Last Thursday we celebrated the greatest event in all of history, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! We fellowshipped, rejoiced and each of the children learned the true meaning of this great event that changed history forever, through a short drama of the death and resurrection of Jesus done by Westport Road Baptist Church It was compelling and one of the 4 year old kids said “why would someone roll the stone away?” After many questions and explaining it in more depth in their groups that followed afterwards we realized that was the first time many of these ears had heard the gospel or the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection! Praise to the Lord for this opportunity where dozens of children were influenced by the gospel.

Each volunteer that gives of their time and talent to serve our Hope for Kids fall more in love with these families each week. Above is a picture of Stacey and three of our Hope 4 kids who absolutely love coming to the “Hope House” as they call it! They can’t wait to be here each week.

Over 600 hundreds eggs were hidden by another team of Westport and the kids went crazy searching for these eggs filled with love and candy! What kid doesn’t like an easter egg hunt! Thank you to all of those of you who helped make this possible!

God is doing a great work with our Hope for Kids and the ministry of Scarlet Hope, we pray the Lord redeems generations for years to come! Many blessings on this Resurrection Day! All Praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ~

This is truly an act of Gods grace and divine plan and his timing is truly perfect. Two years ago when we were given the Scarlet Hope House we had a vision to see rooms filled with beds, a dining room with a big table, a kitchen where residents could make their own meals and to begin housing women that were desperate to transition out of the adult entertainment industry! I can say, only by the Lord’s grace that two years later, it’s begun!

It hasn’t been an easy road, every wall was covered in endless layers of wall paper, every light needed replaced, the electricity needed rewired, we needed bathrooms, the home was in need of TLC to make it truly a refuge where women could come and learn about Jesus and receive the help they needed. Many of you took time, money, items, and so much more to make this possible! From God providing a family to renovate our bathrooms and kitchens for the residents, to a donation that would replace all the carpet in the home, to a table that seats 16 built out of 120 year old barn wood where dozens and dozens of faces have been fed over the past two years, it’s been absolutely incredible and we can’t thank you each enough!

Because of sacrifices that have been given to the ministry we now are a certified 12 bed transitional living facility with a five month Christ centered program we call our Hope Program. Each month residents graduate to a new level in the program in hopes to be able to build a firm foundation in Christ and transition onto their own two feet. Katie is our house mom that lovingly lives with the ladies and is there for evening support and care, a Hope Program Leader – Melissa who oversee’s the daily activities of the residents and volunteers that have a part each day in this journey.

One of our residents tells this story…..
Since I was 12 years old I have known nothing but drugs. My family introduced me to weed which progressed into shooting up heroin day in and day out. Years later as I got older I found myself working in strip clubs, drug dealing and making a living off of manipulation and lies. One day I met the notorious “church ladies” in the clubs and they befriended me. They kept inviting me to bible study and they kept calling me to go to church. I wanted that friendship, but I was on so many drugs I felt like I couldn’t have it. I went to bible study one night high on drugs and the ladies in the group told me how it affects the other girls so I didn’t’ go back for awhile, but then about 2 months ago I walked into the Hope House for the first time in almost eight months. I walked in and saw everyone and I felt home. I was sober for the first time since I was 12 years old and I actually liked myself. After that night, I went home and things started happening to me, but I didn’t turn to drugs, I had this peace about my life that I had never felt before. My car broke down and I was actually ok with it. Slowly I felt God tugging on my heart. I went back to bible study the next week and I told the ladies I had to give my life to Jesus and be baptized! I was baptized that night and my life continues to change. That next Sunday I found myself homeless and desperate to get away from all the drugs and abusive people I was around, so I loaded up my car and headed straight for the Hope House. I walked in to find ladies already living there and some volunteers hanging out with them. I told them I was going to be homeless, but that I didn’t care I knew God was going to take care of me! The volunteers made a few calls and within the hour I was now a new resident in the Hope Program! I was willing to give up my cell phone, my car, everything I had so that I could go where God was opening a door. I can honestly say though it’s not been an easy decision, it’s been one of the best decision I’ve made. God has continued to speak to me, even when I least expect it. I tried to leave the Hope Program last week actually and as I was walking away from the house I saw an old sign hanging on the Hope House garage and it said “Be still and Know that I am God” I stopped instantly and knew that sign was for me, that God was speaking to me.

- Child of God, Resident of Hope House

We pray that God will continue to call women like this resident and our home to be filled for years to come. We fight from victory and for these women every day, your support and prayers are vital. Pray with us, for support for them!

Many blessings,
Rachelle Starr
Founder & Executive Director
Scarlet Hope

DONATE TODAY TO HELP OUR RESIDENTS 

In the ambience of a cozy winter cottage complete with the comforts of a blanket of snow and coffee to warm her, a servant of the Lord sat listening to Karen Cheong teach through the book of Hosea. The servant girl had read the book several times before, which always left her awestruck and amazed at Hosea’s radical obedience. The prophet was told to marry a prostitute knowing that she would be unfaithful to him and probably have kids by other men.  This continually left her confessing, “God, that must have been extremely hard and excruciatingly painful for Hosea. I know things were different then, but still, as much as I love you, I am not sure that I could do that. You’d have to help me and give me great strength to do so…”  Yet, Hosea did love the Lord enough; he was faithful to submit to his God.

Little did the servant girl know that God would soon be asking her to take a radical step of faith as well, albeit, to a much lesser extent.

Karen began to speak about God’s character as opposed to those of Hosea or his wife, the whore who constantly left him for other men. It was as she talked about God radically, relentlessly, and yes, even romantically (Hosea 2:14-23) pursuing us (Hosea 11) despite the fact that WE ARE ALL WHORES, that the Holy Spirit began to move. “The Bible uses that language, so don’t look at me like that!” exclaimed Karen. Then, in her unique way of lovingly pursuing others’ hearts she took off her glasses and gazed into our eyes to ask the most difficult question, “What is it that you are whoring after?”

Jaws dropped as we sat there stunned. The silent debates were defiantly screaming back at her, “Excuse me, Karen. We are not the whores! Did you not know that we are the ones who go out searching for the whores? You must not have done a thorough job of preparing for this speech if you don’t even know that…”

Nevertheless, Karen continued to hammer out those heart probing questions: “What is it that you have been working so hard for? What is your “if only…”? What is it that you think is going to make you happy at last?” And after a long pause, Karen said with a smile, “Mhmm. You know what it is. You are trying to justify it right now.”

BAAAM! Road kill! That’s when the Holy Spirit smashed into the servant girl’s heart and confirmed what she was trying to deny, “Yes, you dear. You have been playing the harlot too. You toiled long hours all winter for your idol. Every time others asked what you wanted for Christmas you were almost giddy with the prospect of possibly being able to have numerous replicas of your idol. You wasted countless hours searching all over town and even drove to a different city to look for the best of the best to fall in love with. But did you find what you were searching for? Could you find the short lived satisfaction?”

Ashamed, the girl looked away from Karen’s piercing and all-knowing probe. But God did not relent. “I want you to take the money that you have been hoarding for your “precious,” and use it to bring glory to my name. It is for MY name’s sake that you were created. I want you to throw a Wedding Feast for the entire family of the girl you promised to take out for her birthday.”

The servant’s mind was reeling and her heart was racing as she began to process what God was asking of her. God brought to her mind the parables of the wedding feast and banquet in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke along with the Lamb’s marriage feast in Revelation. “Ok, God. So that means instead of bringing one person out to an expensive, waterfront restaurant that I can’t really afford, you want me to bring at least the seven other people in her family, along with the other people that they are sure to invite as well? And your version of a wedding is one in which the host actually gives presents to the guests instead of receiving them? And you want me to make this happen in less than a week?”

After momentarily staring out the window at the beauty of the gently falling snow, the servant girl took a deep breath, and said, “Ok God. (Deep exhalation of breath.) May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, although whatever you think I can muster up is sure be an atrocity in heaven’s sight. I’m just saying, Dad. You know I’m an idiot right? You know that I am probably going to mess this up for you, huh? Just so we’re on the same page here. Okay, I’ll stop making half-hearted excuses and shut up now!” And off into her own wonderful world with God she went, rapidly filling up her Hosea handout as she tried to keep up with the thoughts He was dictating to help her prepare this feast.

With less than six days to prepare, the servant girl ordered a wedding cake, invited a couple of friends from Scarlet Hope, and purchased gifts. Two days before the feast was supposed to happen, she was finally able to contact the family to ask if they could all come. She kept saying to herself, “Lord, you commanded me to do this, so I know they will be there.” In her weaker moments of doubt, she consoled herself with the thought, “Even if this turns out to be a lesson for me to learn on obedience and to quit whoring after things of the world so God can be my Ultimate Provider, then I must be content and rejoice in that outcome.” Every time she would think of skipping out on something or trying to be cheap, God would chide, “With the same measure that you use, my dear.” She knew what He was talking about.

Saturday: the day of the feast.

Instead of the sophisticated wedding feast that servant girl of the Lord had originally set out to plan, her heart kept shouting, “LET THE PARTY BEGIN!!!” And that is precisely what happened. The host showed up late with a wedding cake in a bent, makeshift box. People were running around the restaurant with balloon animals on their heads while screaming. Birthday shout-outs rang through the crowded atmosphere. An artist sat drawing caricatures at the entrance door. A man blowing up balloons posed near her. The guests were laughing and being lavishly loved on in a way that only the Greatest Father could provide.

She’d thought of so many details, such as, “The cake should be red with white icing so we can talk about how Jesus’ blood washed us white as snow.” She’d prepared a speech and lesson for nearly everything in a similar manner, but as she looked around at “The Lord’s Banquet Table” and watched the smiling faces of the people she loved, she knew that the feast spoke of God’s love for them without saying a word.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” – Revelation 19:9

So it continues to be that our Great God is working not only in the lives of the men, women, and children that Scarlet Hope serves, but He continues to press into the servants’ hearts as well.

The family that God prepared a feast for has been with Scarlet Hope for nearly two years now. The team is continually amazed at the transformation that God is doing in their lives. This family has endured excruciating heartache and countless hard trials. In the latter part of last year alone, their house and only vehicle was shot at and damaged. Yet, the faithful women of Scarlet Hope would take numerous vehicles to pick up the family and their friends to continue to encourage them, and let them know that God is going to make a way for them.

Shortly after that, their house caught on fire, causing them to lose everything. The oldest child, who was eleven at the time, bravely ran back into the house while it was on fire to make sure he got all of the children out. Again, the volunteers of Scarlet Hope were there to encourage and love on these children, especially K, who is still most likely battling with some Post Traumatic Stress.

The fire forced the family to shuffle between six other families until they could relocate into their new home. Finally, after much prayer, this precious family settled into their new home on March 3, 2013. Each day since then, members of Scarlet Hope have been there to help the family settle in, whether that has been to clean or help with groceries, blowing up air mattresses, or most importantly, reading the Word of God to them.

When one of the Art Therapy volunteers asked K’s twin sister what she thought of God after the fire, she said, “I am thankful, because we live in a nice place; now my mom doesn’t have to work so much. Yesterday (March 4, 2013) was the first time that I haven’t fallen asleep in class in months.”

God is making all things new for this family. He is making beauty out of ashes. Since the beginning of this year alone, God made a way for the family to have a dinner out together for the first time since the fire. He helped the family find an inexpensive and reliable mechanic to fix their van so they can all travel to Scarlet Hope for Thursday night’s Bible study. He gave them a house that is not in the ghetto, where they are already starting to become friends with their neighbors.

Hear the words of David from Psalm 40:1-3, words that God is most certainly declaring over this precious family even now: “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.” I think that it is safe to say that God has declared these words over this family as well.

This year has been filled with so much growth, love, blessing and hard ache. It’s been one of the greatest reminders that this earth is not our home, and that we are awaiting a heavenly home where there will be no more suffering. Each year that we have been ministering in the adult entertainment industry, God continues to show his greatness by allowing the Light of Christ to shine brightly in such a darkened place in our city. God has put hundreds of women in our path that he has called to himself and shown his mercy and grace on.

I’d love to tell you about a former dancer named Sara. It was earlier this year that we were being led to visit a club we had never visited before. We went in and asked the manager if we could start serving a meal at that club and excitedly she said, “Absolutely! I’ve heard about you girls and we would love to have you in our club!” So the next week we went back and shared a meal with four dancers, a bartender and a bouncer. One of these dancers was a beautiful and bubbly girl who immediately came up to us and introduced herself. She told us a little bit about her life, a life filled with drug addiction, felonies, and abusive relationships. She also intently listened to us as we shared the gospel with her. This was, she told us later, the night that Jesus spoke to Sara for the first time in her life and invited her into a life with Him. She called us the next day and told us she had quit working at the club and that she wanted to go to church. That Sunday Sara sat in church and once again heard the gospel. During communion, she prayed to Jesus, asking Him to forgive her for her sins and to send the Holy Spirit to live in her heart forever. Sara’s walk with the Lord since that day has been both tremendous and painfully slow; both encouraging and heart breaking. I know it seems like I should be able to tell you that since that Sunday, Sara got a white-collar job, got married, and now she and her husband live in the suburbs with 2.5 children and a dog. But God has been patiently teaching us over and over again that our ways are not His ways and that even when we know Him, our lives are still messy and difficult and marked with suffering. But praise God, the blood of Jesus covers us over and over and over again! Sara’s story is such evidence of God’s never-ending, all-sustaining mercy and grace. Since that Sunday when Sara surrendered her life to her Heavenly Father, she has still battled a drug addiction. She spent 6 months in prison for past mistakes. She still struggles to maintain a steady job. She often battles doubt, anger, and depression. But one thing is dramatically different in Sara’s life: her identity is no longer Addict, Convict, Stripper; her identity is now and will forever be Daughter of the Almighty, Holy, Creator King. When Sara is knee-deep in sin and suffering, she now knows the only place to go is to the foot of the cross. Sara’s life may never look like what we think the Ideal Christian should look like. But one thing is for sure: one day there will be no more addiction, no more poverty, no more abuse, no more sex industry, and we will be standing side by side with Sara, worshipping and singing praises to our Great God!

This Valentines Day the love of Christ was in the air.

As women from WMU (Women’s Missionary Union) showed up to our Scarlet Hope house we were excited to celebrate this special day with some beautiful women that God has placed in our path.   Mothers and their kids began to pile in the house where we ate a delicious home cooked meal, had ice cream sundaes, pampered the day away with make-overs, hand treatments, face painting, gifts, and a sweet gospel lesson for everyone to hear.    I can’t think of a better way to spend a valentines day than with so many ladies who have never experienced love in the way that was portrayed this day.   So much thought and love went into making this happen.  It was a beautiful day.    Enjoy the pictures and a special thanks to all the ladies that made this event possible!   We very much appreciate your love and generosity!

THANK YOU WMU LADIES FOR MAKING THIS SUCH AN AWESOME DAY!

I met T a couple of months ago at one of the clubs we serve at. She immediately expressed a desire to leave, but couldn’t work up the courage to do so. Still, on Sundays, she would attend church with me and break down over the despair she felt every week over having to work in the sex-industry. Her desire to follow God is genuine, but the control addiction has on her life is so strong.

It wasn’t too longer after that I heard she had been in a fight at the club and broke her hand, therefore losing her job and temporary use of her dominant hand. With this limitation, she felt hopeless to even find another job, as she couldn’t write on her own to fill out a job application.

As we were driving to church the next Sunday, she asked Eric and I, “I just wonder…what have I done that’s so bad that all these things keep happening to me?” I sat in silence as thoughts raced through my head. She hadn’t done anything…and yet I knew her question was bigger than what she could vocalize. She doubted if God saw her and cared about her situation. I decided that was more important to vocalize than a theological description of how God’s justice works.

But that’s not the end of the story. 3 days later, I picked her up from the hospital where she had a cast put on so her hand could heal and took her home to the motel room she’s been sharing with her boyfriend while living in Louisville. An hour later, she called me crying. Her boyfriend broke up with her, and kicked her out of the room. She had nowhere to go, and the man she thought loved her had rejected her.

In a little under a month, T’s job, health, relationship, and home were taken away from her.

That evening, I drove from my stable job to my safe home and sat across a table eating dinner with my boyfriend. And I felt numb. I hurt for T, but there was something more going on. It took me 24 hours to even put a word to it, but now I know what was crippling me:

Fear.

I had just watched God remove everything from my friend’s life so He could draw her closer to Him. And while I prayed that T would one day see these things as the ultimate glorification of His name, I was also saying:

“…but we’re cool, right God? I mean, I know you give and take away…but remember last year? And the year before that? You’ve already ripped things from my hands before I was ready to give them up, but I’ve been refined through that! Don’t you see it? So it would be really nice if I could get some kind of guarantee from you that things aren’t going to change for awhile.”

Those weren’t my actual words, 1) because I immediately knew how foolish they were, and 2) I didn’t want to admit that, despite their foolishness, there are days where I really wish things worked that way.

This week at church, our pastor talked about how God DOES want to give you “Your Best Life Now”, but that HE decides what the definition of “best life” is. For all of us, our “best life” is one where we recognize that we own NOTHING, we deserve NOTHING, and God will allow NOTHING to interfere with His glory. Any other reality we believe exists is false.

Thankfully, T has chosen to get help so that she can move toward the “best life” God has intended for her.  Pray for her healing. Pray for her peace. Pray that she does not give up.

And pray that the very thing you fear losing the most would begin to pale in comparison to the presence of God. If He chooses to take it away, it will ultimately lead to your joy. If He allows you to keep it, may it be said that it is only by His grace that He would count you worthy of His calling for His glory. (2 Thessalonians 1:11)

Written by Amy W.
SH Outreach Team Member

I couldn’t think of a better Christmas gift this season. As we reflect on our own lives and the lives of so many women that Scarlet Hope has had the privilege to serve this year, we see over and over God rescuing and restoring women right where they are at, in the mess of each of our lives. We are so very thankful he chooses to use us and it is only by his grace that we are saved and able to share the gospel of Christ with others.

There wouldn’t be enough time in the day for me to share with you all that God is doing in this ministry. We consider ourselves unworthy of the amazing blessings that he has given to us, but we will enjoy each one as God gives them and we will try and use them to the best of our abilities. Below is a list of just a few of the things God is doing.

• This past month we have had dozens of women calling and asking for help, several women have put their faith in Jesus Christ and are attending church and bible studies with our team. Women are seeking new employment daily and we are growing in our resources to help them.
• Over 70 families signed up for Christmas gifts this year- thank you Southeast Christian & so many other families for serving our ministry in this way. We were able to take over 1000 presents & food baskets to women and children that we serve. We were able to talk with them in their homes, hotels or clubs and share the Love of Christ with them. (Stories in a blog to come).
• God has moved on the heart of club owners. It is likely we will be holding a bible study IN a strip club at the beginning of the year. God has opened that door and the owner, who has been what he calls “burned” by the church will be attending as well. Pray over this as we seek the Lord’s will in this possibility.
• We were invited to another owners home and we shared in getting to know her more and God is moving on her heart more than ever, this owner wouldn’t even let us say the name Jesus when we first went to her club and now she stands by the door of her office and we pray each week in a circle with her. Praise Jesus!
• Ex-Dancer L and K who both shared their testimonies at our Gala this year are doing amazing. God has provided steady jobs for each of them; and one of them was selected out of 45 people in her training class to stay full time in her job! God is so good.
• Our resource home is looking so wonderful. By the help of so many people, rooms are renovated, our offices are up and running and the rooms are adopted out. We had our first room completed a couple of weeks ago. A few more to go! The residence kitchen – God blessed us with a huge donation of someone adopting that and doing not only the construction of the kitchen but the purchase of all the cabinets and appliances! It’s unbelievable how amazing God’s plans are.
• God has brought to SH four new staff persons. We will introduce Emily W. as our administrative assistant in January, Andrew M as our Kitchen Coordinator in March, Julie W. as our live-in discipleship coordinator and Jennifer B. has been graciously serving with SH part time for the past few months. God has been so good to us!

God, thank you so much for providing for each and every single need we have – BEFORE we even know we need it!
We are so thankful for each of you who pray, support, donate, serve for this ministry~ It truly takes the whole body of Christ to reach the ends of the earth!
Please pray for this Thursdays outreach as we will be passing out gifts and having Christmas dinner meal for all of the clubs we serve in Louisville. It will be such a special time and we are praying that God moves in great ways!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas as you remember the graciousness of the Lord. We are thankful for you,

In Him,
Rachelle Starr
Founder
Scarlet Hope

Today I had the privilege of hanging out with one of the new believers  – S. is a new Christian as of 3 weeks ago when she cried out to God, repenting of her sins and receiving him as Lord and Savior.   She hasn’t been back in the clubs since even though LG&E has threatened to turn off her power.. she wants God above the quick fix of getting immediate needs met.   This is a difficult place to be when you have 6 kids that you are providing for.    Yet, she is holding on in Faith and trusting God will provide.   Today as we were hanging out, she told me about how she was robbed a year ago.    When she was working at the clubs, she was able to bring in enough money to have nice bedroom suites for all the kids and herself.  A year ago, when she had left town for a few days -   she was robbed.    They took everything.. every dresser, every bed frame, curtains, entertainment center   even the sheets and comforters.    I walked into her house.. and saw mattresses without sheets.    All the kids cram in one room to stay warm and to sleep on the mattress together.   There is one blanket.    As we were talking, her son comes in  and S.  says to him, son zip up your pants.   He said, the zipper is broke and my other pair of jeans is in the wash.  He literally has two pairs of pants.     I could tell her recounting of the robbery, that she is discouraged.     I looked at her and said.   Let’s thank God for the fleas.    After she understood, she cried and said yes, let’s do.  So we walked into each and thanked God for letting her start over, for removing those things that were provided through dirty money and prayed for God to rebuild and provide so that every time she walked in a room that she can proclaim.  God did that, God provided this.

I can’t wait to see what God will do.

I have learned about the children who are sexually abused in Central Asia. I saw people desperately trying to make themselves right with God and I met women who were selling their bodies for money (whether enslaved or not, I do not know for sure).  I learned of two women (here in the States) who were sold into sex slavery – one of whom was severely beaten. These stories make me sick to my stomach and weigh heavily upon my heart. If I am burdened by such sin, how much more the heart of God? I believe that the God I serve is in control of all situations. Nothing slips by Him. The Bibles says that Jesus Christ upholds both the good and the evil by His Word (Hebrews 1:3). He is a God of redemption and can bring beauty from the worst of ashes. But when I hear stories like these, I have trouble believing that God can redeem these situations for good. What good could possibly come of such tragic circumstances? Yet I know that God’s ways are higher than mine and that He can and will use these situations for His (always) good purposes.

Such sin grieves my heart…and then I remember: I am not too far removed from such acts of wickedness. It lurks within my own heart. I am fully capable of horrific acts, but Christ makes me different. His grace has made me to differ. He is continually changing and refining me. But sin is still there. It may not manifest itself in such outwardly horrific acts as the above, but it’s there just the same. The sad thing is that this sin in my heart does not make me grieve the same way that these horrifically sinful acts do. Piper is right in saying……the reason such horrors exist in the physical realm and the moral realm is to display the outrage of sin. The outrage of sin against the holy God…every time we see something horrific, some horrible accident, our thoughts should be about the outrage of sin, not the injustice of God…instead of calling God into question, we should see them as evidences in our lives of the outrage of sin and the horrific evil and repugnance of sin to a holy God. And God is displaying to us the outrage of sin in the only way that we can see it, because we don’t get upset about our own sinning…And now, stand and wonder at the value of the Son of God, that His suffering could match all of those universe-crushing sins for which He died. Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, p. 232-233

So the Lord was in effect saying to me, “This world is grossly sinful…and, by the way, so are you. These are the areas of sin we need to work on…” And so the refining continues. He worked on my sin of self-sufficiency until He broke me during first 8 months of this year (not that I don’t still struggle with this) and now He has begun to deal with me regarding my sin of people-pleasing. Both of which are rooted in pride. Sigh.

Consider [Jesus] who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not resisted to the point of shedding your blood. It is for discipline that you have to endure, God is treating you as sons [and daughters]. Hebrews 12:3-4, 7a
The depravity of man that the Lord has showed me was followed by explanations from the Bible this past Sunday. Jesus is the best teacher.   As I studied Noah with one of my Sunday School students, we read this verse:
The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5 – Not a very good picture of us…but an accurate one. This is why we need Christ.

The sermon that morning was about the injustice of the world and the justice of God. Very fitting. Here is another picture of us in our Christless state: None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks after God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are shift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 3:11-12, 14-16, 18

My pastor said that apart from God, we are these people. And it’s true. This is the answer to my question of how people could commit such heinous acts against others – there is not fear of God before their eyes. This is why we need Christ.

In my personal time in the Word later that afternoon, it was more of the same thing. God says that our feet “run to evil and we are swift to shed innocent blood; our thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; desolation and destruction are in our highways” (Isaiah 59:7). And what can we do? We are clearly guilty. Not one of us is without fault. “For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and are sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: transgressing and denying the Lord and turning back from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words” (Isaiah 59:12-13; cf. Psalm 51:3-4). BUT there is hope! Our sin is so radical that only God can provide the remedy…and He did!
The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then His own arm brought Him salvation and His righteousness upheld Him.Isaiah 59:15b-16

You see, in God is perfect justice and He accomplished our salvation. “All the injustice in the world was swallowed up in Christ” (Pastor Andy). Jesus Christ became our justice (Romans 3:25-26) and He accomplished our salvation by taking upon Himself all of God’s anger toward us because of our outrageous sin.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8, 10-12

This is very good news. This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

_______________________________

All for Jesus,

Rachel
Outreach Team SH