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“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; to bind up the broken hearted and to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners!” (Isaiah 61:1)
TODAY’S BLOG . . .
STEP #3: WE MADE A DECISION TO TURN OUR WILL AND OUR LIVES OVER TO THE CARE OF GOD AS WE UNDERSTOOD HIM.
“The Serenity Prayer” is where you are now if you’re on the “Third Step” . . .
Did you know that on October 31, 1932, Winnifred Crane Wygal, wrote “The Serenity Prayer” in her personal diary. Reportedly, Ms. Wygal was a student under Reinhold Niebuhrh at the Union Theological Seminary when she made the transcription. According to the article, Ms. Wygal transcribed: “R.N. says that ‘moral will plus imagination are the two elements of which faith is compounded.’ ‘The victorious man in the day of crisis is the man who has the serenity to accept what he cannot help and the courage to change what must be altered.'” (Roos, Dave. “What Is the Serenity Prayer and Who Wrote It?” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 22 Mar. 2021, https://people.howstuffworks.com/serenity-prayer.htm.)(Bold added)
“God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.” (“The Serenity Prayer,” Reinhold Nieburh, 1932).
Below is the version of ”The Serenity Prayer” you would have been taught in Alcoholics Anonymous, but was originally found in the Obituary column of the newspaper.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 1941)
Mariam-Webster’s Dictionary, First Edition published 1806
The word accept has many definitions; “1) admittance or approval, 2) endure without protest or reaction, 3) to recognize as true, 4) to make a favorable response to, et.al definitions.”( Webster’s Dictionary)
The Gutenberg Bible was printed in Mainz in 1455 by Johann Gutenberg and his associates, Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer.
However, the biblical meaning of the word accept lends a totally different perspective. Most biblical words originate in one of three languages; Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Both Hebrew and Aramaic would refer to Old Testament Languages; before the birth of Jesus. The Greek is the New Testament Language; after the birth of Jesus. Hebrew words are transcribed in ”binyan” form; three letters without any vowels; the three radicals of the root word.
Francis Brown, S. Driver and Charles Briggs, “BDB” was first published by Oxford University Press over 100 years ago.
For example, David,(דָּוִד) in Hebrew is pronounced, ”daw-veed” the three radicals would be the consonants, “D, v, d” known as roots. However, in the Aramaic Language (which is very similar to Hebrew) it is transcribed including vowels, (a, e, i, o, and u). Thus, an example of a vowel symbol would be a “daghesh” (•) and depending on its position in relation to the consonant, (above, below, and beside) the “daghesh” (•) could very well represent a different vowel, [with the “daghesh” (•) transposed singularly or alongside another “daghesh” (•)].
Lastly, the binyanim which is the (stem of the Hebrew verb) is what actually changes the conjugation of the verb altogether. In the English language, the ”stem” is the ”root” word. In the Hebrew language, the stem does two very different things; it changes the action, (simple, stative, causative, resultative, intensive) and the voice of the verb, (active, passive, reflexive, middle voice, reciprocal voice). There are seven possible verb stems in the Hebrew; Qal, Niphal, Hiphil, Hophal, Piel, Pual and Hithpael verb stems.
The forms that the verbs are conjugated into are perfect, imperfect and imperative. For the record, most Hebrew verbs are conjugated in the Qal (pa’al) tense; the simple form of the Hebrew word. The (Qal) Pa’al tense; the “singular tense”of a verb would be “to do; to make; to operate.” On the other hand, if the inflection was inthe ”first person” tense, then you would read “I do, I make, I operate.” So instead of the ”singular tense” (to do) the inflection in the “first person” would be, (I do). Instead of the “singular tense” (to make) in the “first person” sense would be (I make). Instead of the “singular tense” (to operate) the “first person” would be (I operate).
Hence, the Hebrew usage of the word “accept” would be ”to lift, to bear up, to carry, to take.” For example, the first inflection would be, “to lift” or “to lift up.” The second would be ”to bear, to carry, to support, to sustain, to endure.” The third inflection would be ”to take, to take away, to carry off, to forgive.”
I get it . . . Why the lesson in biblical languages? Believe me, I only shared with you the stems of verbs and basic inflections. If I go any further in the lesson, you would have to pay me, (LOL)!
Perspective . . . Is it God’s? OR . . . is it yours?
My only goal (once again) is to teach you perspectives; man’s perspective vs. God’s perspective in which the word, ”accept”should be viewed. In other words, I want you to see the word, ”accept” in the view of the Twelve Step Program from which the prayer originated, versus the word ”accept” from God’s perspective and how its linguistic use should be intended. Thus, if you view the word accept with the inflection as ”forgive,” the prayer changes one’s perspective. So now the Serenity Prayer reads as follows;
God grant me the serenity to ”forgive” the things I cannot change . . . Why is this perspective important?
“The Pope apologizes for irreparable damage!”
Put a parenthetical pin in that question for a moment while you hold on to just that part of the prayer. Meanwhile, I want to share the following stories with you to help you gain perspective on why this inflection is so relative to your healing. Then, we will revisit the question, ”Why is God’s perspective so important?”
Harvey Winstein, former Film Producer, (1979 – 2017)
Remember the ”#Me Too” Movement that was launched because of Harvey Weinstein? In case you don’t, Weinstein was a Hollywood Movie Producer, now discredited by five women, (confronted with sexual assault; 11 counts by the Los Angeles County legal system). Having been found guilty last year in New York, he was serving 23 years in a Buffalo NY prison resulting the penalty for first-degree criminal sexual acts in addition to third degree rape charges. The courts relocated Weinstein to California in July to face additional charges for assaults that occurred between 2004 and 2013. The charges consisted of “one count of sexual penetration by use of force, two counts of sexual battery by restraint, four counts of forcible oral copulation, and four counts of forcible rape.” (CNN, Lauren de Valle and Eric Levenson 07/20/2021)
Larry Nassar, USA Gymnastics Sports Medicine Physician
Another culprit, Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics Sports Medicine Physician from Michigan State University, (along with coaches and others staff) are complicit in the accusations of abuse by “five hundred plus women.” (USA Today, 12/3/2021). One of the accusers, Magen Halicek disclosed repeated assaults by Nassar since the age of 15 for rote appointments while distressed from a fragmented spine. Ms. Halicek attested before a jury, Nassar violated her “Again and again and again . . . He abused me, all the while telling me stories about his Olympic journey. . . I closed my eyes tight, I held my breath, and I wanted to puke . . . To this day, those feelings are still there.”
Nassar maintained a guilty plea to charges of illegal sexual behavior along with federal “child pornography” penalties consequential to the substantiation of more than one hundred fifty women. Nassar’s sequential fate amounts up to a one-hundred seventy-five (175) year sentence with a compilation of sixty (60) more years for federal child pornography convictions. (Vox, Jen Kirby 05/16/2018)
”R. Kelly,” 3x Grammy Award Winner, 6x American Music Award Winner, 6x Billboard Award Winner, and 8x Soul Train Music Award Winner, (over 40 million albums sold worldwide).
Another offender, Robert Kelly, (R. KELLY) divulges an account at the age of 8, “ . . . when he got caught watching ONE of them . . . Cousins, aunts, friends of aunts — have sex with a man.” He depicts these cousins, aunts and friends of aunts promenaded around half naked, appearing “differently” than when his matriarchs were present . . . The particulars of his memoirs involve an individual, (a female) who requested him to observe and photograph her and her partner in a sexual act. Another woman, R. Kelly portrays as much as 10 years older than he, began molesting and fornicating with R. Kelly, nonstop for years. Kelly’s justification, “I was too afraid and too ashamed, to tell anyone.” (Robert Kelly)
“I remember Rob from nothing; sleeping in his car to stardom just that fast. Then he got caught up in the fame and the fortune.” (Craig Williams)
“They would go and get ice cream and I would be walking behind them laughing all the time. They were so silly man . . . They were so silly. . . Her parents trusted! They trusted me; they trusted us. . . I thought they were getting closer . . . I was beginning to suspect things, but didn’t want to so I asked Robert, “What’s going on man . . . you not messing with Aaliyah?” (Demetrius Smith, Former Tour Manager, Personal Assistant)
R. Kelly vehemently denounces, “I’m not messing with Aaliyah!”(R. Kelly)
Robert Kelly, “R…Kelly is Found Guilty of All Counts and Faces Life in Prison,” (New York Times, 09/27/2021)
“The R & B star was convicted last month in Brooklyn of sex trafficking and racketeering charges after decades of sexual abuse allegations.” (New York Times, 10/06/2021)
Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein, Financier
The last of many evildoers, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is now fifty-nine (59) years old and a prison detainee because she is an accomplice to the deceased financier and convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell, having been charged with recruiting girls and even participating in sexual abuse alongside Epstein is currently in the public eye in a federal court trial, complicit for recruiting minors.
One of the corroborators, (pseudonym) “Jane” attested that at the age of fourteen (14) she was baited at a seasonal recreational campsite located in Michigan where Jeffrey Epstein was a benefactor. Consequently, Jane swore she was sexually manhandled by Epstein upwards through the age of sixteen (16) years old. Jane witnessed that Maxwell was “often in the room when it happened.”
Another testimony provided by Max, (Jane’s former boyfriend) in his youth remembered Jane as having a “godfather” who supplied monetary support, a buttress to Jane’s family. Matt’s recall of the encounter with Jane and her family when she hollered at her Mother regarding Epstein, “How do you think I got the money, Mom?” On a different incidence where Jane and Max shared a past, Max recalled his girlfriend was aggravated with him testifying, “Max, the money wasn’t f****** free.” (National Public Radio, 12/2/21)
Another Jeffrey Epstein accuser, (pseudonym, Kate) swore that Ghislain Maxwell scheduled the accounts when she was sexually assaulted, including particulars to sexual conversations instructing the victim on Epstein’s physical needs . . .
“She said that he needed to have sex about three times a day,” is the testimony Kate provided in court.
At the age of seventeen, (17) Kate met Maxwell in Paris while in the company of an older gentleman she was dating. Kate was later invited for tea with Maxwell where Epstein, (Maxwell’s then boyfriend) talked about the topic of “philanthropy,” someone to encourage Kate’s musical pursuits.
Kate learned of Maxwell’s position, “I understood that her job was to take care of Jeffrey’s needs.” As a result, Kate said she “left there feeling exhilarated,” as if “somebody wanted me.”
Consequently, Maxwell extended an invitation to Kate to her townhome with intentions to actually meet with Epstein, expressing the “urgency.” During that encounter, Maxwell encouraged Kate to “squeeze” Epstein’s foot during a foot massage to illuminate her vigor given her miniature stature. Epstein sanctioned the foot massage and emboldened Kate to massage his upper body.
At a later date, Maxwell contacted Kate for “a favor” to administer a massage to Epstein with her “strong hands.” Kate, (having no training or experience in messages) showed up with intentions to perform a professional service. Kate was led to a bedroom where Epstein disrobed and provided Kate with massage oil, confined at that moment to a bedroom. Kate attested that Epstein consequently concocted a sexual performance with her.
It wasn’t long after that Kate was sequestered back to that townhome bedroom where she was expected to perform sexually; this time greeted with a completely naked Epstein. Maxwell communicated, “It’s hard to keep up with his needs . . . I’m so glad you’re here. You did such a good job last time (that) he wanted you to come back,'” per Kate’s sworn testimony. Maxwell reportedly left the room, closing the door behind her, encouraging Kate to, “Have a good time.” Kate also reported that Maxwell asked each time Kate provided Epstein massages if she indeed, “had fun.”
In MY opinion, they ALL ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE because they each know now, and they each knew then, right from wrong!!! Even at the age of eight (8) years old, instinctively “R. Kelly” knew “something was wrong” based on his very own testimony.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for Godmade it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.“ (Romans 1:18-20)(Bold Added)
”Why is God’s perspective so important?” . . .
In the Twelve Step Program, the word ”accept” lends absolutely no power from man’s perspective. Imagine if you will, counseling someone who lived through the experiences in the aforementioned narratives with the definition provided by Webster’s Dictionary, (i.e. accept; admittance or approval, endure without protest or reaction, to recognize as true, or to make a favorable response to). Now apply any these definitions to The Serenity Prayer as follows;
God grant me the serenity to ”admit or approve” of the things I cannot change . . .
God grant me the serenity to “endure without protest or reaction” the things I cannot change . . .
God grant me the serenity to ”recognize as true” the things I cannot change. . .
God grant me the serenity to ”make a favorable response to” the the things I cannot change . . .
Thereby, you resort to a mind or mood altering substance to ineffectively take away the pain. The substance is like anesthesia to numb the pain during a dental extraction; it’s temporary and it wears off. Consequently, you will have to resort to more and more anesthesia because you will continue to try to push down the pain. However, the pain will materialize each time you hear, smell, taste or experience something that evokes that pernicious encounter, continually, perpetually and uninterruptedly playing over and over in your mind.
However, in God’s perspective, the word ”accept” not only lends power, but it leads you to a path of freedom! Remember, the third inflection would be ”to take, to take away, to carry off, to forgive.” The inflection to forgive would be best suited in this prayer . . .
“God grant me the serenity (peace) to forgive . . .
Let us begin with clarity! Forgive absolutely DOES NOT mean to forget! In fact, there are some Pastors that would encourage you to assimilate forgiveness with forgetting. But, my experience of forgetting was part of the rational as to why I was repeatedly raped. The events did NOT occur close together and I wanted to believe that the experience with one boy (or man) had no relation to another boy (or man) unless each individual were present during the experience. Thus, I put the violation behind me and I moved on believing it was a one time event; ”forgetting it,” convinced it would never happen again. But, forgetting the violations only enabled me to be more naive.
In other words, (where I lost my virginity to rape by my Cousin’s friend) I did not assume inasmuch that his masculinity correlated to rape just because a male Pedophile previously molested me. There was no correlation from the Pedophile to the adolescent rapist. One response did not derive from the other because the two were not interconnected. The rapes were NOT a derivative of the Pedophile molestation. I had no analytical tell tale signs other than the fact that I was alone with a male in each situation. But, I had been alone with males many times; daily in fact., (i.e. my Brother was/is a male, my Cousin was/is a male and my Father was a male). I lived in the presence of each male daily while my Mother was at work.
The rapist was more emboldened particularly because his Mother and Sister were in the home during the sexual assault. In fact, it was because his family was present in the home that it seemed more unreasonable to assume I would be violated. After all, this rapist frequented my Grandmother’s home and never touched me. His Mother served on the Usher Board at my Mother’s church and his Sister sang in the choir at my Mother’s church. Consequently, there was no reason for me to believe the two violations were interconnected; not physically, mentally or spiritually, (so I believed).
In another instance where I was raped by my Son’s ”sperm donor,” his parents, (and a host of other people) were present in the home partying downstairs. Same scenario seemingly because for one moment, (in hindsight) I was submissive to his leadership (because it was a house full of people). He said to me, ”I’m only going to get cab fare from my room” which was the goal; to get me home. It was unimaginable that I would get raped, again.
However, it was the very experience of being ALONE with each individual, (in each situation my naiveté) and THEIR individual strategic menacing plots of UNGODLINESS that caused me to fall prey. Satan preyed upon my childishness which in turn led to a disbelief of the vaguest possibility of a repeated offense. DON’T GET ME WRONG . . . I’M NOT CONFUSED! IT WAS NOTHING I DID TO CAUSE THE RAPE!
I believe it is because I FORGOT, that the opportunity presented itself again when a pedophile and/or rapists put me in a room alone with just me and him; the aggressor. Consequently, to this day I absolutely DO NOT EVER give males an opportunity to be ALONE with me without someone I trust in their presence because I CAN NOT FORGET THE VIOLATIONS!
But, back to the prayer, ”God grant me the serenity (peace) to forgive . . .
Alisa was transformed from a meth addict, (an aftereffect of rape) sanctified and reconciled simply by forgiveness.
My forgiveness comes from God and God alone! Even today, if I chose to dwell on each incidence, my power would be instantly taken away! However, when I take it apart, (the experience) the power comes in like a flood! How the flood occurs is through the memory and application of God’s Word.
For example, just ONE scripture out of the fifty-four (54) times the word ”forgive” is mentioned in the Bible, is enough to start the breaking of the parenthetical dam for the flood gates to open, that is Matthew 6 vs. 14-15 below.
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do notforgive others, then your Father will notforgive your transgressions.” (NASB)(Bold added)(Italics added)
I don’t know about you, but just the addiction alone makes me plead for forgiveness from God. Mine’s is not so much what I did to others, but what I did to my own temple (body) where I believe the Holy Spirit resides (according to the Scripture below).
“ . . .Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral mansins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:13-19, NASB)(Bold Added)
Now, considering ALL that you have done in addiction alone, won’t you consider the inflection of ”accept” to mean forgive? As in God grant me the serenity to forgive the things I cannot change,” because the truth is I can’t abnegate historical incidents; I can’t cause the rapes to be erased from my history. They happened and no matter what I do, I can’t reshape my life to have NOT experienced these violations.
Furthermore, I’m honestly not focused so much on forgiving the violator. I’m focused more on the fact that the violation occurred because Satan entered the offender. Believe it or not; just that admission gives me power!
As an example, Judas betrayed Jesus and Jesus was consequently hung on a cross to die for your sins and mine. Because Jesus is omnipresent; He knew eternity past, the past, present and future. Therefore, Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him. When Jesus was crucified on the cross, one of His seven lasts words was, ”Forgive them for they know not what they do!” Jesus predicted His own betrayal and forgave the people putting Him to death while they were killing Him! Now, deconstruct that for power!!!
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” The disciples began looking at one another, at a loss to know of which one He was speaking. There was reclining on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved. So Simon Peter *gestured to him, and *said to him, “Tell us who it is of whom He is speaking.” He, leaning back thus on Jesus’ bosom, *said to Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus then *answered, “That is the one for whom I shall dip the morsel and give it to him.” So when He had dipped the morsel, He *took and *gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus *said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” (John 13:21-27) (Bold added)
Just as Satan entered Judas, Satan entered my assailants. Clearly, Judas was not initially an enemy of Jesus. For the purpose of Scripture, one can believe that Satan “disguised himself as an angel of light.”
“No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)(Bold added)(Italics added)
Note, the Scripture says Satan’s servants will receive consequences equal to their deeds. Likewise, my power comes when I acknowledge that my assailants “end will be according to their deeds.”
Judas hung himself . . . Judas’ end according to his deeds!
Satan, a fallen angel and banished to the pits of hell; Satan’s end according to his deeds!
Harvey Weinstein, a Movie Producer turned rapist now serving 23 years in prison (with concurrent charges pending for additional sexual violations); Weinstein’s end according to his deeds!
Larry Nassar, the USA Gymnastics Sports Medicine Physician from Michigan State University turned rapist; 175 years plus 60 more years sentences on top of that; Nassar will NEVER see the outside of a prison; Nassar’s end according to his deeds!
Robert Kelly, a Grammy winning R & B Star accused of abducting, raping, trafficking, transporting minors; racketeering for his personal sexual pleasures was found guilty of all counts, convicted and faces life in prison; Kelly’s end according to his deeds!
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.“ (Mark 9:42)(Bold added)
Jeffrey Epstein, financier and convicted sex offender, committed suicide in prison; Epstein hung himself. Epstein’s end according to his deeds!
Ghislain Maxwell, complicit in the grooming of underage adolescent for the sexual violations of her then boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein has been in prison since July and is currently experiencing a court trial. Maxwell is charged by the US federal government with the criminal act of enticing minors and sex trafficking underage girls. No matter what the court outcome . . .God says, Maxwell’s end will be according to her deeds!
The second part of “The Serenity Prayer,” talks about “. . . the courage to change the things I can . . .”
This part of The Serenity Prayer focuses on ”courage” with an article; ”the” in front of it which makes the word “courage” a noun; a person place or thing in the English Language. When you conjugate words, you inflect the tense of the verb; action words.
However, since courage is NOT used as a verb in this prayer, I will only provide an example where ”courage” is used as a noun biblically; Acts 28 vs. 15. In that verse, the biblical usage is boldness; the etymology, (the linguistic history; the origin of the word) being “daring”.
In essence, the prayer with the biblical usages now reads,
“ . . . the boldness to change the things I can.” On the other hand, praying for courage is like requesting to no longer have fear. However, praying for boldness is like having audacity, brashness, forwardness, bluntness, conceit, and being pretentious! Let me give you a biblical example in the story below;
“Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. So she said to Elijah, “What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” He said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. He called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?” Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the LORD and said, “O LORD my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.” The LORD heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” (1 Kings 17:17-24)
Elijah took her son to his room, with the knowledge of his death and had the audacity to ask God to restore his life. Elijah was not concerned about the woman’s sin; neither was he concerned about his own sin because Elijah was a prophet of God. As a matter of fact, Elijah wasn’t even concerned that her son was dead. Elijah’s only concern was to glorify God. He could only glorify God by restoring the life of her Son. Therefore, he had to take the child to a place where God was present; Elijah’s upper room and then he had the audacity to pray with expectancy from God. There was no fear in his prayer! There was no hesitation in his prayer! Elijah didn’t ask God to give him the courage to ask that the boy’s life would be restored! No! Elijah went boldly, bluntly and conceitedly to his heavenly Father with pretentiousness in anticipation of his answered prayer. After all, Elijah was God’s prophet! He had a relationship with the God of his understanding! Elijah knew based on the word of God that if he, (Elijah) abided in God, he could ask what he will! So he had the audacity to pray for the boy’s life to be restored because there was no sin to hinder his prayer.
Again, ALL of God’s perspectives lend power! The moment I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, instantly the Holy Spirit took residence inside of me. Consequently, I have the same “resurrecting power” that Jesus had when He rose from the dead. Imagine possessing the “resurrecting power” to change the things I can in my life? How much more will my power increase without the presence of sin in my life to separate me from God?
Understand, we are all sinners because sin was impugned into each and every one of us thanks to Adam and Eve. Adversely, God is so holy, sin must be assuaged; Jesus had to die on the cross for your sins and mine! Nevertheless, Jesus dying for my sins does not give me permission to sin, nor to keep on sinning! God’s grace does run out, (I.e. Larry Nassar, Robert “R. Kelly,” Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Satan, Judas, et. al.).
Now, I can even pray for forgiveness for the molesters, rapists, pedophiles and abusers in my life because I know that their fate is sealed!
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.“ (Mark 9:42)(Bold added)
The remainder of “The Serenity Prayer” reads “. . . And the wisdom to know the difference.”
Webster eludes to three (3) definitions; 1) ability to discern inner qualities and relationship, 2) a wise attitude, belief, or course of action, and 3) the teachings of the ancient wise man. Thus, the prayer would read (according to Webster) . . .
God grant me the ability to discern inner qualities and relationship to know the difference.
God grant me a wise attitude, belief, or course of action to know the difference.
God grant me the teachings of the ancient wise man to know the difference.
However, God’s definition of ”wisdom” is a bit more versatile and again, it lends power. “Wisdom” is biblically defined as 1) skill (in war), 2) wisdom (in administration), 3) shrewdness, 4) prudence (in religious affairs) and 5)wisdom (ethical and religious).
Just to humor me, let’s just use one biblical definition; wisdom defined as “shrewdness”.
So now “The Serenity Prayer” reads, “. . . and God grant me the shrewdness to know the difference.” This form of wisdom is modeled in the Scripture below;
“Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men . . .”(I Kings 4:29-31a)
Man’s perspective of The Serenity Prayer: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Remember to substitute the word forgive in place of accept . . .
Substitute courage for ”the boldness to change the things I can.”
Then substitute shrewdness in place of wisdom
God’s perspective of The Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to ”forgive” the things I cannot change, the “boldness” (as in the audacity of Elijah) to change the things I can and the “shrewdness” (of Solomon; the wisest man in the Bible) to know the difference!
You tell me . . . which prayer has more power???
It’s as plain as the stars in the sky . . . I am WALKING in the power of the inner man; the RESURRECTED POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT!!! I am boasting to you in my infirmities, (abuse, molestation, rape, etc). At the same time I am bearing the infirmities of the weak, (i.e. writing posts to set the captives free).
And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)
YOU GAIN POWER WHEN YOU FORGIVE! DO YOU KNOW JESUS DIED THAT YOU MIGHT BE FORGIVEN FOR YOUR SINS??? EVERY TIME YOU TAKE COMMUNION, YOU ARE REMINDED OF THE BLOOD JESUS SHED FOR YOUR SINS AND MINE!
“And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28)
YOUR SINS DIED ON THE CROSS! JESUS PAID THE PENALTY FOR YOUR SINS WITH HIS LIFE! WHAT MAN WOULD DO THAT??? I DON’T KNOW ANY!!! NOT ONE!!!
“The ones who caused me to stumble,” they are the ones that should be pleading with God for forgiveness! Forgiveness DOES NOT come without repentance! YOU MUST REPENT! YOU MUST TURN AWAY FROM YOUR SINS, REPENT AND SIN NO MORE!
“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7)
If you don’t know by now that the power, that inner man the Bible talks about is the Holy Spirit. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, now is the time! Humble yourself and apologize to God for everything you may have done that is not pleasing to Him. Don’t worry about those that have violated you! In fact, you need to pray for mercy for them AFTER you finish this prayer!
Say, ”God please forgive me! I have sinned against you! (Confess whatever you want to tell Him) Please forgive me for EVERY sin, God! I believe you died on the cross for my sins Jesus! I believe you were buried! I also believe that on the third day you rose from the dead! I NEED you as my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ! WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!!
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You.“ (Psalms 86:5)
Every time I write a post, I’m going to provide you an invitational prayer to have a relationship with Christ. I’m going to request that you begin watching ”The Chosen,” (see link on the main page). If you have questions, you can write to me at the bottom of the post. I intently DON’T tell you to go to church! I intently acknowledge that you may not be ready for church.
However, church is a hospital for the sick and you are in the recovery room. Remember, Satan comes to church! The key is that you must begin to pray for wisdom (the wisdom of Solomon) that you might discern God’s truth inside and outside of church! I say that because there are many in the ”end time” that are leading people astray! For those who do lead people astray, God will take care of them! Your goal is to be still and know that He is God! Let Him direct your path!
Begin to build a relationship with God; DO NOT GET IN A RELATIONSHIP! You begin building a relationship with Christ by reading His word, talking to Him through prayer and meditating; a fancy word for listening. The same way you read the AA/NA Literature to stay clean, you NEED to read the Bible to build a relationship with God. Why? Because He is going to love you until you learn how to love yourself again! Start with the Book of John; the fourth (4th) Book in the New Testament. If you don’t have a Bible, I’ll lend you mine. Copy and paste the link below in your URL.
Meanwhile, you ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT pick up another drug! You MUST pray! You can even use God’s Serenity Prayer; it has more power! You MUST go to meetings; daily! You must get a SPONSOR! You MUST READ your literature. Little by little, the literature will connect you to God! My God is Jesus Christ! And now, if you said that prayer above, your God too is Jesus Christ!
May God bring you closer, daily . . . May you continue to question, ”Why?” . . . and may His wisdom be revelation you acquire according to His riches and glory in heaven! AMEN!!!
STEP 2: “WE CAME TO BELIEVE THAT A POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES COULD RESTORE US TO SANITY.”
Before God ”RESTORES” us to sanity, we must first address the ”INSANITY” referenced in the “SECOND STEP.”
Krokodil, exceptionably more potent than morphine and used variably where the demand for heroin is high, yet the availability is scarce. Krokodil is an opioid chemically related to codeine having properties whose affects cause calming, moderate to tranquilizing nervousness or excitement while producing dismissed sensation to pain without loss of consciousness.
Consequently, having intravenously injected Krokodil, one ultimately develops gangrene, (black, grey and green discoloration of the skin) beginning with skin ulcerations and infections; hence the name, “Krokodil” or “Russian Magic” because of the short-term euphoric affects.
AFFECTS OF “KROKODIL”
The danger of this drug is its codeine derivative; “chlorocodide”(or Krokodil) is a derivative of “desomorphine.” Hence, homemade drug chemists cook it in the form of the illicit drug “meth” (methamphetamine) utilizing red phosphorus (from the head of matches) paint thinner, hydrochoride acid, gasoline, lighter fluid and iodine with a final ingredient of codeine. Once the toxic chemicals are cooked off, the result (desomorphine) is very much like heroin.”(https://www.drugs.com/illicit/krokodil.html).
Then, there is Methamphetamine, (Meth) as demonstrated below. Meth has two different effects; short-term and long-term. The effects include increased insomnia and physiological movements; depressed appetite; elevated breathing, escalated heart rate, blood pressure and temperature.
Meth’s long-term affects include anxiousness, bewilderment,sleeplessness, mood swings, explosive behavior, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, unrelenting dental challenges (“meth mouth”), blistering skin sores from continuous scratching, and eventual weight loss.
Next, “Marijuana Use Disorders” which is frequently correlated with drug dependence—in the sense that withdrawal symptoms are experienced when NOT under the influence of marijuana. Marijuana users continually experience insomnia, crankiness, depressed hunger, munchies, restiveness, and/or coupled with varied physical agitates that show its ugly head in the first week of abstinence and can last for a period of up to 2 weeks.
Fentanyl is a powerful man-made opioid that is comparable to morphine but is 50 to 100 times increased in concentration. Fentanyl also packaged and sold as a prescription drug that is synthetic and used illegally. Like morphine, fentanyl is a medicine that is typically used to medicate patients with debilitating pain and are physically amenable to other opioids (which occurs when increased dosages and frequent use are required to obtain desired effects).
Recent occurrences of overdoses are attributed to illegally used fentanyl pioneered in labs. This man-made fentanyl is marketed in powder form, depressed on “blotter paper,” serried in “eye droppers” and “nasal sprays,” or transformed into pill substitutes that appear in description as other prescription opioids.
Often fentanyl is mixed with other illicit drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and heroin. The product containing fentanyl requires a minimal amount to obtain the same euphoric outcome for a less money. Consequently, when fentanyl is the single most dangerous additive (made by man) into other illicit or prescription drugs, it leads to perilous outcomes because of intolerance. In the United States, synthetic opioids are the foremost cause of drug overdose deaths in 2020.
While the above drugs are among the MOST LEADING CAUSES to OVERDOSE and DEATH, even the increased and ONGOING CONSUMPTION of MARIJUANA can lead to FATAL accidents! What you don’t know and what a TWELVE STEP PROGRAM won’t teach you is ”THE PRINCE OF THE AIR” is in control of your life! Consequently, this is what happens when we follow the course laid out by the world! “THE COURSE OF THIS WORLD” is defined by the PRINCE OF THE AIR; SATAN!” I know it’s another one of those moments, “WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT WILLIS?”
WHAT YOU TALKING ABOUT WILLIS?
You believe in vampires, walking dead, horoscopes, witchcraft, lottery, ghosts, paranormal, praying to statues, praying to dead prophets, praying to crosses and beads, praying to Mary, (Mother of Jesus) praying to Saints, even creating Saints, you’ve done it all! AND YET, YOU’RE STILL ADDICTED!!! You refuse to believe in what is TRUE! A TWELVE STEP PROGRAM teaches you that you ABSOLUTELY MUST have a GOD of YOUR understanding! My only goal is to teach you a path to LIBERTY! THIS IS NOT ABOUT RELIGION . . . IT’S ABOUT RELATIONSHIP!
Only a RELATIONSHIP with “GOD” can break the CHAINS of ADDICTION!!!
If you want to survive this YOU’VE GOT TO MAKE A DECISION RIGHT HERE AND NOW . . .IS THERE A GOD OR NOT? If you believe there is a GOD, than also believe that HE is living and HE SPEAKS! One of the ways HE speaks is through HIS written WORD; THE HOLY BIBLE. Its a book HE left for us as a BLUEPRINT on LIFE! In HIS book, GOD tells us about the EXISTENCE of SATAN, ”THE PRINCE OF POWER OF THE AIR.”
“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which HE LOVED US, even WHEN WE WERE DEAD in our TRANSGRESSIONS, made USALIVE TOGETHER with Christ(by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, (GOD) and seated us with Him (GOD) in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He (GOD) might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (EPHESIANS 2:1-9)(Bold added)(CAPS added)(Parenthesis added)
When you follow the path of Satan, you TOO are SPIRITUALLY DEAD and following the course of this world. The world teaches you, it’s o.k. to get high, it’s o.k. to smoke marijuana; it’s a healing drug. It’s o.k. to drink wine; a glass of wine a day, it’s good for you! Then “prince of the power of the air” adds to it and says, try some heroin . . . it won’t hurt you! It will make you feel good and forget all about your pain. All your friends are all doing it . . . You’re a punk if you don’t try it! Once you no longer feel numb from the heroin and you can’t get it, “the prince of the power of the air” tells you to try some fentanyl. This one will keep you high for sure and take ALL your pain away! What you don’t realize is the forms that “the prince of the power of the air” comes in and how he uses people in your life; the very people you look up to and trust; family members and friends, leaders, coaches, Priests, Pastors, Police; it has happened! Satan USES any person, anywhere, at anytime and HE WILL USE ANY type of SIN . . . IT ALL LEADS TO A WAY OF ESCAPE . . . DRUG ADDICTION is ONLY one path to JAILS, INSTITUTIONS AND/OR DEATH!
SATAN used the CATHOLIC PRIEST and now the CHURCH is a PART of a Sex-Abuse Scandal
Satan DOES NOT discriminate; he will even use your Mother! (In fact, in my NEXT POST, I am going to elaborate on SATAN; DON’T MISS IT!) But for now, we are going to focus on RESTORATION!
STEP 2: WE CAME TO BELIEVE THAT A POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES COULD RESTORE US TO SANITY.
Let us begin by talking about “RESTORATION” of “SANITY” inside the SECOND STEP.
“For the time will come when they will NOT endure SOUND DOCTRINE; but wanting to have their EARS TICKLED, they will accumulate for THEMSELVES in accordance to their OWN DESIRES, and will TURN AWAY their ears from the TRUTH and will TURN ASIDE to myths. But you, be SOBER in ALL things, ENDURE HARDSHIP, DO the WORK of an EVANGELIST, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:3-5)
FIRST, I DID NOT COME TO TICKLE YOUR EARS! This is a labor of love! A love for you and a reverent love to my Lord and Savior; Jesus the Christ! A love to bring good news to the afflicted! A love for the broken-hearted, and a PROCLOMATION to SET the CAPTIVES FREE!!!
In lieu of this charge, (“Set the Captives free”) the focus will perpetually be a call to LIBERTY; liberty THAT IS ONLY FOUND in God! My God is Christ Jesus! No longer will you condition yourself to exploit prescription or illicit drugs! No longer will you necessitate your mind or body to consume illicit chemicals, drugs, or even alcohol to INEFFECTIVELY cope with your EMOTIONS! Alcohol/Narcotics Anonymous will teach you “IT IS A PROCESS!” God will teach you, “BY FAITH, YOU ARE HEALED!!!”
“And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, imploring Him, and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.” Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion said, “Lord, I AM NOT WORTHY for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have NOT found such GREAT FAITH with anyone in Israel. . . And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; IT SHALL BE DONE for YOU as YOU have BELIEVED.” And the SERVANT was HEALED that very MOMENT. (Matthew 8:5-11, 13)(BOLD added)(CAPS added)
CENTURIONS, (Roman Soldiers, the very ones responsible for Jesus’ death!)
JESUS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE!!! IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU’VE DONE . . . JESUS LOVES YOU ANYWAY!!!
Two reasons I shared my story in the “Water Walker” Post; 1) So you would give yourself PERMISSION to let go of your PAIN ; any mental or emotional distress or form of suffering, without worrying about, “What do people think about you? ” and 2) To the fullest extent, surrender your PAIN to GOD! Both require you to TALK about it! TELL SOMEBODY! BOAST IN YOUR INFIRMITIES (WEAKNESSES) BECAUSE YOUR BEST KEPT SECRETS WILL GET YOU HIGH AND LEAD TO DEATH!
Paul the Apostle wrote, “. . . on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to my WEAKNESSES.” (2 Corinthians 12:5)(CAPS added)
INDISPENSABLY, RELINQUISH EVERY FEAR, EVERY HURTFUL AND DEPRESSING MEMORY, EVERY THOUGHT, EVERY PAIN, EVERY ANXIETY, EVERY LOSS, EVERY FEELING OF HATE TOWARDS EVERY EVILDOER IN YOUR LIFE! LET IT GO!!! GOD’S GRACE IS SUFFICIENT!!! YOU CAN’T HANDLE IT! IN YOUR BEST EFFORTS, THE VERY THOUGHT OF IT MADE YOU GET HIGH AND IS KEEPING YOU ADDICTED! YOU MUST LET IT GO! YOU’RE NOT THE FIRST AND YOU WON’T BE THE LAST, BUT YOU CAN MAKE IT! THIS IS YOUR LAST TIME! SURRENDER!!! MLS
YOUR ONLY QUESTION SHOULD BE, ”HOW?” ”HOW DO I DO THIS?”
The ultimate response is “forgiveness!” But, forgiveness is a PROCESS and often times people counsel you on forgiveness and don’t understand you might still be living with your abuser! You might have had children by your rapist! You might have even married your rapist! You might be caught up in sex trafficking! You might be caught in prostitution! You may even be a Pimp! You might even be a murderer! You may be in bondage in a domestically violent relationship holding you and keeping you in bondage, but I PROMISE YOU THERE IS A WAY OUT! The answers to your “HOW” is through “THE GRACE OF GOD, only found in JESUS THE CHRIST!” HIS grace is SUFFICIENT!!!
“The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“ (Romans 5:20-21)
“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
This is Paul, the Apostle’s testimony. If you READ my FIRST POST, you learned Paul, in his former life was named Saul who was complicit in the murder of Christians. Paul is telling you that GOD’s GRACE was and is SUFFICIENT for his violent past. But it wasn’t until Saul was confronted by the Holy Spirit, (which is what is happening at this very moment in your life) that he surrendered! The moment Saul said “I Can’t,” God stepped in and said, “I CAN!”
REMBER AND APPLY THIS TO YOUR LIFE! : “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” (Philippians 4:13)(CAPS added)
ADDICTION STARTS IN THE HOME!!! If you want restoration, there are some basics you have got to LIVE! The Twelve Steps won’t teach you POWER because it’s not written in the Book! The Twelve Steps will only teach you that you are “POWERLESS!”
But I am teaching you “POWER,” because if you made it to the “SECOND STEP” you realized that by now YOU CANT! . . . BUT HE (GOD) CAN!!! If you understand these three things, you will be well on your way
Let go of your friends! Change people, places and things! “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed?” (Isaiah 2:22)
WHAT DOES GOD SAY? . . . Not mere man!!!
Pray to God! The Twelve Step Programs encourage you to find a ”God of your understanding!” You need a relationship with God and the God of my understanding says to me, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” (John 15:7)
“Abide” means to remain . . . Not to depart . . . Continue to be. . . To last . . . To endure!
Surrender means, “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) There are so many treatment centers in this post and online. Please click on one of the links and surrender!
PRAY . . . DON’T PICK UP! . . . GO TO MEETINGS . . . CALL YOUR SPONSOR . . . READ YOUR LITERATURE . . . READ THE BIBLE!
(Photo—Www.viralbeliever.com)
LET’S BEGIN WITH “NO MORE EXCUSES!” If you read my first post, you realize that there is nothing under the sun that I have NOT experienced! If it’s SHAME and GUILT that is keeping you in your addiction, let’s just take that excuse off the table now!
“NO MORE EXCUSES”— #1
For example, I was held hostage in my marriage. . . literally! Before I even married the man, he was abusive! He was a stalker and determined to have his way! I remember one experience, after I had two of my children; they were at the age of two and four. I had obtained an apartment and was raising my children as a single parent. He, (my ex-husband) stalked me and found out where I lived. He came over to my apartment and knocked on the door. When I did not answer, he beat the doorknob off of the door with a baseball bat! He came charging into my apartment thinking some man was there. I was in my bedroom with the air conditioner on, taking a nap with my young children. I didn’t even hear him break in because the air conditioner was so loud. He said, ”He thought something had happened to me.” Really??? Why not call the police?
That was a warning sign . . . abuse was yet to come! Pay attention to the warning signs! GET OUT!!! God’s grace IS sufficient!
Warning! This is a sign of abuse!
“NO MORE EXCUSES” —#2
Another instance, when I lived on the other side of town, and my ex-husband found out where I was living, (because he stalked me again) he came over for seeking drug money. At the time, I was not using drugs, but I moved because this man, (my ex-husband) was like a leach! He worked in the same place I worked , (in the same department). He made more money than I made! He knew my pay-day. I was a Single Parent with two children by this time and he took absolutely NO financial responsibility; never even bought a pamper or bottle of milk! I was so naive; giving him money because I thought his Father needed it for his dialysis or kidney medication. He used to drain me dry! If you’re in a domestic violence relationship and your significant other or husband is controlling or manipulating you with money, God’s grace is still sufficient! God is the resource; you DON’T need that significant other or the money! Let them have it and LEAVE—GOD will provide! GOD IS THE RESOURCE!
FINANCIAL ABUSE
“NO MORE EXCUSES” — #3
Meanwhile, he (my ex-husband) found my apartment again and he got in, once again, and he beat me because his Son did not have any pampers! Keep in mind, he had taken all of my money, (again) manipulating me with the sick Dad; kidney disease story, (needing medication). Consequently , I had to make papers out of towels until I got my next paycheck. Until this day, he has NEVER contributed to my Son financially. He claims he has paid child support, (for my oldest children) but I have never received it. I don’t know what system he paid into, or in what Country! Never the less, he had the audacity to beat me when he was taking every hard earned dollar I had for my children.
Pay attention to the pattern of abuse; patterns of lies, patterns of drug seeking manipulation, etc. Get out of that relationship!!! GOD will PROVIDE!
ABUSER SPENDING ALL OF YOUR MONEY WITH DRUG SEEKING LIES!
“NO MORE EXCUSES” —#4
I moved to yet another apartment on the opposite side of town, once again, he was seeking drug money. Keep in mind, I never gave this man my address. Clearly he was stalking me! He found out where I lived, came over to beat me and take the money from me. It was the first time I fought him back. Even though I felt empowered for the first time in my life in that relationship with him, (because I fought him back) it did not stop him from stealing my money.
However, it did give him something to think about because for the first time, he was wearing dark glasses because I had blackened his eye. If you are in this type of relationship, wake up—IT IS DOMESTIC VIOLENCE! IT WILL ESCALATE!!! If you are co-dependent and you can’t find it in yourself to let go, know this . . . Tomorrow is not promised to you and if this person you’re with gets angry enough, death will come sooner than you anticipated because ABUSERS have NO BOUNDARIES! The ONLY real HOPE is GOD! TELL SOMEBODY YOU NEED HELP!
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE VICTIM . . . DECEASED!
“NO MORE EXCUSES” – #5
Another time, I was downtown driving in my car, heading home from work. I had just picked up my tax-refund. I don’t remember how my ex-husband knew I had the check, but he literally chased me on foot, from block to block, (in the streets, through traffic lights, around corners) as I was driving my car. When I got to one specific stop light, he stole my purse out of the car because I had my window down. I had not realized that he literally caught up with me on foot. He took my entire income tax refund and went and got high with my money! That money was for furniture! We had none in our new apartment. I had no food, absolutely nothing for my children! I called his Mother and told her what he had done! I called the police! I drove to the police station; they did absolutely NOTHING! This man was a maniac!
Domestic Violence inside of MARRIAGE used to be IRRELEVANT!
“NO MORE EXCUSES” — #6
My ex-husband, (in my marriage) took me down on the block to sell my body! I got picked up by an undercover Police Officer. I did not know initially, because the Officer was waiting for me to solicit him for money; but because I did not, he knew I was inexperienced and NOT a prostitute. So he took me to the other side of town, talked to me in the car, and had his dispatch look up my information. Because I DID NOT have a police record, he sat and talked to me about my choice to be on a corner at night; getting picked up by a stranger.
I told him, “My husband spent all of our money getting high and I needed pampers and food for my babies.” My children were NOT infants at the time, so my dishonesty was intended to manipulate my way out of jail. Again, because the Officer could not find a record on me, he said to me, “You had better tell me the truth!” I told him, “I had NEVER been locked up before; I have never been to jail and I don’t have a record!
However, I solicited myself because my husband made me do it!” I was afraid to tell the Officer because I knew if the Officer were to tell my husband, I would get beat again. I was more terrified of the beatings than prison. However, I wasn’t willing to abandon my children with my ex-husband in fear of him escalating to abusing them as well.
Meanwhile, the Officer said to me, “Never, ever get in a car with a stranger and let him take you away from your destination. I knew you did NOT have experience at prostitution because you WOULD NOT solicit me for money.” As a result, the Officer took me to my house. He counseled me all the way home. He told me, “YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THIS RELATIONSHIP! THIS MAN DOESN’T LOVE YOU! HE IS USING YOU! WHAT KIND OF MAN WOULD PUT HIS WIFE ON A CORNER TO PROSTITUTE??? DRUGS OR NOT – HE IS NOT A MAN!” I knew the Officer was correct, but what the Officer neglected to tell me was, “HOW TO GET OUT!” WHERE DO I GO???God’s grace is sufficient! Tell somebody you need help! There are Domestic Violence Shelters everywhere! Tell your Pastor! Tell your Teacher! Tell your Neighbor! Tell the Cashier at a local store! Tell me! You can respond to the posts at anytime!
SEX TRAFFICKING ABUSE
“NO MORE EXCUSES —#7”
The abuse escalated along with the addiction. My ex-husband had stollen a gun from his Aunt. He and his friend were robbing drug addicts all over the city. He made me drive the car like, “Bonnie and Clyde” and park blocks away. Consequently, I never participated in any of what my ex-husband and his friend were actually doing. I did not see what they did or who they robbed. I only obeyed what he told me to do.
Ergo, our experience was like the movie, The Wire. My ex-husband was like the deceased actor, Mr. Michael K. William’s character, “Omar Little.” The difference in Mr. Williams’ character and my ex-husband’s character was, Mr. Williams was ACTING and projecting a “stick-up man’s” behavior. But my ex-husband WAS the real “STICK-UP MAN!” He was so out of his mind, he went and robbed the drug dealers on multiple occasions!
“OMAR LITTLE,” PLAYED BY MICHAEL K. WILLIAMS IN ”THE WIRE”
As a consequence of my ex-husband robbing the drug dealers, they (the dealers) kidnapped me! I was in a park, somehow, the dealers recognized the car because (the car had a bad muffler). My ex-husband and his friend had put me out of the car near a park. They were going off the rob the stash house. They pulled off and left me there. I was surrounded by instantly by twelve men with baseball bats. They abducted me and took me into a nearby house, blindfolded. In that house, they pistol whipped me with a gun and tied me up, intending to rape me.
Needless to say, I made it out through the grace of God! His grace is sufficient! On the other hand, on a later occasion, my ex-husband got shot nine (9) times by those very same drug dealers!!!
GOD WILL SHOW YOU A WAY OF ESCAPE . . . PRAY!!!
I GET IT!!! YOU CAN’T FIGURE A WAY OUT! NO MORE EXCUSES! YOU MAY BE IN THIS TYPE OF RELATIONSHIP . . . GET OUT!!! CALL THE POLICE! FLAG DOWN A POLICE! FALL OUT IN FRONT OF A POLICE! CALL FROM THE BATHROOM! IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO SOMETHING EXTREME TO THE GET THE ATTENTION OF AN INNOCENT BY-STANDER TO GET THE ABUSER TO RUN AWAY . . . GET OUT ANY MEANS NECESSARY!!!
I stayed in the relationship because I felt trapped. My Mother wouldn’t help me! My Father was dead! When I told the Pastor, “My husband is beating me,” the Pastor asked me, “What are you doing wrong?” I immediately left that church and found a NEW church! The abuse escalated because I STAYED in the relationship.
I called the police! When they came to the door, blood was dripping down my head! My ex-husband told the Officer, there was nothing going on, we just had a little “disagreement.” The officer made me leave. But, like you, I could NOT go because my children were there and I did not want him to abuse my children. So I stayed in the relationship in fear of him escalating and harming my children. NO MATTER THE REASON . . . GET OUT!!!
GOD WILL SHOW UP— PRAY!!!
His (God’s) grace is sufficient! You don’t NEED perfection to pray to GOD! He will meet you right where you are in your sin!
“. . . God is not one to show partiality. . .”(Act 10:34)
Remember, I told you to “stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; For why should he be esteemed? (Isaiah 2:22, New American Standard Bible) If people are telling you you CAN’T DO IT; GET AWAY FROM THOSE PEOPLE!!! No longer can you have those types of people in your life because your future depends on it!
YOU MUST CHANGE PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS!
You’re trapped in sex-trafficking or prostitution. . . PRAY! God will set you free! The key is, you must have a “mustard seed” of faith! Don’t believe me?
“But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” (Acts 5:17-20)
As an example, the Apostles had been imprisoned by the Sadducees (church sect; church group) because of jealousy. In the middle of the night the LORD opened the prison cell and let them out!!! It was the faith of the Apostles that caused them to be set free. Through the power of God, the Apostles went on preaching inside the church. They didn’t care what man said; they believed in God!
PETER SET FREE FROM PRISON BY THE HOLY SPIRIT!
Next, if you want continuous POWER you have to learn to abide (wait for, endure, remain stable) in God. Circumstances may NOT change, but you have to change your PERCEPTION! When they DON’T immediately change, it does NOT mean God can’t or won’t DO IT! He can and HE WILL! His thoughts are not your thoughts and His ways are NOT your ways! But, your obedience will lend you strength to ask more and more because you WILL see the results of your obedience. He will give you WHATEVER you wish when you ABIDE in GOD! This too is a PROCESS; consequently your answered prayer is contingent on you abiding in God.
IF YOU ABIDE IN GOD, AND HIS WORD ABIDES IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH AND IT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU! (JOHN 15:7)
Again, by now, you should have figured out that the audience I’m targeting is “Who so ever may; let him come!” Since you read the last post, ( “He Who Has Begun A Great Work In You,”) you have your first day clean and sober under you belt! Yes! Hallelujah! This is where the work begins; you have to implement your plan of attack. (IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE FIRST POST; STOP, GO BACK TO THE FIRST STEP; THE LAST POST—BEGIN THERE!).
Meanwhile, you have to NOT pick up your drug of choice, pray, go to Meetings, get a Sponsor, and read your literature. If you feel and think the way I was thinking my first day clean, you’re feeling like . . . Dah! I don’t know!
CONFUSED??? KEEP COMING BACK MORE WILL BE REVEALED!!!
My response to you is . . . Welcome! This is a new territory and you have NO experience on staying drug free. It’s like that giraffe story they tell you about in N.A.—LOL! Wait, I forgot, I’m delivered now . . . The Christian version is “There’s nothing new under the sun!” (Just having a little fun!)
SECOND STEP = VOID! FILL THE VOID BY CHASING RECOVERY MEETINGS!
So here’s what you have to do. . . In the Second Step, there is a VOID; an empty space. That space was filled with getting and using and finding means to get more. Now that the drug of choice is gone, what do you do??? THIS IS SO SERIOUS . . . You have to FILL THE VOID! Chase the meetings like you chased the drug. Listen to the stories of other people in the Meetings. Listen for similarities. Women stick with the women; men stick with the men. Stay away from relationships!!! You hardly know who you are, much less trying to take on someone else’s baggage. Don’t substitute one drug for another. That means, don’t go get a drink of alcohol because you’re now drug free, because when you do, you have RELAPSED. . . ALCOHOL IS A DRUG!!! Don’t substitute sex for a drug! Don’t substitute eating for a drug! Don’t substitute shopping for a drug! Don’t substitute working for a drug!
But DO substitute your time, your emptiness, your loneliness, your abandonment, your broken up relationships . . . DO SUBSTITUTE whatever you were doing for a closer walk with God. Now is the time . . .
BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH PRAYER!
Let me talk about me because you seem to like that topic. I remember being in treatment and the Doctors and the Counselors insisted that I drink methadone. They have some kind of scientific measurement score where they compare your street value of the drug of your choice, your weight, and the absorption rate of the methadone and determine a medical dose for you to NO longer crave your drug of choice. Well I wasn’t having it! They wanted to give me 50 or more mg of methadone. I insisted on the lowest dose I could take. Imagine the doctors and my Counselor fighting over what I’m going to put in my body? Seriously! It’s like governmental over reach!
METHADONE
Meanwhile, I insisted on 20mg or nothing! They let me have my way. So, after I delivered, I told them I wanted to detox. They were really determined to keep me on methadone. I went toe to toe with them again and again! I won because I told them, “Either you detox me or I will!”
So, here I am, all big and bad and they started the detox. I was cool, no withdrawal, no physical pain. In fact, I had more pain when I went into treatment, detoxing off of the heroin because they only gave me 20 mg, (based on my wishes). Consequently, I was falling out in group therapy; withdrawing for about 17 days, (i.e. aching, dehydrated, exhausted from chasing and using, pregnant, malnourished, beaten, battered and bruised). The good part was the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility was medicating the physical aspect; anxiety medication, pregnancy vitamins, iron, etc. So, detoxing from methadone was a piece of cake!
EATING BREAD DURING WITHDRAWAL WILL MAKE YOU SLEEP!
It was the mental pain of anticipating the withdrawal that I was fearful of when I got down to no methadone. But I learned a few tricks. I’m going to bless you and tell you how to get through it. . . Eat bread! Yeah! Especially at night when you can’t sleep, eat bread! It will put you to sleep. It’s like a cork . . . When your body is going through physical withdrawal, one of the most horrible experiences is the diarrhea! You can live with a lack of appetite, and sleeplessness because the treatment facility will give you liquids to prevent dehydration.
However, the more liquids and hydration you get can often exacerbates the diarrhea, (it will run right through you just like a faucet). The bread fills your stomach; even if you just eat little bites at a time. Only through the withdrawal will the bread substitute the emptiness in your stomach. The bread will also cause you to sleep. Once you get a little bit more sleep, day after day, you begin to feel stronger. While you’re getting stronger, your confidence begins to grow on making it through another day clean and sober. So, while you’re feeling a little more assurance, you absolutely must fill the void of the substance you were chasing! That means, you were chasing drugs all day . . . Now you need to chase meetings all day! You absolutely must fill the void to STAY ABSTINENT!
PRAY . . . DON’T PICK UP . . . GO TO MEETINGS . . . CALL YOUR SPONSOR . . . READ YOUR LITERATURE! . . . GOD WILL DO THE REST!!!
For example, I used to go get medicated by 10am. In the morning with methadone. Instead of walking over to the building, I used to hang out with my Counselor at that time. She would talk to me and pass the time away. Once I got through that window of time the first day, it was all she wrote! I was well on my way! I figured out that if I do some thing to take my mind off of getting and using, I wouldn’t think about it and minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, I got ONE DAY AT A TIME! I remember when I did’t think I could do 28 seconds without getting high much less have 28 years of abstinence. Hallelujah!
But know this, it’s not a “ME THING.” It’s a “WE THING!” YOU CAN’T DO THIS ALONE!!! You are going to experience all kinds of emotions you never felt before because the drug is now removed. You’re going to have all kinds of thoughts that will flood your mind; guilt, shame, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, fear, confused, (the list goes on and on) which is why you NOW need to work on your relationship with God. Baby steps!
ONE DAY AT A TIME ONE STEP AT A TIME!
The “Second Step” is the point where Satan thinks he’s won the fight! He’s been doing pushups and while you’re feeling weak mentally, physically and spiritually, he’s ready to pounce on you like a wild buffalo in dessert searching for the only blade of grass in a 10,000 mile radius. Surely he (Satan) thinks he’s got the best of you! (YOU WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT SATAN IN THE NEXT POST).
But by the grace of GOD, He will infuse POWER moment by moment! Whether you realize it or NOT, that’s how you got to this point! God has been INFUSING POWER into you! MOST OF ALL . . . PRAY, GO TO A MEETING, DON’T PICK UP, GET A SPONSOR, READ YOUR LITERATURE, and remember. . . ASK FOR SOME HELP!!! They would tell you to take the cotton out of your ears and put it in your mouth!
TAKE COURAGE . . . ASK FOR HELP!
I’M TELLING YOU TO RAISE YOUR HAND AT THAT MEETING AND BOAST IN YOUR WEAKNESSES! YOUR HELP IS ON THE WAY!
“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)
I CAN’T . . . BUT HE CAN!!!
NO MORE SHAME AND GUILT!!! STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE SAY OR WILL SAY!!! DON’T WORRY ABOUT WHAT YOUR FAMILY HAS SAID OR DONE! DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE CHURCH! YOU TOO CAN BE JUSTIFIED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST!!!
NO MORE SHAME! NO MORE GUILT!
GOD SAYS THIS TO THE CHURCH . . .
“For what responsibility of mine is it to pass judgment upon those who are outside [the Church]? Indeed, those who are outside will God judge. Expel at once the pernicious person from among yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 5:12-13)
JESUS DIED FOR ALL OF YOUR SINS AND MINE ON THE CROSS!
THIS IS WHAT GOD HAS TO SAY TO THOSE INSIDE THE CHURCH . . .
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
You still have an opportunity to know Jesus . . . The reality is salvation is the key! Only by His grace can you be saved! Begin by confessing what ever you want to God and ask for forgiveness. God’s Son, Jesus, died on the cross for your sins and mine! If you want to be saved, it only takes three simple steps; 1) believe Jesus died, 2) believe Jesus was buried, and 3) believe Jesus rose from the dead! Confess it with your mouth and believe it in your heart! Welcome to the family!
You need fellowship . . . talk to people who know Jesus too! Talk about His book, the Holy Bible and don’t be afraid to ask questions! Bibles are online and free to study! It’s important that you are under sound leadership . . . People who will teach you God’s truth ONLY! I know how hard it is for you to go to church, but ”church” are people and NOT a building! Get to know God’s people! Ask God to lead you to HIM and to people like HIM that HE wants in your life!
God bless . . . you are well on your way . . . one day at a time! Give yourself a break and leave EVERYTHING into to the hands of God!
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36)
On March 5, 1975 my Father died; a shocking, casual exodus leaving me fatherless at the age of ten to a young Mother, impetuously widowed. After the death of my Father, I grew up under dualistic oppression; one where my Mother was abusive to me, contemporaneously cherishing with adoration my older siblings, even as she embraced their maladaptive behaviors. Beginning at the age of fourteen, I had been molested and raped multiple times, (throughout my adolescence and even into my adulthood).
Alcoholism was prominent in both of my parents lives; weekend social gatherings highlighting an array of alcohol delights lined up and poured acquiescently by the host and the drunkards. Adversely, on every Sunday morning, we were all impeccably dressed attending a Baptist or Methodist Church.
Around the same time, my Aunt was in a Substance Abuse Program; addicted to alcohol, (I.e. liquor, rubbing alcohol and anything else she could drink) while her four children were spread-out in Foster Care, living with other families and with us, in multiple states. Accordingly, my Brother grew up alongside my Cousin in our household; Mom and Dad married with ongoing dissension (and on the brink of divorce). At every party, my Brother and Cousin grew up hiding under the table during the weekly inebriation mixes. Alcohol and wine glasses were frequently left unfinished on the table. My Brother and Cousin (in their adolescence) would confiscate the drinks and run off to my Brother’s room to later become utterly inebriated.
In the year my Father died, my older Sister had gone off to college, got pregnant (secretly) and married her college sweetheart; the Father of her unborn twins. My Sister’s husband turned out to be a physically abusive alcoholic which reinforced and ignited her path to alcoholism. The irony is, my Sister did NOT grow up in our household; she lived with Grandma and Grandad, (the alcoholic Navy Commander). Together they bore fourteen children, all deceased but two (including my Mother); none immune to alcohol or the rippling affect caused by the disease of alcoholism.
On the other hand, my Father, orphaned in New York (a Puerto Rican migrant) whose life of alcoholism eventually led to his demise. After my Father’s death, Mommy continued on the path of alcohol frequenting family outings and social gatherings. Each event an excuse for a celebration to rejoice with any of her thirteen siblings (and their children) at every momentous occasion in inebriation.
My Brother went off to serve his Country in the Marines; he came out Honorably Discharged only to become a poly addicted substance abuser. He often used drugs in our home, hiding inside of his room while my Mother was away at work, (and even when she returned home by the end of the day). He would get high in the very next room, come out to drink a beer, and “shoot the breeze” with Mommy.
It was at the age of fourteen when my Brother gave me my first drug; marijuana and a host of other illicit drugs (i.e. Speed, Rush; ”Christmas Trees; Yellows” etc., even beer). Silently, I was experiencing childhood molestation and rapes, (outside the home) which led to adolescent promiscuity. Concurrently, I was suffering within from what is now diagnosed as Stockholm Syndrome; loyal to my abusers’ (including my Mother’s constant oppression, condemnation, and degradation). Contemporaneously, my Mother accepted public commendation for my receiving academic accolades, (the quarterly “Honor Roll Report” published in local news papers) while never encouraging or lending aid to me with any of my homework.
The Stockholm Syndrome carried on into my adulthood invoking a snowball effect. My Cousins best friend took my virginity at the age of fourteen. In my adolescence I had two abortions as a consequence of a Pedophile. I later bore a third child of a third rapist in High School. The next two children I bore outside of wedlock with my High School sweetheart. Between those two pregnancies I was raped by yet another who would later became my husband; a heroin abuser. Heroin addiction was a natural succession to my adolescent addiction. Thus, domestic violence became an aftermath in the marriage that I had NOT escaped. I was even abducted and brutally beaten at gun point because of my ex-husband’s addictive behavior, one that piloted his violence of robbing drug dealers. As a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, I nursed him back to health having been shot nine-times in retaliation for robbing drug dealers. I remained faithful and bore three more children under brutalizing duress; a miscarriage, a stillborn and a child born prematurely with Cerebral Palsy.
That last birth of my last child with Cerebral Palsy, (born in May, 1993) became the pathway to my redemption; deliverance from heroin, domestic violence and Stockholm Syndrome, overall. When I learned of my pregnancy, I went to substance abuse treatment; January 17, 1993 was my first day abstinent from all mood and mind altering chemicals.
Correspondingly, I visited my Mother as less as possible, but jovially remained at her beckoning call as she departed this world from Stage IV Collin Cancer. Even until death, my Mother remained obstinate; pleading for a “Fifth” or a “Miniature” of alcohol to abate the emotional and physical pains of an inevitable, prolonged fate. Objectionably, I alone stood on the Word of God while Jesus raised a standard of persistent abstinence in alliance to God, my Heavenly Father, (even in her pain and suffering). Today I have twenty-eight years, eleven months, and five days of deliverance from drug addiction. I am reconciled back to the Father, Jesus the Christ!
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NASB) No drug treatment alone could set me free!!! Freedom requires an act of faith! As you journey with me on this blog, you too must get out of the boat and step out on the water! You too can become a “Water Walker!” Incontestably, He did it for me! Indisputably He can and He will do it for you!!! GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE . . . YOU’RE WORTH FIGHTING FOR!!! ONLY BELIEVE!!!
Ultimately in His service,
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“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners . . . ” (Isaiah 61:1)
FIRST STEP: “WE ADMITTED WE WERE POWERLESS OVER OUR ADDICTION, THAT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME UNMANAGEABLE.”
This admission is what a “Twelve Step Program” taught me I should do; (1) admit my powerlessness; (without strength or resources) and (2) unmanageability; (difficult or impossible to control). Note: The parenthesis are representative of the definitions provided by Webster’s Dictionary.
He is a God who sees . . . (Genesis 16:13)
We have to look at the “Twelve Steps” through the eyes of “God” most importantly because the “Twelve Step Program” was intended as a “Spiritual Program” built on “Spiritual Principles” founded on God’s Word. That concept is one which you learn at each Meeting as a “New-Comer” to any an Alcoholics Anonymous, (AA) or Narcotics Anonymous, (NA), (et. Al. Anonymous Program). According to the “Eleventh Step” of a “Twelve Step Program,” (for those of you who are not there yet) the “Eleventh Step” encourages us to have a “conscious” contact with God, (a contact that requires perception, apprehension, or noticing with a degree of controlled thought or observation). Keep in mind, the “Twelve Steps” are written that you might follow and apply them in the order in which they were written, I’m just providing insight because of my years of recovery). The “Eleventh Step” reads as follows;
STEP 11– “We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
Meanwhile, what you don’t learn as a “New Comer” to a “Twelve-Step Program” (and even as a dinosaur who has been coming to the Program for years) is the most important message, and yet, it is NOT spelled out; the message is “PERSPECTIVE!”
“Perspective” is based on the context of the “Writer.” For example, the Writers/Founder; Bill Wilson and Robert Smith of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program intended to point the audience (you and me) to God through the writing of the “Twelve Steps” and how God’s Spiritual Principles saved their (Bill’s and/or Robert’s) life. So much so, the two of them wrote about an entire “Twelve Step Program” accompanied by “Twelve Traditions” simply based on Spirituality, their “relationship” with God.
However, as a “New-Comer” and someone who was reading and learning these “Twelve Steps” and “Twelve Traditions” for the first time, it was way too overwhelming for me! Specifically, I went to the “Twelve Step Meeting” with a whole lot of “mental baggage,” (childhood verbal and physical abuse, heroin addiction, domestic violence, molestation, rape, abandonment, kidnapped, etc.). My only goal initially was to learn how to use drugs, “anonymously!”
“Emotional Baggage!”
Seriously, I went to the the “Twelve Step Program” believing that it was a group of people there who were going to teach me how to get high “successfully!” I was really convinced these people would teach me, (anonymously) because I saw some of these very same people at the NA Meetings. These very same people traveled in the very same places I used to go to with my ex-husband to get high. I was convinced there was absolutely no way possible these particular people were drug free! I knew their track records! In fact, one of the women “chairing” the meeting was getting high with my ex-husband before I even knew he was a heroin addict. The two of them were conning me and spending my paycheck to get high on heroin when I thought I was contributing to medicine for my Father-in-Law’s Kidney Disease.
Manipulation
As you see, getting high “successfully” was not only a hidden agenda, it was also my “perspective.” Again, “perspective” is (and always should be) based on the context of the author. In this case, the “Authors” were Bill and Robert; the one’s who penned the ”Twelve Step Program.” I, on the other hand, was the partaker of their truth and revelation.
By now, you’re thinking—“Seriously? I thought she was going to enlighten me and help me stop getting high!”
My response to you is the same as Narcotics Anonymous . . . “Don’t leave five minutes before the miracle happens!” (See, I’m still practicing these principles in all my affairs—lol:)
But seriously, there is another perspective—one that will save your life today! One particular perspective that Narcotics Anonymous does NOT teach on enough is “RELATIONSHIP” and how important that “RELATIONSHIP” with GOD is and it’s affect in changing your life through “perspective,” (a point of view). The Twelve Steps does not elaborate enough and how “perspective” will empower you to NEVER desire a drug again! Imagine that??? Believe me . . . I’m not tripping!!! But you might be when I tell you how it works and how simple the application of “perspective” is and can be in your daily living!!!
What you talking about Willis???
Let’s start back at the beginning. The first part of the “First Step” is about an admission of “powerlessness” (without strength or resources) which in my perspective caused me to fail at staying abstinent from heroin. Every time I thought of being “powerless” I thought about “Pooky” in the movie, “New Jack City” where Pooky was proclaiming to the character played by “Ice-T,” his (Pooky’s) inability to stop getting high.
Pooky said, “It be calling me man! It just be calling me!!!” That was my admission, “It be calling me man!” I swear to you, that heroin would be somewhere in that room, (wherever my ex-husband had hidden it before he went to bed at night). Mind you, he would take my money , (his Brother’s money, his Mother’s money, everybody’s money) and hide the dope (heroin) from me. Keep in mind, he was the person who introduced me to heroin; I was the person who chose to keep using. But anyway, the thought of finding the dope so I could get high was no different than the chase of the daily “getting and using,” again a “perspective” you learn about in NA.
Mentally I knew the heroin, (my drug of choice) was in that room. Therefore, my mind (spiritually) communicated to my body (physically) that the chemical (heroin) I craved was hiding from me in that room. Thus, this chemical, (heroin) was verbally (orally) calling me, (put your name here) to come and pick “it” (put your drug of choice here) up and put it in me. Now think about it . . . Did the heroin actually call me??? Literally, because that was the only physical way it could get in my system, (I.e. “If you don’t pick up, it won’t get in you!) Here is a newsflash!!! Literally, that cliche . . . “If you don’t pick it up, it CAN’T get in you!” It literally means what it says!!!
Seriously, the heroin is NOT going to just jump up, put itself in the cooker, draw itself up in the syringe and jump into my veins? No! I have to PICK IT UP, PUT IT IN the cooker and PUT IT IN my veins—Right??? So if you recall this simple cliche, this simple little “perspective,” (another little handy tool you will learn in AA or NA) you might pause the next time you’re tempted to get high. Instead of PICKING IT UP, try to “Not pick up! Instead pray, call your Sponsor, go to a Meeting, read the Twelve Step Literature,” (Twelve Step Program, “Five Tools of Recovery.”)
On the other hand, if you continue with all of the same behavior of “getting and using and finding more ways to do the same thing, and yet, expect different results, you too will consider it, “PRACTICING INSANITY!!!” For this reason, a “Twelve Step Program” alone will NOT keep you clean or free from addiction!!!
So here is a different perspective. This is God’s “perspective” on this “First Step” of so called “powerlessness.” God teaches us through His “Holy Spirit.” Just so you can understand the meaning of “God,” when I refer to “my God,” of ”my understanding” I am referring to Jesus the Christ. To comprehend “my God,” you must understand that my God teaches me that He is “triune,” three in one; one man who has a “conscious,” who He refers to as “The Holy Spirit.” This same man refers to his Father as “God.” This same man is the One who walked on earth for 33 years; fully human, fully God, “Jesus the Christ!” All three are ONE spiritually connected; all ONE God; one Spirit, separate, yet SIMULTANEOUSLY equal in power.
I AM DONE WITH THAT SUBJECT! I am purposefully NOT elaborating more on this subject because it is NOT a “religious debate.” I am more concerned that you have a RELATIONSHIP with God; “The God” that is higher than you and I and is without sin. “The God” that can extend you grace when you fall. The only God that can pick you up and love you continuously in all your ways.
The RELATIONSHIP is what is going to save your life! Building a RELATIONSHIP is going to take away your pain and suffering and right now that is the only thing that matters! The more you get to know Him, (God) the more you will desire to know Him. In that desire you will build trust, and through trust you will gain peace, and through peace, hope to trust even more!
So God’s “perspective” will teach you that you DO indeed HAVE power!!! God’s Word teaches us through this simple verse that you CAN INDEED DO ANYTHING!!! The verse reads as follows;
“I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.” (Philipians 4:13, King James Version)
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13, New American Standard Bible Version)
“I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13, New International Version)
Note: Don’t get caught up on the “Versions” of the Bible. We have different “Versions” because we don’t all speak the same language. If I gave it to you in Greek, (the original language the author wrote it in) you might not understand it because you may not read Greek.
“I am strong for all things in the One who constantly infuses strength in me.” (Philippians 4:13, Expanded Greek Translation, Kenneth Wuest)
I prefer the last translation, the Expanded Greek, because the author, Kenneth Wuest, had a grasp on Paul’s contextual opinion (the original author).
As I said, the original author of Philippians 4:13; the Apostle Paul, whose name was originally Saul; considered a murderer of Christians. Paul considered himself “the least of the apostles” because he (Paul) “persecuted the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13). He referred to himself as “the chief of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Meanwhile, Paul had this conversion experience (adoption of religion; in this case Christianity) in route to this place called Damascus. In Paul’s experience, he proclaims that he saw the resurrected Christ with his (Paul’s) own eyes and he heard Christ’s voice. Paul was with other people on his journey to Damascus which means others witnessed what Paul witnessed as well.
“. . . And those who were journeying with me.” (Acts 26:13)
However, Saul was the ONLY one who actually heard Christ’s voice. In Saul’s testimony (a declaration made by a witness) scribed by Luke (another Apostle) who wrote, “As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him, and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
And he said, “Who are you, Lord?”
And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, . . . ” (Acts 9:3-5)
Paul’s Epistles
Persecution for the sake of righteousness . . .
At the time of his written Epistle (a letter) Paul was a converted Christian (follower of Christ) and he himself was being persecuted (Greek: harass, trouble, molest one) simply because he was a follower of Christ. Paul’s persecution was in the form of imprisonment where he chose to write a letter to the Church in Phillipi. Paul’s faith in Christ was founded on his witness of Christ’s crucifixion (death on a cross). Paul witnessed Christ’s resurrection, (Christ brought back to life). Because of this encounter, Paul was firm resolute in his faith! When I internalize the power from where Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, (see stories below) there were NO MORE EXCUSES TO PICK UP (USE DRUGS)!!!
I know personally that whoever you may be, reading this post, you have the POWER to NOT get high anymore if you have a RELATIONSHIP with God; my God is “JESUS.” For the record, your power will ONLY come through a RELATIONSHIP with GOD according to Paul. Remember Paul was a follower of Jesus Christ!
STAY FOCUSED; THIS IS NOT ABOUT RELIGION! I’M JUST PROVIDING A STORY THAT CAME FROM A BOOK; “THE HOLY BIBLE.”
A little more history about Paul , (who used to be Saul). . .
First things first, as I said earlier, Saul was considered a MURDERER!!! In his own words, “Chief of sinners!” The original Greek translation reads as follows;
“Trustworthy is the word and worthy of unqualified acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I in contradistinction to anyone else am foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15, Expanded Greek)
“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.” (1 Timothy 1:15, New International Version)
Second of all, at one time in his life, Saul, (who is now converted and named Paul by Jesus) absolutely hated Christians and put as many to death as many as he possibly could.
“And Saul was together with the others approving of his death, taking pleasure with them in his death and applauding it. Then on that day there arose a persecution, a great one, against the assembly at Jerusalem. And all were scattered throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria except the apostles. And men of piety and reverence toward God carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him, this lamentation accompanied by the beating of the breast. But Saul kept on ravaging and devastating the Church, entering house after house, dragging both men and women by their feet along the street, consigning them to prison.”(Acts 8:1-3)
While they were mourning the death of Stephen, Saul was banging on doors, dragging people through cobblestone villages, down dirt roads, bumping over rocks (and everything else) by their feet, to a prison; women and men! Saul was a beast!!! He was complicit in all of their murders!
Saul even bragged about his insane behavior . . .
“As for myself, verily, I was of the opinion that it was a necessity in the nature of the case for me to do many things against the Name of Jesus, the one from Nazareth, which also I did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints, as for myself, I shut up in prisons, having received the authority from the chief priests. And when they were being put to death I registered my vote against them. And often in every synagogue while punishing them I kept on attempting to compel them by contemptuous speech intentionally to come short of the reverence due to God, and possessing an insane fury against them beyond measure, I went to persecuting them even to foreign cities.” (Acts 26:9-11)
Saul’s Conversion
So, the bottom line is Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus was as a result of HIS EXPERIENCE of conversion, (i.e. a light he saw, and a voice he heard). All of us have an “experience,” of a “conversion” from sin. We just don’t know what to call it and sometimes how to define the “experience.” Sometimes, we even deny having the “experience” which is why we stay in the behavior longer.
For example, at the end of my addiction, I was homeless living in a drug gallery. I went to substance abuse treatment, pregnant and addicted. I did the inpatient part up to like ninety plus days, (in a thirty day “in-patient” program). I have to acknowledge the grace of God who kept me in there for as long as He did because they were putting people out in 30 days or less.
My abuser (my ex-husband) was outside of that Program and I had to go back home to him. I got a reality check when they (the Counseling Staff) let him into the Program for visitation. On that one day of visitation, he forced me to have sex with him. Thank God my Counselor walked in and made him leave! But that made me realize that even though I was abstinent from drugs, my introduction and affiliation to drugs was only correlated to the men in my life, (my Brother and my Ex-husband).
Twelve Step Program
Meanwhile, I had been going to a “Twelve Step Program” daily inside of the substance abuse treatment facility that was teaching me to stay clean (abstinent) from heroin. I had to change, “people, places and things!” Like most of you reading this post, you realize by now that when you are living in addiction, you don’t always have resources to change “people, places or things,” but the Substance Abuse Treatment Program insists it is the ONLY way to successful path of recovery. However, even if you DON’T have the ability to change “people, places, and things” is NOT an excuse to get high! I’m going to prove it to you in the next part of my story!!!
“No More Excuses!!!”
At the onset of my testimony, I shared with you that at the end of my addiction, I was homeless; living in a drug gallery with my ex-husband. What I did not tell you was that the substance abuse facility transferred me to an outpatient facility first. It was a Homeless Shelter for Women. I slept there for one night and I was more terrified of the mice running through the rooms in the dark than I was of relapsing! Having reported the shelter environment to my Counselor and insisting on not going back to the shelter, I got transferred back to the dormitory of the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility for a few days until I convinced my Counselor that I had an alternative place to live; the “drug gallery.”
You see, my (ex-husband) had his Aunt call my Counselor to verify that I could come back and live in her home. What he (my ex-husband) and his Aunt did not tell my Counselor was that it was a “drug gallery.” I did not disclose it either because I was being forced to leave and go to outpatient treatment simply because the substance abuse treatment facility needed the bed, (and I’m sure the insurance benefit ran out).
I had absolutely no other place to go, (other than back to my Mom’s house). The truth is, I had rather been dead than to live with her because she was also at the root of my addiction. As an example, when I relapsed, I was living with my Mother and she let my Husband come back and bring me back into addiction. Not her or anyone else in my family stood on my defense to protect me against my ex-husband’s abuse. In fact, my Mother told me, “If you make your bead hard, you should lay in it! That’s what you get! A ‘hard head’ makes a soft a**!!!”
It was easy for me to omit the truth and tell the Counselor that I wanted to stay with my ex-husband’s Aunt. But, I had a rude a wakening . . . When I moved back into the house, what I did not expect was that my ex-husband was going to live there too! You see, he had moved back home with his Mother who was living with another Sister; his Aunt on the other side of town while I was an inpatient. But, when I came back to the “drug gallery” my ex-husband moved back in as well. Because my ex-husband was NOT in recovery, he continued to get high on heroin with everyone else in that house. He continued to abuse me, (even in my pregnancy; showing at five months). But, what he (my ex-husband) did not anticipate was that when I was in that Substance Abuse Treatment Program, (for the first time since I was ten years old) I cried out to God, (snot flying, tears, and all).
Matthew 18:2-4 “And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
I remembered from Sunday School, God wants us to come to him like children so I asked God for His forgiveness and to please save me from this mess I was in! What my ex-husband did not anticipate was that the POWER of the Holy Spirit (the One Paul talked about) showed up STRONG and MIGHTY!!!
“I am strong for all things in the One who constantly infuses strength in me.” (Philippians 4:13, Expanded Greek Translation)
When the Holy Spirit showed up, He infused STRENGTH into me! Infused,[to cause to be permeated with something (such as a principle or quality) that alters usually for the better]. The Holy Spirit infused His strength into me, the same strength He gave to Jesus, “RESURRECTING STRENGTH!” The Holy Spirit gave me the strength to rise from the dead; in my case “Spiritually dead.” It was all over for my ex-husband!
As a reminder from God, that HIS Holy Spirit had infused strength into me, He sent his Disciple, Debrah (a lady I met in the Substance Abuse Treatment Program) who always had some kind of story about God! She used to get on my nerves . . . Always talking about God! She and I bonded in Group Therapy. I was ok with her bonding with me as long as she did NOT talk about God! But, no matter how I felt, she just kept throwing God into my face, (in every conversation, every time she testified, every therapy group session, etc.). You see, her conviction about God was like Saul’s; she had experienced Him, (God) for herself and it was nothing anyone or anything anyone could do to shut her up! She would say, “You gonna have to kill me!”
So Debrah used to come to the “drug gallery” every day (around about the same time) and knock on the door. She would never come “into” the actual “drug gallery;” she knew better. However, she would walk me to a Narcotics Anonymous Meeting every single day; seven days a week! She told me, “You used drugs every day . . . you need to get a meeting every day!” On the way to that meeting, Debrah would talk about what God had done in her life each day; the struggles of being a single parent with two children, the struggles of raising a child with a disability, the struggles of living at home with her Mom, the struggle of not having a job and dependence on Welfare, etc. etc. etc. She also reminded me that through all of it, she managed not to pick up (no longer use heroin) only with the POWER of God!
I was asking myself, “How could God do that? Did He come down and take the drugs out of her hands? Will He take the needle out of my arm if I get high?” (Remember, I was still very, very sick, mentally because at that time, I could only think like an addict). The fog had not lifted because I was still living in a “drug gallery”daily. Psychologically, your thoughts are shaped by your environment, your experiences, your family, etc.
Consequently, walking to those meetings everyday and sitting and listening to the testimonies of other people was God infusing His STRENGTH into me through His Holy Spirit as well. I heard the most profound, horrible stories in the NA Meetings, and yet NOT ONE could compare to my testimony . . . I was abstinent from drugs, STILL living in a “DRUG GALLERY!” Every night when I left this Twelve Step Meeting, I was going back home to that “drug gallery” where I literally lived and I would see people coming in and out still, (all day and night) getting high all around the clock until early morning.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE?—GET HELP! GET OUT NOW!!!
In addition, each day, my ex-husband had a new reason to beat me when I got back from the Twelve Step Meeting, even while I was pregnant. So even though I was no longer craving heroin, the behavior (the abuse) could have triggered a relapse (return to heroin) because I “used to live and lived to use.” In other words, I got high on heroin to cope with the daily physical and verbal abuse, and I survived each day, to look forward to yet another day of the same old pattern of abuse. To me, that was practicing INSANITY!!!
“Forgive me God!”
While I did not have a way out at that moment, my perspective was it was better to get beaten by my ex-husband ABSTINENT than getting beaten while on heroin. If you are a drug addict, you know when the heroin wore off, the pain of the beating on top of the heroin withdrawal was pure hell! Consequently, my resolve was to stay clean and sober! When I got “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and going to NA Meetings abused with sunglasses and black eyes and bruises all over my body (while remaining sober and pregnant) the Holy Spirit infused enough strength into me to raise my hand and tell somebody, “Please, I need help!”
Asking for help was unheard of for me because of the experiences I had in the past with my family, (i.e. my Mother, Brother, and Sister, etc). My siblings were all complicit in my childhood abuse from my Mother (as far as I’m concerned) because not one of them stepped in and to say, “Stop hurting her!” My siblings witnessed the abuse. In fact, my Brother participated in the abuse one day, (tying me in a chair with a leather belt) when I threatened to run away from home. He and my Mother while Mother stood there and laughed at me struggling, crying and screaming; trying to get out of the chair.
“Stockholm Syndrome” comes in many forms!!!
I remember another time, my Sister took me to the hospital along with my Mother because I had painted a bruise on my forehead. I was so good at covering up my bruises as a child I could have become a professional makeup artist. But in that situation, as I said, I created a bruise so someone would notice. My Sister noticed it, at that time she was a graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Social Work. She took me to the Emergency Room with my Mom and the doctors realized that the bruise was the result of makeup. So they wiped it off. They called down a Counselor, (who questioned me in front of my Mother). I could not disclose to the Counselor with my Mother present because (as I already shared) I was experiencing Stockholm Syndrome; I was being loyal to my abuser; my Mother! Once again, my Mother took me home and humiliated me on the ride home, in front of my Sister and all night at home in the presence of my Brother. “How dare I embarrass her like that!” She was so full of false pride! Subsequently, I did’t tell anyone, I just kept the abuse to myself. But, that was my last year, (so I thought). I had a plan . . . I was suicidal and I was determined to end the abuse with from her one way or another!
FIRST STEP—ADMITTING “I NEED HELP!
Adversely, I had no idea what it was like to say, “I need help! Please help me.” I was even less familiar with someone saying, “How can I help?” But, I took a risk, (timidly, I put up my hand) and I cried and shared openly about living in a “drug gallery” where my ex-husband was still beating the hell out of me and terrifying me verbally, (pregnant and all ) while he was still getting high every day. At that time, I had just started getting Food-Stamps and my ex-husband and all his drug addict Cousins were stealing the food I had put in the freezer. They were selling my food to get high! I was pregnant and hungry and they were stealing food out of my baby’s mouth! My Son’s premature birth was no doubt related to the forms of abuse!
It was a daily struggle going back to the “drug gallery” daily, walking downstairs to the basement to get my laundry and people were always down there shooting up with cocaine, heroin, pills, etc. I just wanted to get my clothes and go to sleep even though I was going to bed hungry. My resolve daily was I could eat at the substance abuse treatment facility the following day. But on one particular day, (after sharing in Group Therapy) Debrah walked me to her house and she and her Mother made sure I had a sandwich or a hot meal, (each and every day until I went into labor).
Meanwhile, my ex-husbands Aunt had moved me to the pull-out couch in the living room. However, it was no consolation because people were coming in all night long. They were walking past my bed to get to the “doctor” of the house; the person who would cook (prepare the drugs) and “hit” them, (find a vein and intravenously put the needle in their body). These drug addicts needed this “doctor” because their veins were hard to find and had collapsed due to all of the drug abuse.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM . . .
THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL INFUSE COURAGE!!!
Back at the NA Meeting, God had used the Holy Spirit to infuse strength (in the form of courage) to speak openly and honestly about my situation in a room full of people. I was really terrified because I learned that my ex-husband was hiding around the corner at one of those meetings and I dare NOT share HIS SECRET of domestic violence. But on this particular day, the Holy Spirit divinely orchestrated it so the Director of the “House of Ruth” was at the very first NA Meeting I had the COURAGE to share. (That was no coincidence!)
Consequently, she gave me her number and said, “Call me!” When she gave me the number, she did NOT say, “I am the Director of the House of Ruth, a shelter for battered women.” She just said, “Call me!”
The next day, God gave me the power to call the Director of the House of Ruth when I got back to the Substance Abuse Treatment Facility. I told my Counselor I went to a Twelve Step Meeting and shared and I needed to call the lady who gave me her number. My Counselor encouraged me; took me into her office and let me use the phone.
She heard me reach out to that lady who said, “I heard your story. What do you want to do about your problem?”
“MAKE THE CALL! ” 1-800-799-SAFE
I said, “I want to stop getting beaten up! I’m tired! I need a place to live!”
The lady told me an address where to come and asked “Do you have a way to get here?”
I did not. But again, God worked it out through that same POWER of the Holy Spirit. I said, “I need help getting there. I don’t have a car. I don’t have a job. I don’t have any money.” My Counselor over heard the conversation and provided a cab voucher. I was well on my way! I showed up with one sweat-suit in a grocery bag.
When I got there, I had to talk to a Counselor about my situation. I had to expose my abuser, (crying; snot and all). However, I didn’t have the courage to talk about all of the abuse. I couldn’t talk about my Mother. She was NOT an immediate threat at the time, just my ex-husband. The fear of talking about my Mother was equally greater than the fear of going back to my ex-husband, but she (my Mother) was my ace in a whole if this scenario at the House of Ruth Shelter did not work out. After all, my Mother had my children, so I had to go back there anyway to get my children back. I just did not want anymore trouble from my Mother because I REALLY wanted this thing called RECOVERY and I knew I ABSOLUTELY could NOT get well around her; she was the SOURCE of my pain!
“Calgon take me away!”
Meanwhile, the Counselor, showed me to my room, escorted me to a Donation Clothes Closet, the laundry room, laundry supplies and a hot, clean shower with a bathtub and bubbles to take a HOT bath. I was clean, because I was showering daily at the “drug gallery,” (when I could get into the bathroom). But, a bubble bath, no ex-husband to beat on me or harass me for sex, in a room with a closed door that would lock; PURE PEACE!!! I didn’t know what PEACE was anymore! I cried and locked myself in the bathroom and took a hot bubble bath until dinner-time. That bath was for almost three long hours. The staff thought I had drowned—lol!
I was sitting in the tub, reflecting back over my life. What a mess I had made with the decisions I had made, (i.e. marrying an abusive man, leaving my children with an abusive Mother, separated from the only thing in my life I have ever loved; my children). Even though I could NOT forgive myself at THAT time, I knew deep down inside, because a small VOICE reminded me, “This is just the beginning.” It was the HOLY SPIRIT talking to me! I had NOT heard his voice since my Father died!!! I realized at that very moment the teaching of POWERLESSNESS in my addiction caused me to loose everything and everyone!!!
“The POWER of SURRENDER!”
But, this new found POWER I had tapped into from God and His Holy Spirit was far GREATER than seeing myself as a victim! I was STRENGTHEN to ask for help! I was STRENGTHENwith this new found peace! I was STRENGTHEN by creating a plan for recovery with the Counselor! I was STRENGTHEN to arrange transportation to and from my Substance Abuse Treatment Program; arranging the van to pick me up and drop me off daily! I was STRENGTHEN to continue to go to the NA Meetings with Debrah, (i.e. walking, bussing; any means necessary)! I was STRENGTHEN to read the NA Literature! I was STRENGTHEN to pray! I was STRENGTHEN in my confidence to talk openly about God! I was STRENGTHEN to read God’s Word in the Holy Bible! That is the outcome of complete and utterly surrendering to God—STRENGTH and POWER!!!
I was even STRENGTHEN to admit that I did NOT fully understand the Holy Bible, but I was willing to learn more about this God I was praying to daily. After all, I met Him when I was four years old. I had a colorful Children’s Bible that I was reading daily. A the age of four, I had accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in Sunday School. Believe it or not, I knew “what” it meant to accept Christ as my Savior, I just didn’t know “how” to apply that acceptance to my life. They told me to read my Bible, but they did not teach me GOD’s PERSPECTIVE and how to interpret HIS meaning.
Meanwhile, I realized I had just turned my back on God at the age of ten because He, (God) took my Father away to heaven (and left me with an abusive Mother). I did NOT loose my salvation because I was using drugs! What I learned after years and years of studying, (not days, not weeks, nor a few short months) I learned that there is NOT one particle of “DARKNESS” in this God that I know and serve. Darkness (sin, evil) does NOT exist in God and the reason my Dad died was because of Satin, (the prince of this world) who introduced my Father to alcohol as a child orphaned by both of his parents. His addiction caused him to get hit by a car, (inebriated I imagine) from which He died resulting internal bleeding in his sleep. I also realized after years and years and years of studying, that God is my Father!
Psalms 68:5 “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.”
No one; not one person on this earth has loved me the way JESUS does; not even my children! Because the love God has showed me is incomprehensible . . . My testimony is like that of Paul’s; I am the “foremost sinner!”
Remember Paul’s testimony???
“Trustworthy is the word and worthy of unqualified acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I in contradistinction to anyone else am foremost.” (1 Timothy 1:15, Expanded Greek)
The key is, not only do I have the Holy Spirit living inside of me, . . I now ACKNOWLEDGE His presence. You too can have the Holy Spirit living inside of you . . .
OR
You can keep trying this on your own until you get “sick and tired of being sick and tired or death!” But if you are ready to surrender today, repeat after me . . .
Jesus, I am sorry for absolutely EVERYTHING and ANYTHING I have done unpleasing to YOU in my life! I want and NEED you to live inside of me and SAVE me! I need you to be my SAVIOR! I do BELIEVE you lived and died on a cross for ALL of MY sins. I do BELIEVE you were buried! I also BELIEVE you rose from DEATH after the third day! I pray this prayer in your holy and matchless name; Jesus the Christ! Amen!
If you said that prayer, WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!!! At the moment you uttered those words, the Holy Spirit took residence in you too! And now you have the One who infuses STRENGTH living inside of you as well!
Be aware that life is NOT necessarily going to get easier at this moment, today or tomorrow! But, now your “PERSPECTIVE”on how to live life on life terms will change . . .
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, New International Version)
“Consider it a matter for unadulterated joy [without any admixture of sorrow] whenever you fall into the midst of variegated trials which surround you, knowing experientially that the approving of your faith, that faith having been put to the test for the purpose of being approved, and having met the test, has been approved, [that this approving process] produces a patience which bears up and does not lose heart or courage under trials. But be allowing the aforementioned patience to be having its complete work in order that you may be spiritually mature and complete in every detail, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4, Expanded Greek Translation, Kenneth Wuest)
If you continue to Pray to God, go to Twelve Step Meetings, don’t pick up, get a Sponsor, (preferably someone who has a relationship with Jesus Christ; a Christian like you) and read your literature (a “Twelve Step Guide” and your Bible) you will be well on your way to recovery.
If you’re not ready for Church yet, that’s cool! It’s not about religion; it’s about RELATIONSHIP with GOD! I know how difficult it is to fit into a Church with “Church People” who have a predisposition about your addictive behavior and your past. But you just tell them for me . . . You are a NEW creature . . .
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, New American Standard Bible)
As for me, you can always find me here at Kingdom Fire Ecumenical Church, an open door for misfits like me, kingdomfireecumenicalchurch.wordpress.com. I’ll always have a Word of encouragement . . . I know what it’s like to allow someone to love you (Spiritually) until you finally learn to love yourself!
But, keep in mind this one thing . . . Only SINNERS (like us) choose to come to a place called “Church” to get help!!! It’s like going to a “Twelve Step Program” with a bunch of strangers; everyone coming to one place because we all need healing. The difference is this time, the Doctor is Jesus; the ”Church” is His people. We HIS PEOPLE are all over the world!!!
He is the one who has loved you from the beginning and He will continue to love you to the end!
You are “The Chosen!” I have provided the link on the menu page for your free viewing . . . Enjoy!!!
“For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again . . .” (Proverbs 24:16)
“But in giving this instruction,I do not praise you, because you come together not for the better but for the worse. For, in the first place, whenyou come together as a church, I hear that divisionsexist among you;andin part I believe it.”(1 Corinthians 11:17-18)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Sexual deviants infecting the race . . .” Wolf, Dick, and Rene Baller. “Hate.” Law & Order, season 9, episode 10, 6 Jan. 1999. (Bold added)
“In 1967, when miscegenation [mixture of race] laws were overturned in the United States, 3% of all newlyweds were married to someone of a different race or ethnicity. Since then, intermarriage rates have steadily climbed. By 1980, the share of intermarried newlyweds had about doubled to 7%, or (230,000). And by 2015 the number had risen to 17% or (670,000).”(Bold added)(Italics added)(Parentheses added) Https://www.pewresearch.org
“The long-term annual growth in newlyweds marrying someone of a different race or ethnicity has led to dramatic increases in the overall number of people who are presently intermarried – including both those who recently married and those who did so years, or even decades, earlier. In 2015, that number stood at 11 million – 10% of all married people. The share has tripledsince1980, when 3% of married people – about 3 million altogether – had a spouse of a different race or ethnicity.” (Bold added)(Italics added)Https://www.pewresearch.org
“Overall increases in intermarriage have been fueled in part by rising intermarriage rates among black newlyweds and among white newlyweds. The share of recently married blacks with a spouse of a different race or ethnicity has more than tripled, from 5% in 1980 to 18% in 2015. Among recently married whites, rates have more than doubled, from 4% up to 11%.”(Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.pewresearch.org
God loves the sinner . . . God hates the sin. . .“
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdomof God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
“In research done by Boston Area Rape Center Roesler et.al.(1994) reported heterosexual rape versus homosexual molestation . . . “ (Bold added) http://www.barcc.org.
“82% child sexual abusers were in heterosexual relationships with a relative of the child.”
“The child’s risk is 100x’s greater by a relative’s heterosexual partner than being molested by homosexual, lesbian or bisexual.”
“According to a study conducted in Massachusetts, young lesbians and bisexual girls versus heterosexual girls.” (Bold added) http://www.barcc.org.
Girls ‘called sexually offensive names’ by their peers (72% of lesbian and bisexual girls as compared to 63% heterosexual)”
“Girls ‘touched, brushed up against, or cornered in a sexual way’ (63% as compared to 52% of heterosexual girls)”
“Girls ‘grabbed or have their clothing pulled in a sexual way’(50% compared to 44% heterosexual).”
“Girls who’s peers ‘attempted rape or raped’ 23% compared to 6% of the heterosexual girls.”
“According to a Massachusetts study on transgender women . . . “ (Bold added) http://www.barcc.org.
“60% were forced to have sex against their will”
“38% were subject to multiple incidents of sexual assault”
“According to the First National Survey of Transgender Violence . . . “Http://www.barcc.org.
“13.7% of 402 persons reported being a victim of rape or attempted rape.”
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers a sacrifice and for the one who does not sacrifice.As the good man is, so is the sinner; as the swearer is, so is the one who is afraid to swear. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, thatthere is one fate for all men. Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives.Afterwards they go to the dead.”(Ecclesiastes 9:2-3)
I. LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND . . .
“Live in peace with one another. We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.”(1 Thessalonians 5:13-15)(Bold added)PHOTO://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0645/6597/products/LiveInPeaceThumb_51b6e8e7-f32b-4d43-af79-d95dac75f3ac_grande.jpg?v=1497283336
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“There were 73 million children in the U.S. in 2019—22 percent of our nation’s population.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In 2019, children of color made up 49.8 percent of all children and the majority of children under 5.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
PHOTO: “Children data ranks NM child poverty ranking back to 49th in nation, Kids Count report finds.” Https.//www.Icsun-news.com by Associated Press, January 15, 2020.
“Nearly 1 in 7 children—10.5 million—were poor in 2019. Nearly 71 percent of poor children were children of color. More than 1 in 4 Black children and more than 1 in 5 Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native children were poor compared with 1 in 12 whitechildren.”
“The youngest children are the poorest. Nearly 1 in 6 children under 6 were poor and almost half lived in extreme poverty below half the poverty line.”
“The share of all wealth held by the top one percent of Americans grew from 30 to 37 percent and the share held by the bottom 90 percent fell from 33 to 23 percent between 1989 and 2019.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Today, a member of the top 10 percent of income earners makes about 39 times as much as the average earner in the bottom 90 percent.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In 2019, the median family income ofwhite households with children ($95,700) was more than doublethat of Black ($43,900), and Hispanic households with children ($52,300).” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“More than 1 in 3 children live in households burdened by housing costs, meaning more than 30 percent of their family income goes toward housing.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“More than 1.5 million children enrolled in public schools experienced homelessness during the 2017-2018school year.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“74 percent of unhoused students during the 2017-2018 school year were living temporarilywith family or friends.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Homeownership is often viewed as the entree to the American dream and the gateway to intergenerational wealth. However, this pathway is often less achievable for Black Americans who post a homeownership rate of 46.4% compared to 75.8% of white families. Compounding matters, homes in predominately Black neighborhoods across the country are valued at $48,000 less than predominately white neighborhoods for a cumulative loss in equity of approximately $156 billion. . .” (Bold added) https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/
“In 2016, white families posted the highest median family wealth at $171,000. Black families, in contrast, had a median family wealth of $17,600. Because wealth (as measured by the total amount of assets a person owns minus debts) is a critical predictor of education, health, employment, and other quality of life metrics, a strategy to maximize homeownership and home value is needed.”(Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/
“Lower Black homeownership and the racial wealth gap are byproducts of systemic racism, including the legacies of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, redlining, and other anti-Black policies that targeted Black people and predominately Black neighborhoods.Residential segregation facilitates the extraction of wealth and other vital resources that fuel economic and social mobility. The loss of wealth in Black communitieshastens a downwardsocioeconomic spiral. For instance, schools predominated by Black, Latinx, and Asian students receive $23 billion lessin funding than predominately white districts. This is because schools primarily rely onlocal property taxes rather than a broader pool of funding to equalize school resources.” (Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/
“Additionally, subpar neighborhood resources lead to fewer banking options, more payday lenders, and less opportunity for financial literacy. Because most people start their businesses using the equity in their homes, Black business development is throttled by Black families’lack of homeownership and lack of wealth overall.” (Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/“The federal government’s first Covid-19 relief package may have exacerbated the problem. The first round of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans (part of the CARES Act, the federal COVID-19 relief package) gave reliefonly to employer firms. This framework disproportionately excluded Black businesses: 95% of Black-owned firms are non-employer businesses, compared to 78% of white-owned firms. This negatively impacted entire communities. According to a Bloomberg analysis, 27% of businesses in white-majority congressional districts received PPP loans, compared with 17% of businesses in districts where minorities make up more than half the population. A Stanford University study estimated thatover 40% ofBlack-ownedsmall businesses closed during the COVID- 19 pandemic.” (Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.brookings.edu/essay/homeownership-racial-segregation-and-policies-for-racial-wealth-equity/
III. LOVE DOES NOT BOAST . . .
“Boast no more so very proudly,
Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth;
For the LORD is a God of knowledge,
And with Him actions are weighed.
“The bows of the mighty are shattered,
But the feeble gird on strength.”(1 Samuel 2:3-4)
“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
And to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up the horn;
Do not lift up your horn on high,
Do not speak with insolent pride.’”
For not from the east, nor from the west,
Nor from the desert comes exaltation;
But God is the Judge;
He puts down one and exalts another.
For a cup is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams;
It is well mixed, and He pours out of this;
Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and drink down its dregs.” (Psalms 75:4-8)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Discrimination, particularly in hiring, continues even in the wake of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and serves as a primary cause of ongoing racial inequality in the labor market. The impact of racial discrimination in hiring is robust and well documented (Quillian et al. 2017).”
“One foundational study found that resumes with white-sounding names received 50 percent more callbacks than Black-sounding names, and subsequent research has found similar results (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2004; Bertrand and Duflo 2017). This discrimination also extends to perceptions of criminality. Additional paired-tester research found that white applicants with a criminal record were more likely to get callbacks for entry-level jobs than Black menwithout a criminal record (Pager 2003).”(Bold added)(Italics added)https://www.workrisennetwork.org/racial-inequality-labor-market-and-employment-opportunities
“The evidence suggests that between 1989 and 2017, the amount of hiring discrimination experienced by Blackand Latinx job applicants did not decrease(Quillian et al. 2017). Discrimination against people of color in hiring up continues to be a standard feature of the labor market. This discrimination leads to diminished job opportunities and more time looking for work, which likely contributes to the consistently elevated racial gapsin the unemployment rate.”
“Discrimination continues after hire as well. In many firms, Black and Latinx employees are prevented or discouraged from face-to-face client engagement, such as by being tasked to work in a stock roomrather thanthe floor of a retail assignment or by having diminishedaccess to high–net-worth clients to build out a portfolio (Pager, Western, and Bonikowski 2009; Bielby 2012; Moss and Tilly 2001). This post-hire discrimination restricts many workers of color from accessing the roles, responsibilities, and opportunities that leadtoward promotion and upwardmobility (Collins 1997).”https://www.workrisennetwork.org/racial-inequality-labor-market-and-employment-opportunities
IV. LOVE IS NOT PROUD . . .
“Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.” (Proverbs 16:5-6)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Police in Ohio say they have found materials to create a meth lab at a million-dollar lakefront home near Cleveland. . . they also found three handguns and 11 shotguns at the home. . . During the search they found chemicals and equipment that would be used to produce meth, he said. . . home was on lakefront property in an affluent area and according to property records, bought for $1,125,000 last year.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Police said they found 47-year-old James Lee Acord and 50-year-old Rhonda L. Pasek overdosing in a Ford Explorer in East Liverpool, Ohio, on Wednesday, with a 4-year-old boy in the back seat. His face has been digitally altered to protect his identity. (Courtesy of the City of East Liverpool)”The Washington Post by Christopher Ingraham and Carolyn Y. Johnson, September 9, 2016.”
“When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie discusses his compassionate approach to the ongoing opioid epidemic, he frequently brings up a close friend from law school. He describes this friend as perfect — incredibly smart, with a successful law practice, with a beautiful and brilliant wife and kids, and both good looking and athletic.“So we loved him, but we hated him,” Christie joked at a 2015 town hall. “Because the guy had everything, right?”(Bold added)(Italics added). “When a drug epidemic’s victims are white” by German Lopez, April 4, 2017. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-racePHOTO:https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-race
“This friend, however, had a drug problem. Starting with a back injury from running, he was prescribed opioid painkillers. That initial prescription eventually grew into a full-blown addiction. And despite Christie’s and others’ attempts to help, the addictionconsumed his friend, whom Christie has kept anonymous to protect the family from media attention. Over the next 10 years, despite some stints in rehab, his friendlost his wife, his home, his money, the ability to see his girls, his law practice, andeven his driver’s license. Then, he overdosed and died at 52 years old.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“By every measure that we define success in this country, this guy had it,” Christie said. “He’s a drug addict. And he couldn’t get help. And he’s dead.” He added, “When I sat there as the governor of New Jersey at his funeral, and looked across the pew at his three daughters sobbing ’cause their dad is gone, there but for the grace of God go I. It can happen to anyone. And so we need to starttreating people in this country, not jailing them. We need to give them the tools they need to recover, becauseevery life is precious. (Bold added)(Italics added)https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-racehttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-opioid-crisis-we-are-holding-big-pharma-accountable-n998186
“Similarly, President Donald Trump, who appointed Christie to a commission studying the opioid epidemic, often brings up the alcohol addiction that consumed and killed his brother. Businesswoman Carly Fiorina, who briefly ran for president in 2016, also mentioned her daughter’s death due to drugs on the campaign trail. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush wrote an article on his daughter’s drug struggles on Medium. And that doesn’t even begin to get into the many, many state lawmakers who have shared similar stories about husbands, wives, sons, daughters, friends, and coworkers who struggled with addiction.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“This, they all say, has led them to believe in the need for better, comprehensive drug treatment.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“These stories show how lived experiences and personal relationships can influence serious policy discussions. After all, politicians bring up the people in their lives who they saw needlessly suffer and die due to drugs for a specific purpose: to call for an approach to addiction focused on public health over criminal justice.” (Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-race
“But in this way, these stories also expose the impact of another issue that may not seem related at first: race.” (Bold added)(Italics added) https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-race “Consider the opioid epidemic, which contributed to the record 52,000 drug overdose deaths reported in 2015. Because the crisis has disproportionately affected white Americans, white lawmakers — who make up a disproportionate amount of all levels of government — are more likely to come into contact with people afflicted by the opioid epidemic than, say, the disproportionately black drug users who suffered during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and ’90s. And that means a lawmaker is perhaps more likely to have the kind of interaction that Christie, Trump, Bush, and Fiorina described — one that might lead them to support more compassionate drug policies — in the current crisis than the ones of old.”(Bold added)(Italics added)“Is it any wonder, then, that the crack epidemic led to an incredibly punitive “tough on crime” crackdown focused on harsher prison sentences and police tactics, while the current opioid crisis has led more to more compassionaterhetoricand calls for legislation, including a measure Congress passed last year, to focus on treatmentinstead ofincarceration? (Although some states have passed “tough on crime” laws in response to the opioid epidemic.)” https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-racePHOTO: https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=nAh-JavFAul
“Ithaca, New York, Mayor Svante Myrick, who’s black, told me this has led to resentment in much of the black community in his predominantly white town. “It’s very real,” he acknowledged. The typical response from his black constituents, he said, goes something like this: “Oh, when it was happening in my neighborhood it was ‘lock ’em up.’ Now that it’s happening in the [largely white, wealthy] Heights, the answer is to use my tax dollars to fund treatment centers. Well, my son could have used a treatment center in 1989, and he didn’t get one.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
Stories like Christie’s, Trump’s, Fiorina’s, and Bush’s show one of the many ways we got to this point, where a political response can varylargely based on avictim’s race. They demonstrate that it’s not just personal racism that can lead to racially disparate politics and even policies, but structural factors like segregation as well.”(Bold added)(Italics added)https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/4/4/15098746/opiod-heroin-epidemic-race
V. LOVE DOES NOT DISHONOR OTHERS . . .
“Let those be ashamed and humiliated together Who seek my life to destroy it; Let those be turned back and dishonored Who delight in my hurt.”(Psalms 40:14)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“In 2019, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program collects data about both single-bias and multiple-bias hate crimes. For each offense type reported, law enforcement must indicate at least one bias motivation. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018
A “Single Bias” Incident
“A single-bias incident is defined as an incident in which one or moreoffense types are motivated by the same bias. . .”
A “Multiple-Biased” Incident
“. . . As of 2013, a multiple-bias incident is defined as an incident in which one or more types are motivated by two or more biases.”
“In 2013, the FBI’s UCR Program initiated the collection of rape data under a revised definition within the Summary Reporting System. The term “forcible” was removed from the offense name, and the definition was changed to “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”
“In 2016, the FBI Director approved the recommendation to discontinue the reporting of rape data using the UCR legacy definition beginning 2017.”
HOMOSEXUAL SERIAL RAPIST, WHITE MALE, PRIEST . . .
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”(1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
“He was a beloved priest who had had more than a dozenassignments locally before arriving at the church shortly before Graham was abused, just a few years before he retired after 43 years as a priest in 2000.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“On the day of the rape, Lavelle told Graham to drink leftover sacramental wine during Mass. Graham noticed the priest had poured much more than was needed for the assembled parishioners, but he did as he was told, happily. He felt like the instruction from Lavelle was an honor since priests usually drank the leftover holy wine.”The Columbus Dispatch, By Danae King, September 12, 2021. (Bold added)(Italics added)
“When the service ended, he followed Lavelle into the sacristy, a changing room for priests. The other priests and altar servers left, leaving the two of them alone as Graham waited for his mom to come later for choir practice.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“I had had a lot of wine,” Graham said. “I’m feeling kind of weird, like I don’t know how to describe it, just like the dynamic of the room seemed to shift really quickly.”
A few minutes later, the priest stormed out. Then, “he flew back into the room with a big grin on his face, and next thing I knew it was over,” Graham said of the rape.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Graham can remember Lavelle unbuckling his belt, then grabbing him and turning him around.Lavelle partially undressed the teen and then pushed him slowly down to the floor of the room, raping him before standing back up and asking if Graham would like to do the same to him.”
“Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.”(Exodus 23:7)
“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD. Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yetHe will by no means leave the guiltyunpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exo 34:5-7)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Resurrectionist Fr. Manuel Williams, top left, director of Resurrection Catholic Missions of the South, Inc. and pastor of Resurrection Catholic Church in Montgomery, Alabama; Tia Noelle Pratt, top right, sociologist of religion and director of Mission Engagement and Strategic Initiatives at Villanova University; and Fr. Bryan Massingale, bottom left, professor of theological and social ethics and the James and Nancy Buckman Chair in Applied Christian Ethics at Fordham University, were panelists in Fordham University’s “Black Communities and the Clerical Abuse Crisis” panel, April 21, moderated by historian Catherine Osborne, bottom right, coordinator of Fordham’s Taking Responsibility program and co-editor of “American Catholic History: A Documentary Reader.” (NCR screenshot/Madeleine Davison)”
“Systemic racism in the Catholic Churchcompounds the impact of the sexual abuse crisis on Black Catholics and makes it more difficult for Black survivors to speak up or get justice, speakers said during the virtual panel discussion, hosted by Fordham University on April 21. (Unsplash/Josh Applegate)”(Bold added)(Italics added)Https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/panel-racism-compounds-clergy-sex-abuse-crisis-black-Catholics
“Because of a long history of racism, the U.S. Catholic Church’s leadership is overwhelmingly white, said Massingale, who is the author of Racial Justice and the Catholic Church. In addition, many white diocesan employees lack the cultural competency to interact with Black people, and diocesan offices are often located in white neighborhoods or places that are inaccessible by public transportation, he said.”(Bold added)(Italics added) Https://www.ncronline.org/news/accountability/panel-racism-compounds-clergy-sex-abuse-crisis-black-Catholics
“Dioceses often neglect their Black parishes, leaving them constantly on the brink of closing, said Tia Noelle Pratt, a sociologist who studies Black Catholics and systemic racism in the Catholic Church.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Because of this, many Black Catholics don’t feel that the diocese is their ally, she said. Black survivors may notwant to come forward out of fear that speaking up might negativelyaffect their churches, she added.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Racial power dynamics within parishes and the desire to see their parishes survive discrimination and neglect can also make Black parishioners more reluctant to report abuse or misconduct by white clergy and staff, said Resurrectionist Fr. Manuel Williams, director of Resurrection Catholic Ministries of the South, Inc.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“When Williams first arrived at his current parish, Resurrection Catholic Church in Montgomery, Alabama, he found out that one of his predecessors — 40 or 50 years prior — had allegedly fathered a son with a parishioner. But nobody really talked about it, he said.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“It wasn’t until Williams had been at the church for over a decade that a church employee brought him two photos — one of the priest and one of the man rumored to be his son — and showed them to Williams, side by side.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Racist stereotypes about Black people’s sexuality that started during the era of slavery mean that, when they do come forward, Black victims of sexual abuse are even less likely to be believed than white victims, Massingale said.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Black women are often portrayed as sexually promiscuous “Jezebels,”incapable of being raped, Massingale said. Meanwhile, Black men are depicted as the “insatiable stud” or the “dangerous predator or rapist,” he said.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“It’s very difficult to have a serious conversation about this issue and how it relates to the Black body, when the Black body has already been coded from the time of enslavement to the present as something that is … able to be sexually debased with impunity,” Massingale said”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Black victims and survivors are also erased from the narrative about clergy sexual abuse, Massingale said. The typical portrait of a victim is a white male, he said — Catholics don’t typically think of Black faces when they think of abuse victims.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Many Black parishes have also closed or been merged with other parishes, changing names in the process, Pratt said, increasing the amount of “detective work” needed to understand the scope of the crisis.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Behold, all those who are angeredatyouwill be shamed and dishonored; Those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. “You will seek those who quarrel with you, but will not find them, Those who war with you will be as nothing and non-existent.”(Isaiah 41:11-12)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“A judge has sentenced the three men convicted of murderingAhmaud Arbery to life in prison. Travis McMichael and his father Gregory McMichael were sentenced to life plus 20 years without the possibilityof parole. Their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan was sentenced to lifewith the possibility of parole.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In Georgia, life in prison is the minimum sentence for murder, leaving the question of parole up to presiding judge Timothy Walmsley.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In February 2020, Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael and Bryan followed the 25-year-old Arbery, who was on a jog, with their pickup trucks in the Georgia suburb of Satilla Shores. The pursuit ended after five minutes when 35-year-old Travis McMichael fatally shot Arbery, who was unarmed.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In November, a jury found the three men guilty on multiple murder counts, among other charges. Travis McMichael was found guilty on all charges, including malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. Gregory McMichael, who rodearmed in the bed of a pickup truck as his sonchased Arbery, is guilty on all charges except malice murder. Bryan, who joined and filmed the pursuit, is guilty on three counts of felony murder, one countof aggravated assault,false imprisonment and criminal attempt to commit a felony. The jury cleared Bryan of charges of malice murder, felony murder involving aggravated assault with a firearm and the count of aggravated assault with a firearm.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“. . . New data show that the number of Black people killed by police has actually increased over the last two years.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“According to data collected by The Washington Post, police shot and killed at least 1,055 people nationwide last year, the most since the newspaper began tracking fatal shootings by officers in 2015. That is more than the 1,021shootings in 2020 and the 999 in 2019.”
“Black people, who account for 13 percent of the U.S. population, accounted for 27 percent of those fatally shot and killed by police in 2021, according to Mapping Police Violence, a nonprofit group that tracks police shootings. THAT MEANS BLACK PEOPLE ARETWICEAS LIKELY AS WHITE PEOPLE TO BE SHOT AND KILLED BY POLICE OFFICERS.” (Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“It’s bad and it’s sad, but it’s not shocking that we’re still being killed at a higher rate,” said Karundi Williams, the CEO of re:power, a national organization that trains Black people to become political leaders. “When we have moments of racial injustice that is thrust in the national spotlight, there is an uptick of outrage, and people take to the streets. But then the media tends to move on to other things, and that consciousness decreases. But we never really got underneath the problem.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“And the problems are many. Rashawn Ray, a seniorfellow at the Brookings Institution, a think tank, said it is a flawed notion that paying more attention to police brutality will result in less police brutality.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“People perceive that people protesting in the streets leads to people caring more, and sometimes it leads to people resisting the changemore. And in this case, we’re talking about officers resisting the change,” said Ray, who is also a professor of sociology at the University of Maryland. “What we see in the immediate aftermath of the demonstrations is police officers’ hunkering down and standing behindthe blue wall of silence even more.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Williams said there is also an inherent foe that prevents widespread change.”
“The system wasn’t built to protect Black people,” Williams said. “And until we get to the root cause of policing and police brutality and the differences in the way police treat Black folks versus white folks, we’re not going to get to change.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Williams said the data mean that “until we get to policies that dismantle the system that exists, we’re not going to see this stop.”(Bold added)(Italics added
“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”(Genesis 6:5)
“The LORD has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.”(Psa 14:2-3)
“A heart that deviseswicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil, A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”(Pro 6:18-19)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“New Study Finds Catholic Priests Dying From AIDS at Higher Than Expected Rate” by KHN Morning Briefing, Nov 7, 2000 https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/“According to a study following a January report on Catholic priests dying of AIDS, the Kansas City Star has found that the AIDS-related death rate among priests “exceeds earlier estimates.” The Star reported in a three-part series in January that “hundreds of priests had died of AIDS-related illnesses and that hundreds more were living with the virus that causes the disease.” (Bold added)
“Follow-up research, based on deathcertificates and interviews with family members, found an additional 300 AIDS-related priest deaths nationwide.”
“However, researchers were unable to count AIDS-related deaths in the nearly two-thirds of states that do not disclose death records, and experts say that the “exact AIDS death toll among U.S. priests will never be known.” In the 14 states that allowed the Star to access death records, the paper found that the AIDS-related death rate among priests was “more than double” the rate among all adult males in those states and more than six timesthe rate among the general population in those states. The Star reports that these rates “exceeded the estimates and projections reported earlier this year by the newspaper,” and the follow-up investigation reveals that “there is no longer any question that hundreds of priests have died of AIDS and that many bishops were aware of their plights.”https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/“Eugene Kennedy, former priest and biographer of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin of Chicago, said, “The fact that you have priests havingvery active sexual lives, that you have priests contracting HIV and dying of AIDS and that they have refused to come to terms with this and tend to deny it, I don’t see how you look at this and not say that these are symptoms of anunresolved sexual problem within thechurch.”
“Root of the Problem Through interviews with priests, AIDS experts, doctors, psychologists and educators, the Star found a general consensus that more education and communication is needed to curb the “tragedy of priests dying of AIDS. (“Bold added) (Italics added) https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/
Rev. Thomas Reese, editor ofAmerica magazine, a national Jesuit publication, cited the biggest issue as the “silence surrounding … gay priests.” Reese said, “The silence highlights a tension in a church thatdefines homosexuality as ‘intrinsically disordered’ butrelies on manygay men to celebrate thesacramentsandcarry out theworkof thechurch.”https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/
“Jon Fuller, a Jesuit priest and Boston physician who specializes in AIDS, lamented the fact that the Vatican discouragesopen discussions on sexuality, considers homosexual relations a sinandopposes “modern practice” ofsafe sex.” https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/
“However, the church has not entirely ignored the AIDSepidemic and has served as a “major provider of AIDSservices” in San Francisco, according to the Rev. Jim Mitulski, co-pastor of Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, a “predominantly gay congregation.” Mitulski said, “It’s compassion that comeswith a price tag … The ironyis, here’s this institution that does have a heart for sick people, but at thesame time, it’s fostering a climate where HIV continues to be spread” (Kansas City Star, 11/4).” https://khn.org/morning-breakout/dr00000875/PHOTO: “Children With HIV and AIDS” Web MDby Mary Anne Dunkin, 2020 https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/guide/hiv-in-children
Up to 3.7 million kids (under age 19) are infected with HIV, the virus that can lead to AIDS. The vast majority of cases are in sub-Saharan Africa; in fact, it’s the leading cause of death among preteens and teens there.
Most children who have HIV got it from their mothers when they were pregnant, during the birth process, or from breastfeeding.
Kids in communities affected by AIDS who have lost parents and family members are also more vulnerable toHIV infection. They may lack caregivers, access to school, or the ability to stand up for their rights.
Children can be infected through sexual abuse or rape. In some countries, child marriages are culturally accepted, and a young girl could get HIV from their older husband, and then pass it totheirbabies, too. The younger a child is when they first have sex, the higher their chances of gettingHIV are. https://www.webmd.com/hiv-aids/guide/hiv-in-children
“Investigation of the key factors that influence the girls to enter into child marriage: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence” by Kohno A, Techasrivichien T, Suguimoto SP, Dahlui M, Nik Farid ND, Nakayama T (2020) Investigation of the key factors that influence the girls to enter into child marriage: A meta-synthesis of qualitative evidence. PLoS ONE 15(7): https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235959
“Child marriage refers to formal or informalmarriage that involves children who are below the age of 18 [1]. Although the term applies to both boys and girls, girls are the mostcommonly affected by this practice [2]. It is a harmfulpractice that violates children’s rights; unfortunately, it remains widespread.”
Meanwhile, “12 million girls per year still get married before the age of 18 [3]. Thus, we have approximately 650 million women today who were married as children. The highest levels of child marriage are found in Sub-Saharan Africa (38%), with Niger reporting a prevalence as high as 76%, followed by South Asia (30%)and Latin America (25%) [3]. According to data from the Demographic and HealthSurveys (DHS) in Bangladesh, 59% and 22% of women were married before the age of 18 and before the age of 15, respectively. In Latin America, the numbers are also alarming. In the Dominican Republic and Brazil, 36% of women were married before the age of 18 [4].”
“Child marriage often results in adversehealth, economic, and social consequences [8]. Catalyzed by socio-economic imbalance, spousal age gap, power imbalance, social isolation, and lack of female autonomy,studies show a significant association between child marriage and all dimensions of intimate partnerviolence (physical, sexual, and emotional) [9–14].”
“For girls, child marriage translates into early sexual activity. They are more likely to report no contraceptive use and are at a greater risk of unintended pregnancy [8] and sexually transmitted infections including HIV andcervical cancer [15].”
“Among women aged 15–19 years, pregnancy-related death is the second leading cause of death [16]. Physical immaturity for childbearing, combined with lack of power, information, and access to services, place them at a heightened risk of maternal morbidity and mortality.”
“However, the practice of child marriage not only affects the girls who are getting married at a young age, but also affects the girls’ offspring. This has been associated with adverse child outcomes including preterm birth and intrauterine growth restriction, infant mortality, and child undernutrition [16].”
These are the things which you should do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace in your gates. Also let none of youdeviseevil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for allthese are what I hate,’ declares the LORD.” (Zechariah 8:16-17)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“The claim: George Floyd had enough fentanyl in his system to kill three grown men”
“References to a fatal-seeming level of the synthetic opioid were suggested back in August by conservative media outlets like The Blaze, and recently again by conservative political pundit Ben Shapiro.”
“But fentanyl isn’t what killed Floyd, and the amount in his system was similar to that found in people who took the drug and were arrested for DUI, but didn’t die. Here’s what we found.”
“Fentanyl level not fatal”
“Blood tests conducted as part of Floyd’s post-mortem autopsy revealed 11 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/ml,of fentanyl present. According to expert witnesses, this wasn’tenough to be considered fatal”
“Dr. Daniel Isenschmid, a toxicologist at NMS Labs in Pennsylvania, presented data at trial from more than 2,300 blood samples in fentanyl DUI cases from the last year. He showed that while the average fentanyl blood level was close to 9.6 ng/ml, a quarter of people tested had 11 ng/ml or higher. (Important to note: Blood samples were taken from drivers who tested positive for fentanyl and were alive at the time of collection.)”
“Isenschmid also showed that Floyd’s blood ratio of fentanyl to norfentanyl, the molecule fentanyl is broken down to once in the body, was lower than the average ratio both for people who diedof overdoses and thosearrested for DUI who lived.”
“Overdose victims who dierarely have norfentanyl in their blood, since death often occursbefore the body can break the drug down, he said.”
“Isenschmid’s testimony was supported by pulmonologist and critical care specialistDr. Martin Tobin of Loyola University Medical Center.”
“Mr. Floyd died from a low level of oxygen, and this caused damage to his brain that we see. And it also caused a PEA (pulseless electrical activity) arrhythmia that caused his heart to stop,” he told the court. He explained Floyd’s body position on the street, handcuffs pulling his arms back and a knee on his neck, back and sides, led to his low oxygen levels.”
“All of these four forces are ultimately going to result in the low tidal volume, which gives you the shallow breaths” that can’t effectively bring oxygen into the lungs, Tobin said.”
“He stated because fentanyltypicallyslows down a person’s breathing, the drug was not a contributing factor based on his calculations of Floyd’sbreathing rate based on witness video, which at the time appeared about the same as a healthy individual.”
“Our ruling: False”
“We rate the claim Floyd had enough fentanyl in his system to kill three grown men FALSE, based on our research. While Floyd’s toxicology report did reveal fentanyl present, expert witnesses at his murder trial have stated there was not enough to be consideredfatal or impact his breathing and oxygen levels. . .
Floyd died due to lack of oxygen from the force of Chauvin’s knee on his neck.”
“On Wednesday afternoon, a police officer in East Liverpool, Ohio, stopped a vehicle for driving erratically and made a shocking discovery: The driver was barely conscious. A woman was slumped across the passenger seat next to him, turning blue.”
“In the back of the vehicle, a 4-year-old boy sat restrained in a car seat, according to a police report. The report identified the woman as the boy’s mother. However, a family friend said she is his paternal grandmother.”
“The officercalled an ambulance, and when the EMTs arrived, they administered the lifesaving drug Narcan, used to reverse opioid overdoses. After 47-year-old James Lee Acord and 50-year-old Rhonda L. Pasek were revived, police arrested them and contacted Columbiana County Children’s Services.”
“Acord pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 180 days in jail on charges of driving under the influence and endangering children, according to a local news report. Pasek pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct,endangering children and a seat-belt violation.”
“It seemed like just another day of near-tragedy on the front lines of America’s opioid epidemic. But the East Liverpool incident was unique in one key respect: Someone at the scene snapped photos of the adults passed out in the car with the grim-faced child sitting in back. The city of East Liverpool then took the surprising step of posting those photos to its public Facebook page.”
“THE HEROIN EPIDEMIC’S TOLL: ONE COUNTY, 70 MINUTES, 8 OVERDOSES”
“It is time that the non drug using public sees what we are now dealing with on a daily basis,” the city wrote in the accompanying post. “We feel we need to be a voice for the children caught up in this horrible mess. This child can’t speak for himself but we are hopeful his story can convince anotheruser to think twice about injecting this poison while having a child in their custody.”
“Ohio is in the throes of a heroin and opioid epidemic that shows no sign of abating. Last year, a record3,050 people in Ohio diedofdrug overdoses.”
“The crisis affects all parts of the state, but it has been particularly severe in small cities such as East Liverpool and in other rural areas in the eastern and southern parts of the state near the Ohio River. Once a mighty industrial artery for Middle America, the Ohio River is now dotted with communities that have lost much of their economic strength as factories have closed and jobs have vanished.
“THE HEROIN EPIDEMIC WAS ONCE MOSTLY IMMUNE FROM POLITICS. NOT ANYMORE.”
“Kathleen McCoy, a chemical dependency specialist at the Counseling Center of Columbiana County, said that heroin is a big problem in the county. She said that there are resources to help people struggling with substance abuse but that a big barrier is getting people to seek help.”
“More recently, the state has seen a rise the use of CARFENTANIL, an ELEPHANT TRANQUILIZER so dangerous that a tiny flake can trigger an overdose. Carfentanil was implicated in an explosion of overdose cases late last month in Cincinnati. At least eight people have died of carfentanil overdoses, the Hamilton County coroner determined, according to CNN.”
“ACORD has been ARRESTED for MULTIPLE OFFENSES across SEVERAL STATES, according to PUBLIC RECORDS, including DRIVING UNDER the INFLUENCE, PUBLIC INTOXICATION and UNARMED ROBBERY. . .”
“COURT RECORDS indicate PASEK was ARRESTED for a NUMBER of OFFENSES . . . INCLUDING MENACING, INTOXICATION, RESISTING ARREST and LEAVING the SCENE of an ACCIDENT”
Allen, the public safety director, said the county has been overwhelmed by the opioid problem and doesn’t have enough places to send people who have become addicted to the powerful drugs. “We have no place to send them,” he said. “We arrest them, they go back out and they do it again.”
The city of Huntington, W. Va., (pop. 49,000) recently saw 26 heroin overdose cases in a span of four hours.
‘This is unprecedented’: 174 heroin overdoses in 6 days in Cincinnati
Nationally, heroin overdose deaths have risen sharply, from 1,960 in 1999 to 10,574 in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ohio heroin deaths jumped more than tenfold between 2003 and 2014, from 87 to 1,196 according to the state Departmenti of Health.
“The images are both repellent and captivating: men and women, often with children in their care, passed out from drug overdoses in near-death moments captured just after cops arrive at the scene.”
“In another era, they might have only appeared in tabloid newspapers, like the work of street photographer Weegee. Instead, they catch fire first on social media, rocketing across the internet and turning what would have been an anonymous, small-town tragedy into a public spectacle.”
“Police chiefs who’ve distributed the photos in recent months — in Ohio, Massachusetts and Indiana — say they had no intention of making the imagesgo viral. Their sole goal, they say, was to get residents of their own communities to recognize that they were not immune from America’s opioid epidemic.”
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an INHERITANCE which is IMPERISHABLE and UNDEFILED and WILL NOTFADE AWAY, reserved in HEAVEN for YOU, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in thelast time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of yourFAITH being more precious than gold which is perishable, EVEN THOUGH TESTED BY FIRE, may be found to RESULT in PRAISE and GLORY and HONOR at the REVELATION of JESUS CHRIST; and though you have not seen Him, you LOVE HIM, and thoughyou do not see HIM now, but BELIEVE in HIM, you greatly rejoice with JOY INEXPRESSIBLE and FULL of GLORY, obtaining as the OUTCOME of YOURFAITH the SALVATION of YOUR SOULS.”(1 Peter 1:3-9)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Just as disturbing is a practice called “corrective rape” — the rape of gaymen and lesbians to “cure” them of theirsexual orientation.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“South Africa has one of the world’s highest rates of sexual assault. According to a 2009 government survey, one in four men admit to having sex with a womanwho did not consent to intercourse, and nearly half of these men admitted to rapingmore thanonce. An earlier government study found that a majority of rapes were committed by friends and acquaintances of the victim.” (Bold added)(Italics added) http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/07/26/opinion/26corrective-rape.html
“In one of the few cases to attract press attention, in 2008, Eudy Simelane, a lesbian, was gang- raped and stabbed to death. Her naked body was dumped in a stream in the Kwa Thema township outside Johannesburg. A soccerplayertraining to be a referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, she was targeted because of her sexual orientation.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Over two years, it became evident to me that multiple layers of South African society were responsible for the epidemic of corrective rape and that bias, apathy and culpability ran deeper than I could have imagined: in educational and religious institutions, the criminal justice system,andevenwithinfamilies. I met victims whose loved ones let rapistsback into their homes, or even abetted the sexual assaults, sometimes under the influence of local ministers. Police officers did not document or investigate these assaults.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“One woman I met, Simphiwe Thandeka, was “correctively” rapedthree times. A tomboy, she was raped at age 13 by an uncle who didn’t approve of her “boyish” ways. “I didn’t know at the time it was rape, because I was only 13,” she told me. The next morning, she awoke bleeding and in severe pain. She spoke to her mother and grandmother, who insisted it was a family matter and was not to be spoken of again.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“Some years later, Simphiwe’s uncle decided that marriage would “cure” his niece of her sexuality. So he arranged a marriage for her. “He took me to his friend’s house and told me I must have sex with this man, because I was going to marry him next month,” she recounted. “I had no idea what was going on.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“The friend raped Simphiwe multiple times, and beat her with a clothes hanger. “He told me I was going to be his wife and not a lesbian,” she said. The following morning, the friend returned her to her uncle’s house.“He told my uncle he couldn’t marry me because I was still a lesbian, and returned the money my uncle had given him,” she said.
During a hospital visit, Simphiwe learned that she had contracted H.I.V. from her uncle and had become pregnant by his friend. “My Mum had known my uncle was positive, but she never told me,” she said. (Bold added)(Italics added)
After giving birth to a son, she was raped again, this time by a priest in her township — who also impregnated her. She gave birth to a daughter. She gave her children Zulu names: her boyHappiness, and her daughter Blessing.
“I opened a case against the priest but nothing happened,” she said. “They kept losing documents; there was a lot of confusion. There were a lot of people against me, this man was a priest, and they love him so much so they took his side.”
Detail of ‘Apostle Paul’, mosaic (c. 1900-1910), from Pyotr Basin’s (1793-1877) original painting, Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, St. Petersburg, Russia
“Then behold, an old man was coming out of the field from his work at evening. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. And he lifted up his eyes and saw the traveler in the open square of the city; and the old mansaid, “Where are you going, and where do you come from?” (Judges 19:16 – 17)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“He said to him, “We are passing from Bethlehem in Judah to the remote part of the hill country of Ephraim, for I am from there, and I went to Bethlehem in Judah. But I am now going to my house, and no man will take me into his house. Yet there is both straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, your maidservant, and the young man who is with your servants; there is no lack of anything.”(Judges 19:17 – 19)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“The old man said, “Peace to you. Only let me take care of all your needs; however, do not spend the night in the open square.” So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank.”(Judges 19:20- 21)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“While they were celebrating, behold, the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him.” (Judges 19:22)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Then the man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. Here is my virgin daughter and hisconcubine.Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of follyagainst this man.” (Judges 19:23-24)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“But the menwould not listen to him. So the man seized hisconcubine and brought her out to them; and they raped her and abused her all night until morning, then let her go at the approach of dawn.” (Judges 19:25)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“As the day began to dawn, the woman came and fell down at the doorway of the man’s house where her master was, until full daylight.”(Judges 19:26)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“When her master arose in the morning and opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, then behold, his concubine was lying at the doorway of the house with her hands on the threshold.”(Judges 19:27)(Bold added)(Italics added)https://mybible.com/bibles/esv/books/jdg/chapters/19
“He said to her, “Get up and let us go,”but there was no answer. Then he placed her on the donkey; and the man arose and went to his home. When he entered his house, he took a knife and laid hold of his concubine and cut her in twelve pieces, limb by limb, and sent her throughout the territory of Israel. (Judges 19:28-29)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“All who saw it said, “Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen from the day when the sons of Israel came up from the land of Egypt to this day. Consider it, take counsel and speak up!”(Judges 19:30)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Then all the sons of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, came out, and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah. The chiefs of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, took their stand in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 foot soldiers who drew the sword. “ (Judges 20:1-2)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“(Now the sons of Benjamin heard that the sons of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the sons of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this wickedness take place?” (Judges 20:3)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“So the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came with my concubine to spend the night at Gibeah which belongs to Benjamin. But the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house at night because of me. They intended to kill me; instead, they ravished my concubine so that she died. And I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout the land of Israel’s inheritance; for they have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel. Behold, all you sons of Israel, give your advice and counsel here.”(Judges 20:4-7)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Then all the people arose as one man, saying, “Not one of us will go to his tent, nor will any of us return to his house. But now this is the thing which we will do toGibeah; we will go up against it by lot. And we will take 10 men out of 100 throughout the tribes of Israel, and 100 out of 1,000, and 1,000 out of 10,000 to supply food for the people, that when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, they may punish them for all the disgraceful acts that they have committed in Israel.” Thus all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, united as one man.”(Judges 20:8-11)(Bold added)(Italics added)
RAPISTS . . .“WORTHLESS FELLOWS” WORTHY OF DEATH DEATH . . .
“Then the tribes of Israel sent men through the entire tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this wickedness that has taken place among you? Now then, deliver up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and remove this wickedness from Israel.” (Judges 20:12-13)
“But the sons of Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the sons of Israel. The sons of Benjamin gathered from the cities to Gibeah, to go out to battle against the sons of Israel. From the cities on that day the sons of Benjamin were numbered, 26,000 men who draw the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah who were numbered, 700 choice men. Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.”(Judges 20:16)
“The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall LOVE HIM AS YOURSELF . . . I am the LORD your God.”(Leviticus 19:34)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Human Trafficking—Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage,” U.S. Customs and Border Protectionby Geneva, September 2017.”(Bold added) https://www.cup.gov/border-security/human-trafficking
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
“In 2000, Congress signed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act into law, representing the beginning of a large-scale, coordinated effort by the United States government to fight human trafficking.”Https://www.cup.gov/border-security/human-trafficking
“Twenty years later, human trafficking still remains prevalent. According to recent figures available.” (Bold added)
“At any given time in 2016, an estimated 40.3 million people are in modern slavery, including 24.9 million in forced labor and 15.4 million in forced marriage.”
“1 in 4 victims of modern slavery are children.”
“Out of 24.9 million people trapped in forced labor, 16 million people are exploited in the private sector such as domestic work, construction or agriculture; 4.8 million persons in forced sexual exploitation, and 4 million persons in forced labor imposed by state authorities.”
“Women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labor, accounting for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry, and 58% in other sectors.”
WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?
“Although the legal definition of human trafficking is complex, the simple meaning of it is not. It occurs when a person is induced by force, fraud or coercion to:”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Work under the total or near-total control of another person or organization (slavery or involuntary servitude)”
“Forced to pay off a loan by working instead of paying money, for an agreed-upon or unclear period of time (debt bondage) or even without an agreement as the timeframe (peonage)”
“Perform a sex act for money or anything of value”
“But people might be less familiar with the story of Arianna Fitts, a 2-year-old who went missing in 2016 before her mother was found brutally murdered in the San Francisco Bay Area.”
“Each of these cases is compelling, but the two didn’t receive the same amount of media attention. Some experts believe it’s because Closs is white and Fitts is black.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“In fact, data shows that missing white children receive far more media coverage than missing black and brown children, despite higher rates of missing children among communities of color.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“The FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database lists 424,066 missing children under 18 in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available. About 37 percent of those children are black, even though black children only make up about 14 percent of all children in the United States.”(Bold added)(Italics added)Https://www.cup.gov/border-security/human-trafficking
”It’s harder to say how many Hispanic kids are missing. The FBI’s report groups white and Hispanic children together. Based on other reports, about 20 percent of missing children are Hispanic or Latino, according to Robert Lowery, Vice President of the missing child division at the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). But the real number, he said, is likely higher.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“I think there’s a false belief that white children make up the biggest number of missing children when in fact (proportionally) it’s just the opposite,” Lowery said, adding that the high number of black girls reported missing is particularly concerning.”
“Here are some reasons experts say we don’t hear more about missing children of color.”
“Their families are hesitant to call police . . . “
“There is a sense of distrust between law enforcement and the minoritycommunity” said Natalie Wilson, co-founder of the Black and Missing Foundation.”
“That distrust contributes to a “silent code of ‘no snitching’” Wilson said, adding that it is important for people who suspect a child is missing to speak up.”
“It could be your child, your mother, your father that’s missing because they fear it could have unintended, negative consequences.”
“Latino children are underreported because some families with undocumented members might not contact police for fear of being deported,” suspected Lowery.”
“They don’t get as much media coverage . . .”
“A 2010 study found that black children were significantly underrepresented in TV news. Even though about a third of all missing children in the FBI’s database were black, they only made up about 20 percent of the missing children cases covered in the news.”
“A 2015 study was bleaker: though black children accounted for about 35% of missing children cases in the FBI’s database, they amounted to only 7% of media references.”
“Families don’t have the resources . . .”
“They might not be able to afford a private investigator or take off from work to help look for their child and follow up with law enforcement and the media.”
“They may not know what to do.”
“Some are under the misconception that they must wait48 hours before filing a police report, when that waitingperiod varies by location.”
“Some get classified as runaways . . .”
“Missing children can refer to kids who are abducted by relatives or children who leave home, either voluntarily or after being lured by someone else.”
“Data shows black children are over represented in foster care and are at a much higher risk for homelessness.”
“Law enforcement often classify children of color as runaways without having all the details . . . Because those kids are considered to have voluntarily left home,Amber alertsaren’t sent outabout them and they typically aren’tcovered in news.”
“Runaway cases and abductions by family membersdon’t get the same attention that abductions by non-family member or strangersdo.”
“As everyone watches the current show in theater called “Ukraine” today, thousands of people are committing suicide in Shanghai, China, as its 25 million residents continue to be locked down and many of them reportedlystarving because they cannot get food.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“Protests and looting have reportedly started, and horrible images are appearing of people jumping to their deaths from buildings while others hang themselves. Dogs and cats are being murdered on the streets.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“And this is Shanghai! I have spent time in Shanghai in the past, and it is the most modern city in China. It’s financial and shopping district would rival Manhattan in New York, the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, or Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“If this can happen in Shanghai, it can happen anywhere.”
“Words cannot describe what I have watched today from reports coming out from people on the ground there, so I have created a short video montage that will communicate what is going on in Shanghai right now, better than anything I can write.”
“THIS IS VERY GRAPHIC! IT WILL DISTURB YOU. I cry like a baby every time I watch these clips.“(Bold added)(Caps added)
“But the Big Tech social media platforms are censoring much of this, and I am not seeing much of this at all in either the corporate media nor the alternative media.”
“But it should be headline news everywhere right now!”https://www.bitchute.com/video/bhscvLke2Iu4/
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Listen to me . . . put your trust in the LORD your God andyou willbe established.” (2 Chronicles 20:20)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to PROSPER YOU andNOTto HARM YOU, PLANS togiveYOU HOPE and a FUTURE. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek meand find mewhenyouseek me with all your heart.”(Jeremiah 29:11-13) (Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“Make sure that your character is free from theloveof money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidentlysay,
“THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” (Hebrews 13:5-6)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; forwho hopes for what he alreadysees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we waiteagerly for it.”(Romans 8:24-25)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”(2 Corinthians 12:10)
“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstanceI have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:11-13)
“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with theseweshall becontent.”(1 Timothy 6:7-8)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that Yousent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”(John 17:22-26)
XIII. LOVE ALWAYS PERSEVERES . . .
“And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) “United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.”https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/germany-jewish-population-in-1933
“According to the census of June 16, 1933, the Jewish population of Germany, including the Saar region (which at that time was still under the administration of the League of Nations), was approximately 505,000 people out of a total population of 67 million, or somewhat less than 0.75 percent. That number represented a reduction from the estimated 523,000 Jews living in Germany in January 1933; the decrease was due in part to emigration following the Nazi takeover in January. (An estimated 37,000 Jews emigrated from Germany during 1933.)” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“Some 80 percent (about 400,000) of the Jews in Germany held Germain citizenship. The remainder were mostly Jews of Polish citizenship. Many of the Polish Jews had been born in Germany and had permanentresident status.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“About 70 percent of the Jews in Germany lived in urban areas, with 50 percent of all Jews living in the 10 largest German cities. The largest Jewish populations center was in Berlin (about 160,000 in 1925), representing less than 4 percent of the city’s entire population included Frankfurt and Main (about 26,000), Breslau (about 20,000), Hamburg (about 17,000), Cologne (about 15,000), Hannover (about 13,000), and Leipzig (about 12,000). Nevertheless, in 1933 one in five German Jews still lived in small towns.”(Bold added)(Italics added)https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/germany-jewish-population-in-1933
“During the first sixyears of Hitler’s dictatorship, government at every level—Reich, state and municipal—adopted hundreds of laws, decrees, directives, guidelines, and regulations that increasingly restricted the civil and human rights of the Jews in Germany.”(Bold added)(Italics added)https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/germany-jewish-population-in-1933
September 15 “The Nuremberg Race LawsexcludeGerman Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibit them from marrying or having sexual relationswith persons of “German or German-related blood.”(Bold added)(Italics added) https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/nuremberg-laws
WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT THE JEWS AND THE JEWISH CULTURE . . .
”THE LORD SAID, “I HAVE SURELY SEEN THE AFFLICTION OF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN EGYPT, AND HAVE GIVEN HEED TO THEIR CRY BECAUSE OF THEIR TASKMASTER, FOR I AM AWARE OF THEIR SUFFERINGS.” (Exodus 3:7)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
I WILL ABANDON THE REMANT OF MY INHERITANCE AND DELIVERTHEM INTO THE HAND OF THEIR ENEMIES,AND THEY WILL BECOME AS PLUNDER AND SPOIL TO ALL THEIR ENEMIES; BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE EVIL IN MY SIGHT, AND HAVE BEEN PROVOKING ME TO ANGER SINCE THE DAY THEIR FATHERS CAME FROM EGYPT, EVEN TO THIS DAY.”(2 Kings 21:14-15)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will them; and theywill notbeafraid any longer,nor be terrified, nor will anybe missing,” declares the LORD.”(Jeremiah 23:3-4)
“There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousnessFrom then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.” (Isaiah 9:7) (Bold added)(Italics added)
“HE WHOCOMES FROMABOVEIS ABOVE ALL.He who is of the earth is of earthly origin and nature, and from the earth as a sourcehe speaks. HE WHO COMES FROM HEAVEN IS ABOVE ALL.” (John 3:31)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
And Jesus, having come, spoke to them, saying, There was given to me all authorityinheaven and uponearth. (Matthew 28:18)(bold added)(italics added)
“AND NO ONE HAS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN EXCEPT HEWHO CAME DOWN OUT FROM HEAVEN, THE SON OF MAN.” (John 3:13)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“And He was saying to them, As for you, from beneathyouare. As for myself, from above I am. As for you, of this worldyou are. As for myself, I am not of this world. Therefore Isaid to you, You shall die in your sins, for if you do not believe that I AM, you shall die in your sins.” (John 8:23-24)
BENEATH HIM YOU ARE . . . YOU SHALL DIE IN YOUR SINS
GOD IS NOT A MAN, THAT HESHOULDLIE, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)
“Also the Glory of Israelwill not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” (1 Samuel 15:29)
“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
“Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God,compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgivesiniquity, transgression and sin; yet HEWILL BY NO MEANSLEAVE THE GUILTYUNPUNISHED, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF FATHERS ON THE CHILDREN AND THE GRANDCHILDREN TO THE THIRD AND FOURTHGENERATIONS.” Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship.
AS FOR YOU, YOU MEANT EVIL AGAINST ME . . .
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but Godmeant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.”(Genesis 50:20)
GOD CHOSE JOSEPH TO PRESERVE A JEWISH REMNANT . . .
“God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.” Genesis 45:7)
THE JEWISH CULTURE . . .
“The survivingremnant of the house of Judah will againtake root downwardand bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem will go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zionsurvivors. The zeal of the LORDwillperform this.”(2 Kings 19:30-31)
GOD WILL RESTORE THE JEWISH CULTURE IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL . . .
“Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, your fellow exiles and the whole house of Israel, all of them, are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Go far from the LORD; this land has been given us as a possession.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’ Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,“I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ When they come there, they will remove all its detestable things and all its abominations from it. And I will give them oneheart, and put a new spiritwithin them. And I will take the heart of stone out of their fleshand give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God. But as for those whose hearts go after their detestable things and abominations, I will bring their conduct down on their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.”(Ezekiel 11:14-21)(Bold added)(Italics added)
ISAIAH PROPHESIED ABOUT THE REMNANT . . .
Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED; FOR THE LORD WILL EXECUTE HIS WORD ON THE EARTH, THOROUGHLY AND QUICKLY.”(Romans 9:27-28)
Consider it a matter for unadulteratedjoy [without any admixture of sorrow] whenever you fall into the midst of variegated trials which surround you, knowing experientiallythat the approving of your faith, thatfaith having been put to the test for the purpose of being approved, and having met the test, has been approved, [that this approving process] produces a patience which bears up and does notloseheart or courageunder trials. But be allowing the aforementionedpatience to be having its complete work in order that you may be spirituallymature and complete in every detail, lacking in nothing.( James 1:2-4)
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had put to death by hanging Him on a cross. He is the one who whom Godexalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.”
XIV. LOVE NEVER FAILS . . .
“Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.”(Luke 24:44-47)
“Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again;death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.” (Romans 6:8)
“Hate crimes in New York City have increased 76% so far this year compared to the same period last year, according to data from the New York Police Department Hate Crimes Task Force (HCTF) released this week.”
There were 194 hate crimes between January 1 and April 10 of this year, in comparison to the 110 hate crimes from the same dates in 2021, the report shows.
Crime incidents targeted at Jewish people increased from 28 crimes last year to 86 so far in 2022, according to the HCTFA data. Some examples of such crimes against Jewish people so far in 2022 include a swastika being painted on a school bus, multiple people being physically assaulted in Brooklyn, and a teen accused of threatening six Jewish boys with a sword in the Upper West Side.
Crimes against Black people doubled, with the number of targeted incidents this year standing at 26 compared to 13 in the same time period last year, according to the data. . . Hate crimes against against Asians were down 32% compared to 2021, with 47 last year and 32 in the same period this year, the data shows. Crimes targeted over sexual orientation increased by 12, according to the HCTF summary.
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
WHEN SATAN ENTERS . . . BEFORE YOU ACT . . . PRAY!
HOW MANY TIMES DOES LOVE AND HATE OCCUR IN THE BIBLE
HATE
93
LOVE
363
HATED
43
LOVED
95
HATES
32
LOVES
70
HATFUL
2
LOVERS
28
HATERS
2
LOVELY
10
LOVER
3
LOVESICK
2
LOVE’S
1
LOVELINESS
1
THE FBI HIGHLIGHTS “2020 HATE CRIME STATISTICS” REPORTING THAT “OF THE 6,780 KNOWN OFFENDERS . . .”
‘ . . . 21.2% WERE BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN” https://www.justice.gov/hate crimes/hate-crime-statistics#barchart-description.“. . . 15.7% WERE UNKNOWN RACE” https://www.justice.gov/hate crimes/hate-crime-statistics#barchart-description.
. . . OF THE 6,264 KNOWN OFFENDERS FOR WHOM AGES WERE KNOWN
“Therefore you haveno excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another,you condemn yourself; for you whojudge practice the same things. “(Rom 2:1) Overcoming the World . . .
“And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?”(Rom 2:3)
“Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”(Rom 2:4)
“But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality “There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.”(Rom 2:9-11)
“For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”(Rom 2:12-13)
“For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.”(Romans 2:1-16)
THE ROOT OF ALL HATE . . .
“ENMITY . . .“
“And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed . . . ” (Gen 3:15)
אֵיבָה ;’êḇâ; ay-baw’; feminine noun
1. enmity, hatred; personal hostility, between men
EVE’S SEED . . .
“Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living.” (Genesis 3:20)
SATAN’S SEED, “THE BORN ONES OF THE DEVIL . . .”
“In this is apparent who are the born-ones of God and theborn-ones of the devil.Everyone who is not habitually doing righteousness isnotof God, also the one whois not habitually loving his brother [Christian] with a divine and self-sacrificial love. Because this is the message which you heard from the beginning, namely, We should habitually be loving one another with a divine and self-sacrificial love; not even as Cain [who] was out of the Pernicious One, andkilled his brother bysevering his jugular vein. And on what account did he kill him? Becausehisworks wereperniciousand those of his brother righteous.” (1 John 3:10-12)
“You are ofyour father the devil, and you want to do the desires ofyour father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does notstand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaksfrom his ownnature, for he is a liarand the fatheroflies. But because I speak thetruth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you notbelieve Me? He who is of God hearsthe words of God; for thisreason you do not hear them, because you arenotof God.”(John 8:44-47)
PHOTO & DATA SOURCE: https://www.she and psychology.com/blog/2018/5/2/fact-check-are-there-really-racial-differences-in-penis-size/
“ENMITY . . .“
אֵיבָה ;’êḇâ; ay-baw’; feminine noun
1. enmity, hatred; personal hostility, between men
“Recent studies support the idea that race-based differences in penis size may exist. For instance, in a 2013 paper published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, researches reviewed penis size reports from 113 countries. What they found was the men of African decent tended to report the longest penises (an average of 16.07 cm, or 6.33 inches) while those of East Asian decent tended to report the shortest penises (an average of 10.95 cm, or 4.31 inches). Men of European decent tended to fall somewhere in the middle (an average of 14.51 cm, or 5.71 inches).”
“Much of the data utilized in this paper were based on self-reports of penis size . . . these findings were corroborated . . . in a new study published in the International Journal of Impotence Research . . . This Study took place in Brazil and involved 627 men aged 18-86.”
“The analysis only focused on self-declared races; Black or White. Black participants had any average penis length of 16.5 cm (6.50 inches) while White participants had an average penis length of 15.6 cm (6.22 inches).”
“The results do appear to support the idea that there are racial differences in penis size. The differences are notably smaller than those found in previous self-reported data . . . statistically significant, the actual differences were not huge (we’re only talking about one-third of an inch between the two groups compared here).”
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
ENMITY . . .“
אֵיבָה ;’êḇâ; ay-baw’; feminine noun
1. enmity, hatred; personal hostility, between men
“For there is no partiality with God.”(Romans 2:11)
“Comparative Data of Childhood and Adolescence Molestation inHeterosexual and Homosexual Persons” by Marie E. Tomeo, PhD,1 Donald I. Templer, PhD,1,2 Susan Anderson, PhD,1 and Debra Kotler, PhD1
“The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the incidence of childhood molestation of homosexual and heterosexual adults. The previous literature suggests that a history of childhood molestation may be more common in homosexual men and womenthan in their heterosexual counterparts.”(Bold added, Italics added) (Tomeo, Templer, Anderson and Kitler, p 536)
“In research done by Bradford et al. (1994) reported that . . .”
“In research done by Hall (1996) interviewed 35 lesbian women in alcoholicrecovery . . .”
16 (46%) revealed sexual abuse.
The onset of the molestation ranged from <4 years to 12 years.
10 of the women were younger than 7 at the time of molestation.
14 of the 16 women were molested only by men.
1 was molested by multiple intrafamilial males.
1 molested by extrafamilial females.
Another was molested by her father and 1 extrafamilial female.
“In research by Simari and Baskin (1982) determined the extent of incestuous experiences in 54 gay men and 29 gay women . . .”
“Bunny blames the siblings’ woes and struggles on the rough childhood they endured living with their father. Robert Sr denied ever abusing his family, but something certainly scarred them for years to come, even leading them to a life of drugs and crime.”Https://radiofacts.com/Robert-debarge-sr-patriarch-debarge-family-dies/
25 (46%) of the gay men reported experiencing incest (all of the homosexual sort)
Their ages ranged between 9 and 16 with a mean age of 13 years old.
24 (96%) of the 25 men who experienced incest viewed themselves as homosexual before the incest.
“Bunny would later recall years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse at the hands of her at her father, stating that he started molesting her when she was 7 years old and this carried on until she was 13.” Https://radiofacts.com/Robert-debarge-sr-patriarch-debarge-family-dies/
* 11 (38%) of the 29 gay women reported experiencing incest.
* 7 (64%) of the cases were heterosexual women who experienced incest.
* 2 (29%) of these women regarded themselves as homosexual before the incest.
* 4 (36%) of the 11 women experienced homosexual incest.
* 3 (25%) of the 11 regarded themselves as homosexual before the incest.
“While in prison, [Robert Louis DeBarge Jr.] DeBarge confided to his family that he had contracted HIV. When he became gravely ill, his family sent him to hospice in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He died of AIDS complications there on August 16, 1995 at age 39.” https://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_DeBarge
“In research by Doll et al. (1992), 1,001 homosexual and bisexual men in sexually transmitted disease clinicswere interviewed.”
SERIAL INCEST RAPIST, WHITE MALE
“My father sexually and physically molested a lot of my brothers and sisters,” Chico DeBarge told Vibe. Https://radiofacts.com/Robert-debarge-sr-patriarch-debarge-family-dies/
37% of these men reported having been forced or encouraged to have sex by an older and more powerful person, before the age of 19.
The median age of these events was 10 years.
The median age difference between the younger and older participants in the sex acts was 11 years.
In 94% of the cases, the older person was male, in 5% female, and 1% involved both male and female perpetrators.
“In research by Cameron and Cameron (1995) 5,182 adults were surveyed.”
“While we can’t say for sure, because Bobby never came out, there are rumors that he had several relationships with men before he married Teri. https://parole agent.com/2021/12/the-Bobby-debarge-story-what-the-movie-didn’t-tell-you/
22.3% of homosexual men had a history of incest
1.2% of heterosexual men had a history of incest
3.4% of homo- sexual women had a history of incest
0.3% of heterosexual women had a history of incest
“The authors did not provide any information about the age of molestation.“
“Bobby was physically and sexually abused by his father and in turn Bobby did the same to James.” https://parole agent.com/2021/12/the-Bobby-debarge-story-what-the-movie-didn’t-tell-you/
“Bell et al. (1981) reported a history of sibling incest, (consistent with Cameron and Cameron). . . “
15.6% of homosexual men
9.0% of heterosexual men
10.4% of homosexual women
5.6% of homosexual women
“The gender of the other partner in the incestuous acts were not specified.” (Bell et al.)
“Bobby physically and sexuallyabused his brother. James admitted to such on an episode of Lifechangers with Dr. Drew.” https://parole agent.com/2021/12/the-Bobby-debarge-story-what-the-movie-didn’t-tell-you/
“Gundlach (1977) surveyed 225 lesbian and 233 heterosexual women . . .”
30% of the heterosexual women were raped
21% of the lesbian women were raped
26 out of 30 homosexual women were raped before the age of 14
9 of the 30 had an adult heterosexual orientation.
“ENMITY . . .“
אֵיבָה ;’êḇâ; ay-baw’; feminine noun
1. enmity, hatred; personal hostility, between men
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”(Romans 1:18-19)
“For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
(Romans 1:21)
SERIAL RAPIST, WHITE MALE
“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
“For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”SERIAL INCEST RAPIST, WHITE MALE
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:24-32)
“These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.”(Jude 1:19-23)
“Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:36-42)
“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers?”
“Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren.”
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”(1 Corinthians 6:1-11)
“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which [sacrifice] it was testified that he was righteous, God bearing witness to his gifts, and through it [the sacrifice], though he is dead, yet he speaks.”(Hebrews 11:4)
STEP 12: HAVING HAD A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING AS THE RESULT OF THESE STEPS, WE TRIED TO CARRY THIS MESSAGE TO ADDICTS, AND PRACTICE THESE PRINCIPLES IN ALL OUR AFFAIRS.
#1. “Love is patient, love is kind . . . “. How is “patience and kindness”demonstrated when Black and Brown children are less economically stable than White children?
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.”(Deuteronomy 15:7)
“For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I COMMAND YOU, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” (Deuteronomy 15:11)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“But WHOEVER has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in NEED and CLOSES HIS HEART AGAINST HIM, how does the love of Godabide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in DEED and TRUTH.” (1 John 3:17-18)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added))
#2. “Love does not envy . . . “ With Black median family wealth at $17,600 versus White median family wealth at $171,000, how can Black families “replace you” when Black families are redlinedand targeted with policies that effectuate residential segregation?
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“Woe to those who add house to house and join field to field,
Until there is no more room, So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!”(Isaiah 5:8)(Bold added)
“They covet fields and then seize them, And houses, and take them away. They rob a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.” (Micah 2:2)(Bold added)
“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house To put his nest on high, To be delivered from the hand of calamity! “You have devised a shameful thing for your house By cutting off many peoples; So you are sinning against yourself. “Surely the stone will cry out from the wall, And the rafter will answer it from the framework. “Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed And founds a town with violence!” (Habakkuk 2:9-12)
“Woe to him who builds his housewithoutrighteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows,Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’ “Do youbecome a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink And do justice and righteousness?Then it was well with him. “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” Declares the LORD. “But your eyes and your heart Are intent onlyupon your own dishonest gain, And on shedding innocent blood And on practicing oppression and extortion.” (Jeremiah 22:13-17)
#3. “Love does not boast . . . “ Why does your race equate more money and how are you being good stuarts over your money if your neighbor of a different race is poor?
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19)
“The generousman will be prosperous . . . “(Proverbs 11:25)
“He who is generous will be blessed . . .”(Proverbs 22:9)
WHAT DOES GOD SAY . . .
#4. “Love is not proud . . . “ Why do you think that abusing your temple with illicit substances is not as sinful as the Black race who abuses their temple with illicit substances? Which should God punish more?
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“Woe to those who enact evil statutes And to those who constantly record unjust decisions, So as to deprive the needy of justice And rob the poor of My people of their rights, So that widows may be their spoil And that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, And in the devastation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your wealth?”(Isaiah 10:1-3)
“But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.”(Isaiah 11:4)
“Thus I will punish the world for its evil And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud And abase the haughtiness of the ruthless.”(Isaiah 13:11)
#5. “Love does not dishonor others . . .”Is it loving if I, [the heavenly Father] violate My children (in the most sensitive part of their life) as the Priest violate my children? Am I a God of darkness and sexual perversion or am I God of purity and light? You decide and let your life coarse follow that,” thus Sayeth the Lord.
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“No, my brother, do not violate me, for such a thing is not done in Israel; do not do this disgraceful thing!”(2 Samuel 13:12)
LEVITICAL LAWS REGARDING IMMORALITIES . . .
“‘If there is a man who takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace; and they shall be cut off in the sight of the sons of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he bears his guilt. If there is a man who lies with a menstruous woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her flow, and she has exposed the flow of her blood; thus both of them shall be cut off from among their people. You shall also not uncover the nakedness of your mother’s sister or of your father’s sister, for such a one has made naked his blood relative; they will bear their guilt. If there is a man who lies with his uncle’s wife he has uncovered his uncle’s nakedness; they will bear their sin. They will die childless. If there is a man who takes his brother’s wife, it is abhorrent; he has uncovered his brother’s nakedness. They will be childless.” (Leviticus 20:17-21)
“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that LAW IS NOT MADE FOR A RIGHTEOUS PERSON, but for THOSE who are LAWLESS and REBELLIOUS, for the UNGODLY and SINNERS, for the UNHOLY and PROFANE, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and IMMORAL MEN and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”(1 Timothy 1:8-11)(Caps added)
“YOU SHALL NOT LIE WITH A MALE AS ONE LIES WITH A FEMALE; IT IS AN ABOMINATION.” (Leviticus 18:22)
#6. Love is not self-seeking . . . you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”(Romans 2:21-23)
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”(James 3:14-17)
“. . . but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.” (Romans 2:8-11)
#7. Love is not easily angered. . . If I am slow to anger why are my “so-called” people [Christians] not slow to anger as well?
GOD’s ANSWER . . .
“BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”(Ephesians 4:26-27)
“For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.” (Job 5:2)(Bold added)
“A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor.” (Proverbs 12:16)(Bold added)
“A stone is heavy and the sand weighty, But the provocation of a fool is heavier than both of them.” (Proverbs 27:3)(Bold added)
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:46-49)(Bold added)(Italics added)
#8. Love does not delight in evil . . . Why do you “Thank God for AIDS”— when YOU YOURSELVES are AGAINST HOMOSEXUALITY yet YOU are the ONES taking SACRAMENTS inside the CATHOLIC CHURCH from HOMOSEXUAL MEN who have AIDS?
“Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the prince of the land, SAW HER, HE TOOK HER ANDLAY WITH HER BY FORCE. He was deeply attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her. So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor, saying, “Get me this young girl for a wife.” (Genesis 34:1-4)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“Now Jacobheard that he had defiledDinah his daughter; but his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob kept silent until they came in. Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him. Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field whenthey heard it; and the men were grieved, andtheywereveryangry because he had done a DISGRACEFUL THIING in Israel by LYING WITH JACOB’S DAUGHTER,for such a thing ought not to be done.(Genesis 34:5-7)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
“And the LORD said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and THEIR SIN is exceedingly grave.”(Genesis 18:20)
“. . . Two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them . . . And he said, “Now behold, my lords, please turn aside into your servant’s house . . . They said however, “No, but we shall spend the night in the square.” Yet he urged them strongly, so they turned aside to him and entered his house . . . Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight?Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.” (Genesis 19:1-5)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”(Romans 6:12-13)
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:14)
#9. Love rejoices with truth . . . “Why is there partiality in your view of sin? Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to thosewho are under the Law. . . for through the Lawcomes the knowledge of sin. There is NONE righteous, not even ONE!”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“But if ourunrighteousnessdemonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner? And why not say (as we are slanderously reported and as some claim that we say), “Let us do evil that good may come”? Their condemnation is just.
What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks areallunder sin; as it is written,
“THEREISNONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
THERE IS NONEWHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE ISNONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVEBECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHODOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
“THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE,
WITHTHEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,”
“THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDERTHEIR LIPS”;
“WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”;
“THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TOSHED BLOOD,
DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS,
AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEYHAVE NOT KNOWN.”
“THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORETHEIR EYES.”
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may becomeaccountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Lawcomes the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:5-20)(Bold added)(Italics added)
#10. Love always protects . . .
“Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughterswhohave not had relations with man;please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like;only do nothing to these men . . .” (Genesis 19:7-8)(Bold added)
“But they said, “Stand aside.” . . . “This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge; now we will treat you worse than them.” (Genesis 19:9)(Bold added)
“They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the doorway.”(Genesis 19:11)(Bold added)
“Then the two men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.”(Genesis 19:12-13)(Bold added)
“Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.”(Genesis 19:14)
“When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. (Genesis 19:15-16)(Bold added)
“When they had brought them outside, one said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away.” But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lords! Now behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness, which you have shown me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, for the disaster will overtake me and I will die; now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.” He said to him, “Behold, I grant you this request also, not to overthrow the town of which you have spoken. Hurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.
The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar. Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.” (Genesis 19:17-25)(Bold added)(Italics added)
#11. Love always trusts . . . “Why do you think you can get away with abusing my children? You will SURELY PERISH and I will have NO PART part of you,’ thus Sayeth the LORD!
“. . . but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”(Matthew 18:6)
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.” (Mark 9:42-48)
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:2-3)
“And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8:12)
#11. Love always trusts . . . “Why do you think you can get away with abusing my children? You will SURELY PERISH and I will have NO PART part of you,’ thus Sayeth the LORD!
“. . . but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”(Matthew 18:6)
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.” (Mark 9:42-48)
“It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:2-3)
“And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.” (1 Corinthians 8:12)
#12. Love always hopes . . .
“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.” (Ephesians 3:1-3)
“By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellowheirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesusthrough the gospel, of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.”(Ephesians 3:4-7)
“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.” (Ephesians 3:8-13)
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earthderives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpassesknowledge, that you may be filledup to all the fullnessof God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19)
“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
#13. Love always perseveres . . .
“And you shall be hated by all on account of my Name. But he who has persevered to the end, this one shall be kept safe and sound and rescued from danger and destruction.”(Matthew 10:22)
“But he who has persevered to the end, this man shall be preserved from destruction.” (Matthew 24:13)
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”(James 1:2-4)
“Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you.”
(1 Timothy 4:16)
#14. Love never fails . . .
“You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”(Leviticus 19:18)
‘“Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near. And the impending things are hastening upon them.’ “For the LORD will vindicate His people,And will have compassion on His servants,When He sees that their strength is gone,And there is none remaining, bond or free.” (Deuteronomy 32:35-36)
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)
“For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” “THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.”From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” (Romans 11:25-32)
EXAMPLE: Between God and man; covenant, as a divine constitution or ordinance with signs or pledges (see H226אוֺת). Specifically, with Noah Genesis 9:9-17 (P) Isaiah 54:10; Jeremiah 33:20, 25; a divine promise that there would be no other deluge.
DIVINE
religion a. of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God (see GOD entry 1 sense 1) or a god (see GOD entry 1 sense 2); divine inspiration; divine love; praying for divine intervention b. being a deity ; the divine Savior; a divine ruler c. directed to a deity; divine worship
THE COVENANT IS BIBLICAL BETWEEN GOD AND ALLMEN . . . FOR ALL SUCCESSIVE GENERATIONS . . .
“I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a floodto destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenantwhich I am making between Me and you and every living creaturethat is with you, for all successive generations; I set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth. It shall come about, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow will be seen in the cloud, and I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and never again shall the water become a floodto destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the cloud, then I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant between God and everyliving creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” And God said to Noah,“This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”(Genesis 9:11-17)
Rainbow; קֶשֶׁת; qešeṯ; keh’-sheth; feminine noun
I. Bow
1. Bow (for hunting, battle)
2. Bowmen, archers
3. Bow (fig. Of might)
4. Rainbow
EXAMPLE: The heavenly bow, the rainbow, Gr. το’ξον
“YOU SHALL NOT LIE WITH A MALE AS ONE LIES WITH A FEMALE; IT IS AN ABOMINATION” (Leviticus 18:22)
in ritual sense (of unclean food, idols, mixed marriages)
in ethical sense (of wickedness etc)
Strong’s Definitions: תּוֹעֵבַה tôwʻêbah, to-ay-baw’; or תֹּעֵבַה tôʻêbah; feminine active participle of H8581; properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:—abominable (custom, thing), abomination.
ABOMINATION IS SOMETHING OF DISGUST MORALLY . . . IMAGINE YOUR GOD BEING DISGUSTED WITH YOU ?
Outline of Biblical Usage: slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another’s good name impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty
Strong’s Definitions:vilification (especially against God):—blasphemy, evil speaking, railingTO VILIFY “THE HEAVENLY RAINBOW,” YOU MAKE ABOMINATION GOD’S COVENANT . . . THIS IS BLASPHEMY! . . . TO SAY GOD SUPPORTS ABOMINATION YOU MAKE GOD’S SPIRIT UNCLEAN . . . THIS AGAIN IS BLASPHEMY!
“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”(Mark 3:28-30)
“AND IT IS THIS MESSAGE WHICH WE HAVE HEARD FROM HIM AND AT PRESENT IS RINGING IN OUR EARS AND WE ARE BRINGING BACK TIDINGS TO YOU, THAT GOD AS TO HIS NATURE IS LIGHT, AND DARKNESS IN HIM DOES NOT EXIST, NOT EVEN ONE PARTICLE.”(1 JOHN 1:5)
“How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so wetoo might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for hewho has died is freed from sin.”(Rom 6:2b – 7)
IF YOU HAVE NOT DIED TO SIN YOU ARE STILL A SLAVEOF SIN . . . THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH!
“Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”(Romans 6:16)(Italics added)
IF GOD IS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR, SIN NO MORE . . .
“But thanks be to God that though you wereslaves of sin, youbecame obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slavesof righteousness.”(Romans 6:17-18)(Italics added)
NO LONGER ARE YOU A SLAVE TO IMPURITY . . .
“I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of yourflesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurityand to lawlessness, resulting in furtherlawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”(Romans 6:19)(Bold added)(Italics added)
WHAT BENEFIT COMES FROM SIN FOR WHICH YOU ARE NOW ASHAMED . . .
“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of whichyou are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death. “(Romans 6:20-21)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”(James 4:8)
“For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”(1 Corinthians 5:12-13)(Bold added)
DID YOU NOT SAY . . .
“Homosexual priests, religious men and women should be urged to live celibacywholly and, especially, to beperfectly responsible, trying to never create scandal in their communities or for the holy people of God by living a double life,” the pope said. “It would be better if they left the ministry or consecrated life rather than live a double life.”https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/signs-times/pope-gay-priests-be-celibate-or-get-out
“I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your [GOD’s] law.”(Psalms 119:113)(Bold added)[Parenthesis added)
“For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”(James 1:7-8)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“But we know that the Law is good, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for thosewho are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching,according to the glorious gospelof the blessed God,with which I have been entrusted.” (I Timothy 1:8-11)
UNDETECTABLE EQUALS UNTRANSMITTABLE AND UNTRANSMITTABLE IS TEMPORARY. . . BUT A LIFE WITH JESUS CHRIST IS ETERNAL! . . . LET JESUS BE THE LOVER OF YOUR SOUL!!!
Eleventh Step: “We Sought Through Prayer and Meditation to Improve Our Conscious Contact With God as We Understood Him, Praying Only for Knowledge of His Will for Us and the Power to Carry That Out.”(Italics added)
HIS WILL FOR YOUR LIFE . . .
“But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternallife. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:22-23) (Italics added)
“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, becauseHe considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerlya blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly inunbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love whichare found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus cameinto the world tosave sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ mightdemonstrate His perfect patienceas an examplefor those whowould believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”(1 Timothy 12-17)
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”Matthew 7:21
GIVE YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST TODAY . . . ACCEPT HIM AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR . . . BELIVE HE DIED, WAS BURIED, AND ON THE THIRD DAY ROSE FROM THE DEAD FOR YOUR SINS AND MINE . . . WELCOME TO THE FAMILY . . . GO AND SIN NO MORE! AMEN!
JESUS LOVES YOU AND SO DO I,BUT JESUS DOES NOT LOVE SIN . . .
“So it is notthe will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.”(Matthew 18:14)(Bold added)
“Finding young candidates for the priesthood, meanwhile, who support Francis and want to be celibate is like looking for Catholic unicorns, and if you were to find some, they aren’t likely to be welcomed by conservative seminaries . . .“ by Thomas Reese, The beginning of the end of the Francis papacy, 07/13/2021.
“Report: 330,000 children sexually abused in French Catholic Church since 1950” by Cain Bordeaux, Courthouse News Service, 10/05/2021
“(CN) — An independent commission on Tuesday estimated at least 330,000 children within France’s Catholic Church institutions were sexually abused since 1950, a finding that left the deeply Roman Catholic nation in shock and anger.”(Bold added)
“The report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church is the culmination of two and half years of work. The commission was created upon the request of Catholic authorities in France, who were facing heavy criticism for their handling of sexual abuse scandals.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“The 2,500-page report estimated that in the past 70 years there were between 2,900 and 3,200 sexual abusers within the church’s clergy and associations.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“It estimated that at least 216,000 children were abused by priests, deacons and otherclergy and that the number of abused minors climbs to at least 330,000 when church lay members – such as teachers, catechism supervisors and youth movement leaders – are included. The estimates were based on an in-depth review of archives and demographics.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“These numbers are more than worrying, they are overwhelming and can in no way go unanswered,” said Jean-Marc Sauve, the commission’s president, at a news conference on Tuesday.”(Bold added)
“Sauve, a respected high-ranking civil servant, said the church disregarded the complaints of victims for far too long. He called the abuse systemic and said the church repeatedly failed to take action against perpetrators. Most of the victims were boys, the report said.”
“Until the early 2000s the Catholic Church showed a profound and even cruel indifferencetowards the victims,” he said, according to the Guardian newspaper.”
“Pope Francis felt “immense sorrow” for the victims and expressed his “gratitude for their courage to speak out,” according to Matteo Bruni, a Vatican spokesman.”
“BUT IF YOU DO WHAT IS EVIL, BE AFRAID; FOR IT DOES NOT BEAR THE SWORD FOR NOTHING; FOR IT IS A MINISTER OF GOD, AN AVENGER WHO BRINGS WRATH ON THE ONE WHO PRACTICES EVIL.” (ROMANS 13:4)
“In May 2019, Francis issued a new church law requiring all Catholic priests and nuns around the world to report clergy sexual abuse and cover-ups by their superiors to church authorities.”
For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification.
“FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD, YOUR SANCTIFICATION, THAT IS, THAT YOU ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY . . . BECAUSE THE LORD IS THE AVENGER . . .”(1 Th 4:3-6)
“Church leaders in France said they felt “shame” over the report’s findings and asked for forgiveness.”
“My desire today is to ask your forgiveness,” said Archbishop Eric de Moulins- Beaufort, the president of the Conference of Bishops of France. He called the number of victimsoverwhelming.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Francois Devaux, co-founder of a victims association called La Parole Liberee, or The Liberated Word, said at the news conference that the Catholic Church as an institution must take responsibility and he called for sweeping changes. He decried the church for covering up what he called “mass crimes for decades.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“You are a disgrace for our humanity,” Devaux said, speaking directly to church leaders. “You must pay for all of these crimes.”
FOR YOU KNOW WHAT COMMANDMENTS WE GAVE YOU BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE LORD JESUS. . . THAT YOU ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY; THAT EACH OF YOU KNOW HOW TO POSSESS HIS OWN VESSEL IN SANCTIFICATION AND HONOR, NOT IN LUSTFUL PASSION, LIKE THE GENTILES WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD. . . “(1 Th 4:2-5)
“Devaux’s association represents victims of Bernard Preynat, a defrocked priest who was convicted last year on charges of sexually assaulting dozens of Boy Scouts from the 1970s to the 1990s.”
“YET A LITTLE WHILE AND THE WICKED MAN WILL BE NO MORE; AND YOU WILL LOOK CAREFULLY FOR HIS PLACE AND HE WILL NOT BE THERE. BUT THE HUMBLE WILL INHERIT THE LAND AND WILL DELIGHT THEMSELVES IN ABUNDANT PROSPERITY.” (PSA 37:10-11)
“A million children abused by Italian priests, and it barely makes the news,” by Matthew Syed, The Times, 02/20/2022.
“On Wednesday a Vatican insider estimated that up to a million Italian children had been abused over seven decades. We do not know the true number because the clergy enjoy various immunities in Italy and the nationhas never confronted, let alone fully investigated, the evil that has taken place within its borders. This should have led the news worldwide.” (Syed, The Times, 02/20/2022)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Italian priest allegedly stole church funds for drugs, gay sex parties, “ by Patrick Reilly, New York Post, 09/22/2021.
“An Italian Roman Catholic priest,”[Rev. Francesco Spagnesi, 40, of Prato, Italy] has been placed under house arrest for allegedly stealing over $117,000 in church funds and parishioners’ donations for drugs and lavish gay sex parties in his home . . . after police were tipped off that his roommate had imported a liter of the common date rape drug GHB from the Netherlands . . . the two men are alleged to have used online dating sitesto invite guests to their home, where drugs were used and sold . . . Officers reportedly found homemade crack pipes from bottles during a raid on the apartment . . . Police are interviewing 200 people who’ve attended hisparties in the last two years.” (Bold added)(Italics added)(Reilly, NY Post 09/22/21)
“Spagnesi had withdrawn over $117,000 from the parish’s bank account . . . police suspect was used to purchase drugs . . . When the bishop halted access to the priest’s funds, he began stealing moneyfrom the Mass collections and asking parishioners for money, telling them he was raising aid for poor families . . . He quickly raised thousands of dollars from the unsuspecting churchgoers. They have since begun to take legal action against Spagnesi, demanding their money back, according to the Times.”
Spagnesi’s lawyer, Costanza Malerba, told the Times the priest had confessed to supplying drugs to others at parties and is expected to admit stealing church funds.
No charges have been filed at this time.
TENTH STEP: “WE CONTINUE TO TAKE A PERSONAL INVENTORY AND WHEN WE WERE WRONG PROMPTLY ADMITTED IT.”
“Dear Pope Francis: ‘A year after John Paul II came, I was raped by a priest” by Colm O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland, 08/11/2018.
“I won’t lie. It has been a tough few months. I hadn’t imagined that your visit to Ireland would cause me any upset, but to my surprise it has.” (O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“It started when the media here began to recall the iconic moments of John Paul II’s visit back in 1979. I was 13 years old then and, like most children of my generation, heavily involved in the church. I had been an altar server; I sang at Mass every Sunday.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“I went to a Christian Brothers School and the youth group I attended every week was a Catholic group that met in a convent. The church was a massive influence in my life back then, and central to every part of it.” (O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“I didn’t get to see Pope John Paul II when he was here. My older sister and brother did, and I remember envying them as I watched the visit unfold on TV. The ecstatic crowds that lined the streets everywhere the Pope went, him beaming from his Popemobile and blessing the crowds as he wove his way though them, and above all that moment in Galway when he looked out across 300,000 young people and proclaimed in his accented, booming voice, “Young people of Ireland, I love you!”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“My heart nearly burst when I heard him say that. It was a time when people didn’t often tell us that we were loved, not in that way, and I believed him. I believed every word he said.
It’s different now, though. Now when I hear that same voice say those same words I don’t feel that joy. Instead I feel terribly sad. Sad for that 13-year-old me, heartbroken and sick for him.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“You see, just over a year after that, I was raped for the first time by a priest. A priest who used my blind faith in the goodness of your institution to get into my home, take me away and repeatedly assault me.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“That priest had been ordained just four months before the visit, and your church knew then that he was a child abuser. He had sexually assaulted a group of boy scouts while a seminarian. The scouting association had barred him for life as a result, but your church made him a priest and then sent him off and let him abuse for years with impunity.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)(Bold added)
“He made it along to the papal visit. He was in the Phoenix Park for the Mass, at the Papal Cross beneath which you will celebrate Mass when you arrive here soon. After he was ordained he was sent to a parish in Belfast, where he immediately began to cause havoc. He worked his way around the ban from the boy scouts by founding a troop of his own. I was told he had some of them with him at that Mass in 1979. I wonder if those boys were abused during that trip?”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“The impact of what he did to me nearly killed me. I won’t go into the detail now, but it led to me fleeing my home when it finally ended almost three years later because I was so broken that I was finding it difficult to stay alive. If I hadn’t run, I don’t think I would have survived. I spent six months on the street, and was estranged from my family for nearly four years as a result of it all.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)(Bold added)
“That, perhaps, is worth thinking of in the context of your trip here for the World Meeting of Families: those of us who were abused by the church have families, and they suffered alongside us. Many are still suffering.” (O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Many will watch your visit and remember 1979, before all of this was revealed and before they came to know about and understand the trauma their children suffered. Some will watch it and be reminded of the loss of their children because some of us haven’t survived, some of us couldn’t cope. Some of us died because we saw no way out of the agony of living with what was done to us.” (O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)(Bold added)
“Those families matter too. They may not be there waving flags as you drive by, but shouldn’t you reach out to them at long last and do them the respect of finally telling the truth?” (O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland08/11/2018)PHOTO: https://www.independent.ie/life/family/family-features/colm-ogorman-being-a-dad-is-the-most-challenging-thing-ive-ever-done-31590352.html
“My own family were a big part of me finding the strength to come forward and report the abuse in 1995. What was done to me was tough for them to bear. My Dad in particular was shattered by it. He was a massive support to me, and his love and concern for me was just incredible back then.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland08/11/2018)
“Dad died later that same year, but he has always been part of this journey for me. He taught me that the truth matters, that integrity and the courage to stand for what I believe in matters. So, 23 years later, I still stand for truth. I think it’s time that you did the same.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)(Bold added)
“Some people will tell you that you need to do this to save the church from further collapse. That may be true, but I hope you will finally do so not to save the institution, but because it is quite simply the right thing to do. Tell the truth. Admit the cover-up. Please.”(O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland 08/11/2018)
“Colm”
TENTH STEP: “WE CONTINUE TO TAKE A PERSONAL INVENTORY AND WHEN WE WERE WRONG PROMPTLY ADMITTED IT.”
Judge rules it’s fine for priest to call co-workers ‘pieces of s—t,” by Julia Marsh, New York Post, 05/11/2016.
“He may be a priest with a potty mouth — but that doesn’t mean he should be sued over it.”
“The Rev. Michael Reilly, who serves as principal at a Staten Island Catholic school, allegedly trashed his colleagues as “tw-ts,’’ “b–ches’’ and “pieces of “s–t,’’ prompting three of them to sue him and the archdiocese for discrimination.”
“But a Manhattan judge has ruled that while the slurs might have been highly offensive, they were otherwise just your run-of-the-mill generic trash talk . . . When a colleague suggested he “go easy on her,” the priest allegedly replied, “F–k crusty, she’s a vodka s–tting b—h we don’t need.”
“While another teacher was out sick receiving chemotherapy treatments, Reilly allegedly said, “Doesn’t he know life is over? What’s he going to do next? Come in on a gurney with an IV? I’ll have to kick him to the f—ing curb.”
The suit said, “Kicking someone to the ‘f—ing curb’ was one of Father Reilly’s favorite expressions.”
Reilly also called women ‘tw–ts’ and labeled multiple women a ‘tw–eria,” according to court papers.
He once referred to an African-American teacher “as one whose black ass he would kick back to the jungle,” the suit says.
Reilly’s lawyer, Mark Goidell, applauded the judge’s decision to toss the case.
“The judge recognized that the case was both factually and legallywithout any basis,” Goidell said.
He added that his client “did not use the language that was attributed to him.”The priest is still the head of the school.
THE TONGUE DEFILES THE ENTIRE BODY ! . . . “GOD RULES, ONE GOD AND FATHER OFALL WHO IS OVER ALL AND THROUGH ALL AND IN ALL.”(EPHESIANS 4:5-9; ROMANS 11:36)(Bold added)(Caps added)(Italics added)
WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY ABOUT CURSING . . .(JAMES 3:1-12)
“TEACHERS WILL INCUR A STRICTER JUDGMENT . . . “(JAMES 3:1)
“Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires. So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things.”(James 3:1-5a)
“THE TONGUE DEFILES THE ENTIRE BODY . . .”
“See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race.”(James 3b-7)
“THE TONGUE IS A RESTLESS EVIL FULL OF DEADLY POISON . . . “(JAMES 3:8)
“But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.”(James 3:8-12)
“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do notgrieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamorand slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:29-32)
TENTH STEP: “WE CONTINUE TO TAKE A PERSONAL INVENTORY AND WHEN WE WERE WRONG PROMPTLY ADMITTED IT.”
“The Vatican Just Put a Convicted Rapist Back in a Parish,” byBarbie Lanza Nadeau, The Daily Beast, 04/24/2016
“ROME—Just what is it that the Vaticandoes not get about predator priests? Apparently a lot.” (Bold added)(Italics added)
“Father Joseph Jeyapaul is a priest from India who admitted to rapingtwo adolescent girls in Minnesota when he served the Crookston diocese from 2004 to 2005.” Once “charged with the abuse, which included rape and forcing at least one of the girls to performfellatio on him, he fled home to India, where he was eventually arrested on an Interpol warrant. He was then extradited back to Minnesota, where he admitted his heinouscrimes and entered a plea bargain in which, in exchange for a lighter sentence, he copped to molestation to oneof the girls.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Jeyapaul was suspended from the priesthood and served a year and a day in prison in Minnesota, then wasdeported back to India after his release last July. The Minnesota diocese where he worked also settled a civil lawsuit with the victims in which oneaccused him of systematic abuse in the confessional of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenbush, Minnesota, where he would then tell the girl it was her fault, that she had made him “impure.”(Bold added)(Italics added)
“How much more proof would one need that the man cannot be trusted with minors?”
“Apparently, Jayapaul’s rap sheet is not enough to kick him out of the priesthood for good. In February, the Vatican approved lifting his suspension from the priesthood and agreed that he could be reassigned to a newparish in India. Thatparish even made him the diocesanhead of its commission for education.”
“We are not only disgusted and alarmed, but we realize there is a serious danger,” Minnesota attorney Jeff Anderson said during a press conference last week. “Pope Frances has broken a pledge. This priest is a predator who needs to be stopped, and they have chosennot to stop him.”
“Anderson, who has been at the forefront of the legal battle for victims of clerical sex abuse in Minnesota, is involved because he represents one of the victims Jeyapaul went to prison for abusing. Megan Peterson, now 26, has stepped forward to tell her story to protect children. She asked Anderson to file a public danger (nuisance) federal lawsuit against the Ootacamund diocese in Tamil Nadu, India.”
Standing by Anderson this week at the press conference, she said that when she heard that the Vatican had lifted Jeyapaul’s suspensionfor crimes against her, she felt “abused, degraded and re-victimized all over again.”
Peterson is asking the Indian diocese for more than $75,000 in damages for making her relive her trauma by forgiving her abuser in what is seen as a legal attempt to get the Indian diocese to rethink allowing Jeyapaul to start his new job.
“Children deserve to be protected in India and nobody is doing this at this point,” Peterson said at the televised press conference . . . “
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP) says this is the last straw.“It may be the most irresponsible Vatican move we’ve ever seen: Catholic officials in Rome have lifted the suspension of a recently convicted predator priests,” SNAP’s outreach director Barbara Dorris said in a statement. “We are stunned and saddened by such blatantrecklessness and callousness.”
Dorris added that the survivors are grateful that Peterson filed the lawsuit, which she referred to as a “novel approach” to trying to protect children from known predators by taking legal action to expose predators the church has reinstated or protected.
Still, it gives pause to think that the Vatican could turn such a blind eye to a case in which the priest admitted to abusing minors and was sentenced in a secular court.
“The Vatican under Pope Francis and the Bishop in India have both made the decision to permitthispredatorto continue in ministryafter his conviction for child sex abuse and are promoting him as safe and trustworthyand holy,” Anderson said. “And as we speak, there are hundreds of children who we know trust him and believe him to be trustworthy.”
TENTH STEP: “WE CONTINUE TO TAKE A PERSONAL INVENTORY AND WHEN WE WERE WRONG PROMPTLY ADMITTED IT.”
MAN’S SOLUTION . . . RID THE VATICAN OF THE PREDATOR ONCE AND FOR ALL. . .
“Indian diocese removes predator priest in settlement with U.S. victim of sexual abuse,” by Michael O’Keeffe, New York Daily News, 10/04/2016
“A sexual abuse survivor has scored an unprecedented victory against the Catholic Church, with an Indian diocese removing a predator priest who’d been shockingly reinstatedafter assaulting the woman when she was a teen in the U.S.”
Officials in the Diocese of Ootacamund are removing Rev. Joseph Jeyapaul from the ministry and barring him from working with children. In a legal settlement, the diocese also agreed to provide sex abuse survivor Megan Peterson, formerly of Queens, with annual updates on the whereabouts and activities of Jeyapaul, the priest she says assaulted her when she was a teenager. She’d sued the diocese in federal court upon learning of Jeyapaul’s reinstatement.
The settlement marks the first time a foreign diocese has agreed to take responsibility for apredator priestafter he left the U.S., said sex-abuse attorney Jeff Anderson.
“This is such a step forward for the survivors movement as a whole,” Peterson said following a press conference in St. Paul announcing the settlement Monday.
She added that her quest for justice won’t be complete until she learns why Jeyapaul was allowed to return to the ministry even after he pleaded guilty to sexual abuse charges in the U.S.
“The question that is not being answered is, why did the Vatican reinstate him?” Peterson said.
Under the agreement, Ootacamund church officials will provide her with regular updates about Jeyapaul for 10 years or until he is defrocked.
An attorney for the diocese, Thomas Braun, did not immediately return a request for comment.
“This is a testament to Megan’s courage,” Anderson said of the settlement.
GOD’S SOLUTION . . . REJECT A FACTIOUS MAN AFTER A FIRST AND SECOND WARNING. . .
“For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned.” (Titus 3:3-11)
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem usfrom every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”(Titus 2:11-14)
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
GOD’S RESPONSE TO CATHOLIC CHURCH. . .
First, in the Garden of Eden, man committed the ultimate sin . . . He ate the forbidden fruit . . . Because he ate of the fruit he would know “good and evil” . . . consequently, he would surely die.
“But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name,I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And this house will become a heap of ruins; everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, ‘Why has the LORD done thus to this land and to this house?’ And they will say, ‘Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the LORDhas brought all this adversity on them.’”(1 Kings 9:6-9)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.”(Jeremiah 35:15)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Thus says the LORD, ‘Stand in the court of the LORD’S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the LORD’S house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. Do not omit a word! Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamitywhich I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.’ And you will say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, “If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’(Jeremiah 26:2-6)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“You worship what you do not know;we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”(John 4:22-24)(Bold added)(Italics added)
“Let no man be saying when he is being solicited to sin, By God I am being solicited to sin, for God is incapable of being solicited to sin, the source of the solicitations being evils, [such as soliciting man to sin], and He himself solicits no one to sin. But each one is being solicited to sin when he is taken in tow and enticed by his own craving. Then when the aforementioned craving has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and this sin when it is full grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13-14)(Bold added)(Italics added)
