June 20, 2013 - The Open Trap

Sometimes we need to stop and rethink our responses to certain situations. We watched a very powerful and riveting movie last night on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficing, "Stop The Candy Shop" at our Wednesday night service. I was moved to tears over and over to even consider that ONE child, woman, boy is being forced to live in that world for whatever reasons. Someone said, "a lot of that is by their own choosing." REALLY? After my trip to Thailand, I can assure you MOST of the industry has nothing to do with choosing, unless by choosing one means you commit the act. MOST of those I have worked with have had to "choose" out of fear and circumstances many of us can only imagine. I totally understand perhaps there were other options, but often deception and manipulation are wicked forces that even the strong wrestle with. I said all that to bring us here, in the movie the young girls went into a candy shop and "became" candy for the men to select and enjoy. (Filmed well and family friendly - but still very vivid) Many of them were lured and then trapped in something much bigger than they expected. That scenario can be played out again and again in various areas of our lives, as our instructor said, due to the variables of life. Each of us needs a solid base of truth to use as a ball bat when deception and manipulation try to entice us into a situation containing the trap. Hunters never leave traps in the open with signs displayed which read, "place your foot in the box below and become someone's evening meal." Do they? Life never asked if we are prepared for the next set of circumstances. Does it? But let me applaud you today for fighting for the truth, standing on truth, recognizing that the "The Candy Shop" signals danger - whatever that means for you. The Candy Shop for me is not just sugar and starch. There are many deceptions that I have had to stand against and dig my heels deep into the pavement to keep from being lured inside. Might I suggest a "few" Candy Shops could range from gossip to lying to the sex industry (which is big business) and stretching across to manipulation. Our weaknesses can always seem like truth if we are not certain what the truth is! Having someone to "confess your faults to and receive prayer" is critical just as spending time reading and meditating on God's Word. Today, if you are being dragged into the "grab and vow" Candy Shop (blog from last week) or any other place that takes your innocence and mutilates it - beware! What lures each of toward patterns of sin and destruction? The answer is different for each of us. Stop today and confess the Word of God over your circumstances which says, Psalm 34:19 New Living Translation (NLT) 19 The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time. We applauded the efforts of one young man to rescue those being trafficked last night in the movie........God does the same for each of us in OUR movie. He promises. Thank you, Father!