Hard Hearts

There is no power, person or problem that can stand in defiance to the living God & overcome Him. Through His commands mountains move & worlds are formed. He has completely overcome the world through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This Awesome God, who has overcome the world, now lives within us. Therefore, there is no power, person or problem that can stand in defiance against us and overcome if we allow the Holy Spirit to reign and rule in our lives.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is about the Spirit of God residing within us, giving us the ability to overcome every power, person or problem. This is why the Apostle Paul so confidently encourages the Christian to live blamelessly within this world and to overcome all sinfulness that stands in defiance to the living God.

The Holy Spirit, who now lives within us, causes us to become more aware of His desires. He corrects, teaches, rebukes encourages, prompts & convicts the Christian of sin.

Without this working of the Holy Spirit in our lives we are unable to live this life in holiness and righteousness. We quickly return to behavior that looks more like the behavior of those who do not have the Holy Spirit.

But for many Christians, we have ignored the promptings of the Holy Spirit & have become more concerned for the things of this world. When He prompted us into works of service or simply to come away from the noise of the surrounds & be with Him, we ignored Him. When He convicted us of our sin, we hardened our hearts, so we could continue in sinful behavior.

The Holy Spirit has continually been working this way within us and we have repeatedly responded with hard hearts.

Before long our hearts grew calloused and the promptings from the Holy Spirit became less apparent to us. The conviction of sin became dull and those awesome moments in His Presence became rare – All because we hardened our hearts.

Now many of us have become like those who don’t have Spirit – We no longer have confidence in the power of God to transform our lives, marriages, children, ministry, finances, church and nation.

When the Holy Spirit was active in our lives we failed to respond adequately. He understood that we only wanted Him when suitable to us. Now many of us are left with a form of godliness that lacks any power to transform lives.

Soften your heart – find those calluses and remove them through repentance and obedience. Pray to be freshly filled with the Holy Spirit who enables you to overcome all things and obey Him when He prompts & convicts you.

24 Things You Can Do To Stop Human Trafficking

1. Tell others- Expose the truth about modern-day slavery. Make sure everyone knows the 27 million dirtiest secrets. Research on your own at websites such as: www.faastinternational.orgwww.iast.net (initiative Against Trafficking)www.freetheslaves.netwww.state.gov/TIP

2. Invest in Change- Support those on the frontlines and enable them to make a difference. Help fund the most effective project to reduce slavery and care for its victims like:www.ijm.orgwww.gracehavenhouse.orgwww.sharedhope.org

3. Consume wisely- Hold businesses accountable and ask corporations to join the fight. Buy Fair Trade products like coffee and chocolate. Spend a little more on Fair Trade websites like:www.greatergood.com or www.tenthousandvillages.com

4. Watch- Keep an eye out and don’t turn away. If you suspect slavery or exploitation, cal the national trafficking hotline: 888-3737-888

5. Write- Do you know any journalists? Encourage newspapers, magazines and television stations to publish or to write stories about modern-day slavery, and how to stop it.

6. Tourism Matters- Visit the Trafficking in Persons Report from the State Department (State.gov/TIP). Find out which countries are the worst trafficking offenders. Write a letter to their travel bureau and tell them you won’t visit the country until they address the issue.

7. Purchase- Buying products made by survivors helps ensure their self-sufficiency. Shop at the Emancipation Network’s www.madebysurvivors.com.

8. Make help available- Place coasters at bars and sleeves for coffee cups to promote the hotline (888-3737-888). In public places, disseminate posters, brochures and other materials about trafficking. Download them from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at: www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/.

9. Organize- Organize your community to address the issue. For tips, see www.stopmodernslavery.org/docs/toolkit/pdf.

10. Advocate for change- call or write your elected officials. Tell them that you care about the issue of human trafficking and want stronger laws to protect victims. Keep telling them. Get news from www.polarisproject.org on how to engage in political action and advocacy- P.O. Box 32489 Newark, NJ 07102. Tel- 973-624-5454; email- nj@polarisproject.org.

11. Give healthcare- Help collect and pack medical supplies and equipment to be sent to shelters for survivors. Check out Giving Children Hope- www.gchope.org.

12. Walk- Global March has freed over 60,000 slaves in India. Their marches promote education for children instead of forced labor and exploitation: www.globalmarch.org

13. Cybervention- Make sure trafficking does not happen on the internet. Keep an eye on Craigslist and advertising spaces. Write to Craig’s list and ask that they stop allowing people to be sold on their listing.

14. Fight Sex Tourism- Ask travel agencies, hotels and tour operators to sign the Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children in Travel and Tourism (www.thecode.org)

15. Prepare caretakers- Encourage healthcare providers and law enforcement officials to be aware of the signs of human trafficking. Download resource guides from www.ach.hhs.gov/trafficking. Get the information to school nurses, clinics and urgent care centers.

16. Rescue victims- pressure for raids of forced labor and slavery situations. Lawyers can make a bid difference in advocating for legal investigation and prosecuting perpetrators. Have them join the team at International Justice Mission, www.ijm.org.

17. Go- volunteer with organizations caring for survivors. Help build shelters. Teach English. Provide skills training. Ask the organization how you can help.

18. Slave-Free Campuses- Start a group at your school or university, and make sure your campus is free of products made with slave labor.

19. Safeguard transportation- ask airlines to provide training manuals to all their flight attendants on how to watch for victims being trafficked. Find the manual at www.innocentsatrisk.org.

20. Remember the facts- memorize the statistics about child and sex slavery. Tell people to memorize the National Human Trafficking Resource Center number: 888-3737-888.

21. Faith, Schools and Freedom- Help your faith community or school become an Abolitionist Organization. Find theses handbook in the action downloads section at: www.notforsalecampaign.org.

22. Get insights from the UN- learn more and find expert advice in the UN’s toolkit to combat trafficking: http://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/HT_Toolkit08_English.pdf.

23. Do what you love- Use your talents to fight slavery. Do an art project and display it in a public place. Film a movie on the state of modern-day slavery. Write about the issue and post it on blogs.

24. Pray…pray…pray… “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” Ps. 89:14.

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