“As fish are caught in a cruel net or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly on them”. Ecclesiastes 9:12
How many of you saw the controversy this week over the new MTV program “Skins“? Formatted after the hugely popular British series of the same name, Skins is a reality program which push the boundaries (as if there were any left) for American audiences in its depiction of underage teens, sex and drugs. Couple that story with the one this week of the teacher who allowed in his or her classroom sex acts between second graders and it isn’t hard to see that our society has reached a new low in what can only be labeled as pedophilia. And while, there has been an outcry against the teacher (as there should be) a whopping 3.3 million viewers tuned in to Skins during its last episode – 1.8 million of which were under 18! And due to the enormous amount of publicity the show received this past week, ratings are expected to go even higher!
I was reading Psalm 78 this morning and was struck by the words from verse 18 –
“they willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved”.
I found this very interesting as it seemed to tie in with some of the things I had been thinking about recently. Without a doubt, we live in a culture with an insatiable appetite for sex – young sex. As magazine after magazine at the Supermarket check-out would testify, we idolize the young and beautiful and can’t seem to get enough of their sex, drug filled lives. Hungrily, we devour each tidbit of information fed to us by the media filling us up with the food we crave.
In Psalm 78, the Israelites after being delivered from Egypt began to murmur against God. Instead of an attitude of gratefulness and humility, they developed a spirit of rebellion and began to forget all that God had done for them; failing in God’s explicit instruction for teaching their children the precepts of God.
“I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter hidden things – things from old – what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, we will tell the next generation, the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach to their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children not yet born and they in turn would tell their children, then they would put their trust in God …”
As I recount these verses, I have to ask myself – have we done this? Have we been faithful in teaching the next generation about God; about Jesus? And, by virtue of the incredible decay of our culture over the past few years; the sad answer to that question would be a resounding no. Instead of craving the things of God in order that we might pass them on to our children, we have craved and demanded the satisfaction of our own appetites and our own flesh.
I believe the world-wide attention garnered by the recent death of fish and birds across the globe were given as a warning – a warning to an increasingly wicked and rebellious world of a snare which has been set for them and in which they unwittingly will be caught. But, I also see this warning as not just a warning for them, but, also for us.
Psalm 91 – escaping the fowlers snare.
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. Surely, he will save you from the fowlers snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness will be your shield and your rampart”.
In these final days up to and until the rapture, it is comforting to have these words from Psalm 91. And while God is faithful to keep his promise, we would do well to take before the Lord, the things we do and the things we crave – and repent and make changes where necessary. It would be foolish to think that God’s protection is a given for God constantly calls us to a life of holiness and if that has not been our pursuit before now, it should be soon.
As adults we are all stewards of God’s most precious commodity; his children. In our laziness and pursuit of self-interest, millions upon millions of children both born and unborn have been lost. The unborn to the abortion mills and the born to lives of dysfunction and abuse through the failure of those who should have been there to protect their security and their innocence. Shame on a generation whose appetite for the things of the flesh has allowed for the devouring of its own precious young. No wonder the God Molech laughs.
May God help us to see things for what they really are and repent while there is still time.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6 Waiting and watching with YOU for the soon return of Jesus! Cindy
Heaven Bound 
Hi, Cindy,
In addition to a daughter, I have an 11 y/o son. I had a dream that Jesus came to me and told me to “teach your son about me”. I have begun doing my best in that order and it is a blessed time for us together. I saw the news story last week about those second graders. What struck me was that the teacher was IN THE ROOM with the students and didn’t stop them!!! I told my son about this story and we talked about it at length. I have become very open with him about things going on in the schools and how God intended it to be one man and one woman for life and that he is to keep himself pure for his wife. I’ve informed him that anything else is sin — two men; two women; men with various women or women with various men — all is sin but one husband and one wife for life. We went on a mission trip last summer and are heading out on another one the first week end in February. I am so thankful that the Lord headed me off and got me started on this path! What I notice is that EVERYTHING seems to be about sex in some way or another these days…adultery, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, pedophilia, (that article about incest sickened me). God must be really fed up with us, and I don’t blame Him because I am fed up with us! It’s a sickening world. I’m ready to go home.
Kim
[ I agree with you Kim, I’m fed up with us too! Most certainly God’s patience is as great as his love! How much he prefers that we repent, be saved and live holy lives. Rest assured, when judgment does come, it will be swift, it will be furious and it will be final. That being said, it sounds like you are doing a wonderful job in raising your children. Stay the course! The seed you are planting in their young lives will not return unto you void. Blessings to you and your dear family! C ]
By: Kim on January 23, 2011
at 1:15 am
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” – Matthew 18:6
[ Very serious words indeed! Thank you Steve for reminding us how Jesus weighed in on the subject. C ]
By: Steve Coerper on January 23, 2011
at 1:58 am
Not surprising behavior for a society that sacrifices millions every year via abortion.
Btw, i think there’s a typo in the verse “He decreed statues for Jacob and established the law in Israel,”
statues should be statutes, right?
God bless.
[ Thanks Jay for your eagle eye observation; statues changed to statutes – you’d think spell check would know the difference! 🙂 – Blessings! C ]
By: Jay on January 23, 2011
at 9:52 pm
“of whom shall I fear.” we shal in the name of Adoni, fear and or reverance no one save th Lord. We as a people give our strenght to too many things and wonder at that same time why it is that we are struck down with so many alliances other than that which the Lord(Adoni) would have us to have. Solomon says..” A man when having separated himself., seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom (spirits).” Again we as a people of faith intermingle with so devices of thought that we are made unsure of the way we should proceed when we have once again decided to follow God. It takes time and a certain amount of pressing in to get our bearings back. That confusion is what those spirits mean to thwart our efforts by. They have lost the battle. It is the Lords and he has won. ” it is finished.” and the devils understand that they have lost. It is a querry of fun and games to them to make us believe that they have a way of dissolving our right to righteousness. Our right to holiness is again the Lords doing., and he wishes that “no man should perish.” So it is that we are admonished to “save ourselves from this untoward generation” We are to save our minds and hearts from a generation of people who have layed down thier God gien arms to continue fighting against a fallen adversay. We will see as our Lord pointed out. “Is this the one who decieved the nations?”
By: otto karl walker on January 23, 2011
at 11:53 pm
Hi Cindy,
Just wanted to tell you my family and I are enjoying God’s creation in Ko Olina shown on your blog page. Thanks for your words and concern for the children under our care. We are here with my four precious grandchildren plus our two daughters and one son-in-law, the other one unable to have the time off from work.
May our Lord continue to bless you and use you to bless us!
In Christ,
Sheri Gerick
[ Hi Sheri, how wonderful that you are able to visit our island and especially beautiful Ko Olina. I hope the lagoons will be open for swimming soon since the damage caused by the latest storm, so that you are able to enjoy them. I’m so glad you took the time to write, hope you and your family are having a fantastic time. With blessings and much aloha! Cindy ]
By: Gerick on January 24, 2011
at 3:47 am
i love, love, love the last one!!!
By: Stocks to Watch on January 24, 2011
at 10:12 pm
Hey, Cindy;
What’s your take on the piano on the sand bar?
Kim
[ Hi Kim, I hadn’t even read the story about the piano until I saw your question and apparently the mystery of the piano has been solved. Strange what some people consider art! Apparently, it was 16 year old Nicholas Harrington’s idea to burn the stage prop piano which had been sitting in his grandmother’s garage for four years and transport it to a sand bar in Biscayne Bay. Inspired by “artist” Christo who had draped 11 islands in hot pink fabric in Biscayne Bay in the 1980’s, young Harrington with the help of two neighbors transported the piano by way of a 22 foot boat to the sand bar where it was sitting when it was found. I don’t really see any symbolism in this little prank, per se , although I always find word pictures to be of interest. Harrington’s father is production designer for “Burn Notice” TV series. (Has anyone ever seen this program? I’d never heard of it) and the school counselor who encouraged Nicholas to come forward and take recognition for being the source of the piano on the beach is named Ariel … interesting word connections when you think about it ……. Burned piano, burn notice, Christo, Ariel ……. C ] http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110127/ap_on_re_us/us_miami_bay_piano
By: Kim on January 27, 2011
at 11:16 am