I woke up early this a.m. to catch the tail end of a Joyce Meyer conference in St. Louis. It may have been the tail end, meaning the last thirty minutes, but I am completely convinced that it is exactly what God needed to tell me this morning.
She talked about extending a helping hand. Being the change you wanted to see in the world. To not let the Devil convince you, any longer, that what little you could give wouldn't do any good.
She said two things that will stand out, in my mind, for a long time.
Jesus died so that we could be free, yet every second two children around the world, including America, are forcibly being prepared for child prostitution/pornography.
As a mother, that is heart wrenching. As a Christian, I picture Christ being brutally tortured and then crucified so that we could be free, and choices, CHOICES, seem to be a mockery of all that He sacrificed for our freedom. Choices made in vain. Those poor babies. Oh, I hope those babies know that they're Father weeps for them. I hope that they seek Him, despite the harshness that their small lives have already brought them.
She also said, "30,000 children die each day due to poverty. They die quietly in some of the poorest villages on Earth, far removed from the conscience of the world. Most of those children are under the age of seven."
I don't know about you, but that was like taking a punch to the gut. Think about what it feels like to not eat breakfast and lunch. We've all been there. You get too busy to eat, and by the time dinner rolls around you're famished. I can't begin to fathom the pain that must come with starvation. If you are reading this, know that you are so completely blessed to have been born in the place you were born in. A place that has provided sufficient means for your survival. A family, medicine, education, knowledge of Christ.
A video was shown of a ten year old girl, named Gee. At the age of four her older sister moved out. She was just a young teen herself. Their parents knew that they couldn't take care of Gee so they gave her to her sister. Those two girls moved to a garbage dump. Literally. Since the age of four, Gee, goes through the garbage piles each and every day so that she and her sister can eat. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up her response was, "I've never thought of that."
When I heard that simple statement, the tears came flowing before I knew they were there. There is no hope in that statement.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
http://www.worldvision.org/
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/
http://www.foodforthepoor.org/
Also, please join with me in prayer for our GA flood victims. Thank you!
Relishing in His goodness...
