Who will speak up for the little ones?

"Let the children come to me. Don't stop them!
 For the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who
 are like these children."
                              Jesus...(Matthew 19:14) NLT



Over three decades ago, the brilliant guitarist and Christian musician, Phil Keaggy wrote
a beautiful tribute song for the unborn, entitled, "Little ones."
The song was written to give a voice to the unborn children who were being selfishly sacrificed on the altar of "choice" by abortion rights activists.
 At the beginning of the song, Phil asks the all important question, "Who will speak up for the little ones, helpless and half abandoned? They have the right to choose life they don't want to lose. I've got to speak up, won't you?"
I immediately thought of this song after reading the horrific story of a three-year old girl that was gang-raped by Muslim men in Saudi Arabia. Police in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, reported that three men and two women have been taken into custody as suspects in the gang-rape of a three year old girl.
On September 13, a private hospital discovered the body of a three-year old girl that had been dumped off at the front gate. The young child was screaming in pain. Her clothes had been torn, her body was covered with bruises and she was suffering from vaginal bleeding. Shortly after being found she lapsed into a coma.
I was speechless after reading this story. To say that I was outraged would be an understatement. What kind of animals would do such a thing like this to a precious, innocent child? How can anyone stoop to such a level as to commit such a crime? How deep the human depravity! How deep the darkness and deceit of sin! Words fail me at this point! Needless to say, I was broken and in tears after reading this and I immediately posted the story to my Facebook page.
What kind of punishment do these animals deserve from such an act? In Saudi Arabia, under Sharia law, men and women are stoned for committing the act of adultery. The Judicial system beheads women who are guilty of practicing witchcraft and sorcery.  Women are banned from driving and obtaining licenses. Obviously, Saudi Arabia is a country that is well recognized for its discriminatory practices against women. That being said, my question is, in the case of this three-year old girl, will the judicial system stand up for her rights and severely punish those responsible for this atrocity? Whenever you read about rape cases in the Muslim world, the woman who has been victimized ends up being punished, because it is believed that in someway her behavior and dress contributed to the crime, bringing shame to the community. Will there be real justice for this precious and innocent child?
When I think of little children, I am reminded of the love and compassion that Jesus had for them. There is an incident in the Bible where parents brought their children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them and pray for them. In response to this, the disciples scolded the parents for bothering Jesus.  Yet Jesus responded by saying, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these children."
The lives of children are precious to Jesus. Like the old nursery rhyme, "Jesus loves the little children..all the children of the world..red and yellow black and white, they are precious in his sight..."

Hospital authorities sadly confessed that this child will be traumatized for life. I can picture, I can visualize, Jesus holding this precious child in his arms and praying for her.
The innocent lives of children are under attack. Just recently in Iran, a law was passed granting fathers the right to marry their adopted daughters.
We must speak up for the little ones! We must not allow any society to engage in the psychological and physical abuse of our children in order to gratify their sexual depraved lusts!
There must be justice for their precious and innocent lives. Please join me in praying and speaking out for the little ones so that they can grow up normally and not be traumatized for the rest of their lives!

A loss of shame and guilt

"Therefore the showers have been withheld and no spring rains have fallen.
 You have the brazen look of a prostitute. You refuse to blush with shame."
                                                ( Jeremiah 3:3)




Twenty years ago, when famed Actor-Director, Woody Allen, was accused of having an affair with the adopted daughter of his ex lover, Mia Farrow, he staunchly defended his actions by saying that he hadn't crossed the line. Allen denied that his affair was incestuous and explained that Soon-Yi Farrow had asked him to take nude photographs of her.
The example of Woody Allen should result in a cultural outrage by the public, but instead it is carefully explained away by Woody Allen and a liberal media that excuses and justifies indecent behavior under the claim of, "it's none of your business. It's my life!"
 Sin has a numbing effect. When sin is denied and left un-confessed, the conscience is seared and there is a loss of shame and guilt. That is the problem with our culture. We have created a "god" in our own image to justify our sin and because of that, we have ignored His holy standards, resulting in a loss of shame and guilt.
Unfortunately, there is another outrageous example making news headlines. Just recently, the Islamic republic of Iran passed a law allowing stepfathers the legal right to marry their adopted 13 year-old daughters. The Iranian parliament passed a bill to protect the rights of children and instead opened up the door for incest and pedophilia. Under this new law, the "caretaker" can marry his adopted daughter if the court ruled that it would be in the best interests of the child. According to statistics, some 42,00 children between the ages of 10 and 14 were married in Iran in 2010. 
While the Guardian Council has the final say on the implementation of this new law, it should be noted that in passing this bill, the Iranian parliament is in essence justifying incest. The young children of Iran are not being allowed to grow up and mature normally. Their childhood is being stolen away for the sexual gratification of older men!
 While most Muslims will deny that is consistent with Islamic practice, yet all one has to do is examine their history.  One of the wives of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was six year-old Aisha. Aisha was the daughter of Abu Bakr, the first Caliph to succeed Muhammad after his death. Historical sources say that Aisha was only 9 years old when Muhammad finally consummated their marriage.
The history of Islam seems to play a major role in the justification of the new child marriage law in Iran.
This new law if implemented by the guardian council of Iran would pave the way for rape and child abuse. Young children would no longer be allowed to grow up normally but could potentially be victimized for the rest of their lives with the painful scars of sexual abuse.
 When we ignore the "warning sirens" of our conscience, screaming at us to stop and not do that, we slowly become numb to the shameful acts we are engaged in. When a pilot is flying his plane too low, there is a warning siren that goes off in the cockpit, urging him to pull up! If the pilot ignores that warning, the plane is certain to crash and everyone will perish.
In the same way, when we ignore the warnings of God's Word, we too will perish.
 God declared to his people, "You refuse to blush with shame."
Our only hope is repentance. The only remedy to keep the plane from crashing is to obey the warning sirens and pull up!
My prayer is that Iran will understand the horrible consequences of implementing this new bill and instead recognize what it will do to thousands of innocent children. 
Please go to my Facebook page and sign the petition and speak out for these innocent children!
 Let's together put an end to this shameful act and save the childhood of these beautiful young ladies!

http://forcechange.com/85357/stop-child-marriage-in-iran/