Taken No Longer

    

     I love stories.  They can heal and teach and give us light and hope.  I have a new favorite movie because of the beauty of the story it tells.  I have very few that I would own, but this is one.  Taken stars Liam Neeson whose teenage daughter is kidnapped, but not for a ransom.  She's forces into the European sex trade market.  The dad is military Special Forces and has lots of training, so he uses his skills to hunt down the kidnappers and rescue his daughter.  The movie is at times ugly and graphic though rated PG-13.  The beautiful part is the passion this man has to protect his daughter and the lengths to which he goes to get her back and set her free.  She is restored to her mother and normal life.  We each have a Father in heaven that will fight for us, has fought for us, and will bring us home.  When I first watched this movie it was very difficult.  My earthly father was not able to be that for me; however, I do have a Father who could and did rescue me from a deep prison.  He sent His son to fight and die for me so that all the truth of Isaiah 61 is mine.  Jesus came to set the captive free and give sight to the blind.  By God’s grace and the service of people loving in obedience to His request, I have received this incredible blessing of freedom.  Freedom comes at salvation, but for any one who was a victim of childhood abuse, actually living out that freedom seems impossible this side of heaven.  Jesus wants that freedom for His bride the church, now, on this planet, so we can share Him with those who don’t know Who He is or how powerful He really is.   He’s given this freedom to me, and I know He wants it for everyone. 

     There is an organization that is taking action to set the captive free on a very practical earthly level.  Stop Child Trafficking Now has been set up to fund teams of individuals who hunt down and bring to justice modern day slave traders not with movie theatrics, but with law enforcement technics and military training.  They also help the organizations who work to bring healing and emotional freedom to the victims of this horrific crime.  I am so excited about the organization and what they do.  We as believers want to live the miracle filled Christian life that the Bible talks about.  By supporting this group we have a chance to be like the Israelites as they walked around Jericho.  God sent Abraham’s children back to the Promised Land not to be nice, but to destroy the pagan nations that lived there.  The Canaanites worshiped false gods, and offered their children as sacrifices through the fires of Moloch.  All over the globe people still use children in the worship of their selfish idols of lust and power, not just in places like Thailand or Hong Kong, but right here in Atlanta.   SCTnow is having a walk in Atlanta on September 24^th.  The walk is to raise money to fund their work and bring awareness of this evil.  I’m walking, and raising money, to be part of taking down the walls of “the bad guys” who enslave children.   

     Bringing down each perpetrator of child trafficking sets free those they have in captivity, destroys a channel for more captivity, and requires the perpetrator to realize his own depravity.  Jesus brought salvation to Zaccheaus, and Mary Magdalene, both in the Bible, Chuck Colson, a modern day criminal who now leads a prison ministry, and millions more who society would convict as criminal or immoral.  Often times people involved in evil are like those is Psalm 2 who believe they are free from God’s sovereignty, but in reality He laughs at their foolishness and shows them Who He really is. 

     God is so gracious to us in the United States, but if you look at the statistics child trafficking is rampant in this country and in this city.  You can check the statistics at SCTnow’s web page.  Whether it is a mom hooked on drugs who sells her daughter to men to pay for her habit, the man who sits glued to a computer screen watching pictures of children being forced to perform acts they should never even know about, much less do, or the people who actually hold the children against their will and force them into emotional or mental death while not allowing them to physically die, each perpetrator needs to be stopped.  In this eradication of evil, each perpetrator is a candidate for salvation and redemption.  Rahab saw what was coming and even worked with the Israeli spies because she knew she needed a savior.  All of God’s works lead to salvation.  He desires that no man perish, but for all to come to repentance.  (2 Peter 3:9)  Yeah, I know it sounds all nice, and warm and fuzzy, when most of us want these scum bags to be painfully executed, but even for those who end up on death row, God desires more.  He is a God of mercy.  Just like for Rahab and Zaccheaus, salvation is possible when the truth of the power of God is brought into any situation.  Rahab couldn’t argue with the power of God’s army.  Zaccheaus couldn’t argue with the power of Jesus’ presence presenting the love of His heavenly Father.  By bringing these criminals to justice, each perpetrator will have to confront the truth of God’s power as well.  Implementing God’s justice against evil brings in the Kingdom of God to our country and our city setting free those individuals, boys and girls, who are helpless to help themselves.  I am not able or trained to be on the front lines, but I can walk and I can give money.  I can be a part of the battle, just like those children of Abraham that walked around the walls of Jericho.  

       So, here’s a thought.  Why don’t you come along?  You can walk.  You can give money.  You could go to the website and sponsor me, or better yet, sign up to walk with me on September 24^th, 2011.  Let’s not stick our heads in the sand and ignore what is going on right in front of us.   So, go to the website by clicking on the link listed above and check them out.  Get educated.  Do something.  Let’s be the hands and feet that put reality to the truth that we have a loving God in heaven Who sets the captives free.