Causes I Support

Causes I support

Marc Klaas Project

The following is a devotional on Child Abuse by
Bill Keller

***TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL IS DEDICATED TO SARAH LUNDE, the 13-year-old Florida
girl who was reported missing and found dead this past weekend. Sarah found
refuge from her troubled life through faith in Jesus Christ and is forever
with the Lord. Our prayers today go out to her family, that they may find
Christ's strength during this difficult time, and for the man accused of
committing this heinous act to ask the Lord's forgiveness for what he has
done. This message today is for PARENTS and is a MUST READ if you have
children.

The bigger story behind the sad and tragic death of Sarah Lunde. In the
aftermath of the horrible death of yet another child, the focus of the media
is on the sick man who killed Sarah and the debate on what to do with these
people who molest and kill children. Crime is a choice. Those who make the
choice to harm children should pay a huge price. There are enough
legitimate studies showing that the highest recidivism rate are by those who
commit crimes against children. The very first offense against a child
should carry a significant amount (a minimum of 20 years) of jail time and
all of the mental health resources the prison system offers must be employed
during those years of incarceration.

Upon release, not only should every person convicted of a crime against a
child be forced to register, but must wear a 24/7 monitoring device so their
movements can be tracked. I personally feel Martha Stewart got off easy for
lying to the government, but the reality is, if she is such a danger to
society that they need to monitor her 24/7, how much more do they need to
monitor those who have a history of harming children? ANY violation of
probation must automatically send the person back to jail. While state
governments have to deal with this issue from the legal side, my focus today
is on the bigger story which is a spiritual one.

So many of the topics that I have spoken of frequently over the past 67+
months are in play as we look at these sad stories, one after another, of
children being abducted, in most cases sexually abused, and then killed.
Topics like the breakdown of God's plan for the family, sex outside of
marriage, and the role God calls parents to play in their children's lives.
I am aware what I will say today is going to upset some people, but this is
a word that must be spoken. What I am sharing in no way minimizes or in any
way justifies the actions of these sick and demented people who hurt
children, but the fact is, in almost every one of these cases the PARENT or
PARENTS have to bear a significant portion of the blame.

The sad story of Sarah Lunde is far too common. Here is a young girl being
raised by a single mother (the man who fathered her was never in her life)
who must be held accountable for her actions in this tragedy. Children are
a gift from God and He has called you to not only raise them in the
admonition of the Lord, but to PROTECT THEM the best you can. This mother
who has a drug history, was sleeping over at a boyfriend's while her
13-year-old daughter was home all alone. Sadly, this was common for Sarah
to be home alone while her mother was "out." The man who has confessed to
killing her was actually one of her mother's boyfriends. I deal DAILY with
men and women who bring people home to have sex with. They are bringing
people into their home they barely know and exposing their children to them!
YOU ARE NUTS TO DO THIS! You don't even know these people and you are
giving them access to your children!

This is not something that happens once in a while, it is COMMON TODAY!
Remember Amber Frey? She brought the charming Scott Peterson home to spend
the night, even let him pick up her daughter from her day care and watch
her! She didn't even know Peterson who turned out to be the one who killed
his very own pregnant wife and baby! You women and men who are giving
complete strangers that you are having sex with access to your children
better wake up. The fact is, you need to be aware of ANYONE who has access
to your children, and that includes your family. How well do your really
know "Uncle Bobby" or "Cousin Joe?" You better do your due diligence and
know all you can about anyone that has access to your children, and I hate
to even say this, that also includes the people in your church.

Listen, you can't live your life in total paranoia, but you have the right
and RESPONSIBILITY to know who your children's teachers are, the background
of their Sunday School teachers and those who run the youth group, their
sports coaches, and anyone else who is in your child's life. Get on the
Internet and find out if there are any registered sex offenders living in
your neighborhood. Find out who your neighbors are! You also need to be
aware of anyone in your family that may have problems with children. The
fact is, in almost 100% of the cases where a child is abused, it is by a
family member, friend, or someone you are close to. THE PERSON MOST LIKELY
TO HARM YOUR CHILD IS SOMEONE THAT YOU KNOW!

So you have Sarah's mother who is not married, a drug history, doesn't work,
many men in her life, who completely abandoned her child often, and, sadly,
now her little girl is dead. Does this mean that someone who looks to harm
children can't do this to a child in the home of a Godly man and wife who do
everything they can to insure their children's safety? Of course not. But
these predators are looking for easy prey. They are looking for children
who are neglected and alone like Sarah. Just a few weeks earlier, we had
the sad case of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford who was taken from her home in
the middle of the night. This time it was a single father who was not home,
sleeping over at his girlfriend's while this happened.

So many young women having children out of wedlock have NO BUSINESS having
children at all. They are not equipped to take care of themselves, let
alone their children. The Children Services Department in every state is
overwhelmed with the incredible volume of cases they have to handle.
THE GOVERNMENT WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO RAISE YOUR CHILDREN.
My friend, there is probably no more difficult job in the world than being a parent.
It is a special role God has called a man and woman in marriage to play.
God has entrusted into your care those children He gives you Raising your
children to follow the Lord is the greatest ministry you will ever have.

I love you and care about you so much. A byproduct of the breakdown of
God's plan for the family are these sad cases that we see too frequently on
our TV sets. While these are law and order issues, they are more
importantly spiritual issues. Men for the most part, who are living their
lives in rebellion to God and perpetrating evil on the most innocent in our
society. Preying mostly on children left vulnerable by single parents who
are also living their lives in rebellion to God and exposing their children
to the evils that exist in this world.

We only hear of the most tragic cases like Sarah Lunde and Jessica
Lundsford, but every day children are being abused, sexually molested, and
having their lives scarred by evil men and women living in rebellion to God.
While the media is focused on the sensationalism of these crimes, the people
who commit them, and the legal arguments, I want you to hear clearly today
that these are spiritual issues. More and more people are growing up,
living their lives in rebellion to God helping to destroy God's plan for the
family, having children who grow up in homes void of God, many experiencing
the evils of this world as they grow up, who are themselves eventually have
children, and this cycle continues. In living void of God we see every kind
of evil imaginable in these lives.

This is the bigger story and, sadly, is where millions of people are living
this very moment. Now more than ever we have got to get the message to the
masses that Jesus Christ is their only true answer, and only true hope.

In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller

If I can help you in any way you can contact me through my personal email at
bkeller@liveprayer.com