Priceless People

The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: "Don't push these children away. Don't ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in." Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them. Mark 10:13-15 The Message

Perhaps Jesus is trying to say..."We don't value people the same way, you and I.  You see price tags and social status.  I see stories, relationships, priceless jewels in every single child of God." 
Think about this for a minute.  Have you ever been made to feel like you have a blank price tag on you because your worth less. 

Do you think the society now values people differently than the way Jesus valued people?

I was talking with a former classmate lastnight and we were discussing our 30th reunion that is coming up this weekend.  We were discussing that we probably wouldn't attend because the people that were attending didn't want to hang out with us back in high school so why would we want to hang out with them now.  She introduced me to her husband and he kind of chuckled when I said about the reunion what she had obviously already said to him.  We explained that we weren't in their "click or group" because she grew up on the "wrong side of the rail road tracks" in other words she grew up in the country and anyone that took the bus or grew up on the east side of the tracks went to one elementary school while the rest of us that lived on the west side of the tracks went to another one.   I went to the other school on the west side of town but because my parents didn't have what was considered a "prestigious" job - he did manual labor I was not in that click.  So even 30 years ago there was the stigma of not being "good enough". 

We need to find ways to close the gap and be more tolerable of people around us.  Love people with God's Love.  All God want's us to understand is that we were bought with price - an extreme price.  One so extreme, in fact, that it cancelled out all other figures ... took off the price tags for good and made us ALL of equal and enormous worth.

Does this mean you have to like everyone?  We are to LOVE everyone, even if we don't like what they are doing or what they stand for.  We should show God's love to them no matter what walk of life they come from, who their parents are or how much money they have or don't have. 

Luke 10:25-27
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. "Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?"   He answered, "What's written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?"  He said, "That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."

Your living mission is to sift out the attitudes of your heart that cause you to put price tags on things that were never meant to have price tags, and to evaluate your own way of measuring worth." 

We need to check our attitudes towards those less fortunate than us or those that treat us with disgrace. 
In God's eyes we are ALL PRICELESS!  Do you look at other's through Christ Eyes?

Priceless People: The Reality of Human Trafficking

Have you ever seen someone that is treated worthless or have you ever treated someone like they were worth less than you.  Perhaps you have been treated like someone is better than you or that you aren't good enough. We were all made in the image of God and like I used to tell Children or Teens in Sunday School or Children's Church - GOD DON'T MAKE JUNK.    The next few blogs are going to deal with "The forgotten People" and Human Trafficking.   We tend to think of foreign countries when we think of Human Trafficking but Texas, yes you heard me Texas has a big Human Trafficking Industry.  Below are some fast facts regarding Human Trafficking. 



Real stories

Theresa, an American high school student, was tricked into enslavement by a high school
classmate. Although she continued living in her own home, she was forced into secret prostitution
for three years.

In San Francisco, immigrants were trafficked from India and forced to work in restaurants
and live in heavily guarded apartment buildings. People ate at the restaurant every day, not
realizing all the servers were slaves.

Learn the facts

• About 12-27 million people are caught in slavery.
• 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked internationally, with as many as 17,500 people
trafficked into the United States.
• Nearly three out of every four victims are women.
• Half of modern-day slaves are children.

Recognize the signs

A person may be a victim of trafficking if he or she:
• Appears to be under someone else’s control; appears to be under surveillance at all times.
• Is unable to move to a new location or leave their job.
• Does not manage own money or it is largely controlled by someone else.
• Is not in control of his or her own identification or travel documents.
• Works excessive hours for little or no pay.
• Lives with multiple people in a very cramped space or with an employer.
• Appears to have visible injuries or scars, such as cuts, bruises, or burns; untreated
illnesses or infections.
• See more at www.salvationarmyusa.org/trafficking.

Get Involved

Find local agencies you can volunteer with; learn more about trafficking and how to stop it;
download prayer and fasting resources:

http://www.salvationarmy.org/usn/geographiclisting.pdf


Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, we know that each person you created is priceless to You, so valuable
that You gave your own Son’s life for ours. We ask forgiveness for the times we treat others
as less valuable. Please send out Your Spirit and the followers of Your Son to bring comfort,
liberation, and healing to people around the world who have been enslaved. Give us wisdom
in how to break down worldly strongholds that make slavery possible. We ask this in the name
of Jesus. Amen.

Until next time - Think about the people that you come into contact with on a daily basis do any of them fit any of the "signs" listed above.  Remember we are ALL God's children it doesn't matter what walk of life that we come from we were all bought with a price when Jesus was nailed to the cross.

Random Thoughts

I have been told that I can't do missions in the church anymore, that grieved me until, my brillant son pointed out, that I can still do missions - I have the NMI Website and I have the website for the Missions lessons for this year.


I hope for this to be a way to get the word out about something that I truly have a passion for.

WE ARE ALL MISSIONARIES in our own little world. We are called to reach out to the lost in our world and like a very wise person pointed out to me just a couple of weeks ago. How do we expect to reach the lost if we say that can't participate or we push them away and say "You aren't good enough - you are a Sinner."

We are all sinners ... Saved by grace.

I hope that you will check back often to see what tidbit of Missions News I have for you. I will attempt to post videos and other interesting facts.