that he does not require obedience to his commands. And,
that all they need to know is just that Jesus loves them, just as they are.
So, the innocent and children are being sacrificed, just
like in the days when the children of Israel were sacrificing their children to
Molech (Jer. 32:35).
So many parents today are sacrificing their children to
their idols of lust and entertainment. They are either clueless as to the harm
they are causing their children, or they are ignoring the warnings and are
selfishly allowing their children private access to internet devices, for they
are using these devices as babysitters. Or, they are intentionally exposing
their children to what is harmful, which is outright abuse.
I have heard so many parents justify this by saying, “My
child will never go to such and such.” Hogwash! These children are very smart
when it comes to working their way around computers and they are very curious,
so chances are high that they will stumble on something, at some time, even
innocently, but once they do, it is all over. They are not going to forget what
they saw, and it could damage them for the rest of their lives, except by the
grace of God.
So, I am appealing to all parents of young children! Do not
let your children (all minor children) have private access to internet devices.
It doesn’t matter if the device is protected or not. Children are very smart,
smarter than we are, and they can find ways around these protections that we
may never imagine. Make certain, if they have to be on a device, that their
device is viewable to you at all times.
I know this makes this hard because the public schools (many
of them) are now sending these devices home with the children, and the children
must use these now to do homework. But, find a way to protect your children, no
matter what personal sacrifices you must make in order to ensure their safety. For,
your children’s lives depend on you keeping them safe, as much as is within
your power to do so.
Also, be involved in your children’s lives. Do things with
them. Talk with them. Build relationships with them. Let them know they can
tell you anything. Know who their friends are. Be their advocate. Protect them!
And, be aware of the dangers of their associations with other children who may
be getting on these devices, too. It only takes once!
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
Friday, March 8, 2019
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