Regeneration, Renewal

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." Titus 3:5

Sejong City, South Korea

As more and more woman are trafficked then rescued, we often look at the rescue as a success and move on. But God is a God of continual renewal and regeneration. Even as we watch the seasons change, new flowers bloom each year, leaves turn to oranges, reds, and golden yellows before falling to the ground and later being grown again, we see the renewing power of God at work. God's desire is not to simply physically rescue women out of bondage, but to also set them free mentally and spiritually. Women who have been trafficked have suffered such emotional and physical trauma that they often need counseling for the rest of their lives, and so rescue is only the first step. Many women suffer from depression, post traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and any and all other consequences which come out of being abused and raped over and over again. They find it difficult to not feel guilty and suffer from terrible sorrow and fear after being saved from a life of slavery. These feelings can continue for the rest of their lives, making it difficult for them to function in normal society and to build healthy relationships. Often women willingly enter back into a life of slavery or prostitution because of these reasons. 

We can be thankful, though, that our God is a God who lifts depression and brings peace, He takes away anxiety and brings hope, He quiets fear and allows strength to take hold.

 I sense that God wants us to pray for women who have formerly been trafficked and now are rescued, maybe they have only been out for a few months, or maybe 30 years, but still they are suffering from a depression creeping in and trying to take hold of them in the night, in the morning, when there is a lull in their day at work, etc. God wants to remove that creeping depression, and He wants to bring peace. God is not a God of anxiety or fear, but of peace and love. "Perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18 

Cry out to God:
Oh God we believe You are a God of perfect love. Within you and all around You there is NO FEAR! There is no depression, there is no anxiety, there is NO FEAR! Amen! You are breaking the chains of depression and allowing your people to walk in freedom. Those who were formerly slaves, their chains have been unlocked and loosed, but they are still working and living with those chains on them. As soon as they take a step forward their chains are going to fall off! Hallelujah! Their handcuffs have been unlocked, and their ankle chains have been opened; they are no longer bound. They simply need to accept Your freedom Jesus. Thank you that You have already given Your freedom to us. As we acept this freedom, let us feel the lightness of Your peace, hope, and strength. Thank you that as we praise You, You continually and faithfully unlock the doors to freedom, You continually break the chains and cause them to fall off of Your loved ones. God we ask that You would let those who have suffered at the hands of captors and are now feeling pain and guilt beyond our comprehension to have their guilt and fear wiped away completely in Your Name Jesus we pray! You are a good Father who loves to give good gifts to Your children. Give your children the gift of peace in their mind as You have given them in their bodies we pray. Guide them. Wash over them with the regeneration of Your Holy Spirit. Watch over them. Protect them. Allow them to not feel fear any longer. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen.

Small Change = Big Change

Photo credit: Salgu Wissmath

Sometimes it only takes some spare change to make a big difference. As an expat living and working in South Korea, sometimes I feel like I can't do much of anything. For instance, I can't even order a pizza without being shown the depth of my own failings through the confused look on the Korean person's face and my own brain trying to figure out what was just said to me. But though my shortcomings are many, I am blessed to be a part of a wonderful expat community in my small town, all of whom are incredibly generous people. Most of us have no family here, and so we often get together for dinners, holidays, and various other activities. One of my favorite activities to host is girls' night. This girls' night, however, I wanted to try something different. A prompting from the Holy Spirit reminded me that as we are all free to enjoy our girls' night together, there are just as many girls who are trapped in brothels every night working as slaves and being raped over and over. The season of lent was also upon us at the time, so I had decided to save all my spare change for those 40 days, at the end I would match whatever I had saved in change and give that money to the A21 campaign, an organization working to fight human trafficking all over the world (you can read more about them here: A21). So, God prompted me to invite ther other girls in my town to join me in a small way. I invited all the girls over for a night of nail painting, eating treats, watching girly movies, facials, etc. and invited them to simply bring any spare change they had with them to add to my pile. I explained that I would be donating double that amount to the A21 campaign. We had a wonderful time eating Nutella brownies, painting our nails, and watching Ever After. The girls all brought some spare change, actually A LOT of spare change, which we believe will make a small difference in the lives of those who are trapped in slavery. Through God's grace the change collected added up to approx. $130 which means that I will be donating $260 to the A21 campaign! All this happened because Jesus cares so deeply for those who are trappped in darkness.I am reminded of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 8:3 "For I tesify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own." Keeping this blog and praying for an end to come to human trafficking is another small way I can fight the great darkness even in my small apartment in Korea. 
I want to thank all the girls who donated to this cause and bought freedom and healing for more girls trapped in slavery! 
Now what about you? I can pray. I can collect spare change. What can you do to help end human trafficking?

An Everyday Nightmare

I hear screams of fear, terror, despair. Screams that seem to rip ears right off, yet all those who hear pretend their ear canals are not now stained with blood. Then I hear screams of pain, ripping open the lungs with her legs as if that would make the lightning bolts shooting up her thighs and pelvis and back alleviate. Then I hear moaning, groaning. The pain was great, but now comes the realization of what is happening to her. These moans are moans of shame, or inexpressible things like dignity being stripped away, like womanhood and childhood together being stolen. These are moans of deep shattering of soul and spirit. And finally I hear her crying, weeping, the weeping of this has happened to her, of this is life right now, of everything hurts, but the rivers of blood flowing out inside are far greater in volume than the blood flowing from between her legs now. The crying of, "It's over but I feel just as sick as when it first began." At the end I hear the door slam and I begin to cry, hunched over my knees, quietly and fearfully, for I know I am next.

The above is a story I wrote from the perspective of a girl caught in trafficking who can hear her friend being raped from the next room, all the while waiting for her rapist to come in to her. I believe God gave me this story as revelation to feel the kind of terror and despair every girl caught in trafficking feels every day. I have only few words, just a cry of prayer out to God to save her, to save them. Join me in crying out to God. 

Isaiah 37:20 "Now therefore, oh LORD our God, save us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are the LORD, You alone." 

Rejoice Always, Pray Without Ceasing, In Everything Give Thanks

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thes. 5:16-18

This is God's will for me. No matter what I do, no matter what I see, no matter what I know, still I must rejoice, pray, give thanks. When the shackles carve into her wrists and she writhes in pain as she is raped over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again, and no one even cares where she is, still I must rejoice? Give thanks?

How God? How can I rejoice when still she is not free? How can I rejoice when the bonds have still got just one in their clutches?

Because in this is freedom: when we rejoice, give thanks in everything, and pray, then the captives are truly set free because we can rejoice that no matter what God still sits on His throne and has conquered sin and death, and in this knowledge is freedom. I can give thanks that God loves me--all people--and nothing I do or say can ever change that. 

In this love is freedom. I can pray, oh yes, I can pray, speak God's words at the darkness, the Sword of the Spirit, and I can break the strongholds with God's very words, with His sword, my sword. 

Rejoice. Pray. Thank. 

And find freedom "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

The will of God is the foundation and the embodiment of freedom. Amen.

 Prayer:   Thank You Lord for freedom. It is for freedom that we have been set free (Gal. 5:1) and I proclaim freedom in Jesus' name for all those who are trapped still in bondage. I rejoice because of the great breakthrough of justice we saw at the Superbowl and we rejoice because we know that there is hope. Yes, Lord we give thanks that Your will is that we might be free and in that freedom bring hope and salvation and more freedom to the captives of the world and the nations. Thank You Lord for overcoming sin and death that we might spend eternity in joy with You. We love You. We rejoice that in You there is truth! YOU ARE TRUTH! And the truth will set you free! Amen!! (John 8:32)

Prepare the Way of the Lord

I feel the burden of Your people crying out day and night in bondage, "Please God, please God please help me escape." And I see the darkness and the forces that hold them like an unbreakable thick black cord choking them to death, their hands and feet bound, and it is so strong. And I hear the screams that could curdle blood and the people in the street, passers-by, walk on without missing a beat. And I see the marks on her face and the bruises on her legs and I hear someone say, "Serves you right, anyway," for the look on her face contains nothing but dismay, hidden in disdain for the world she lives in, loves and hates. And I feel her indescribable pain. And my Father takes her hand, and in the midst of the pain, He takes her place in death with only love in His eyes. And His blood pours out and it washes all her filth away. And she says, "I remember no more my shame." 
And I cry out, "Prepare the way of the Lord!" (Is. 40:3)

Prayer:
"Behold the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him, behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." Isaiah 40:10

Our God, the God Most High, Our Father, Our King, Our Ruler. There is no question, but He will come. There is no if. His mighty arm will rule and with it He will judge and decide. We will be at His mercy, and "His mercy endures forever." (Ps. 136) He will reward the righteous and condemn the wicked. Even now His work is being manifested in this world, through His Word. All we want, all we need is in His words, but even now the veil covers our eyes so we cannot see clearly. Even the shroud covers His Words. No more! NO MORE! No more lies! I declare in Jesus' Name the truth will set you free! The enemies' lies have no hold on me, on us, the powers of darkness flee at the light, and the chains are broken! Amen! There is no oppression in Jesus! There is no slavery in Jesus! There is no pain in Jesus! There is no emptiness in Jesus! No More! All the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus' Name! (2 Cor. 1:20) Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, yes to these! (Gal. 5:22-23) Yes to these in Jesus! Yes to Your promises Jesus! Yes to You! Cut the chains for the King is coming! Prepare the way! Pray! Fast! Speak! Sing! Don't stop! Prepare the way! His way is paved with peace, paved with no more oppression, bondage, slavery, but with FREEDOM! Prepare the way! Shout "Freedom!" in the streets! Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, bringing us freedom. I believe in Jesus. I believe in FREEDOM. Amen. Hallelujah!

Pornography: Part 2

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be." Romans 8:5-7

     To be carnally minded is death. Pornography is not simply a sin, but a mindset leading directly to death. Death in the inner man. The spiritual mind is alive and at peace. There is no room for worry or anxiety in the spiritual mind. I know this to be true because when I find myself worrying and anxious it is because I have forgotten about prayer or when I have skipped quiet time in the morning or when I'm letting my thoughts drift to daydreams and ponderings pleasing to my flesh. It is through the mind set-on, determined, fixed-on Christ, and only through that mind that I find true peace and life. And the mind of my flesh? It is the enemy of God. So whenever I allow my fleshly mind to take hold of me and to rule in my life, I am God's enemy. The mind set on pornography is an enemy of God the Father. It is dead and has no peace. Live according to the and the Spirit with peace will have dominion in your mind. Live according to the flesh, and the flesh and death, unrest, and addiction will have dominion in your mind. 
     This week as we pray, let us pray for those who according to the flesh's desires have given their minds over to pornography:

     God we believe You are powerful enough to break the chains of pornographic addiction and release the ones from bondage who are prisoners to their flesh and their eyes. God, we know pornography is a strong addiction which can only be broken through the continual power of Your Holy Spirit working in and through the lives of those addicted to it's power. God we pray for those believers who are addicted, that they would feel the Holy Spirit's power rising up in them even now, knowing in their weaknesses You are strong. They are not condemned before You but rather have peace with the Father. So they don't need to seek peace in their addiction any longer for they already have peace in You. We pray also for those who do not yet know Your power, that they would have a powerful encounter with You in Your goodness so they might see themselves as they are, in need of a Savior. I pray that they would come to You and in Your open arms find freedom, peace and truth they have so desperately been waiting for. Thank You for Your grace which covers all sins like a scarlet red tapestry and Your mercy which endures forever, longer than the burning sun or oldest stars in the galaxy. Truly You have set us free from sin. We choose to walk in that freedom and claim it for all those addicted to porn. Set ALL the captives free, oh God. In Christ's Name we pray, amen.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." Philippians 4:8

Pornography: a gateway to trafficking

Many people may not know this, but pornography is also a gateway to human trafficking in the world. In fact, many porn stars are victims of human trafficking. This huge industry also fuels men's desires to buy women and children for sex, thus multiplying human trafficking abundantly. I feel led to pray for the men and women enslaved in the addiction to pornography and as I was praying I saw three eyes. 

I asked the Lord to show me what these were, and He showed me that these were the three eyes of pornography. The first is the eye of desire. Desire is the lust of the flesh, or men's eyes desiring what they see. The second is the eye of lust for money. The love of money, the desire to be rich, and to simply attain wealth is in this eye. The third is the eye of pride/ego. Pride or ego is the desire to be seen as important or to be noticed. These three eyes of desire are what is driving the pornography industry currently out of control. 

Let's pray for the men and women addicted to pornography:

Dear God, we ask that you would cause those addicted to pornography to delight in You that You would reveal the true desires of their hearts that You might grant these desires to them. I thank You that in You all our desires can be fulfilled. I pray that You would change these desires from the flesh what the Soul truly longs for. I pray against the love of money, that You would replace it with generosity. I pray against the lust of the flesh that You would replace it with true love for You and our neighbors. I pray also that You would cast down the desire of pride and ego and replace it with the desire to bring glory to Your Name. You are the Way the Truth and the Life, Jesus. We are nothing without You. Please reveal Yourself to all these men and women as the "Desire of all Nations" (Haggai 2:7). Thank You Father for Your power at work in these hearts already. In Jesus' Name amen. 

Let's agree in prayer for this addiction to be eradicated in Jesus' Name! Keep the faith.