What's Blocking the SON in Your Life?
Youth Pastor, Chet Skatington, had this to say about the monumental Solar Eclipse of 4/8/24:
We're entering a season of total solar eclipse — a time when the moon gets in the way of the sun and blocks its warm, healing rays from hitting the Earth. During this short celestial event, we will get a small taste of what life would be like if the Sun didn't exist.
It would be dark. Just like Findlay Ohio during the moment of eclipse totality.
He continues:
But have you ever thought about what life would be like if the SON didn't exist?
I daresay it would be even darker.
We may not see the Sun being blocked by the moon very often, but how many times do we allow sin to block the healing warmth of the SON from our hearts?
He concluded:
... [F]or many of us, our hearts have been living under a total eclipse for far too long. A spiritual total eclipse. Of the heart. Too often, we allow sins like lust, drugs, or skipping out on our [bible studies/fellowship times] to block the influence of the Son of God. That's wrong, fam.
During this year's eclipse, let us reflect on the things in our lives that are blocking out the Son. Let us remove those sins that so easily beset us and allow his warmth to shine on our hearts once again. ...
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:15, ESV).
"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5, ESV).
"For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8).
Hateful Words Plunge 12 Yr Old Bullied Teen To Her Death
The Tampa Bay Tribune reports:
Two girls have been arrested in the death of a 12-year-old Lakeland girl who authorities said committed suicide after being bullied by several girls for nearly a year.
Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said the girls, ages 14 and 12, faces charges of felony aggravated stalking that resulted in the Sept. 9 suicide of Rebecca Ann Sedwick, who jumped to her death from a tower at an abandoned concrete plant.
Most of the harassment came in the form of hateful messages posted and broadcast on social media sites.
“We have to stop this,” Judd said. “As a child I was told sticks and stones can break your bones but words can never hurt me. … Today's words stick because they're printed. And words are as hurtful - and sometimes more hurtful - as sticks and stones.”
The hateful words of the two charged teens literally plunged young Rebecca to her death, no less than had the offenders climbed that tower and physically pushed her off.
Words are weapons. They are no less potent than the power of a sharp sword or speeding bullet.
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits" (Proverbs 18:21). "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit" (Proverbs 15:4). "With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered" (Proverbs 11:9). "Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows" (Psalm 64:2-3).
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen" (Ephesians 4:29).
Saved By A Spoon
Young victims of forced marriage have a new weapon against those who would sell them into lives of imposed matrimony. It's not a gun in a holster or a sword in a sheath, but a spoon in their underpants!
With the rising trend and trade of youngsters into forced marriages abroad, British authorities are stepping up their efforts to identify potential victims of this ancient practice which is itself akin to slave trade. Airport personnel are receiving special training to spot both traffickers and victims. And non-profit groups are stepping up their effort to help inform and equip victims in methods of intervention and escape.
One group, the Karma Nirvana charity, which supports victims and survivors of forced marriage and honor-based abuse, says they advise young people who suspect they are being transported out of the country and into a forced marriage to hide a spoon or other metallic object in their underpants. "When they go though security, it will highlight this object in a private area and, if 16 or over, they will be taken to a safe space where they have that one last opportunity to disclose they're being forced to marry," said Natasha Rattu, Karma Nirvana's operations manager.
Based in Derby, central England, Karma Nirvana reports that it fields 6,500 calls per year from around Britain, but in 2013 year-to-date they have almost already reached that point as awareness of the issue grows. Says Rattu:
When petrified youngsters ring, "if they don't know exactly when it may happen or if it's going to happen, we advise them to put a spoon in their underwear. We've had people ring and that it's helped them and got them out of a dangerous situation. It's an incredibly difficult thing to do with your family around you -- but they won't be aware you have done it. It's a safe way."
Trapped by cultural and societal pressures, young people are everywhere and everyday being pressured, nay forced, into unhealthy, unsafe, undesirable lifestyles and life choices.
Such pressure is not limited, though, to radical religious or fringe groups. Look around. At every turn young people are being pushed along by the swell of public opinion, peer pressure, and political correctness into an unwitting marriage with worldly, secular thinking.
Let's not make the mistake of assuming that they are all going willingly. Many, if not most, have no idea of the danger they are in. Some even long for a way of escape, but are afraid to buck the system. Like the British airport security personnel, we must be more vigilant to spot both traffickers and victims and step up our efforts to help inform and equip victims in methods of intervention and escape.
We must be ready to really hear their questions, their concerns, and be ready to offer them an alternative--not a spoon in their underwear--but a knowledge of the Savior who longs for them to be His bride.
"…Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…" (1 Peter 3:15).
"For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband--Christ" (2 Corinthians 11:2, NLT).