Matthew 2:18
"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it. ~Albert Einstein
Hundreds of little girls and teenagers at a concert . . . and a coward suicide bomber attends . . . it is just heart-breaking. ~Vallery Barbin, Noma Falta
It is precisely what Vallery says it is: Heart-breaking! The Rachel within us all weeps at the senseless tragedy of Manchester. And the mothers, the fathers, of these innocents refuse to be comforted, because their young, their treasured, their beloved are no more . . .
Evil. In this place. In our time. An unrepentant, hideous evil seeking to destroy civilization as we know it.
As Christians, we cannot stand by and do nothing. But what is it, Lord, in the light of this most recent disaster, would You have us do?
- We must recognize the evil in this world for what it is. Yes, Jesus has overcome the world, but if we don't become engaged in prayer and in action to partner with Him, we give Satan the very toe-hold he needs to wreak the poisonous havoc in which he takes such wicked delight.
- We must pray for and stay in touch with our government officials. Whether we send letters, e-mails, tweet, or make phone calls, we can't remain silent. We must rise up in the strength given to us through Christ, and voice our concerns boldly. Every measure to defeat the enemy and protect innocent lives must be taken.
- We must never give up! We know that we are loved as children of God. Let us begin acting in that very knowledge, loving and forgiving others, even our enemies, as we have been loved by Jesus.
- We must, in all adversities, and in spite of them, continue to pray. Pray for those we love and for our adversaries, who have yet to learn the power of God's infinite love. Pray, pray, pray that one day, the entire world will come to know that indescribable love, that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.
May all those affected by the recent horrendous calamities in Manchester, in Egypt, in Indonesia, and the Philippines, know that God's heart is breaking for them. May they be surrounded with and blessed by the peace and comfort of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Totally agree Martha. I have been in contact with our local judge about the sex trafficking issue. it is in her ballpark right now. Something has to be done.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, indeed, it does, Bill! I'm glad to hear you've been in contact with your local judge regarding sex trafficking - it, too, is definitely a form of terrorism; they may not kill the children outright, but they destroy their innocence and identity. A terrible, terrible tragedy in so many countries.
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, Thank you for posting this sensitively worded post--there's so much unspeakable evil in this world. Every day seems to bring another act of horrific violence that it gets overwhelming. I'm so thankful that Jesus has overcome the world. And yes, we do need to pray!
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings!
It does become so overwhelming, Kim, this unspeakable violence and hatred, by a group of extremists who claim they are doing the will of Allah (God). Not the God we serve, and we know that full well! So we know this is an abomination to the Lord, who values each and every life He created.
DeleteContinue to pray! It is more powerful than any of us can imagine.
Love and blessings!
Dear Martha ... thank you for sharing the question you asked God about our role, our place, our duty, our calling in the midst of the craziness of this world.
ReplyDeleteI have the feeling that if we really want to know, He's going to make it clear to us. Crystal.
And God will, Linda, make it as clear as crystal. But we have that one admonition from our Lord, Jesus Christ, to pray for our enemies and those who persecute us. I keep thinking that miracles can happen when we adhere to His command. Let us pray, and pray hard!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Martha, YES and AMEN! I love that quote by Albert Einstein.
ReplyDeleteWe must be in prayer every single day. Here's a link to Intercessors for America (IFA) https://www.ifapray.org/
They are a wonderful resource, providing prayer guides for public officials, pray groups and much more.
Hope you don't mind that I shared the link here.
Blessings,
Beckie
Oh, Beckie, never apologize for sharing a link here, as I know it will be helpful to all my readers, and me, too! I'm looking forward to checking it out.
DeleteGlad you liked the quote from Einstein. We must stand up and we must speak out. If we don't, we could be facing a world wide holocaust. Satan is on a roll, and we need to stop him!
Love and blessings!
Beckie, I just checked out the site and it is wonderful! I signed up, and hope my followers here will do the same. Thank you so much for giving us all this resource!
Deleteconvicting words!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jean, I'm so glad you found them so. Let us pray unceasingly for God's peace!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Thank you for this excellent call to action, prayer, and attention...May we ever be vigilant and watchful...and praying without ceasing.
ReplyDeletePraying without ceasing . . . Precisely, Pam!
DeleteLove and blessings!
Amen! Yes, Martha. So very heartbreaking. No words to describe it... But God sees and knows. He hears the groans we send up to Him on the behalf of those who suffer. He cries with and for those who suffer. Love and hugs to you!
ReplyDeleteGod does hear our prayers, indeed, Trudy, even when we don't have the words. May we all keep on praying and paying attention so that evil won't get the upper hand.
DeleteLove and blessings!
And on a smaller scale, the horrible tragedy that happened right here in Portland not far from my house. A white man was screaming and threatening two teen girls, both African American and one wearing a hijab. When three men stepped in to speak up for them, he pulled out a knife and stabbed all three, killing two and seriously wounding the third. Three men just going about their business and never making it home because they spoke up against hatred. Two young girls scared for their lives and now having to live with the deaths of the men who came to their defense.
ReplyDeleteI'm still so shocked and sad. Thanks for these words of promise and comfort.