This Christian's Worldview

Happy Thanksgiving Day to everyone!  On this day I urge you to spend time with family, thank God for the blessings you have in your life and please pray for those who perhaps are not as fortunate as you may be.  Remember those in prison, who are homeless, and who are orphans or widowed.  Pray for those you know.

But most of all, have a blessed day!
Eric

It's simply amazing. 

Animal lovers are up in arms as the world's biggest animal sacrifice began yesterday in Nepal as part of a Hindu festival in the village of Bariyapur, near the border with India.  This event, which occurs every five years, will bring about the ritual slaughter of 250,000 animals to the Hindu goddess Gadhimai, the persona they worship as the goddess of power.

"It is the traditional way, " explained 45-year old Manoj Shah, a Nepali driver who has been attending the event since he was six, "If we want anything, and we come here with an offering to the goddess, within five years all our dreams will be fulfilled." .

Chandan Dev Chaudhary, a Hindu priest, said he was pleased with the festival's high turnout and insisted tradition had to be kept. "The goddess needs blood," he said. "Then that person can make his wishes come true."

Crowds thronged the roads and camped out in the open, wrapped in blankets against the cool mist of yesterday. The festivities they will enjoy includes a ferris wheel, fortune-telling robots and stalls broadcasting music and offering tea and sugary snacks.

As dawn broke yesterday, the fair officially opened with the sacrifice of two rats, two pigeons, a pig, a lamb and a rooster in the main temple, to cheers of "Long live Gadhimai" from spectators pushing against each other for a better view.

And the world watched in horror as the ritual sacrifices began.  All the world is concerned with are the animals.  What of the people in spiritual darkness, chanting to their goddess?  As a follower of Christ, I know that what does not come from God comes from the ruler of this world.  So I know who they chant to and it is not God.

Over one million people are at this festival to this goddess, chanting the name of this goddess, watching as the blood of animals is spilled upon the ground.  Over one million people held in darkness by spiritual chains. 

These are the ones the world should be concerned over, needs to be concerned over.

But they are not the animals being slaughtered at the moment.

They are the lambs being led to be slaughtered later on by the enemy.

So as we get ready for Thanksgiving here, remember those in spiritual darkness, and pray for them, that they would hear the gospel, that their hearts would be softened, that they would accept the love of God and his grace. 
 
Pray for them because all the world seems to care about are the animals involved.

I had a blessed time camping out with the guys from our community group this past weekend. It was an uplifting, blessed time with lots of fellowship and prayer for each other. I can't wait until the next time.

Our Campsite

Chris daydreaming


The view from camp


Chris, Dean and Matt deep in discussion


Matt, getting ready for the cards to be dealt



Chris readies the deck for playing cards as Dean looks on


Chris again




Dean lounges by the fire, notice how muddy the shoes are. we camped after heavy rains and mud was what we fought most of all!


Matt and Chris, the official "Firemen"



Even camping we men must maintain contact with the outside world.



Ah, supper at last. Beans and sausages.



Chris was one of the cooks, who did a great job!

For the past few weeks our church, well ten members of our church has been preparing to go with the Bill Glass Ministry for its Weekend of Champions Event here in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

Six of our team was sent to the Dawson State Jail, Three of us went to youth facilities and one would not be able to make it due to the distance involved. Now granted I had requested that all of our team go to the Dawson State Jail, God has his own plans for us and we were sent not by mistake, but I believe by divine guidance to the other facilities. I can't speak of the others experiences, but I can speak of mine and that is what I plan on doing here.

I went to the Letot Center again, a Dallas County run facility for kids who are not really hardened criminals, but kids who have missed court dates, are runaways, and some who are truant from school too many times. They may not have committed horrendous crimes, but they are still separated from their families and locked away for up to three months at a time.

So this time there were 28 kids there. Twenty girls, 8 boys, with white, black and Hispanics all represented. They ranged from 12 years to 16. Most came from broken homes, or foster homes, some had one or both parents in prison or did not know where their parents were. All of them were hurting in one way or another.

What we did was spend two solid days loving on these kids. Playing games with them, listening to them, and at times, telling them about the Good News of Jesus Christ and how God loves them, no matter how they bad they thought their lives were.

Some felt that they did too many bad things to get into heaven. Some didn't have a clue. Some believed in nothing at all. And some preferred the fast lifestyles that some teens live. Personally my heart broke for each and everyone of them.

When all was said and done, we had 21 decisions to follow Christ, including 12 first time decisions. The rest, I am not sure what happened, but I do know that seeds were planted, hopefully to be watered by someone else.

When you pray next time, say a prayer for the kids at the Letot Center in Dallas. The group I saw this time may not be there, but there will be a group of kids there. And they, like the group I was able to love on, will be hurting. They need your prayers too.

Eric