Two Women….. One was rescued

Twenty one year old Shafia and her family were outcasts in their Pakistani village.  They were poor, and many of their Muslim neibhbors scorned them because they followed Jesus Christ.  People called them chura, which means ” lowcaste sweeper” . They were considered the lowest of the low. In Shafia’s village Muslim men harassed Christian girls. Shafia’s brother Rafi publicly confronted them. Months later, he was killed.

The family wanted to prosecute Rafi’s killers, but they needed help.  A man named Masood offered to file the neccessary paperwork for them.  Masood asked Shafia to sign some papers for the case. but later, she discov ered it was a marriage certificate. Masood bragged the two were now married, and Shafia enrage Masood by disputing the marriage.

On Sept. 25, 2007, Masood kidnapped Shafia at gunpoint. He locked her in an upstairs room of his house. He beat her and raped her repeatedly.   Masood told her, ” If you convert to islam, I will stop beating you.” But she stayed strong telling him, ” Christianity is my religion, not Islam.  I am a Christian, and if you want to kill me  then kill me, but i will not accept Islam.”

After four months in captivity, Shafia found the door unlocked one day while Massood was at work. she fled to her family. The family’s situation was desperate.  They had to pay to file a legal case against Masood. They had no money, so they borrowed $217. To pay the , all 11 members of the family worked at a brick kiln, making bricks 12 hours a day.

” Daily in the evening we had a prayer meeting at home with my family. i felt strong in my faith when we read the  Word,” Shafia said.

Shafia and her family ar free from their debt of labor today because of Voic e of the Martyr’s fund. Mondey from the fund paid Shafia’s debt and allowed her family to purchase a rickshaw.  Now the family has a taxi business and they earn enough to take care of their needs.  With her dept paid,, Shafia is living a normal life in her village.  She still attends weekly prayer meetings and continues to stand for her beliefs.

This is a story shared by the Voice of the Martyrs, and is taken from their pulciation ” Praying for a RESCUE”. 

Check out tomorrow to hear the story of the second women, the title of the article is two women.

Needed

Okay so I am watching television the other day and of course the inevitable commercials come on in between the shows.  I started to change the channels when a commercial caught my eyes, or better yet my ears were pricked.  I don’t even remember what the commercial was for, all I remember was how long the legal disclaimers were in the commercial.

I turned the channel and this time instead of trying to find another show to watch I was looking for commercials.  And it didn’t take to long to find commercials that also had the legal disclaimer on them.  And as I watched more and more commercials over a fifteen minute span of time I noticed one thing.  That the legal disclaimers in the commercial were longer than the advertisement for the actual product!

I don’t know which is worse in this world that we live in.  One, that we are a country were sueing someone is a sport and a way of life.  Or two, that we have determined that a product that has more risks than benefits is a worthy product to sell.

There was a time, and admitedly I don’t have personal rememberance of it, that a man stood behind his work.  You didn’t need the disclaimers because if your product wasn’t worth the work or was faulty then you made it right.  Where did that legacy go?  Now it is all about the almight dollar and how much can I make, and how well do I have to protect myself with legal disclaimers so that I can keep all of the money I make.  Forgot about just making a product that is needed. Forgot about making a quality product.  How quick can I get it out the door to someone is selling.

And don’t think I am laying all the blame on those that make the products.  I take part of the blame as well, and so do you.  That’s right we take part of the blame.  We are buying the junk.  We are forcing the twenty five second legal disclaimers on the thirty second commercials because we believe that because we bought a faulty product we deserve millions.  When we could have done the research a head of time to see what the companies reputation was.  How they were filed with the better buisiness bureau. Before we read the consumer magazines that described the tests done on the product. 

We are also to blame for allowing ourselves to become a society of at this moment and now.  I want so therefore you must give it to me and I will pay what you want.  While that is the definition of captilism, and I believe in captailism, I also believe in getting what I paid for.  So we are a society that has created such a demand that has lowered the quality of products in order to meet that demand.

Slow down, take a breath and demand quality products. Don’t except anything less. If we demand the quality be there and stop accepting the lower quality products.  Then the industry, the producers, the creators of so many things will raise their level of quality if they want to remain in business. We have the power.

My value….

Everyone has the need to be needed. Everyone has the desire to be wanted by others. Everyone has the compulsion to be appreciated and significant. That is human nature, and don’t say that it is necessarily wrong, or bad. However it is when it gets a certain point I begin to wonder why we are the way that we are. Being significant is a tricky thing, why is a person significant and not another? Albert Einstein, Napelon Bonaparte, Kurt Vonnegut, or Samuel Clemons. All of these men are significant. But many of us, dare say it a majority of us, will never reach the significance of these individuals; myself included. What makes these individuals significant? Is it something that I can take and learn from them to apply to my own life? Perhaps. There are things that I can learn from them that could help me be a better person. But being significant? I don’t know that is something that I think that we have to value on a more individual basis. If I don’t like to write stories about the Mississippi River then I can not be as significant as Mr. Clemons. If I do not want to conquer a large land mass then I can not be as significant as Mr. Bonaparte. If I don’t like scientific theory then I can not be as significant as Mr. Einstein. It I didn’t enjoy creating science fiction stories then I can not be as significant as Mr.Vonegut. So how can I be significant? Perhaps I can be as significant as I can be. But who am I? That is something that each one of us has to answer for ourselves. Each one of us is different, each one of us is significant for who we are. Some of us are fathers, some of us are brothers, some of us are sons. But not all of us are sons, not all of us are brothers, not all of us our fathers. The difficult thing about determining our significance is that it is as addictive as tobacco, and that is from personal experience. Valuing your significance is very often can begin by being big battle with pride, envy, jealousy or any other host of green eyed monsters. Your own significance is never an issue until you start looking around at other people. The moment that you look at others and start comparing yourself to others is when your significance becomes a problem. To everyone living in the state of Ohio I am completely insignificant. I am nothing. But to everyone who lives in my house. Who works in my office or for my company. To those who I serve with at my church. To them I am not inisignificant, I am valued. But why is it in human nature that no matter how many good things we have in life we always look at the others that we don’t have. Everyone wants to be significant, but when it matters when don’t pay attention to the ones that we are significant to already. We focus more on the things that others are valued for and ignore the those that already value us as important.

God’s CPR

I am a licensed CPR instructor for the American Heart Association.   I have been licensed to train those who are willing to serve as foster parents, in the manner to perform CPR.  Once my job required that I did this basically on a monthly basis.  However things change and jobs change, and that is not a bad thing.  As I was thinking about thhe classes that I would no longer be teaching CPR came to mind.  And I started to think about what CPR really is.

Of course it is  two breaths per thirty compressions.  And checking to make sure the scene is safe.  And doing other things not neccessarily in that order.  But those are the steps of CPR, what is CPR?  The answer I could come up with is trying to resart someone’s body by maintaining their heart and circulation functions.  You breath for them, you pump their chest so that the ciruclation will continue to flow throughout their body.  Your end goal is either to  resucitate the person, or keep the person respitory functions going until trained help arrives. All in all a good thing, no one would argue. 

But my thougght process couldn’t stop there.  I began to take it a step further and think about it from a different perspective.  First I looked at it from the perspective of the victim.  If I am unconcious, am I living?  Biologically I would propbably say you were still living.  Mainly because there are only two options.  Living or dead, and if your not dead, well then you are living.  But in that moment when someone else is breathing for you. When someone else is pumping your heart for you.  Are you living?  In one sense of the word I would have to say no.

You are exsisting.  You ar functioning but you are not living.  You are not awake. You are not speaking. You are not thinking.  At the moment when you require CPR you are a biological machine that has broken down and needs assistance in returning to living.  Random thought, yes.  But that is the way that I think.  And the fun doesn’t really stop there.

I began to apply this little thought of what does it mean to be living.  And after chasing a few wild rabbits down there holes I came back to a point that gave me a shiver.  Is God performing CPR on me? 

Think about that.  Is God performing CPR on me, or you?  I am not talking about GOd reeaching down from Heaven and with a huge hand performing CPR on me as I lie in the floor of my living room.  But is He required to perform CPR because I am not living?  Have gotten to a point where I allow the routine of life to become so ordinary that I miss the oppurtunities of each and every moment?  Have I lost focus on the important things of this life? Have I allowed ‘things’ to become my god,  or my focus?  Do I trust more in finacnial securities, or legal systems, or governments than I do in my God?  If I answer yes to any of those then am I living?

My answer……no.  I am functioning. I am a biological machine that operates through this life.  I am missing that I can have a realtionship with God.  Don’t read past that sentence without really thinking about it.  I can have a realitonship with God.   I can have life and life abundantly.  Not through the things of this world, but allowing my trust to be in God.  To be in the one who sustains everything.  There is so much more to life than working and thinking.

Is God standing over me, thumping down in my chest like the do in the movies, or on one of my favorite television shows, MASH.  You know the scene you have seen them on any medical drama.  The doctor stands over the patient pounding away on his chest, sweat is dripping down from his brow, his breath is labored from the exhaustion of performing CPR on a dying man.  And he screams something like, “LIVE! FIGHT!” And then there is that scene where the patient goes on the ventilatior, and the relatives have to make the decision about what to do next. 

What is living? There is so much more to this life, than just functioning day to day.  God is calling for you to live? So why not wake up and live with Him the way He wants you to. If you don’t know Him he still reaches out to you.  And the personal part that made me shiver, I do know Him, but I still ask the question is he perforrming CPR on me? Is my faith just a function of what I do? Is Church just a place I go? Is prayer something I should do? is reading the Bible, reading a book?

Life abudant is waiting, for each one of us to live.

Desire

Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, etc. etc, etc.  There are hundreds of super heroes.  Each one of them is unique in what they can do and why and how they help the world around them.  Why do we love super heroes because we all want to be the one that swoops in with that special ability, the cool one liner and saves the day.  But have you ever noticed how superheroes always have a price to pay for that?  They have to loose the girl, keep the secret identity, live a solitutude life. 

We all want the flash of being the hero. The one wearing the mask and the cape.  The one that has the awesome power or ability, the one that has all the cool tools and toys.  But you know what is really being a hero?  Making a decision to do what is right, being there for your family, being the one that lifts someone else up to the forefront when they do something great.  That takes more courage and strength than even superman had. 

Don’t desire to be batman, be a man of character. A man of value.  A man of purpose. A man of honor.  In today’s world. And stay true to those words when the world comes to do battle with you. These are the heroes.  Why not desire to be a hero?

Heirachy of Sins

I was listening to my favorite Christian Radio Station the other day, WAY FM, and the morning talk show hosts were having a discussion about a song that has a line in it that says the following (paraphrase) ” I found God on a street corner smoking his last cigarette”.  Now what the conversation quickly became was about is smoking a horrible sin?

Now I am an ex-smoker, and I am the last one that would preach about smoking or not smoking.  And if you think I am going there you are wrong.  The conversation on the radio became a comparison of smoking.  Ranking it with other sins.  Ad in the grand scheme of things do I think that smoking cigarettes should be on the same level of sin as say murder, or lying, or stealing.  Can’t say that I would make that decision. But there is a catch in that statement.

The catch is what “I” would say.  Me, the dumb bald one writing this post. I might not see smoking as “bad” sin, or one of the worst.  But when you start putting sin in a priority list you start down a slippery slope.  And before you know it you are in a dangerous space of legalism.  Where you say that it is okay to commit these sins because they are not as bad as other sins.  Sound like anyone from the Bible? 

IF, and I put that in big letters because smoking is something that the Bible does not speak clearly about, if you classify smoking as a sin you can not place it in priorty listing.  Once something falls under the catagory of sin it no longer comes under human perspective and automatically comes under God’s perspective.  And the way that He sees sin is simple, it is sin, and there is no other definition. All sin put Jesus on the cross.  And it is by His blood that we can have forgiveness of any and all sins, because all sins must be forgiven and brought under the blood.

Keeping up with the Jones’

To my friends whose last  name is Jones, don’t worry, read on, this post is not about you.  No, this post is about that old saying ‘Keeping up with the Jones’.  That old say that rings true every day when we look around us.  It hit me this morning and I had to stop and catch myself.  

I was taking my Siberian Husky outside before I left for work and I was walking around our yard. Just letting my mind wander for a little while during the time that Sapphire needed to take care of business.  After a 12 hour work day, and staying up till one thirty to finish the work that I didn’t get done at the office after everyone else went to bed, the fresh air, the sunlight and the gentle Tennessee morning breeze was very peaceful.  I let my eyes wander to the bird flying over the tree tops, the squirrel running up the tree, the sound of the creek running over the rock, for a moment I was back in my mountains of West Virginia. Next thing I know Sapphire runs up to me ready to go back into the house, back to reality.  And don’t get me wrong reality is a wonderful place for me!

As I turned to walk back in the house I noticed that my neighbor has cut her grass last night while I was at work.  Her grass is nice and low and trimmed, and while mine it isn’t tall it is taller than hers.  The first thing that jumps into my mind is that I need to cut my grass.  Grass hat I just cut two days ago, and is not in the need of being cut.  Well not at least until I saw my neighobrs yard.  Then occurs to me that her grass is bermuda , and mine is fescue.  And for those of you that don’t have your own lawns to cut; bermuda grass needs to be cut very low and fescue grows best when it is kept taller. 

Why do we do that?  Yesterday morning I was just admiring how green, well cut, and trimmed that my lawn was looking.  But then my neighbors yard on the other side of me was the same cut, but not my other neighbor.  The moment she cuts her lawn I have to immediately cut mine.  We have to keep up with the Jones, don’t we?  Don’t believe watch your neighborhood this weekend.  One lawnmower will start, very quickly there will be another and another.  You think it is because it is Saturday or something, no no.  It is keeping up with the Jones time.  And I can prove it.  Find the yard that the neighbors on either sid e have cut their grass, see how long it takes for him to get that grass cut?

Funny how we always worrying about how someone else’s yard looks as it compares to ours.  Yet our yard isn’t the same grass, with utterly different growth needs, and plans for care.  If we do that with our yards how much more so do we do that with our lives?

Don’t think so? How long does it take for a new fashion to consume you?  Or, for me, how long does it take for the newest technology toy grab your attention? For me usually it is about two minutes after seeing someone else have it in their hands. 

God never told me to worry about what my neighbor has.  Matter of fact remember that old line, don’t covet your neighbor’s house, wife, or anything? Coming back to you, huh?  What is important is my relationship with him and how my life measures up to his standards.  How my lifestyle reflects him.  So when the Jones try to keep up with me, they are actually trying to keep up with Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Who are you keeping up with?

Types of People

I enjoy watching people.  There is something very intriguing about observing those people as they interact with one another.  How they look and speak to one another says volumes to those who are watching. This afternoon and evening I was working an  information table at a local grocery store to circulate information about the need of children who need foster parents, and how adults who would be interested can become foster parents.  There are volumes of books that can be written by the observations that I can make on how people speak to people that are standing at a table, or how much they don’t even look at it. But I am not going to write about that this evening.  There were two other people that gave me a prime example of the spectrum of humanity that is in this town of Columbia where I live.

As I stood at my table this afternoon two people came by me.  One was an older lady that pulled up in a nice looking fairly new, white cadillac.  I noticed her at first because she drove around at least six times before she found the right parking spot.  But in her case it paid off for her. She got a front row parking spot, that was maybe fifteen feet from the door of the grocery store and mee.  As she approached it was dicfficult to assess that her dress was very important to her.  Which in itself is not wrong. What was funny was the fact that she was walking with intent as she headed for the door. Head up looking around the parking lot as she observed the rest of area and then she saw me.  And she would not make eye contact with me as she approached the door.  She was either looking at the ground but then when she got in speaking range she was fiddling with something inside her purse.  As she walked by I said good afternoon and nothing else, no sales pitch, and no request to take a flyer o pen or anything that I would normally do when someone walked past a table that I am working.  And as she was an older woman I politely took hold of the tip of my hat and titled by head as I said good afternoon.  But not even a grunt was uttered in return.  Instead she walked right past and when she got inside the door she must have found what she was looking for in her purse because she quick looking and that head came up. And her stride returned to its dedicated pace.

I will come back to her, but let me introduce the second person that I wanted to share with you.

The second person was a man, and now he must have come in the other door, or already have been in the store when i set up my table.  But judging by the items in the one bag I wouldn’t think that he had been in the store very long.  As he came out the door it was very easy to judge that he was a man that worked for each dollar he had earend by the sweat off his brow.  His clothes were covered in dirt, and oil.  His hands that were wrapped around his bags were pretty much brown and black with dirt.  The hat and t-shirt that he wore had numerous sweat stains all over them.  As he passed by I spoke by saying good afternoon. He looked at me and smiled and returned the greeting. He asked what I was doing there and I shared it with him as I handed him a brochure about our foster care program.  He politely took and reviewed it before slipping it into his bag with his groceries.  He shared with me that he and his wife had children that were grown now and he wished that they could take in some more children but they had purchased a msaller house now that the children had families of their own and he didn’t have an extra bedroom.  He said good bye and reached up and tipped his ballcap to me and as I returned the getsure I noticed his free hand moving to his back pocket.  He takes his wallet out before I can say anthing to him.  As I thank him, but politely share that I can not accept the donation he smiles and wishes me a good day and I do the same to him and he walks out into the parking lot.

Rember the other lady?  Figured you would.  A few minutes later she comes back out of the store her shopping cart filled with two of the small plastic bags that maybe had ten items in them together. Nothing large or overly heavy, but she was older and I can not fault her for using the cart.  She walks past me her eyes intently focused on the parking lot like she is searching for her car that is fifteen feet directly in front of her.  I wish her a good evening but she still doesn’t acknowledge my greeting. She moves past placing the two bags in the back seat of her cadillac.  Then turns to come back to the store with her empty cart.

Now let me stop and set the stage here of where my table is at.  All around the entrance to this particular grocery store are flowers that the store is attempting to sale.  Behind me is a small alcove area of the front of the store where they have set up a patio furniture display. 

Now the lady pushes her shopping cart the fifteen feet across the road. Instead of taking the cart inside the door that is in front of me and returning itt to the rows of carts that are maybe a few feet inside the door she turns slightly and goes behind me.  She pushes the cart up next to one of the patio tables and leaves it there.  She is maybe another five steps from the front door and the other carts.  Now she finally makes eye contact with me, and then quickly looks away as I smile and turn away myself.  I watch her as she returns to her car with that stride of confidence and then drives away.

I wish that I could say that I was making this up.  But why would you need to make up stuff like this when truth is som much more ffun.  Every bit of thsi story is actually true, you just have to decide which type of person you want to be.

Free Press

Here is a quick thought.  I was sitting in the coffee shop this morning and the news was on.  There was  reporter that was trying to cover the story of the student protest in Tiamen Square in China. ( I know I probably spelled that wrong)  What was sadly hilarious as he tried to broadcast the Chinese secret police or whomever they are, were there.  Their job to hold umbrella’s up and try to block news  broadcasters that were trying to present a story.  They didn’t harm any of the reporters or lay one hand on it.  But they would get in between the camera and the reporter with their umbrella. As the reporters moved the secret service would move along with them.  Their ears are buzzing with the walkie talkies that are directing them.  They hovered like flies all around the reporters.

Made me not mind so much the bias of he media, but at least the media can broadcast what they want.  Thank God that we have the ability to be free in this country.  That is something that one day depending on which side of Christianity you are on could disappear.  No consipiracy theory, just a believer in the Bible.

Who do you know?

I attended a small group leaders meeting this morning at my church. While we were there one of the things that we were talking about was growth. And of course we began to talk about reaching out to the lost in the community around us.  As a part of that conversation the question was posed to the thirty or so small group leaders who were present, if they knew lost people in their life.  And predominatly everyone raised their hand as we all know someone who does not know Jesus as their Savior.  But as I thought more and more about the question I began to think that I really don’t know anyone who is lost.  I am aware of lost people, or I might associate with them, but I don’t know any lost people in my life.

In case you missed it I am making a jump off the work to know someone.  There are people in my life that I know, or aware of, but I have not invested much time in their lives.  I have not invested the time to get to know them.  I do not avoid them becuase they are lost, but for much more ridiuculous reasons. Because we don’t have the same interstes, or we are of different age groups, or a host of other reasons.  But as I thought more and more about this question I began to think more about this.

If I am truly about the kingdom then those in my life who do not know Christ are the people that I need to invest in. These are the people that I need to get to know.  They may never come to know the Lord as their Savior, but the likelihood that they will never feel, witness, or know the Love of Jesus if I don’t show them is a distinict possibility. 

So if someone asks you if you know someone who doesn’t know the Lord, stop and give that some thought.  Think about how much time you spend with the lost, and then look at how much time Jesus spent with the lost.