9.22.2011
Rest
Today's the day of rest for the women in the RLD. Please pray for a day of good rest and divine appointments. Intercede for their freedom, both physical and spiritual. May this day lead to tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, and a life of no more captivity!
9.19.2011
Seoul: City in Focus
Seoul is Exodus Cry's city in focus for the month of September:
http://exoduscry.com/home
http://vimeo.com/29119027
Dear Intercessors worldwide,
On behalf of the millions enslaved in our beloved nation, thank you.
Until Justice rolls down...
http://exoduscry.com/home
http://vimeo.com/29119027
Dear Intercessors worldwide,
On behalf of the millions enslaved in our beloved nation, thank you.
Until Justice rolls down...
Well, it's their choice!
I've heard this statement so many times, "Well, it's their choice! The girls want money, so they choose this job. They choose to be in prostitution."
And to those people, I always say this, "When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, what little girl will say she wants to sell her body?"
For those who "volunteer", there are always conditions that force the woman "to make this choice." It is termed by many as Forced-volunteering.
In their God-given dignity, I believe no person wants to prostitute their body. It is NOT their choice. They are in mental, spiritual, and physical bondage.
Praise Jesus that He IS the Great Abolitionist. He brings true, lasting, and wholistic freedom.
And to those people, I always say this, "When asked what she wants to be when she grows up, what little girl will say she wants to sell her body?"
For those who "volunteer", there are always conditions that force the woman "to make this choice." It is termed by many as Forced-volunteering.
In their God-given dignity, I believe no person wants to prostitute their body. It is NOT their choice. They are in mental, spiritual, and physical bondage.
Praise Jesus that He IS the Great Abolitionist. He brings true, lasting, and wholistic freedom.
Included.
For a few months now, we have been prayerwalking in a new RLD. This area is the oldest in Seoul. It is very dark physically and spiritually, more than other areas we've been to. But God is stronger.
We are reminded that every week we go, we must go in love. We must walk in love, think in love, see in love, talk in love, pray in love, be love, and love.
Love will not judge, will not condemn them. Love will not push away, reject them. Love will not see their stains, give up on them. Love will not ignore, leave them.
Love will see their worth, showing them honor. Love will go to them, embracing them. Love will see the Gospel power, standing in the gap for them. Love will tend to them, washing their feet.
The Father's love is so strong and so tender. Love will melt hearts at the beckoning of their Daddy.
They, too, are included in His redeeming love.
The Gospel is for them, too.
We are reminded that every week we go, we must go in love. We must walk in love, think in love, see in love, talk in love, pray in love, be love, and love.
Love will not judge, will not condemn them. Love will not push away, reject them. Love will not see their stains, give up on them. Love will not ignore, leave them.
Love will see their worth, showing them honor. Love will go to them, embracing them. Love will see the Gospel power, standing in the gap for them. Love will tend to them, washing their feet.
The Father's love is so strong and so tender. Love will melt hearts at the beckoning of their Daddy.
They, too, are included in His redeeming love.
The Gospel is for them, too.
9.01.2011
Exchanging truth for a lie: The things we tell ourselves to make us believe we are ok
Once in Greenwich, a man who appeared significantly older than his advertised age of 42 greeted Taylor at the train station and then drove her to the largest house she had ever seen. He changed into his swimming trunks, she put on a skimpy bathing suit, and then, by the side of his pool, she rubbed sunscreen into the folds of his sagging back -- bracing herself to endure an afternoon of sex with someone she suspected was actually about 30 years her senior...
Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills...
"It's a very expensive job," says Jack, a 70-year-old sugar daddy, who describes himself as a "humanitarian" interested in helping young women in financial need. Jack isn't the name that appears on his American Express black card, but an identity he uses when shopping online for companionship and sex.
These are a few short excerpts from a Huffington Post article I read about online "sugar daddy/sugar baby" sites. You can read the full article here.
As I read this article, I was filled with rage, disgust and pity for each person mentioned.
The pathetic website owner who makes money from old men exploiting vulnerable girls.
The disgusting "John" who makes a profile on a shoddy website to hook-up with a girl half his age, in the name of "helping her."
The ignorant college student who thinks that she can make a quick buck this way, yet not get hurt in the process.
To be completely honest, at first, I didn't even feel sad about this story. I was just so angered by all of it that I couldn't see the root behind the issue in that moment. But as I was processing, the Lord spoke to me how this is directly correlates to Romans 1: 24-25. The verses say this:
"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator"
After meditating on this verse, I began to see the deception that is taking over the minds of people and my heart broke with the jealous heart of God.
These verses spell out the progression of evil that happens, and this progression is fueling the sex industry and human trafficking.
1. First, the people worship the creation, rather than the creator!
We see this in every aspect of life. We worship people. We worship bodies. We worship status. Money. Jobs. Fame. Religion. Pride. Our eyes constantly fall short of what we should be worshiping.
2. Second, the people give up truth and believe lies.
When we stop worshiping the only Truth, the natural consequence is that we are worshiping lies. We willfully give up truth and accepted lies into our hearts, minds and souls. This just opens the doors to further lies and demonic attack and oppression.
3. Third, the people are given up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.
God is loving and kind and does not control us, but rather, allows us to have choice in our lives. We are so full of lies that our choice becomes impurity. And because of His nature, there comes a time when God fully gives us over to those desires and choices and we are filled with lust and perversion and begin to live in impurity.
4. Finally, the people dishonor their bodies among themselves.
It is not hard to make this connection to current society! But of course it happens all the time when we have no idea what truth is. We don't know what to believe, and we believe lies, and because we have chosen impurity, we act in ways that hurt us, dishonor us, and shame us. Satan has always had a desire to destroy the temple of the Lord, which now is our bodies, so he seeks to fill us with lust and perversion. Once we have given ourselves fully to impurity, its only a matter of time before we self-destruct.
God has created us to be creatures that love and are loved. Our purpose is to love God and be loved by God. This life of impurity, lust, lies, destruction...it was never His intention! I am sure these women and men never intended to get to a point where they were using websites to have random sex with strangers. It started with a small thing; a small thought; a small lie. "I mean, really, it's not a big deal if I want to get more money and I do anything to get it. It's not a big deal if I care more about the way my body looks than thanking God that he made me. It's not a big deal that I worship whichever god I want to in that given moment." We tell ourselves whatever we need to to justify the lies we believe. And even when everything is going wrong in our life because of this cycle of death, we will still justify our actions to make us believe we haven't lost control.
Surely His heart is broken over stories like this!!
Stories like this are FAR too common and accepted. We MUST pray and guard ourselves!! We must pray for people to see the Truth and worship only the Truth! We must stop the cycle before it destroys more lives. We need to take a stand for righteousness, even when it seems like we are "irrelevant" to the rest of the world. Casual sex, one night stands, prostitution, pornography....these things DO NOT make us relevant!!
May this be known as the generation that changes history, rather than perpetuating its mistakes.
Saddled with piles of student debt and a job-scarce, lackluster economy, current college students and recent graduates are selling themselves to pursue a diploma or pay down their loans. An increasing number, according to the the owners of websites that broker such hook-ups, have taken to the web in search of online suitors or wealthy benefactors who, in exchange for sex, companionship, or both, might help with the bills...
"It's a very expensive job," says Jack, a 70-year-old sugar daddy, who describes himself as a "humanitarian" interested in helping young women in financial need. Jack isn't the name that appears on his American Express black card, but an identity he uses when shopping online for companionship and sex.
These are a few short excerpts from a Huffington Post article I read about online "sugar daddy/sugar baby" sites. You can read the full article here.
As I read this article, I was filled with rage, disgust and pity for each person mentioned.
The pathetic website owner who makes money from old men exploiting vulnerable girls.
The disgusting "John" who makes a profile on a shoddy website to hook-up with a girl half his age, in the name of "helping her."
The ignorant college student who thinks that she can make a quick buck this way, yet not get hurt in the process.
To be completely honest, at first, I didn't even feel sad about this story. I was just so angered by all of it that I couldn't see the root behind the issue in that moment. But as I was processing, the Lord spoke to me how this is directly correlates to Romans 1: 24-25. The verses say this:
"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator"
After meditating on this verse, I began to see the deception that is taking over the minds of people and my heart broke with the jealous heart of God.
These verses spell out the progression of evil that happens, and this progression is fueling the sex industry and human trafficking.
1. First, the people worship the creation, rather than the creator!
We see this in every aspect of life. We worship people. We worship bodies. We worship status. Money. Jobs. Fame. Religion. Pride. Our eyes constantly fall short of what we should be worshiping.
2. Second, the people give up truth and believe lies.
When we stop worshiping the only Truth, the natural consequence is that we are worshiping lies. We willfully give up truth and accepted lies into our hearts, minds and souls. This just opens the doors to further lies and demonic attack and oppression.
3. Third, the people are given up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity.
God is loving and kind and does not control us, but rather, allows us to have choice in our lives. We are so full of lies that our choice becomes impurity. And because of His nature, there comes a time when God fully gives us over to those desires and choices and we are filled with lust and perversion and begin to live in impurity.
4. Finally, the people dishonor their bodies among themselves.
It is not hard to make this connection to current society! But of course it happens all the time when we have no idea what truth is. We don't know what to believe, and we believe lies, and because we have chosen impurity, we act in ways that hurt us, dishonor us, and shame us. Satan has always had a desire to destroy the temple of the Lord, which now is our bodies, so he seeks to fill us with lust and perversion. Once we have given ourselves fully to impurity, its only a matter of time before we self-destruct.
God has created us to be creatures that love and are loved. Our purpose is to love God and be loved by God. This life of impurity, lust, lies, destruction...it was never His intention! I am sure these women and men never intended to get to a point where they were using websites to have random sex with strangers. It started with a small thing; a small thought; a small lie. "I mean, really, it's not a big deal if I want to get more money and I do anything to get it. It's not a big deal if I care more about the way my body looks than thanking God that he made me. It's not a big deal that I worship whichever god I want to in that given moment." We tell ourselves whatever we need to to justify the lies we believe. And even when everything is going wrong in our life because of this cycle of death, we will still justify our actions to make us believe we haven't lost control.
Surely His heart is broken over stories like this!!
Stories like this are FAR too common and accepted. We MUST pray and guard ourselves!! We must pray for people to see the Truth and worship only the Truth! We must stop the cycle before it destroys more lives. We need to take a stand for righteousness, even when it seems like we are "irrelevant" to the rest of the world. Casual sex, one night stands, prostitution, pornography....these things DO NOT make us relevant!!
May this be known as the generation that changes history, rather than perpetuating its mistakes.
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