A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


Showing posts with label Christian Compassion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Compassion. Show all posts

August 30, 2024

Inhumanity, Dehumanization, and Extermination: Satan's Tools for Destruction


I know this may appear to be a dark subject matter, but my spirit has increasingly become aware that our Enemy is launching what may be his final campaign against humanity, and especially against those whom God loves. As a daughter of a WW2 veteran, and a student of history, I have long been interested in how seamlessly Satan was able to convince Hitler and his Nazi regime to sign on to his demonic agenda to exterminate the Jewish people. But that agenda hasn't just focused on the Jews in that war. In our century alone, the world has seen genocides in Sudan; Cambodia; Rwanda; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Armenia; the afore-mentioned Holocaust in Germany; Poland and Czechoslavia; the pogroms in Russia; and now the attempts at mutual annihilation in Israel and Palestine. 

We, here in the U.S., have been largely sheltered from the effects of a State policy of intentional destruction of a people. Yes, we are not without our sins towards humanity, and we may yet suffer the consequences of our various forms of inhumanity. For instance, consider our nation's hot-button topics of human trafficking and abortion. And the way I see it is that we begin with inhumanity, move into dehumanization, and it all ends in extermination [or elimination] ... none of which is in alignment with God's Spirit or His heart and intentions for mankind. So, Let me break down my theory of this spiritual disintegration. 

Let's look at human trafficking. The victims of this horrid practice are initially seen as a product of convenience, to be sold and profited from. This "business" becomes inhumane when they are subjected to cruel and brutal behavior; treated unkindly and without feeling. The practice moves into dehumanization when the process begins defining the victims as no longer possessing human qualities or a human nature; making them less than human and therefore not worthy of humane treatment. The final stage is the most grave sin [or crime] against humanity; the deliberate and systematic destruction of a person or people group. A heartless decision is made to toss the human[s] onto the trash pile of history.

The same system applies to the topic of abortion. God's creation is initially seen as nothing but "a clump of cells" or a non-human. And like the "business of human trafficking", the fetus becomes a commodity to be sold for profit; inhumanity instigated by humans against another unborn human. The dehumanization began simultaneously with the inhumanity -- the fetus was not credited with human qualities, which allows for its easy extermination. But I have never understood why some people will mourn a miscarriage of what they will call their "child", [which qualifies as the same "clump of cells" or "fetus"], yet maintain that it should readily be dismissed as a child and aborted.

I have set this discourse up in order to bring you a testimony that will tie it all together. It is the story of Eda Edl, an 89-year-old survivor of a Communist concentration camp following World War 2. You can read more about her story here. She was only six when the Nazi's invaded her homeland of Yugoslavia after a coup of their king weakened the country and led to a civil war. For a little while her family was safe from the rampage of the Nazi's, but after her father was kidnapped to fight in the Nazi rampage across Europe, he managed to get a letter to them, urging them to flee ... the Red Army was coming, and they would be brutal. They did not get out in time. The Soviet Union sought vengeance against their former Nazi allies in Germany [who had deliberately starved 3.3 million Soviet prisoners of war, and millions of civilians].

The Soviet Union, backed by the weapons and moral authority of the U.S. and Great Britain, brought its inhumanity in the form of Stalin's hatred and reign of terror against Germany and its conquered lands. Eva and her family were Yugoslavian by birth, but German by heritage and language. The new communist government then dehumanized her people by enacting laws that barred them from voting and took away their voice in domestic affairs. Her mother was kidnapped to dig trenches for the war effort, and her two older siblings were led by bayonet to a forced labor camp. Eva and her grandmother were put on a train bound for a concentration camp. While the free world was celebrating victory over Nazi Germany and the U.S. nuclear bombs at Nagasaki and Hiroshima elevated America to the pinnacle of world power, Eva and her people were targeted for elimination. 

Although the Nazi concentration camps ended at the end of the Second World War, the Communist death camps did not; they were just getting started. But there, in the darkest depth of hell on earth, Eva found Jesus! She was miraculously rescued from the genocide and destruction of her people and eventually emigrated to the United States. Because of her own experience of witnessing inhumanity, dehumanization and extermination, she recognized the same litany of godless laws and funding by the government that resulted in a million unborn babies being killed in what she saw as American death camps. That number has grown to over 60 million since those days.

Eva soon felt the call of God to lay down her life to rescue unborn children, just as others laid down their lives to rescue her. She became -- and still is -- a vital member of the Christian community who have become voices for life and justice. She has been arrested 46 times for interfering with abortion clinics, trying to save babies from death by abortion. The 89-year-old activist now faces a possible 4-year prison sentence for her latest protest of a clinic. But she has decided to live her life by the dictates of Proverbs 24:11-12 ... Rescue those who are being taken away to death, and those who stagger to the slaughter, Oh hold them back [from their doom]! If you [claim ignorance and] say, "See, we did not know this," does He not consider it who weighs and examines the heart and their motives? And does He not know it who guards your life and keeps your soul? And will He not repay [you and] every man according to his works?   

So, my question to you is this ... Can you see the inhumanity, dehumanization and destruction in the ideologies of modern factions of society who perceive their fellow man as less than human, whether by the color of the skin, their faith, or their ethnicity? Sadly, it all seems to go hand-in-hand with our current toxic and virulent culture. But it also all makes perfect sense when you consider that so much of society has turned its back on God and is incapable of imitating His love for others, or seeing their unique gifts, purpose, or worth. Morality is now merely relevant to one's own system of values. 

Without God's standards of morality and righteousness, the human spirit becomes narcissistic and self-interested, fomenting indignation and anger against anyone who thinks  differently or is perceived to be their "enemy" and prohibiting their influence and power. This form of dehumanization is essentially incapable of comprehending that ALL men are made in the image of God. This lack of spiritual identity as image-bearers of our Almighty God will lead the world to destruction, if we, His remnant, do not find a way to turn the hearts of hardened men towards those they persecute. In addition, we must cling to the Word which says, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".  That's a tall order when we are experiencing hostilities directed specifically at us. But we should expect nothing less from ourselves. 

The inhumanity of man towards his fellow man, plus the dehumanization and ultimate extermination and destruction of the human race leads us to the commands of the God we honor and exalt: "And this we will do so that at the Name of Jesus,"every knew should bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".  It is our duty and responsibility as the image-bearers of the God of all Creation to stand and to speak for those who are being subjected to Satan's brutal agenda to destroy mankind. 

As you read the Scripture at the end of this post, think of the world on the brink of catastrophic war; of the innocent babies in the womb; and of the trafficked children who suffer unspeakable horrors at the hands of wicked and vile men. That chapter of Isaiah prophesies the downfall of ancient Babylon to the Medes. But remember, Revelation, Chapter 18 prophesies of a future Daughter of Babylon [Babylon the Great] who will meet a similar fate because of her greed, pride, immorality, and agreements made with demonic agendas and Evil. Let us pray to God for repentance for this nation, and then let us be in agreement with Him to wage war in the spiritual realms [and through our Godly behavior] to re-establish God's dominion on the face of the Earth.    

Isaiah 13:18.    Their bows will slaughter the young men; they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes will not pity [or show compassion to] the children.

August 19, 2022

Balancing Compassion and Frustration For The Sinful World


In the midst of this world's troubles, my goal is to make my faith the focus of my existence. It is what keeps me centered. And maybe it's just a consequence of the aging process, but I am just no longer interested in how the world perceives me; although I know that how I appear to others reflects who the Lord is to me ... I represent Him, and I try to be always conscious of that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it grieves me to see how so many people [both followers of Christ and unbelievers] are seeking identities that are validated by the world. The number of "likes" and followers on social media seems to increasingly determine how people feel about themselves, and their efforts to see those numbers climb consumes their waking hours. 

As a human, and in my own sinful nature, I find myself being both compassionate and frustrated. I know there is so much tumult in the world that people are shaken to their core; I know because our Inner Healing Ministry is receiving an ever growing number of calls. I understand the desire to escape the anxiety and worry into anything that takes their eyes and minds off the world. And that evokes compassion in me because I so desperately want them to know who they are -- not only IN Christ, but TO Christ! 

We, in the Body of Christ, are familiar with proclaiming that we are "in Christ", but do we really know all that this encompasses? Let me share my perspective. To be in Christ, means we are placed by God in our position to walk out God's purpose for us. Our life consists of dwelling in that place where Christ is. We "live in Him!" That means we have access to all the spiritual blessings, the power and authority, and the heavenly inheritance that He possesses. 

When I contemplate who we are "to Christ", I see how much we mean to Him; how He feels about us! We are the passion of His heart; His joy in this world is complete in us because He created us. He desires that everyone of us be where He is. He prays for us and roots for us; interceding on our behalf when the world tries to defeat us. I once read an article that said if Jesus has a refrigerator in Heaven, our picture is on it. If He carries a wallet, our picture is in it. He is nothing less than crazy about us! 

And that's where my compassion rises up. I want everyone to understand the fullness of those two concepts regarding our relationship with Christ -- both those who proclaim they know Him, and those who still reject or run away from Him. In our ministry, we see many people who come to us to learn about how Jesus can set them free from their torment, but who have no understanding of all He has for them, or how much He really loves them. Many have experienced years of Church doctrine and rituals, and still are unable to accept the Truth of who they are in and to Christ. And so they remain locked away in regions of captivity that Satan controls. It is out of our compassion and mercy for each precious soul that our spirit seeks the counsel of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to open those prison doors and free them from the sin that has enslaved them.

But there are also times that my spirit experiences frustration. I know that frustration is a human response, and while I recognize it, I always try to discern the root of it and how would Jesus like me to deal with it. And it helps to know that Jesus also encountered frustration while on earth. I mean, it could not have been easy to spend day after day for three years, modeling God's grace and miracles, while teaching God's spiritual truths to the masses and His closest Disciples, only to have them question Him again or display doubt and unbelief. There are plenty of examples of Jesus showing exasperation, anger, frustration and disappointment in people. Most of his anger seems to be directed at the overly religious and/or phony practitioners of their so-called "faith"; or for the ungodly who clearly dishonored His Father. So, I am honest with myself when I feel frustration, and then quickly turn to Jesus before it progresses into something that opens a door for the devil to exploit it, thereby defeating my purpose for God.

My main motivation to bring this to you today is because this world is full of reasons to experience both compassion and frustration. Sinfulness and lawlessness abound, and we must remain focused on Jesus in the midst of it and seek Him for appropriate responses. Whenever Jesus responded in compassion or frustration, it was an action that produced positive results. Our compassion must never result in making excuses for ungodly behavior, but rather provide guidance and counsel to walk a righteous path. Likewise, our frustrations must never be designed to punish, but to seek answers from Jesus to instruct us how to correct wrong theology, to forgive, and to eliminate hypocrisy. I'm not saying it will be easy; our flesh is always tempted to react from the soul (our own mind, will, and emotions). But it is the Spirit that will lead us into all Truth and action. It's a balancing act ... but when you are centered with Christ, He will show you how to walk that spiritual tightrope. 

John 17:20-21    I’m praying not only for them but also for those who will believe in Me because of them and their witness about Me. The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, so they might be one heart and mind with Us. Then the world might believe that You, in fact, sent Me.