Though he looked the part, Daniel Walker was not a typical Western visitor to brothels in Asia.  Playing the part of a lonely tourist, Walker was actually an undercover agent investigating the sex trade industry in various locations around the globe.  Knowing his life would be in danger if he were exposed, Walker was moved by more than a paycheck.  In his book God in a Brothel, it becomes clear that Walker's overriding motivation to rescue girls and women trapped in this brutal form of slavery was God's great love for each and every one of them.  

Human trafficking is a present-day reality about which many of us would prefer not to think.  No modern invention, it was the situation in which God's people suffered under the rule of the Egyptians, enslaved to construct Egypt's buildings as forced laborers.  In the midst of their suffering -- just as in the midst of our own experiences of suffering -- it would have been tempting to give up hope in the God who had called them His own.  And yet, instead of relinquishing trust, the Hebrew people continued to cry out to God for deliverance for four hundred years.  The One who loved them heard their cries, saw their misery, and was concerned for their suffering.  

In the midst of suffering, it's tempting to believe that God does not care or that God has abandoned us.  The truth is that bodies which are used and abused, broken and beaten, matter deeply to God.  God does not turn away from the suffering of a young woman being trafficked for profit.  God does not ignore the cries of  the needy.  Rather, the One who used Moses to deliver His people out of captivity is the One to whom you can turn in the midst of your suffering.  

God sees your suffering and hears your cries.

This post is taken from Today in the Word, June 3, 2012.

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

"...I shall be anointed with fresh oil"   The word used for "anoint" in the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament comes from the Greek word chrio.  This word originally denoted the smearing or rubbing of oil or perfume upon an individual.  For example, if a patient came to see a physician because of sore muscles, the physician would pour oil upon his own hands; then he would begin to deeply rub that oil into the sore muscles of that patient.  That penetrating application of oil would be denoted by the Greek work chrio.  So technically speaking, the word "anoint" has to do with the rubbing or smearing of oil upon someone else.

When you read the word "anoint" in the Bible, think not only of the oil, but of the hands of the Anointer.  Oil was very expensive in Bible times; therefore, rather than tip the bottle of oil downward and freely pour it upon the recipient, a person would first pour the oil onto his hands and then apply it to the other person.  

Let's consider this concept in the context of God anointing our lives.  God Himself -- the Great Anointer -- filled His hands with the essence of His Spirit and then laid His mighty hands upon our lives, pressing the Spirit's power and anointing ever deeper into us.  So when we speak of a person who is anointed, we are actually acknowledging the the hand of God is on that person. 

If you would like a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit upon your life, you come before the Great Anointer!  He alone can give you what you need.  Open your heart to God, and allow Him to lay His hands upon your life in a new way.

This post is taken from SPARKLING GEMS FROM THE GREEK (p. 363).

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

When I first started this blog, I had an entry that precedes this present entry.  That one is to be read in conjunction with this one. Click here to read that entry.  

After I posted the other entry, a Lt Colonel friend of mine responded about my impressions about the Colonel picking up a piece of trash.  My friend said, "in God's eyes, a Colonel has no more value than any one else.  A private is just as valuable as the Colonel.  Remember that military folks have ingrained in them that they should pick up garbage!" 

His statement made me think of how God desires immediate obedience.  When I told that to my friend, he replied, "Wouldn't it be great (santification does it) to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that we would do the "right thing" not because it is a challenge, but simply because it is ingrained within us? "   When he said that, someone popped into my mind. 

I am thinking of someone who comes from America's greatest generation.  Actually, he's a tad bit young to fit into that generation; however, he embodies many of those qualities.  Better yet, he embodies the quality of "immediate obedience."  Since this is Memorial Day, we are to remember those who have fought for our country to retain our freedoms.  

If you look at that picture above, you will see my father-in-law.  When I think of a soldier, I think of this picture.  Then I think of the gentleman that he is and of the example he has provided for me over the last 28 years of knowing him.  I am a much better man because of his willingness to be "immediately obedient" to God's working thru him.  

So today, this Memorial Day, take the time to honor someone who has taken the time to show you what being a real man is like, being a gentleman's gentleman.  Let him know now before you don't have a chance to tell him.  Tell him that he is your inspiration. 

Thanks, Dad! (yes, he let's me call him that)

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.

I was fortunate over the last three years to serve with our military in Germany.  My time there taught me two important lessons about being a gentleman.  One from a German and one from a U.S. Army Colonel.

I was on a German train traveling to a conference.  It was a bullet train and I reserved my seat (you have to pay extra to get a reservation).  When I got to my seat, a German man, a bit older than me, was sitting in my seat.  It didn't matter that there were other seats available, he was in MY seat and I had PAID for that seat.  I showed him my ticket and he got up and moved to an  empty seat.  What I didn't know was that he was sitting with his friends.  He moved across the aisle and continued his conversation.  I wasn't very friendly, I was upset that this guy could just sit in my seat.  But I put in my earphones, listened to my iPod and tried to not act angry.  As I sat there, listening to my CHRISTIAN music, God talked to me and said I was wrong.  I was full of myself and was not acting like Christ.  Finally, after several stops, I got up and went over to the man and apologized to him (in very broken German) and asked him to trade seats with me.  In perfect English, he said, "no, it was my fault.  It was my pleasure to let you sit there."  Now, I felt even more foolish.  This man said it was his "pleasure."  

On another occasion, I was at a US Military hotel in Seoul, Korea and I was standing at the deli, ordering a sandwich.  I noticed someone had taken the previous number and had thrown it on the ground.  I thought about picking it up, then I thought, "I didn't put it down there, I'm not picking it up."  I ordered  my sandwich and sat down.  Shortly after that, a Colonel came thru the line.  He saw the number that was on the ground and he bent over, picked it up and threw it away and then got back in line.  God spoke to me, He said, "so you thought you were too good to pick that up, huh?  Look at that Colonel.  Even though he is in charge and could have ordered a number of men to pick up that number, he did it himself."  Then I was reminded of the story of the Centurion in Matthew 8.  This Centurion was commended for his humility and faith.

So these two simple stories, I hope, help to spur you into thinking what it means to be a gentleman.  A gentleman thinks of others.  He doesn't get to thinking he is better than anyone else.  A gentleman doesn't think that he is above doing tasks that don't seem worthy.  

Yesterday at Target, when a woman ran over my toe with her shopping cart, I didn't erupt.  I told her not to worry about it.  When a man asked to sit next to me while I was waiting at the pharmacy for my prescription, I simply stated, "yes, it would be my pleasure."   

Are you willing to allow God to make you into a gentleman's gentleman?

For part two, click here

BE HOLY.
BE A MAN.