Learning from the Destruction of Sodom
“and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was very distressed by the lustful life of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, was tormented in his righteous soul from day to day with seeing and hearing lawless deeds):” (2 Peter 2:6-8 WEB)
The apostle Peter wrote that Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was righteous. By this, we know that he is saved and that he got saved because he had faith in Yahweh.
However, Lot’s end was tragic. He escaped from Sodom with no possessions except for the clothes on his back, his wife, and his two daughters.
On the way out of the city, his wife turned back after being told not to, and was turned into a pillar of salt.
Afterwards, Lot settled in a cave because of fear.
“When God destroyed the cities of the plain, God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the middle of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in which Lot lived. Lot went up out of Zoar, and lived in the mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived in a cave with his two daughters. The firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in to us in the way of all the earth. Come, let’s make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line.” They made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father. He didn’t know when she lay down, nor when she arose. It came to pass on the next day, that the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father. Let us make him drink wine again, tonight. You go in, and lie with him, that we may preserve our father’s family line. ” They made their father drink wine that night also. The younger went and lay with him. He didn’t know when she lay down, nor when she got up. Thus both of Lot’s daughters were with child by their father.” (Genesis 19:29-36 WEB)
Seeing the scale of destruction, Lot’s two daughters thought that the whole world was destroyed and that there were no other men left, so they proceeded to make Lot drunk with alcohol, and slept with him to bear children. After that traumatic experience, all they could think about was sleeping with a man!
This was a righteous man’s ending because he chose to live a worldly life.
This all began because Lot decided to walk by sight. Abraham and Lot’s flocks had grown so much that they could not live together anymore. When Abraham asked Lot to choose where to separate himself to, Lot chose based on what he saw, without praying to ask for God’s counsel—he was walking by sight.
“Lot lifted up his eyes, and saw all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well-watered everywhere, before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of Yahweh, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. So Lot chose the Plain of the Jordan for himself. Lot traveled east, and they separated themselves the one from the other.” (Genesis 13:10-11 WEB)
We learn from the Book of Proverbs that there is a way that seems right to a man, but it only leads to death.
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 WEB)
From then on, righteous Lot was tormented in his soul (mind, will, and emotions) every day from seeing and hearing the wickedness of the people in Sodom.
Not only him, but his family was exposed to this worldliness daily as well.
We who are born-again will feel this tormented soul state even more so than Lot because we have the Holy Spirit inside us. Our born-again spirit hates what is evil and loves what is good.
This is why if genuine Christians fall into sin, they will hate it and want to be delivered from sinful habits and lifestyles.
Lot’s wife turned back to Sodom because her heart was full of the world. Her treasures were in that city. When she looked back after the angels told her not to, it revealed that she was not really saved (she had no faith in Yahweh).
The wicked ways of Sodom had also rubbed off on Lot’s daughters. They learned to make their father drunk and do something as vile as committing incest with their father.
All these tragedies happened because Lot chose to put himself and his family in a worldly environment, without leaving Sodom before its destruction. He failed as the head of the house.
Worldliness will ruin Christians and cause them to live defeated lives. They stop reading God’s word and praying, and instead use all their time and effort to pursue what the world runs after, only rushing towards their destruction. Unnecessary hurts and suffering are sure to come.
What example are you setting for your family? Are your daily habits leading them closer to God’s ways, or drawing them away from His ways and towards the world instead?
“Now he who plants and he who waters are the same, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor...For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.” (1 Corinthians 3:8, 11-15 WEB)
Are you focusing on earthly things like “gold, silver, costly stones”, or is your heart on the things of God which are heavenly?
When the time comes for you to stand before Jesus’ throne, don’t be like Lot who escaped with nothing but his life. Lot’s works were all burnt up, and he got out of the city with nothing, like he lived his whole live in vain.
When the day comes for your eternal rewards to be measured, I hope that you will be happy with the way you invested your time in this life. When you build your life upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, with the Gospel and its advancement as your chief goal, there is no way you will be shortchanged on ‘awards day’.
What is the point of chasing foolish things in this lifetime only to end up with nothing that lasts forever, as if you are saved through fire with all your works burnt up? Be wise—walk by faith, not by sight. God’s word is true.
Judgment day for Christians is nothing to be afraid of. In fact, it is a day for receiving eternal rewards. How do you maximize your rewards, identify your God-given calling in life, and step into that to enjoy a worthy life? I share a whole book about that in “Sandcastles Don’t Last Forever”.
This was the first book I wrote, and it is full of revelation about our eternal rewards which are hardly taught about in pulpits today (I’ve never heard anyone preaching this): http://bit.ly/sandcastlesdontlastforever
stop child labor 在 Plus Size Kitten Facebook 的最讚貼文
There seem to be so many friends of mine and Brian that have either recently had babies, are soon to have babies, or will probably be expecting babies in the future. This is my plea to you:
There will be times your child will scream and cry any time you try to put him or her down. Or they'll cry even as they're in your arms and you've done everything you can possibly think of to get them to stop. There will be sleepless nights, multiple diaper changes in a matter of minutes, spit up in your hair, pee on your shirt, and poop in your hands, and again - so much screaming from the baby, and probably from you as well. Every time that happens, every time you feel frustrated and want to run away, please remember my story:
My sweet, sweet Eleanor Josephine was born sleeping September 11th. I went to bed the night of the 10th, and she was kicking away. I woke up, and she wasn't. I couldn't find the heartbeat on the home doppler. I knew. I just knew. I didn't want to know...I wanted to be mistaken, but I knew.
We went to Labor and Delivery immediately, praying the whole way there. They tried the doppler - nothing. Before they put the ultrasound wand on me, they ran the heartbeat monitor over my belly - nothing. My heart was sinking fast, and I remember thinking "This can't be happening...this is just a dream...this can't be happening...They'll find something on the ultrasound...just *something*." But these were feeble hopes, because again, I knew. I could tell they knew, too, but no one said anything until Brian (who was parking the car) got there. I could tell they were delaying, "Oh, the ultrasound machine sometimes takes a while to boot up." "I think there's something wrong with the wand...." Finally, Brian was there, they did the ultrasound, and there was silence as they all exchanged nervous glances. Finally one of them matter-of-factly said, "Hi Natalie, I'm Doctor ______ (I don't remember her name, but you don't want to know what I call her in my head). I'm sorry...there's nothing there." I keep having flashbacks to that moment. It's a crippling, all-consuming feeling of utter suffocation, and a memory that will haunt me for the rest of my life. In that moment, I felt trapped as if the ceiling was literally crashing down on top of me. I couldn't breathe, I lashed out, I screamed, I threw things, I threw up...and then a piece of me died with her. I was helpless to change anything. My body was supposed to keep her safe, and instead it killed her. I was 40 weeks and 6 days pregnant.
A couple of hours later, I was induced. They offered me an epidural, but I couldn't do it. I needed to own it. I needed the pain, the agony, and misery to mirror what I felt in my heart. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. Ever. Dealing with the unbearable contractions, the ring of fire, the tearing...knowing that all of it was for nothing. I was delivering a lifeless child. There would be no happiness at the end of it to help me forget the pain. The pain, unlike my baby girl, would live on forever.
Then finally, after those hellish few hours of labor, she was placed on my chest - gorgeous, but lifeless. There was no reason to expect that first little cry from her. Instead, it was me who sobbed. I begged her through my tears to wake up: "Please wake up, baby girl...please, wake up. Why won't you cry for mommy? Please, please, please....just wake up."
She was beautiful. She was perfect in every way. I love her so much, and the devastation I felt, and still feel, cannot even begin to be described. We got to spend 6 hours with her. We took hundreds of photos. A photographer from "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep" came by and took even more. I bathed her, I brushed her hair, I held her, kissed her, and told her how much I loved her. And I apologized over and over again for failing her. Oh, how I failed my beautiful baby girl.
They offered to allow us to say the night, but I couldn't stay there any longer. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my daughter, either, but I knew I was just prolonging the inevitable. As time went on, she was looking less and less like the flawless child that I brought into this world. I couldn't keep watching her deteriorate in my arms. I knew she couldn't feel any pain, but I was feeling it for her, and I had reached my breaking point. I wanted to die with her.
Around 11:30pm, we said our final goodbyes. As I stood over her and spent those last few minutes with her, blood was cascading down my legs and onto the floor. I didn't care - my womb was crying. Everything about me was crying. Watching them wheel her away broke me. My life ended then and there. They wheeled me out of the hospital and I screamed and sobbed the entire way.
Monday was the funeral, and we had to go through the whole thing again. Seeing her one last time (my legs gave out from under me at first sight), singing to her, touching her cold, lifeless face, telling her how much we loved her, and me, apologizing over and over again for not being able to protect her. It was a small, intimate ceremony - 9 people total. Immediate family only. We all took turns blessing her. And once again, we said our goodbyes.
Everyone gave my husband and I one last moment with her, just the three of us. And when we were done, he and I walked arm in arm down the aisle, as our family held the doors open for us as the end of the room. I flashed back to our wedding day as we walked down the aisle as husband and wife and the doors were held open for us. The memory was such a cruel juxtaposition to the current reality. Our wedding march was joyous. This was a nightmare, this was morbid, this was wrong. Everything about it was wrong. I can still see that tiny box draped in a white cloth that held her tiny body. I had to leave her there in that cold, empty room; all alone all over again. It's a nightmare that just won't end.
I say all that to say this: my womb, my heart, and my arms are empty. There are going to be so many of you who have babies who are going to cry every time you try to put him or her down. Or they'll cry for no reason even if you're holding them and you've fed them, burped them, changed them...everything. And inevitably you're going to cry too, because you will feel so helpless and so frustrated and so clueless, and you'll want to scream, "Why won't you stop crying?!" You're going to be exhausted and angry and fed up and all you're going to want in this world is just a little time to yourself so you can sleep or shower or or eat whatever. I know, because I've been there with my son. But I will never be there with my daughter. And I would give anything to suffer as only a mother (or father) can in those dark moments of parenthood with her, my dear Eleanor.
So please just remember, while you're awake at 3am because you have a baby in your arms keeping you up that late, I'm up at 3am because I don't. And I would give anything in this world to have a baby spitting up on me, being colicky for all hours of the day and night, screaming, not letting me put her down, cracking my nipples from breastfeeding, keeping me up all night. Instead, I still have a stitched nether region, painfully engorged breasts no baby will suckle from, a flabby stomach, an empty womb, and blood that will continue to pour out of me for who knows how many more weeks. As if her death and birth wasn't traumatic enough, I still have to live with the physical effects all these many days later.
All I ask of you is when you have your dark moments with your baby - when you're at your wits' end and feel like you can't go on anymore when you're only getting an hour or two of sleep a night - instead of begging your child to go to sleep and being swallowed up in your frustration and exhaustion, find the tiniest bit of strength within you to keep going, and say a prayer of gratitude for your child, as difficult as it may be in that moment. And if you would, say a prayer for me and all the mothers whose children were taken from them too soon. Say a prayer for my sweet, sweet Eleanor who never got to know life outside my womb.
Please. Do it for Eleanor. And do it for her mommy who loves her and misses her beyond measure.
stop child labor 在 Stop Child Labour - Home | Facebook 的美食出口停車場
You can't regulate Child Labor. You can't regulate Slavery. Somethings are just wrong. ~Michael Moore. #savetheinnocent. ... <看更多>