Thursday, December 23, 2010

Christmas is God's Emancipation Proclamation

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released…that the oppressed will be set free. Luke 4:18

Christmas is God’s emancipation proclamation to his creation! There is no more beautiful word to me than freedom. How does one put a price on freedom? Sadly, so few really live in the freedom Jesus came to earth and died to give us.

One of our ministries at PCC that strikes at the core of my heart is a ministry we support called Freedom House. Freedom House is a safe house for victims of human trafficking. Maybe like I was at one time, you aren’t aware of the fact that 27 million people are currently living as slaves, against their will, around the world. Maybe like I was at one time, you aren’t aware that 17,500 people are trafficked in the US every year. Maybe like I was at one time, you are ignorant that the SF Bay Area is a key hub for worldwide human trafficking.

I you are part of our PCC community, you heard from the founder of Freedom House when she spoke on a Sunday about how God directed her to start this ministry. She is an amazing woman! I recently received a letter from one of Freedom House’s guests thanking our community for our support. Read for yourself:

“I get up many times at night from bad dreams of repeated memories of abusive places, where resting more than a few hours at a time was not allowed. In the back of my brain, I am still afraid of a lot of things, haunted by memories and uncertainties. When I cannot sleep any more, I get out of bed and walk around and look at this beautiful house you helped build to remind myself that I am in the house of the strongest bond with the Higher One, compassion and gentleness. I drink tea and try to get back into my sleep again.

I am one of the hundreds in the Bay Area that was lucky enough to get to this house. I did not know such a house existed. I do not think any of the victims out there know this house exists. Like many out there, I stopped asking for help a long time ago because every professional advocate for women and international victims did not believe that such funding would come through in this economic turmoil. Ironically, it is in times like this when money gets tight that minors and women are abused (at times by their own parents) as benefits and converted into commodities. A house like this should have existed a long time ago.”

This Christmas, thank God for the spiritual freedom that we experience through Jesus Christ. If you want to learn more about Freedom House, click this link: http://www.freedom-house.us.com/index.php . If you want to see more stories about spiritual freedom click here: http://www.iamsecond.com/

Someone recently told me that life isn’t measured in minutes but in moments. As we lock arms together, we are creating moments that impact eternity for so many. Thank you for your partnership in this ministry that emancipates so many.

We are all locked and loaded for Christmas Eve and I look forward to being with you and your guests at one of our three Christmas Eve gatherings. This is one of my favorite nights of the year! Remember that this Sunday, we only have 1 gathering at 9:00 AM. We will explore together the impact of Jesus in our world and culture.