MASSIVE ARMS

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

 

He’s the hope that holds me and the Stronghold to shelter me, the only God for me, and my great confidence.  He will rescue you from every hidden trap of the enemy, and he will protect you from false accusation and any deadly curse.  His massive arms are wrapped around you, protecting you.

Psalm 91:2-4 (TPT)

 

Yesterday I participated in the 9^th Annual Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the STATEHOUSE in Columbus.  This is a “new” area the LORD is leading me and my work.  In conjunction with and at the impeccable leadership of Attorney General DeWine he has entrusted me and my friends from

www.REACHFORTOMORROWOHIO.ORG  to ENGAGE the CHURCH to help in the fight against human trafficking.

 

Friends this is a “BILLIONS of dollars” enterprise in this country.

It is BRILLIANTLY and SINISTERLY marketed.  And our recent OPIOID EPIDEMIC has only served to FUEL it.  The pending CRYSTAL METH epidemic will serve to bolster it further. 

 

Demand for sex has never been higher.

On-line access never “easier”.

Recruitment is rampant.

 

But yesterday aside from the stats, the survivors stirred me.

There was Monica a woman in her 50’s who was EMBARKING on a NEW life after literally being held captive by her perpetrator for so long that she was essentially removed from society.  And there were others dotting the room each with stories of DELIVERANCE and HOPE; each living out UNEXPECTED and REMARKABLE futures.

 

You see I am still learning about this challenge. 

 

Sadly, I was a part of the problem for a lot of my life; a frequenter of strip clubs and consumer of on-line pornography; issues and appetites that still today require intentional suppressing. 

 

But as I am learning and as my AMAZING team are FORMULATING the message to THE CHURCH, I am GRATEFUL for the passage from Psalm 91 I shared at today’s outset.  Because it provides the MESSAGE of HOPE that is SO needed for folks ensnared by this BUSINESS.

 

The message THAT GOD WILL rescue us from EVERY trap of the ENEMY, seen or unseen.  THAT GOD will PROVIDE a haven.  THAT GOD will overwhelm the curse; the curse of shame on those who have been exploited and the curse of hopelessness that has been sprayed over them.

 

And it is THIS message that SHOULD EMBOLDEN us as a CHURCH to courageously wade into SERVE and provide opportunities for those who have been disenfranchised; to offer SAFE INFORMED SPACES for those who have been traumatized by their choices and the oppression of others.

 

Why? 

Because we CHURCH, are propped by MASSIVE arms of LOVE and CONFIDENCE and we must make ourselves available! We must heed our CALL to serve these folks!

Defend the… disenfranchised…

Your duty is to deliver the…powerless; liberate them from the grasp of the wicked.

Psalm 82:3-4 (TPT)

 

In the same way those SUFFERING with SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER needs an INFORMED and EQUIPPED CHURCH to bring them from their depths, so do those who have been entangled in this darkness.

 

I am ENCOURAGED by what GOD has already done to set these captives free and I look EXPECTANTLY toward the future as to HOW HE will continue to MOBILIZE HIS CHURCH to surge and save more.

 

But that verse I shared goes beyond just this that I speak of today. 

 

The start of Psalm 91 should SERVE as such an ASSURANCE for EACH of us that REGARDLESS of the ENEMIES we may be tangling with today; enemies like lust, anger, fear, dread, or whatever, those MASSIVE arms are WIDE OPEN ready to provide a SHADOW of SHELTER for us.

What an amazing promise!

What amazing protection!

 

For OFTEN “The violent winds of and suffering and trouble blow us into the Lord’s protective hands” – Singh

 

Right where we WANT to be.

 

Love ya all!

Have a blessed WEEKEND…