Now with that said, I have to tell you this past 2 weeks have been a time that has opened my eyes to just how bad things are in this world and why they are as they are. I want to start off with the death of a major celebrity about 2 weeks ago, Whitney Houston. Now she died on Saturday Night, exactly 2 weeks ago tomorrow, in a bathroom in the Hollywood/ L.A. area in California, just in case you had not heard. Immediately the lead story on the news were headlines like "Whitney Houston, dead at 48" or "America has lost a treasure in Whitney Houston". Now my prayers do go out to her family,because regardless of who you are the loss of a loved one is always hard to deal with. On this same day in our local area, 2 teen age girls were killed in a car accident. These 2 young ladies, one 16 and one 19, stepped out of this world and into eternity, and it was buried behind about 10 minutes or so of Whitney Houston, 48, dies today........ Now it seems like the reason for these girls having this single car accident appeared, and again I say appeared to be speeding on a dirt road. If this is the case, why wasn't it put up front so parents could hear about it and then hopefully talk to their kids about speed and how it can cut a promising life short. I say this because if your like me, I got tired real quick of hearing the same thing said a new way after the first 5 minutes and got up to walk out of the room until the weather came on. Luckily, I just happened to step back in to the room to get on my laptop and BAM I heard the story.
Fast forward to a week later and lo and behold whats all over TV the next Saturday? Whitney Houston's funeral.Can we say enough is enough. Exodus 20:3-4 says "do not have other Gods before me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth."Now I don't know about you, but Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and I would even go as far as to say Lady Gaga, were and are IDOLS, for a lot of people out there. There are a many youths out there that are so into Lady Gaga they would do anything for that woman. What we have done in America is created a culture where people who are rich and famous are given GOD status in a lot of people's minds. Now I know I am probably not going to win any awards for what I am saying but you know what, the truth hurts and I would rather speak the truth and keep quiet and risk the wrath of my Lord. People are so unhappy with their lives today that they look to celebrities to idolize and dream of being like them some day, forgetting the fact that reality is , Celebrities are nothing more than people with money. They also forget that probably 90% of the stars today have been drug addicts, alcoholics, spousal abusers,or are currently in some type of trouble because of the reasons above. They also forget that rehab seems to be a second home for most celebrities. And we make that front page news when one dies. No wonder our youth are in such a mess, look at what they model their lives after.
Then we go to this week. A 3rd grader in Washington state is shot, and clinging to life in the hospital as I type, because a classmate, a 3rd grade classmate, brought a gun to school, and supposedly accidentally shot her. I have read a few different accounts and one said he shoved the gun in her side and pulled the trigger, but most say it was an accident. Well let's see a) where did he get the gun? Well it seems the .45 caliber handgun was obtained during a visit with his mother, who has as of yet refused to return the fathers phone calls.So why take the Gun and then carry it to school? Who knows what the child was thinking, but after reading the story, my opinion is maybe he was trying to be like mommy and daddy. You see mommy and daddy BOTH have a history of criminal behavior, and both have "extensive criminal records" according to the story I read. From drug possession (Methamphetamines) and possession of drug paraphanelia, along with marijuana delivery and forgery for the mom, and failure to pay child support, and violation of protection orders(sounds like there may have been a little abuse there) for the father. So who was the "good" role model in this family?
Then how about the 9 year old girl in Alabama who was forced to run for roughly 3 hours as a punishment for eating chocolate, which contained caffeine that she was not supposed to have because of a medical condition. And who made her run, her grandmother (dads mom) and her step mother. The prodded this little girl along, hollering things like move it, move it, come on get with it, until after 3 hours this little girlof 9 yrs old, collapsed. 911 was called and the little girl was taken to the hospital where after she was put on life support for awhile and even transferred to another hospital, her father made the decision to unplug her from the machines and she slipped out into eternity. Oh and a side not to this story the Step Mother gave birth while in custody. What a mother.
Then Wednesday night I got stuck at work late, so unfotunatley I missed Wednesday night service. Well when I did get off I took my wife and daughter out to a late dinner, and I mean late. We left the restraunt and walked up to Food Lion in the same shopping center. When I passed the Durham Herald Sun newspaper machine, the lead story caught my eye. That story was "WHY YOUTHS CHOOSE GANGS OVER CHURCH", and I like to have fell down right there on the sidewalk. I could not believe what I was seeing. Here is a major city's newspaper leading off with a story that basically could have read " Churches sit back and watch as Satan take over the youth in America!!!" And in the story there is a paragraph that has a couple of comments by some of the youth they interviewed that really kind of says it all. That paragraph reads "“A lot of kids don’t go to church because they judge you,” said Cheyenne Lucas, who is in the EDGE program and attends One Love Ministries Church. She said youths notice churchgoers scooting over and grabbing their purses. Shamika Garrett, who now attends Miracle Temple Holiness Church, said she had stopped going to church because people judged her on the way she looked." Seriously, the people in the church Judging people based off looks, or skin color, or clothing? You mean these things still go on in the year 2012? Who would have guessed it.
And that's when I asked myself this question. What, in each one of these situations, is missing? And the answer makes me so furious, I just want to scream. The answer is Godly men standing up to do what's right. You see, in the case of the teenage girls getting killed in the car wreck and being pushed back to the middle of the news cast should have been stopped. What we needed was a Godly man who would not be afraid to stand up and say hey, why are we putting the death of another overpaid, drug struggling ,alcohol drinking, celebrity front page when 2 local girls have died. Why do we want to glorify the death of Whitney Houston, who had publicly had so many issues it wasn't funny, when 2 lives have been cut down in the prime of youth because of a bad decision to drive a little faster than they should. Shouldn't we be educating parents on how to discuss this issue with their children rather than showing them that if you make it in Hollywood and you go out and abuse drugs and alcohol, that when you die we are going to memorialize you as a role model for the youth of america. What we need are Godly Father's in the home who will teach their children that life is precious, and should never be toyed with. What we need are Godly men who will teach their children the ways of the Lord and not set the example of how to go to jail in three easy steps. What we need are Godly women who will teach their children that yes there are consequences to doing things they aren't supposed to , but will also teach them compassion and how to follow the examples that Jesus gave us when he walked on the earth. what we need is the Church to stand up and be the New Testament Church that God is calling us to be. What we need is the church to get back to BEING the bride of Christ, instead of PLAYING the bride of Christ. Brothers and sisters 2 Chronicles 7:14 states that "if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.(ESV)." The time has come for the Church to fall upon it's knees and repent. Repent for allowing the body of Christ to become lazy and complacent in our walk, and then to stand up and take back that which God has ordained us to have, our families and our Church. For you see when the people of God petition heaven in one accord and in one spirit, there is nothing we cannot accomplish in the name of Jesus.
I pray that those of you who read this will get mad like I did and decide to stand up and say no more. That today is the day I take back that which you have given me Lord. I will close with a passage of scripture from Joshua, that you may have heard before, but I feel it fits very well tonight. Joshua 24:13-15 says " Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”(ESV)
I dedicate this Blog to the memories of the following youth:
Kim Murphy (top photo) 8 yrs old The Washington State 3rd Grader Shot
Catherine Elizabeth "Beth" Shivers, 19 and 16-year-old Samantha Faith Tilley Teens killed in Orange County Car Wreck on February 11, 2012
Savannah Hardin 9 yrs old who died after being forced to run for 3 hours by stepmother and grandmother.
May They rest easy in the arms of our Lord.
God Bless and Good Night all
Brother Bill Roy
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