Rescued!

My apologies for letting April pass by without me leaving any word. I did promise to write my testimony (I recently did another testimony at church last Sunday so, really, I am lagging in my blog posts) but today I want to focus on the word: RESCUE. Because, really, that's the gist of my testimony--I have been rescued from my sinful self by the beautiful and perfect blood of Christ. I have been rescued from confusion and frustration, thanks to the amazing grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I have been rescued from emptiness from the pleasures in the world, and led to the fullness of having nothing but Christ alone. 

How does it feel to be rescued? Liberating. Safe. Secured. I love, love, love the fact that I can just raise my arms and surrender everything to Christ because He knows what's best and His desire is the best for me. He has won the fight already and His victory is already mine!

And this brings me to those enslaved in the sex trade and other forms of trafficking. When you are locked in a dark and cheap brothel room, fearing for your life every day, and abused by men of all characters, attitudes, and strengths, how does it feel to finally have your brothel room opened, and be informed that these men entering--they are good and they have your best interests in their heart? 

Well, today, my heart leaps for joy and my soul dances with The Exodus Road and their partner, the Indian Rescue Mission for their successful raid of a leading brothel. Accordingly, more than a hundred girls were freed, more than 30 of whom were still under the majority age of 18. And all glory and praises go to the Lord Almighty. 

May I earnestly ask you to pray for these girls? That the transition, rehabilitation and re-integration to the society will be smooth and grace-filled? Most importantly, please pray that they will meet Jesus in the process and accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. 

"Ever wonder what the inside of a locked brothel looks like? In this short video, covert footage captures investigators with The Exodus Road and Indian Rescue Mission entering a brothel searching for victims of sexual slavery. These brave men consistently gather evidence in the darkest of places, for the sake of raids, rescues, and prosecutions of criminals. Visit The Exodus Road or like their page on facebook to find out more." (text and links from The Exodus Road)

Slaves to None But Christ

The greatest freedom we can ever have is to become a slave to the Perfect Master.

These were the words I repeatedly heard in a series of sermons our senior pastor delivered in the middle of last year. And I am completely blown away with this perfect paradox.

Indeed, for most of my life, I used to always crave for freedom, for independence—living and surviving on my own, for my own whims and caprices, by my own ways, in order to glorify myself. It was only about four years ago that I met the Lord Jesus Christ and by His grace, I realized that He is my freedom and that becoming a child of God is the most liberating experience one can experience!

Nonetheless, even now that I am walking under the authority and control of the Perfect Master, I still find my human tendencies entangling me in a web of slavery to selfish ambitions and worldly pursuits—to please people, to live up to the desires and expectations of many, and even to the mundane stuff, like to dress to impress.  

It takes a daily, moment-by-moment commitment to surrender to His Lordship in order to experience the perfect and most amazing freedom that only Jesus can give. And most often, it takes a beautiful exchange of perspective: looking away from myself and looking up to my Master.

And what does Christ show me when I look up to Him? He shows me the world; He shows me what’s around me—the people and places I have constantly overlooked when my focus is on myself.

Today, I look up to Him and He shows me modern-day slavery. He shows me the heart-wrenching reality that yes, even if it’s already 2013, slavery is on-going and is even rampant in different areas in the world, my country not exempted. He shows me that while I am comfortably seated in my office corner writing this entry, these realities are happening:  

1)      somewhere in a train station or bus lane in Europe, a young boy/girl is being sold to save a family from poverty;

2)      somewhere in a dark brothel room in Southeast Asia, a young woman is being forced to perform  paid sex;

3)      somewhere in a cargo van in Russia, a teenage girl’s dream of uplifting her family from poverty is shattered as she realizes that after paying her placement fee, the caregiving job promised by her recruitment man is actually a job in the sexual trade.

January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and it is high time that we know all these. It is high time that we know Jesus’ heart for every boy/girl/man/woman trapped in sexual slavery. It is high time that we adopt His heart and His plan for them—to love and rescue them just as He continually loves and rescues us from our many sins.  

We are Christ’s ambassadors here in this world we live. We are His hands and feet. If you have been reading this post and are moved to help but feel inadequate or too little to make a difference, let us all together consider these simple action steps:

1.       Know.

We are not compelled to move if we are not passionate about our causes. We don’t become passionate if we don’t see the needs. We don’t see the needs if we do not know. Nehemiah hadto know about the situation in Jerusalem and this led him to pray and act.

To know more about the political and social situation of human trafficking in Southeast Asia and beyond, visit The Exodus Road.

2.      Pray.

Offer a prayer in faith, with faith. The Bible says that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. We have been made righteous in Christ. Tap into this amazing power to make things happen. Remember, it is not us who make things happen; our perfect and sovereign God does.

Pray for the Lord to reveal to you what He wants to do through you.

3.      Act.

Prayer is communication. When we pray, we do not just tell God our petitions. We listen to Him and respond to what He says. Move as His Spirit leads. Is He telling you to pray for one soul trapped in sexual slavery or the investigators who risk lives and limbs to rescue them? Then, bring him/her to God on your knees, even if you do not know his/her name or face. Is He leading you to raise awareness through social media? Then open up your Facebook or Twitter and let the whole world know. Is He asking you to write about sexual slavery in your blogs? Then, respond to it.

Remember, where God leads, He always provides.

***

There are countless ways to help. As we know, pray, and act, let’s watch the Lord do immeasurably more than we can ask for.

Personally, I am excited to see great things happen (actually, great things are alreadyhappening here) and I am prayerfully hoping that the less time I spend thinking of my self and the more time I spend doing His will, these boys/girls/men/women will soon become slaves to no one but Christ.