the lost get found: redux

I was lying awake earlier in bed when I came to the realization that my earlier post could be misunderstood. Because I remembered that I forgot to put in one very important detail:

"No way do I condone in any way shape or form the kidnapping, rape, and murder of little children. What Garrido did was horrendous. While I do believe that he is not beyond redemption, I hope to God that he will never be allowed to go near little children again. Ever. He should pay for what he did. With regards to my entry, I am deeply sorry for what it could read as. I repeat: I don't condone rape, murder, torture, kidnapping, abuse, etc., etc."

the lost get found

As a child, I always had a thing for the people who were classified as "unlovable", "beyond redemption", "lost cause". So I guess it's not really a big surprise when back in 2006 God revealed my destiny for me (actually it was back in 2005, but that's a slight technicality).

And isn't that what Jesus wants us to do? Go to the lost and the unlovables and just love on them? After all, that's what He did. He didn't sit with with Herod and Pilate and the high priests and shared laughs over the finest meats and breads. No, He went and sat with the lepers, the prostitutes, and the demonic oppressed and shared His bread and fish with them. And He just loved them where they were and for who they were. And yeah, it was probably messy. After all, the crowd He was rolling with all were some of the uncoolest people you'd ever pick to hang with: tax collectors, fishermen (which I suspect were on the lowest rung of society's food chain back then), and whoever else.

So, yeah. Jesus, who should be our role model, put a huge emphasis on going where the unlovables are and loving them where they are at. Shouldn't we do the same? And yes, it will be hard. "Hard?" I can hear you say. "I love the lost. I'm all for loving the lost." Oh, really. I am sure that it is good in theory, but in actual practice it is, well, uncomfy. Trust me, I know. I have had issues this week.

I am sure that you all are familiar with the Jaycee Dugard case. If not, I shall recap it for you. In 1991, 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard was abducted by Phillip Garrido (the guy in the picture) and only now she has been found, alive, and with two daughters (ages 15 & 11) - fathered by Garrido. For those who do not know, Garrido is a known sex offender.

Do you see where I'm going with this? Yeah, loving the unlovables is easier said than done because who could love people who rape little kids and then kills them? Such as John Couey, who kidnapped little Jessica Lunsford and then killed her.

I remember having an awesome prayer sesh in my bedroom one night. It was awesome! I was in the zone, Holy Spirit showed up and I had a great time praying for Jaycee and her two daughters. Then God brought an image of Garrido to my mind. And He said, "Pray for him." And I was like, "No way. He raped a little girl and who knows what else. He doesn't deserve it." And God was all, "You're right; he doesn't. But then, neither did you." If I were a chicken, my feathers would be all unruffled by that. I mean, what do you say to that? Well, as it turned out, nothing. So I grudgingly accepted what God was asking of me. Turns out it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. It took me about five minutes to start praying for this guy. My flesh did not want to pray for him. My spirit did; the words were there. My tongue just did not want to utter them. And could you blame my sin-polluted flesh? I mean, here is a guy who kidnapped and then raped an innocent girl. That's huge..to our society. But to God? God loves Garrido just as much as he loves you and me. And as much as some people will hate to hear this, Garrido is just as much a victim as Jaycee or Jessica. Why? Well, it's not like toddlers say, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to kill and rape people." No, it's most likely that the spirit of perversiveness had been brought upon them by other people.

So if God gives you a heart for the lost, get ready. Because I'm the kind of girl who feels bad for sex offenders, serial killers, and Scott Peterson.

you're the voice

I never really thought that my voice was important growing up. As a teen, I would pray for celebrities and offer prayer requests for them at my old youth group but I would get shot down alot and I didn't really understand why. You see, I had no problem praying for celebrities because the way I saw it, they needed prayer too. Maybe then Hollyweird would turn back into Hollywood. But I guess the people around me never really got that.

So I kept my mouth shut. For years and years. Isn't it amazing how one small instance in your entire life can bring you to your knees? Even while I was at the School of Ministry in Toronto, I would just keep my mouth shut. After all, I wanted people to like me and the only way I knew how was to not talk, for fear of saying something "stupid".

That all changed at the "Heavy Rain" conference [a young adult conference at TACF] of last year [or was it this year, since it took place around New Year's Eve]. For whatever reason, I got the freedom I so desperately needed to use my voice as a tool for God. It was awesome! All of a sudden, I was whooping and hollering and screaming and shouting!! It was pretty cool.

Now, God has been speaking to me about voices. Lately, I've been feeling like there has been tension in the atmosphere during worship at church, and I think it's because people have been silenced by the enemy for far too long. I just feel that he has been whispering stories to them, saying, "What do you know?" and "Come on, you aren't important, what do you have to say?" I should know. The enemy has been telling me these lies for so many years that when I look back, I feel disgusted with my past. It's time to take back what the enemy has stolen and start using the most powerful weapon that we have. See, the enemy doesn't want us to use our voices because using our voices is dangerous to him, especially when we invoke the name Jesus Christ when we want him to go away.

Anyway, God's been saying that your voice is important to Him. He gave you a voice to use to bring glory to God. Don't EVER let anyone bring you down by making you feel as if you aren't good enough or what you say is not good. It is good. After all, God had given you a voice for a reason. We don't use the mouth to catch flies, right? And if you look in the Bible, there are hundreds [if not thousands] of verses talking about your voice, mostly in Psalms. So God has given us voices for a reason and a purpose. Remember, you're the voice!