"Christian Consolation For Those Affected By The Journal News Gun Map Controversy" By Rev. Barbara Sexton Dear Ones Healing Ministry

CHRISTIAN CONSOLATION FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY THE JOURNAL NEWS GUN MAP CONTROVERSY

by Rev. Barbara Sexton

Stamford, CT

Dear Ones Healing Ministry

www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com

Jan. 5, 2013

 Dear Ones:
     The next time someone asks if you, a Christian, are a gun-owner, I want you to repeat after me and say:
     "YOU BET I AM ARMED!"
     And say this 'loud and proud'...because you ARE!
     In this day and age, where pundits think nothing of pejoratively taunting Christians with 'well-what-would-'your'-Jesus-do?' queries falling off their tongues, we need to pay heed to old advice which is as valid today as it was over 2000 years ago.
      Make no mistake about it; when Jesus sent out the twelve, he warned them that it would be no picnic.
     In fact, what he said shocked and astonished them with his dire predictions!
 ³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn
“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]                                                                                                Matthew 10:34-36  (NIV)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10&version=NIV

     Yes, certainly we gasp at the thought of Christian believers being told that their Lord and Savior promises them not 'peace', but quite the opposite.  The going was rough and it's going to be rough, for us.
     So Christian brothers and sisters reading this today, take heed!:

Jesus continued (to his disciples):
     ¹⁶ “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. ¹⁷ Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. ¹⁸ On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, ²⁰ for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
                                                                                  Matthew 10:16-20  (NIV)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10&version=NIV  

     The above is sometimes misinterpreted by those who seek to justify 'violence-in-Christ'.  We look to the Crusades as an example of this.
     The fact is that while there may be times when 'violence' IS justified' for a Christian in/from the United States today (such as for those in law enforcement, the military, etc.), this is not commonly the case for civilian Christian Americans living stateside.
     Unless they have the misfortune of encountering a mentally ill, drug-crazed, criminally-oriented violent individual of some kind, that is.
     Jesus clearly did not send out a bunch of 'wimps'.  And he is quite clear that when violence is 'necessary', such as when a defenseless person is being attacked, it is never to be 'glorified'.
     In fact, when read in the context of other Scripture, Jesus's tough words above clearly emphasize that 'the sword' (or, more appropriately today, 'the firearm') is to be used sparingly and only in the most dire of circumstances in self-defense.
     He even counseled his disciples to flee rather than face potentially threatening people, advice which holds its wisdom today.

^"12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. ¹³ If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴ If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet."                                           Matthew 10:12-14  (NIV)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10&version=NIV 

     Tragically, we cannot always 'flee' when we must.  Nancy Lanza could not and was killed by her son.  And the blessed little Sandy Hook Elementary precious children and their teachers and protectors could not escape that very same madman.
     Yet...we were 'generically warned': 

²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another.
                                                                               Matthew 10:21-23  (NIV)
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+10&version=NIV
     Every so often in the modern U.S., Christians attempt to use some passage in the Bible to justify their own violence.
     But we have the beautiful and fiercely-worded advice from Jesus himself to his disciples whom he loved so much, just as he does us!
     Christ prepared them, as he prepares us, for what they and we will undoubtedly encounter.  He was 'hardening' them verbally, guiding them and emboldening them.  This much is certain--we will suffer, but (and this is a big one) true Believers will be fortified, protected and filled with the Holy Spirit.
     In a word, we will be 'armed', yes, with a 'sword' (or a gun in today's parlance), but also with much more.
     Challenges about 'gun control' vs. gun/Second Amendment rights and opportunists seeking to take advantage of a progressive liberal newspaper's indiscretions are not the only 'challenges' we have.
     We have a challenge not to 'hate' Peter Lanza.  We have a challenge to not hate 'journalists'.  We have a challenge to not 'hate' those who paint with a 'broad brush'--be they liberal or conservative.

²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
                                                                                              Matthew 10:26-28  (NIV)
     As Christians, we realize that the physical body is perishable and will not endure.  Morally and ethically, we are challenged to live the best lives that we can. So...
     We WILL have difficult times..
     We WILL have difficult decisions...
     We WILL be treated unfairly...and sometimes 'cruelly', if recent 'The Journal News' rhetoric is something to judge by.
     I know that my words here do not apply to those Christians--especially here in progressive-liberal Connecticut--who do not agree that the Second Amendment is worth fighting for.
     I understand that opinions vary, and that tempers may fly. But mark this:  If we Christians properly tow the line, we will see God.
     We will see God and then we can ask him 'why?' for the many sorrowful sorrows that we must witness.
     Until then, I pray that your days are wonderful, your nights restorative and that everything in your life be blessed and fully vetted to the Will of God, our Father through our Christ Jesus.

God Bless you,
Rev. Barbara Sexton
Dear Ones Healing Ministry
www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com

  

"The Sad And Sorry Lesson Trayvon Martin And George Zimmerman Taught Us All" By Rev. Barbara Sexton Dear Ones Healing Ministry

     http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerman-tells-trayvon-martins-parents/story?id=16177849#.T5LeH9WQncd
     People are literally saying this photo and/or George Zimmerman's injuries are 'faked'.  So sad.  Hang the cost--if you are EVER forced to defend yourself, Heaven forbid, GO to the hospital and get every single complaint checked out and documented by medical and legal authorities.
     Take plenty of photos of your own, too.  If you are ever accosted, dial 911, report your problem and keep the line open.  Record everything you can with your camera or, better yet, with video or, at least, audio.
     Yell your head off (yelling 'FIRE' can work well).
     Carry pepper spray if it is legal in your state.  Learn how to use it, be WILLING to use it, or else don't carry it at all.  Pepper spray is legal in Connecticut.
LINK:  http://www.misdefenseproducts.com/Pepper-Spray-Laws-Restrictions-sp-6.html
     There is nothing 'noble' nowadays in 'sucking up' or 'shaking out' non-lethal injuries, as those of us with 'active lives' (and who may have been brought up in 'rough and tumble' neighborhoods) might be in the habit of doing.
     Times are a-changing.
     For now so very much depends on the medical evidence of record for Zimmerman as we learn a valuable lesson from a tragic set of events.
     Let us pray this whole sorry mess comes to a rapid conclusion with all parties returning to what is left of their lives 'as normal'...and learn from this tragedy. 
     R.I.P.  Trayvon Martin.
God Bless You
Rev. Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets the Cross"
www.DearOnesHealingMinistry.blogspot.com

"An Open Letter To Sybrina Fulton From A White Female Pastor" By Rev. Barbara Sexton Dear Ones Healing Ministry

My favorite picture of Jesus

Dear Sybrina:
     You are a grieving mother and nothing will ever change that.
     For this, you have my heart and I grieve with you. 
     I am a fellow Christian and I know we are acutely aware of the fact that we are continually faced with trials in our lives from the minute we are born.
     We are Christians and that's just the way it is.
     We gladly embrace the Will of our Lord because we love Him.  We seek to serve God unconditionally-no matter how beaten down and destroyed we are-because our brother Jesus willingly subjected himself to what we, sometimes, also have no 'choice' but be exposed to, albeit on a lesser level.
     Yes, God decided to sacrifice His own Son so that we pathetic humans may be saved!  Yet, we women often relate to someone else.

     As women, we identify very often with the loss Mary felt when our dear Jesus was crucified.
     As women, we  feel for our sisters who loved and fed and ministered to our blessed Jesus.  We meditate upon and wish to emulate those brave women at the 'foot of the cross'.
     My message to you, dear Sybrina, is surprisingly simple and it is this:  Your true brothers and sisters understand what you are going through.  The loss of a child is as repellent and as simplistic as anything can be.
     What I also say to you Sabrina is this:  ALL of our children have lives we don't know about.
     Mother Mary (though, yes, she had a 'angelic hint', as did Joseph) had no particular blueprint to work upon, nor was she truly prepared that her child would be a 'shaper of the world'.
     But this is our blessed Lord Jesus Christ we are talking about, and Heaven knows our own kids fall short on all things regarding our Lord.
     Our kids fall short, because we all fall short.  So it is for all humans.
     The truth is that our children, as they mature, develop very real personalities and traits in their own right.
     And sometimes they behave in ways we might not like, but that is how it is.
     Some of our child's deportment meets our approval...and some does not, which brings us to this:
     I believe that at this time, you, Sybrina are experiencing the truth of knowing that your son Trayvon had a secret life.
     You are not by any means unique in this, for you have joined an entire cadre of mothers and grandmothers (such as myself) who have been forced to face the truth that a 'young person' in their  life is not exactly the person they thought they were!
     It happens.  And it is a reality of everyday life.  The problem is, Sybrina, that because of recent events, you are not only experiencing the results of what your son did or didn't do, but you are being forced to consider the possibility that you did not know your Trayvon as well as you thought that you did.
     You are in good company with us, those women who have been surprised and even 'blindsided' by realities we wished would never see the light of day.
     What I say to you is that I pray you will not be so blinded by rage that you act out of accordance with the Will of our Lord.  If George Zimmerman was attacked by your son, allow reasonable justice.
     I pray that you open your heart to the truth as presented regarding what transpired in your son's trial and that you honor God's Truth in all things, devoid of prejudice and race and bias and bigotry.
     Despite your 'mother's sensitivities', Sybrina, I pray that you are able to preach honesty and goodness and decency at all times.
     I pray that mother Sybrina be like Mother Mary and and take a sacred path to justice and avoid the 'world of hate' of those who thrive on racial and class division.
     Most of all,  I pray that those who may read this join in these prayers, that God's Will be done in all things.
     We know not what God's Will is at all times, but we live in faith that our Heavenly Father certainly knows what is best for us-A message that is total nonsense for non-believers, as well I know.
     Please, Sybrina, be the penultimate Christian woman with all you have gone through, my sister, different though we are, yet so very alike.
With Love in Christ
Rev. Barbara Sexton
"The Biblical Biochemist-Where Science Meets The Cross"
www.DearOnesHealingMinisty.blogspot.com