Although discrimination on the basis of caste is unconstitutional in India it is, nevertheless, a way of life for Dalits in 70% of India’s villages where people of higher castes refuse to eat, or drink, with them.

Dalit children learn very early in life that they are not considered human by others, for even if their shadow should inadvertently fall on another person of higher caste they can be severely beaten, usually with impunity.

So, I keep my Dalit cup around to remind me of the injustice that still goes on in India.  I might just push it all to the back of my mind where it cannot bother me any more thinking I cannot do anything about it anyway. But my cup is out in plain sight and it reminds that I can at least write and let others know about it.  Maybe they will do the same.

Harold Camping’s prediction of the end of the world was so ironic in the first place.  Having based his calculations on information he cobbled together from the Holy Scriptures, (dare I say,  to serve his own interests?)  how is it that he could digest all the information that led him to the awesome conclusion that the world was going to end on May 21^st, but completely ignore contradictory information within the very same Scriptures?

In Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 Jesus talks very clearly about some of the signs we are to watch for; signs which must come first, and after them the end will come.  Read these verses and immediately the most striking thing that should jump out at you is THE SUN IS STILL SHINING!  Matthew and Mark further include a statement by Jesus that no one, not even He Himself knows the day nor the hour when the end will come.  Only our Father in heaven knows the time.  Instead we are admonished to “be ready”.  The idea being if we are truly ready for our Lord’s second coming, and the end of this age, we don’t need to know the day or the hour.  Does Harold Camping think these things are in the Bible for no reason?  Camping also ignores a fair portion of the book of Revelation.  How is it that he got away with all of that without his own audience screaming, “Foul”?

I have been pondering why this man has any credibility.  Why would anybody listen to him?  Are some people just that gullible?

All is not lost, however.  There is a great lesson to be learned here.   And it’s the only reason I bother to comment on this character’s prophesy.  And it’s just this: the more important an issue is, the more important it is to find the truth for yourself.  Do not rely on anyone else to dig it out for you.  Human beings are notoriously unreliable.

Not many things are more important than the end of the world.  Therefore, since Camping bases his prophesy on the Bible, it would have been the most rational and sensible thing in the world to simply search the Bible yourself and find out what it says about the matter.  I tell you, even if you are a slow reader like me, you could have found out in 30 minutes, or less, enough information to discount his doomsday prophesy.

Don’t get me wrong, Harold Camping wasn’t wrong that the world was going to suffer great tribulation.  But, just what made him think he had the hour and the day figured out when Jesus Himself doesn’t know.

Be Ready, but Don’t Worry!

p.s. don’t take my word for this, either.  READ IT YOURSELF!!

Mike

They had been looking for months.  In nearly every case, as soon as they informed the landlord they had 10 little girls they were told, “Sorry, I do not want that many children in the house because they will cause too much damage”.  The other day they went to see a house and when they told the landlord how many kids they had she said, “Fine.  You can have more than that.  You can even start a day care if you want”.  Praise God!  After looking at a total of 38 different houses God finally led them to the perfect one.

I am not done praying, however.  There are so many more baby girls whose lives are at great risk.  So I pray that they will be able to fill their house with these precious children.  A government agency in the district Russal and Kumari are working in admits that 60% of every girl born there is murdered within 3 days of birth.  How horrible.  So, I ask you also to please pray for their rescue.  Thank you.

p.s.  Don’t forget to visit their web site for more information, and to see pictures of their little girls: http://www.girlbabyhome.com/.  You might even consider registering as a member, or encourage them by leaving a note in their Guest Book.  And if you feel led to do it, leave a donation, too.  God bless you.

Mike

So, I am asking you to pray for them again.  Please pray that God would soften the heart of a new landlord with just the right house He has planned for them.  They have just over 30 days to go, but they have already been searching for several months.

I believe God will provide for them.  But I also believe He desires that we come to Him in prayer about it.  A new place to live is their most pressing need right now.  Please keep them and their 10 little girls in your thoughts and prayers.  Thanks.

Mike

This is really difficult for me to think about and I just want to DO something about it.  But being more than  7000 miles away from the villages where this is happening means I can’t just show up and threaten those who would commit this crime with “calling the cops on them” (some of these villagers are remote enough they may never even have seen a cop).

So, ever since I found out about it I have been praying for India’s infant daughters.  After about 2 years of praying, God revealed to me a couple in Chennai that has a ministry dedicated to putting an end to their murders.  Russal and Kumari Raj had already rescued 9 baby girls since they began their work in 2006 (it turns out it’s not easy to rescue the girls because of superstition, etc.  Sometimes even money doesn’t talk).  After some correspondence with them I felt that they were kindred spirits in valuing the lives of these precious children, and my wife, Sharon, and I made plans to visit them.  We had a wonderful 6-day visit with them in early 2010 during which Russal told us how God showed them that they should begin their ministry.  When our visit was over we came away assured that Russal and Kumari absolutely cherished their little girls, and we could see these children were truly thriving in such a loving environment.

The Female Infant Refuge, as Russal and Kumari call their home, currently cares for 10 little girls (they rescued one more just after we returned home).  It is a non-profit organization registered as the Destitutes Charitable Trust.  By its very nature, this ministry can be very expensive.  The cost to feed, clothe, shelter and educate all these girls is very high.  Not to mention medical costs.  Sometimes, before they are able to get to a girl to rescue her, she may have already been physically abused and need to be taken to a doctor or hospital.  There is also the expense of complying with all the government regulations associated with the Trust.

The Female Infant Refuge gets by almost entirely on charitable donations.  So, of course, they never know from month to month how much they will receive.  But Russal and Kumari are strong believers.  They believe since God told them to begin this ministry, He also will see that they are provided for.

I believe that’s where fellow Christians come in.  If we expect to please God we need to learn to live by Biblical principles.  In Jeremiah 22:15-17 God is speaking, “…Did not your father have food and drink?  He did what was right and just, so all went well with him.  He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well.  Is this not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord (NIV).

So I ask you to please pray for this ministry.  Please pray for the children they are caring for.  Please pray for all the other baby girls that need to be rescued, and for those who will still die because they cannot be rescued.  And please pray and consider making a donation to the Female Infant Refuge.  There are literally thousands of little girls in India who will die if someone is not there to stand up for them and rescue them.  You can join me in being a part of that rescue effort.  You can go to the Female Infant Refuge web site at www.girlbabyhome.com to read more about their ministry and see lots of pictures of the baby girls they have rescued.  While there you can also make an online donation which will be greatly appreciated.

If you are not a Christian I am reaching out to you also.  I know that you do not have to be a Christian to have a kind heart and have great concern for the needy.  Please also go to their web site and let your heart be moved.  Then decide whether, or not, to be a help to them.

Thank you for your generous heart.

Mike

Years later I finally did come to the Lord.  And as I look back on my life since then I see I am hardly even the same person I was before.  In those days I spent a great amount of time daydreaming about ways to get rich quick.  It was necessary to get rich quick, of course, to buy all the really neat things I desired: a fancy sports car, an airplane, a boat, a vacation house on a lake, etc.  Things that I thought would make me happy.  And I didn’t want to wait for happiness.

But once I surrendered to Jesus, God started doing wonderful things in my life.  Eventually, in 2007, I ended up taking a trip to India with my friend Roger.  This time spent in India, I think, was the beginning of me starting to think less about myself and more about others.  India is a country of much beauty, and at the same time, much darkness.  Half the poverty-stricken people in the entire world live in India.  Go there, and look into the eyes of one of the tens of millions of poor children and you will never be the same.  Visit an orphanage and spend time with children who were taken off the street where they were starving or who were rescued from violence, even death: to be hugged by one of these children because you care is worth more than gold.

I have been to India several more times since then.   Each time God has increasingly changed and refined my heart, until now I find that I care very deeply about the children who are at risk and suffering.  I spend a great deal of time thinking about them and of ways to help them.

There are ministries in India that are involved in helping children and I have met some of their leaders to see the work they are doing.  It is with great joy that I now help support them in their efforts.

Spending lots of money to go to India and sending regular donations to ministries there obviously do not help me get my house on the lake.  But a wonderful thing about it is I no longer need it.  Now, more than happiness, I have joy, for God is giving me the desires of my heart.

Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap… Luke 6:38 (NIV)

I am surprised I haven’t heard any conservative carry this metaphor out to its natural conclusion: “You take a WRONG TURN, and now find yourself sitting in your car at the edge of a cliff,  what do you do? . . . .”

So, why do we do it?  There’s a husband and wife there we want to meet.  We have been emailing them for months to arrange our visit.  They are a very special couple in India.  They rescue baby girls who face an unjust death sentence.  Babies whose parents have decided to murder them for being girls instead of boys.

It’s difficult for westerners to understand that some people in India don’t see the wrong in doing this.  And I do mean some people because it’s by no means the majority who think that way.  Even so, in the last couple decades it’s estimated that there were millions of girls murdered in India, either as infants or as fetuses.

When I heard about this during my first trip there I asked who or what organization is working to save them.  They don’t have a chance on their own.  Surprizingly, no one I asked knew.

So I began to pray that God would lead me to them, and after 2 more years I found this couple.  And now we get to meet them.

I’m a little nervous about it, since I don’t have our visit all planned out like some experienced planner of such things.  I just feel led to go there.  Then we’ll se what God makes of it.

I continue to thank God for teaching me that there is great joy in serving Him.

For a long time he has been just laying there all hooked up to all kinds of tubes and electrodes to help him breathe, eat and also to monitor his vitals.  When we drove up to see him this past Sunday he had improved a little; able to move his arms and legs some.  And he could open his eyes about half way.  His doctors and nurses were excited about these developments.  But Monday he seemed to have reverted some.  Our daughter, Erica, called us about it and was feeling down.

The results for swine flu eventually came back and they were positive.  But it seems by then all his symptoms didn’t completely add up and they began to think he might also have infant botulism.

There is an effective treatment for infant botulism.  It is extremely expensive and has to be flown in from some place in California.  They ordered it flown in and waited for the test results to come in.

In the meantime Michael is lying there and suffering.  Our daughter is suffering, too, in ways that only a mother can suffer.

This morning I received a call from Erica.  They have now also confirmed that Michael does have infant botulism.  That poor little guy!  I can only imagine how it must be for him to lay there day after day, not being able to move, or even cry.

My thanks go out to God that they now know for sure what Michael’s illnesses are.  I also thank God that there are treatments for him, and that he is expected to have a full recovery.

There is another thing I am thankful to God for; the loving tenderness with which I observed some of Michael’s doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and others attend to Michael.  At times it seemed as if they were treating their own child.  So I thank God for the Children’s Hospital.

I give God all the credit for the good news.  As it says in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights . . .”