You Can Grant My Holiday Wish, Visit, Like And Share This!

I created My Prayer Page to spread the message of God's truth and love, Who is He is and what He has done for us and wants to be to us. Most of the posts here are shares from other pages and profiles that tell of Who God is, much of these posts are Scripture verses themselves. I would like to keep getting more and more new "likes there, so we can spread God's message to more and more people on the Internet. This is my holiday wish, that I will see your support. I created this page for everyone who loves God and for anyone who is interested in knowing Him.

Thank you to each of you who will show your support, in the Name of Jesus!

Lisa DeSherlia

Thanksgiving, What It Means To Me and What It Can Mean

It's that time of the year where we, Christians and everyone else, are "supposed to" focus on being thankful and giving, on peace and reconciliation. I see countless posts and hear countless lectures of the subject of gratitude that seem to scold hearers about "not being thankful." Yes, God has been good to each one of us. He loves us and, in Christ His Son, has sacrificed all things to rescue us from the power and penalty of sin. He has good plans for our lives. I can fully understand why we are so often shamed and scolded into "being grateful." It's forever trite but true that no matter what we may face in life, others are facing what they, at least, consider to be worse and more traumatic events and struggles. I agree that we all need to be reminded that life does not revolve around any of us and that everyone faces suffering and struggles in life. These are undisputed facts. When I was growing up, in St. Louis, Missouri, I was always being told that I was a "chronic complainer" and I'm sure that there was a lot of truth in this. Complaining is defined as "expressing dissatisfaction with something." There is nothing wrong with expressing such dissatisfaction; it's where our focus lies, on what we have or what we don't have. No matter who we are or what we face, we all lack many things we wish we could have. All of us also have many good things in our lives. As my late stepdad would say, "Whatever the good Lord gives you to face, He always balances it with something good."

I'm the first to admit that thankfulness does come hard when I deal with depression spells that I believe to be induced, at least in part, by the long-term use of anti-convulsants. Thankfulness does come hard when I see how many people, who seem to not give God a passing thought and who don't help others, seem to skate through life and enjoy health and wealth. And "preachers" give off the false impression, in their "teachings," that if we serve God and love him, that we will be "blessed in life and enjoy health and wealth." The Bible says that those who obey God are "blessed in all they do," but this does not reference good, easy, fun circumstances. The Son of God, when He lived a perfect life as the God-Man, suffered more than all of us put together, especially in right before and as He was dying a horrific death on a cross. Thankfulness comes hard when I think of the people whom I have helped and shown support to, who have often "repaid" me by removing me from their lives because I had shown them my fallibility. But I am learning that it is by focusing on Jesus, NOT on people, that makes it easier to give thanks 27/7 and 365 days a year. For as long as we look at people and compare our life's journeys, whether they are better or worse, we fall into the old comparison trap that is a waste of time.

We Christians have far more cause to be thankful than non-Christians do. We have all received not only the "common grace" that all humans have and in the form of blessings of various sorts. We Christians have also received God's unique grace in Christ. We have many great and precious promises. We have access to His Presence, every minute, every hour and every day of the year. We have been freely forgiven of our countless past, present and future sins of thought, word and deed. In Christ, God gives us His love that He declares NOTHING can ever separate us from. NOTHING. He gives us His Spirit, who gives us power, guidance, teaching and comfort and yes, conviction, as we need these at any given time. He has promised us Heaven, where we will gain all that we ever longed for here and could not find. He has given us Scripture, which is His message, His love letter, to us. He calls us His children, His sons and His daughters. Yes, I'm the first to say that I fail to remember HIs many benefits in this spiritual realm. But, we must not forget and must always remind ourselves, each and every day of the year.

Thanksgiving is that time of the year when we look forward to "taking a break" from watching our weight and our typical diets, and "splurging." I'm not saying that's wrong! I'm looking forward to eating a bit more this upcoming Thursday than I usually do. Not much. I would not okay using the holidays as a license to drink, because that contributes to drunken behavior and drunk driving, which kills people. It is also the day before what we call "Black Friday," which can be another topic altogether. We all are aware of the hype about that day, with all the commercials. This is a "tribute" to the greed and the materialism of so many of us who insist on shopping as early as possible to save a few bucks. We give lip service to the need to focus on our blessings and to spend time with family, but Thanksgiving, like any holiday, is a time of unrealistic expectations. We confuse "the holiday spirit" with "being happy," whether we mean "the Thanksgiving spirit" or "the Christmas spirit," with "being happy." We forget that "giving thanks" is not an emotion but is an action, and can be done even when we don't "feel happy" or our dreams don't come true.

During these holidays, I'm thinking especially of all of those who are estranged from family members or other once-important people in their lives, often because of greed or disputes. I'm thinking of all those who have lost loved ones in the past 12 months. I'm thinking of all those who will spend their holidays behind bars, because of wrongful or overly-harsh convictions. I'm thinking of the victims of recent weather disasters like the people in the Philippines. I'm thinking of those who are fighting terminal illnesses. I'm thinking of those who are spending more holidays missing a loved one or who have not found justice for them. I'm thinking of those who are being put down as "extremist" because they choose not to participate in the holiday traditions or in "black Friday." I'm thinking of all those who dread, rather than look forward to, these holidays because their disabilities keep them from liking the rich holiday foods or social gatherings. For many these holidays are a hard time.

What do the holidays, including Thanksgiving, mean to me? Frankly, because of my life circumstances, I have often not looked forward to them. Yes, I'm thankful for God, for His love, for my family and my life. For starters. I'm also thankful for you who visit this blog and who read it. I'm thankful for those of you who have signed my autism petition. I'm thankful for each of you who will sign up to follow this fairly new blog. And I'm thankful to those of you who have "liked" any of my Facebook pages, found on the main page and on a static page, of this blog.

The first photo is courtesy of MorgueFile, is by seriousfun, and can be found here.

The second photo is courtesy of MorgueFile, is by Seemann, and is found here.

A Christian Perspective On George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin

There is a website full of evidence files in every part of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. It can be found here.

I know that I'm addressing a case that has divided the US since it become public, and which still brings up strong emotions. I'm sure this holds true in the Christian community, too, if you are familiar with it. I'm talking about the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. We all know the facts in that sad case. One dark, rainy night, a 17-old, teenage, Black teen, was walking in a gated neighborhood. He was carrying ice tea and candy, wore a hoodie, and was in the neighborhood to visit his father. In the course of time, this Neighborhood Watch volunteer drove in that neighborhood, armed with a gun. He took note of that teen. Something about that teen made him look suspicious and the volunteer decided to take action. He called 911. The person who answered that call assured the volunteer that Law Enforcement (LE) would handle it. "Are you following him?" the Dispatcher asked. The volunteer was calling the teen names, and said he was. "We do not need you to do that," the Dispatcher assured the volunteer. Still, the volunteer got out of his vehicle, and pursued the teen. Something tragic happened. The teen ended up dead, killed by a gunshot to his heart. Evidence got forever lost and the case was botched from the beginning to the trial, and the resulting verdict in Seminole County, Florida.

I know that every Christian, like everyone else, has a right to hold your own opinions on this, as on any case or matter. This post is not an effort to get anyone to believe what I believe, which would be futile. First of all, I'm Caucasian, female and I live in St. Louis, MISSOURI. I'm a Christian and a pro-life Democrat. I believe that people have a Second Amendment right to have guns, so they can protect themselves and their families. But I believe, and the evidence shows, that people should be thoroughly screened before getting guns, and that gun owners should not be able to abuse their gun ownership privileges. Guns have been abused over and over, so many times that the victims of gun violence can't be counted. And even perfectly good people are deploring the "race-baiting" of this case and of related cases, and calling any discussing of race relations "race-baiting." The Judge in the George Zimmerman case, would not even allow any race-related evidence in. This, to me, is just one example of many who refuse to admit that racism is still alive and well, and that our broken system does not bring equal justice for all.

I had followed the George Zimmerman case, and I saw that the case was riddled with injustice before it even began. First of all, LE did not even want to arrest Zimmerman, and it took a petition and protests to bring the case to trial. The Prosecutors, whom I believed were incompetent, hurried the case, failed to lay it out clearly, allowed Martin to be put on trial, and did not prepare their witnesses to testify to help their case against Zimmerman. They did little to cross-examine defense witnesses. Zimmerman had far better Representation and witnesses than Trayvon Martin had. The case was full of injustice and showed that the system, which is made up of people, values some lives above others. This trial, like so many others, is less about finding the truth and bringing justice to victims and defendants, and more about who has the most money, supporters and social connections with LE. Trials are more about who has the best lawyers. I was brokenhearted and angry when the verdict was read.

In Scripture, God makes it clear that Judges and anyone involved in dispensing justice, should be about seeking truth and doing impartial justice. Unequal favors are not to be shown anyone, whether it is the rich or the poor. Yes, God allows for those who kill in self-defense, to be able to protect themselves and to have fair trials. They have the right to protect themselves from any revenge a victim's family may want to take. In Scripture, it's clear that we are allowed to defend ourselves when we feel that we are another's, lives are in danger. Yes, this is written into all our laws, which allows anyone to exert "deadly force" against anyone who is seen as a physical threat to self or to others. But the question that remains for many of us and certainly for the family of Trayvon Martin's family, why was this teen put on trial and his killer deemed to be acting in self-defense?

Currently, Zimmermann is having brushes with the law and his actions keep shedding light on who was mostly likely looking for a fight that tragic night that he killed Trayvon. Zimmerman's former wife, Shellie, will not speak about Zimmerman's role in Trayvon's death, but is warning the public that Zimmerman is a "ticking time bomb" and that he "is not the man I married and was not since the night he killed Trayvon." Weeks ago, Zimmerman was accused of assaulting her and her father, but no charges were filed. Most recently, Zimmerman threatened his latest girlfriend with a gun and now awaits trial. To me and to many others, this just confirms that Zimmermann was probably not acting in self-defense that night. Yes, I know that Zimmerman will likely not be held accountable for killing Trayvon Martin in this life, but we Christians know that there is a life to come as well as a day of accounting. We Christians know that God's heart, as expressed in the life of Jesus, leans strongly toward love, nonviolence, prayer and forgiveness, while not disregarding accountability or justice.

What do you think?

The first photo is courtesy of MorgueFile.com. The first photo is by jclk8888.

The first photo can be found here.

The second photo is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

The second photo is by wallyir.

The second photo can be found here.

There is a website that is full of evidence files in every aspect of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case. It can be found here.

Christian Discipleship, Social Networking and Unfriending

Friends. Friendship. We Christians have, along with most other people, understood these words differently from yesterday. In the past, we referred to friends as people who we trusted, shared our core values in common with, did things with and for. We saw these friends, the closer the better, as ends in themselves and not means to any end. We did not use the word easily or lightly; we cherished our friends. Today, with the advent of social networking, things have shifted. We now use the word friend to refer to anyone, in any social network, who connects with our profile in that network. In some networks, we call them followers, as on Twitter or in the world of blogging. We may call them "circlers" as on Google. On Facebook and other networks, we now "add" or "friend" people. Their profiles are connected with ours and they are now "friends." We tend to see these friends in terms of quantity rather than quality; the more the better. This holds true especially if we play games, have a product to sell, or are on mission to raise awareness for our chosen cause.

The results of this paradigm shift on relationships is predictable. It is evolving, too. First, the Internet has ruined or spoiled countless marriages. Today, the divorce rate is 60 percent, up 10 percent from the 50 percent that it had stood at for decades. One spouse (or both) will turn to the Internet for entertainment or to social networking for to get support. Result? Internet addictions develop that drive wedges in relationships. Partners tend to find photos or posts that contain shocking information on a spouse, which can result in anger, rage, leading to divorce. The practice of unfriending can harm or destroy in-person relationships. Many of us, even if we are Christians, are hurt by the experience of being unfriended and, if we encounter this person face-to-face, our interactions with the person will be altered and usually for worse. For social networks are us, for social networks are, in other words, people in cyberspace connecting with each other. It is evident that we feel differently about our online friends from those we call friends, face-to-face. It's clear in how we are often emboldened to say many things online that we would not have the courage to say offline (yes this has the reverse effect of emboldening us Christians in sharing our faith!) This is the reason we see the phenomenon of cyber-bullying, and hear about (maybe even see) its devastating effects. Mental, emotional and verbal abuse, online or in-person, are just as damaging as in-person physical abuse. And it's clear in the ease where we hit the "unfriend" or even the "block" buttons on social networks" without feeling bad about this. In face-to-face relationships, we are much more likely to realize that the other person has feelings or that dumping him or her has consequences, whether to us or others. We are far more likely to work things out with a friend, for example, who says nasty things to us or racist comments about another, if we know this person face-to-face. Online, we often feel free to remove the person from our networks or even block them.

In my experience, I estimate that I have lost over 1000 Facebook friendships in my four and a half years of social networking. I have lost these users for a wide variety of reasons. Many were fellow former or current fellow parishioners or acquaintances, who did not care about the causes I posted and that showed up in their Timelines. Some took offense at my political or religious posts that they no doubt disagreed with. Many dropped me because of misunderstandings or conflicts that led them to the conclusion that I was not a good person. Most recently, two people removed me from their social networks for the third reason. A series of misunderstandings led one of them, who claims a devout Christian faith, to angrily conclude that I was not the caring, good-hearted Christian that she had "been under the impression that I was." This person has her version of the story, which I know she will justify. This person and I had shared an intimate online friendship; I shared with her things that I never shared with even any pastor or doctor. Sadly, the deep trust and care that we shared only days ago, are all gone. The second person is one whom I introduced to the first person just discussed here; I had shown caring and support for that second person for years, prior to this sorry event. The series of misunderstanding involved that person indirectly and so that person blocked me. I currently wrestle with a mix of grief, anger and self-doubt about these last two rejections.

As I read the Bible, Christian discipleship extends to all areas of life, including to how we treat other online users, what we post and what websites we visit and what blogs we follow. It involves what type in comments and in emails. It also involves the spirit we have when we hit the "Unfriend" or "Block" buttons on another user's profile. We Christians should post and share posts that lift up and glorify God and that spread the word about the Christian faith. We should avoid websites and blogs that don't glorify Him and that exalt sinful lifestyles that displease Him. We should use our time wisely and not waste our time on too many online games or even online "causes" that are more about awareness than action. We certainly should not have anything to do with cyber-bullying. This includes spreading gossip that ruins others' online reputations. We should not post nasty, bullying, hateful or harassing comments or statuses that alienate others needlessly. We should not be taken in by the unfriending practices that so many users are engaged in. In my opinion, we should unfriend users only when we truly fear that keeping them in our networks puts us, our families and our friends in danger (like predators or stalkers). That does not include unfriending people because they offend us, disagree with us, annoy us, or bore us with their statuses. Unfriending fellow Christians violates the principle of forbearance; unfriending non-Christians closes any doors to sharing the Gospel with them. Unfriending anyone closes the door on caring for them.

Christians, we need to remember and ask ourselves when we go online: Do we keep in mind, whenever we visit websites or blogs, post or comment, that Christ sees everything that we do? Do we keep in mind that, every time we post, leave comments, or hit the "Unfriend" or "block" buttons, that the people we are taking acting about are real people?

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

This photo is by Karpati Gabor.

This photo can be found here.

Like & Share My Prayer Page and My First Facebook Page, Right Here!

The first page, a relatively new page, is specifically Christ-centered. The second displayed Facebook page is my first page and is directed to a general audience. There is nothing in it or in any of my other content (to my knowledge) that is offensive to Christianity or is meant to be.

Thank you for "liking" and sharing both my Facebook pages!

In Christ's Name,

Lisa DeSherlia

Christians, Your Help For The Phillippines Is Needed! UPDATED

If you have followed the news, whether on TV, radio, Internet or any other means, you no doubt have heard about the massive devastation in the Phillipines that was caused by a typhoon. Yesterday, throughout the past night and no doubt now as I write, the death toll has risen to over 10,000 people. That is, 10,000 people are believed to be dead. Many, many people have lost their homes and their jobs or businesses, going without food and water in waiting for help. There are many people who are still missing. Over 1,000,000 people have been affected by this killer typhoon. This adds up to many grieving families, many families who are anxiously waiting for word about missing loved ones, and devastated individuals crying out for relief. This killer typhoon has been much worse, in terms of the extent of damage and lost lives, than any storm that we have suffered in the US, including Hurricane Katrina. (I'm not talking about the impact on individual lives from any weather disaster as one life lost is one too many). If you can help at all, you are encouraged to do so.

As Christians, we know that countless brothers and sisters in Christ are now suffering immensely and many have, sadly, slipped into eternity without Christ. This worst storm that has ever hit our Planet, can provide a tremendous opportunity for Christ-centered relief efforts, so that many people, in their great crisis, see their need for God. We Christians can support the work of those Christian relief workers who are seeking to bring food, clothing, shelter, emotional and spiritual support and all in Christ's Name. Every Church should take up collections, keeping in mind that the need will remain for weeks, months and yes, years to come. We all can and should pray. Supporting Christ-centered relief work through Christ-centered nonprofits like Compassion International is an example of backing up those who can provide direct aid to those who need it most and meet not only the basic material needs of the people, but their need for Christ as well.

Sadly, since I wrote this short post a couple days ago, there has been more devastating storm damage. There have been one or two hurricanes that have hit specific areas in the country. The latest hurricane is estimated to be even more devastating than Hurricane Katrina. It has been impossible to get aid to many of those in the Philippines because that country consists of remote islands. All the additional damage adds up to, you have guessed it. Many more lost lives. Many more lost homes, jobs and businesses. Much more trauma and fear. In all of this, countless children have been affected. So many have had their innocence taken away from them by what they are suffering. Many have lost loved ones, many may be orphans. Saddest of all, many of those killed by the typhoon and by later hurricanes have been children. Their need seems so overwhelming, with the difficulty of getting aid to these unfortunate victims insurmountable. But we can all do something. We are not being asked to save them all, or even most of them. But there are options for helping in small ways that should be far more accessible to us. We just need to know what our options are and be open to them.

Here are some options. Educate yourself about the crisis at "http://www.cnn.com/"/> at CNN News or at some other trusted news source. Then spread the word, using all means available to you. You can give. No amount is too small to help and no amount is too large, either. You can sponsor a child in the Philippines. Yes, I know that this is the end of the year, meaning a strain on financial resources, because of preparing for holiday festivities. Yet despite our financial pressures, we often can cut out some of our wants to free ourselves to give to help meet the dire needs of these typhoon and hurricane victims. If such a disaster happened to us of the magnitude of its impact on the Philippines, wouldn't we want people to come to our aid in any way that they are able?

You can educate yourself at CNN News.

You can visit here to find out more.

Yes, we can and we need to pray for all those affected as well as for all those involved in the massive relief effort.



The first photo at the top of this post is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

The first photo at the top of this post is by mensatic.

The first photo at the top of this post can be found here.

The second photo at the top of this post is courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

The second photo at the top of this post is by jclk8888.

The second photo at the top of this post can be found here.

Christians, We Need To Prevent & End Bullying

Tearful Eyes

If you have been following the news on a regular basis, in this past decade, you are more or less aware of bullying in our schools. You have been made aware of cyber-bullying. All children, especially those who identify themselves as Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender (GLBT) children and teens are especially vulnerable to vicious, sustained bullying. The type that makes a children want to end his/her life. In fact, many have! Those who have ended their lives to "bullycide" have been children and teens who have "come out" as GLBT or been believed to be GLBT. I'm aware of some controversies of a "zero tolerance" policy toward bullying being that if infringing on religious liberty, because homophobia is considered to be the cause of much bullying and cyber-bullying. As Christians, we must deal with this issue of bullying and with GLBT issues. For God speaks clearly to both issues, though the word bullying is not a Scriptural word, nor is the GLBT acronym.

We who have followed the news, in recent years, have seen a 12-year-old girl, Rebecca Sedwick make headlines because of her suicide due to months of bullying. Phoebe Prince, another teen, made headlines years ago when she ended her life due to months of bullying. Phoebe even made the cover of a magazine, but who wants to make a magazine cover that way? Years prior to this, it was Megan Meier who made headlines due to ending her life because of cyber-bullying. We probably know that Megan Meier, through her devastated parents, inspired a nonprofit named after her. It seeks to prevent and end cyber-bullying. And there have been lesser-known children and teens who have killed themselves because of bullying. As Christians, we must strongly oppose all forms of bullying, including "anti-gay" bullying, just as strongly as we are to speak out against any other sin. Bullying, even according to common sense, violates any sense of compassion, empathy, and acceptance of others. By bullying we mean a sustained pattern of behavior that harms victims emotionally, not just single unkind or nasty words or actions.

When I was growing up in the 1970's and in St. Louis, Missouri, bullying was seen as a "rite of passage." Well, that is, it was as compared to today. As a teen, I experienced my share of bullying at a church-based school that I had attended for one or two years. But the bullying did not get as severe and chronic as it had been at a public middle school I was sent to in 1974. I know I was an easy bullying target for school bullies to vent their aggressions and frustrations out on. When I was growing up, I behaved differently and moved rather differently, explaining that. My peers called me vicious names which aren't fit to be put into print. They hit me, punched me, tripped me, stole my lunch money and even chased me home. Once time (that I remember of) two girls caught up with me after class, knocked me to the ground and when I hauled myself up, they chased me home from school. Eventually my mom and my late stepdad found out, and they took me to the local police station. They were told, "I discouraging you from pressing any charges against the girls. You wouldn't, if you only knew what these girls go through at home." This just told me that bullying was not a big deal, certainly not the law enforcement.

The following year, I was in for an unpleasant surprise. As though I had been the problem and the one to blame, I was placed in St. Louis County Special School District. In the past, I had been placed in special classes and in one residential home for children, but never in a public special setting. This time, I was told that I was so placed "for your safety and because teachers could not protect you." I was given the educational label, "behaviorally disordered," which I resented. It was done because my placement had to be justified and because I was, far from being aggressive, withdrawn in conduct. The majority of my special education peers were aggressive and acted out. I developed "an attitude" toward this setting and them, growing defensive and suspicious and with trust issues. I had finished out the rest of my school career in Special School District and in other special placements. I entered adulthood with similar fears, anxieties and insecurities similar that I still battle to this day, and I'm in my 50's. Make no mistake about it, bullying causes long-term emotional damage and is as scarring as any other form of abuse; it's sad that it takes suicides of bullying victims to get us to take it seriously.

When I was growing up, no one, young or old, "came out" about their sexual orientation. So bullying motivated by homophobia was virtually unknown. But because we live in a different day and age, people of all ages, including teens and even children, are "coming out." And when they do, they often experience vicious bullying and hate. Though we as Christians are to oppose homosexuality, this DOES NOT mean that we are to condone or ignore the vile, hate-filled bullying of GLBT people, including children! Bullying, like any abuse, springs from hate, spite, anger, and a lack of empathy for the feelings and rights of others. Like any abuse, bullying is ungodly, unScriptural and unChristike. No matter who it is directed at! Fear of the violation of our religious liberties should not keep us from opposing bullying, including of GBLT people. It is right and God-pleasing to denounce all bullying.

Much bullying and cyber-bullying can be prevented from happening in the first place. Christian moms and dads, love your children unconditionally and raise them to derive their worth in Christ, and to be caring, compassionate and kind. Try to never let them walk alone, where they are easy prey for bullies and predators. Supervise their online activity (best of all, try to restrict their access to it). If your child is reported as a bully or reports being bullied, take it seriously. Teachers and educators, believe reports of bullying, hold the bullies accountable and get victims support (which does not include a segregated special school setting). Churches and pastors, do not be afraid to address bullying, including bullying of GLBT people. For bullying affects Christians, including Christian children. You know how Jesus treated disreputable people, sinners and outcasts with respect, compassion and care. How would He deal with today's bullying of people, especially those with differences?

Photo Courtesy of MorgueFile.com.
Photo by Shakira.

This photo can be found here.

You Can Help A Christian Wife and Mom In Pakistan

Imagine what it is like to live in a country where standing up for your Christian faith is illegal and can get you a prison sentence and worse, death. Imagine being separated from your family, including your children. Imagine being accused of "blasphemy" because of standing up for your Christian faith instead of for the Muslim beliefs that you were raised in. Imagine being given the death penalty because, in so doing this, you are considered a traitor. Imagine living in a country where there is a state religion, it was the one you were raised in but is no longer the one you find meaningful for your life. Imagine not being able to freely practice or speak up for your faith because your faith is a minority religion and the state religion is the only one that is legal to practice or stand for. Imagine wasting away in prison, not because you have done anything wrong, but because you have stood up for what you believed to be right. Imagine not having idea what your future. Imagine being stripped of your voice, and being totally dependent on a caring worldwide Christian community to advocate for you so you can freely practice your faith and see your family again.

This is the sad plight of a Christian wife and mother. Her name is Asia Bibi. Asia is only one of many Christians all over the world who live in restricted countries where they face government harassment, fines, imprisonment and even death, for practicing or standing up for their faith. Many countries are restricted in the sense that they have state religions like Islam, or are Communist countries. Those who say that Christians no longer face severe persecution for their faith are wrong. This is fortunately true in North America and throughout Europe, where severe, physical persecution is mostly unknown. But with the outlawing of any Christian expression in public schools at all levels, and in other public places, I wonder if we are actually truly "free." At least we don't have the fear of facing government harassment, fines, prison or even death, for practicing our faith in private settings. We are free to attend church services, gather with other believers, pray, and serve in our communities in Jesus' Name. We are at least tolerated by our governments, if not embraced.

This is the situation of Asia Noreen Bibi, a Christian wife and mother in Pakistan. Asia is a Muslim-background believer, having been raised in Pakistan's state religion, Islam. Asia, at one point. come to know God through Christ and converted to the Christian faith. Doing this is considered a crime, as Islam is Pakistan's state religion. Once, when Asia stood up for her faith, she was accused of "blasphemy," arrested, charged with a crime and convicted. She was sentenced to prison and the death penalty. Renouncing Islam for any "minority religion," including the Christian faith, is considered "blasphemy" in Muslim-dominated countries. This "blasphemy" is considered a rejection of the Islam god, Allah. This is in and of itself evidence that Islam does NOT see all of us as "praying to the same god." (We Christians must be clear on the fact that it is heresy to claim that all of us, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other religion, all "bow the knee to the same god." (Jesus made THAT clear). Aside from that, Asia is only ONE example of many Christians in Muslim countries who are charged or convicted of "blasphemy" for bravely practicing and speaking up for their Christian faith. Asia's individual plight is one that has been made public and should increase awareness of worldwide persecution of Christians.

It was several years ago that my awareness of Asia Bibi was raised through a Christian nonprofit, VOM had, several years ago, began a petition drive on their own platform and their goal is at least 1,000,000 signatures. It can be found here. You can educate yourself more about Asia Bibi there. This brave Christian wife and mom has been separated from her family for years and her children have been without their mom's love and guidance. No Christian finds it a happy or comfortable thing to know that millions of our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing government harassment, fines, imprisonment and even death, just because they practice their Christian faith, pray, own and distribute Bibles, and share their faith. It makes us feel overwhelmed and helpless. But we can help Asia Bibi, one Christian wife and mom, by educating ourselves about her, spreading the word of her plight, and signing her petition here. While there are other petitions for her, this one at VOM is the primary one and worthy of your signatures and shares.

Those of us in the free world, in North America and in Europe, are blessed in having and enjoying our religious liberty. True, it has become "freedom from religion," but we do not have to deal with the severe issues of so many fellow Christians throughout the world. Those of you who feel led by God to help them more, can educate yourselves a lot and find out how you can help. You can visit here. Please sign Asia Bibi's petition. Can they count on you?

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

Photo by hotblack.

This photo can be found here.

Should Christians Get Involved In Public Advocacy?

Advocacy. We all have heard this word. There are many causes. Human rights causes. Public health causes. Animal rights causes. Lobbying government officials to change laws for the sake of the public. There is no shortage of causes because of all the existing needs in our fallen world. In a perfect world, causes would not exist. Advocacy would not exist. What IS advocacy? It is defined as speaking up on behalf of those who cannot speak up for themselves. Those whose needs aren't being met. Those of us with the Christian worldview see ourselves primarily as having a relationship with God through faith in Jesus. We see ourselves as disciples and witnesses of God's truth and love to the world who needs Him. This translates to prioritizing cultivating our relationship with God, building ourselves up through being with other believers and sharing our faith. As it should be according to the Scriptures.

So where does public advocacy fit in? In the denomination of my childhood and most of my adulthood, public advocacy on the part of Christians is frowned on. Here's my experience: I began to use social networks years ago to raise awareness about missing person cases and soon I was bringing awareness to autism and related, invisible disabilities as well as human rights abuses. I would post these issues to my personal account. On Facebook, I had added many of my past and (then) current fellow churchgoers, as "friends". These were people from past and present congregations in St. Louis, Missouri. Apparently most of them did not want to see such posts in their Facebook Newsfeeds. I was saddened and yes, angry to find myself being "unfriended" by one of them after the other. I know that they aren't bad, uncaring people, though at the time, I ranted and called them "hypocrites" for refusing to "walk their talk." I know that it is what this church body has taught them (and me) about public advocacy and that it is NOT a priority for Christians. This church body in question (like I'm sure others) forbid churches to officially get involved in public advocacy. They do not forbid individual Christians from public advocacy. But many of these Christians confuse congregational involvement and individual involvement.

As a mom of an autistic daughter and a suspected autistic (awaiting diagnosis results) myself, I began an autism petition two years ago. It is found at Change.org. It is also found at Signon.org, where I launched it a year later. This petition calls on the US President and the US Congress to send funds to all 50 states so they can offer autism services to all who need them. I have been saddened at the lack of support for this petition from those in my local church, with only a few exceptions. Months ago, I emailed the pastor of a congregation I belonged to at the time, appealing to him to let our congregation back up this effort as a congregation. I did not realize that this denomination forbids its churches from getting involved in public advocacy, and he made it clear in his reply that our congregation could not back up my efforts. When I appealed to him to do so, he did sign the petition as an individual. But I fear that many, many Christians may believe that they should not get involved in public advocacy even as individuals. Many may see it as a separation of Church and State or that it is not a priority for us as Christians. I understand this. But seeing that there are so many people whose needs aren't getting met and who can't speak up for themselves should give us pause, right?

Yes, I know that so many of these fellow churchgoers who have removed me from their Facebook social networks justified their actions. They no doubt see their walks with God, building themselves up in faith and sharing it with the world, as incompatible with public advocacy. They no doubt see it as getting in the way. Sadly, some may simply choose to remain ignorant about issues that I was trying to bring awareness to. Only they and God know what apply to their cases. I'm sure they may mean well, though I think they are sadly mistaken. I guess they see public advocacy as being incompatible with worship, discipleship, and being witnesses. Why? They don't see God as caring about crime, missing person cases, human rights, disability awareness, and the rest? Doesn't He care about these many people who need advocates, whether you're talking about the unborn, those with disabilities, crime victims, missing persons, persecuted believers, and others? Can prayer, worshipping and witnessing, in and of themselves, meet the needs of these vulnerable people groups? I agree that we ought to pray and that all our advocacy should start with prayer. And these people need to get their spiritual needs met through the sharing of our faith. But without the meeting of their practical needs, these aren't enough! We are told that "Faith without works are dead," but I think many Christians forget that.

I know that not all denominations frown on public advocacy and that some "Christian left" church bodies go the other way. They wrongly de-emphasize the priority of worship, discipleship, and being witnesses. They overemphasize public advocacy! That, too, is equally as bad and as mistaken. I'm blogging from the angle of public advocacy as right for Christians because of my experience. For most of my life, I was in churches to the far "Christian right" and very conservative for many people's tastes. Whatever tradition you came from, as a Christian and are in now, know this: Public advocacy can be a part of your Christian life if you feel passion and a Divine call for it. You can and should start, continue and end all your advocacy efforts with worship, in prayer, and as witnesses. By the way, if you want to advocate, you can do it right here. Please sign my autism petition here. Please sign it too! Thank you and God's blessings!

Photo Courtesy of MorgueFile.com.

Photo by kconners.

This photo can be found here.