I have to admit, I don’t watch the news very often. But unless you are living under a rock, you can’t help but hear all of the news stories about the life and death of Micheal Jackson. I was sad when I heard that he died, but is it really worth the 24 hour news coverage that it’s getting? Why doesn’t the media spend 24 hours a day talking about THIS news:
(The following information is taken from the book, Red Letters, by Tom Davis).
The HIV/AIDS crisis threatens the life not only of millions of Africans but also the rest of the world. The disease is spreading so fast that by the time you read these statistics, they will be horribly outdated.
During 2005, some 4.1 million people because infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The year also saw 2.8 million deaths from AIDS – a record global total, despite antiretroviral (ARV) therapy, which reduced AIDS-related deaths among those who received it.
Approximately half of the people who acquire HIV become infected before they turn twenty-five and typically die of the life-threatening illness called AIDS before their thirty-fifth birthday. By the end of 2005, the epidemic had left behind 15.2 million AIDS orphans, defined as those under eighteen who have lost one or both parents to AIDS.
The worst thing about HIV/AIDS is how it destroys the lives of its innocent victims. I’m talking about babies who are born HIV positive, little girls who are raped by their uncles and fathers, and even the women who are infected by the disease because their unfaithful husbands brought it home to their marriage beds. These victims are dying by the hundreds of thousands.
As you can probably tell, I’ve been reading Red Letters. This book has been opening my eyes to what is really newsworthy. The HIV/AIDS pandemic is something that should be getting press. But more importantly it’s something that the church should be talking about! In all of my 31 years of attending church, I’ve never heard a sermon on this topic. Why? Christ consistently talked about helping the orphan, widow and poor but the modern Western church isn’t talking about it.
I want to challenge you to dig deeper. Read more about this pandemic and DO SOMETHING! Start by checking out Red Letters or reading these blogs by Tom Davis (http://tomdavis.typepad.com)
I know that God is changing my heart in preparation to serve the orphans and widows.
“Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: “I’m after mercy, not religion.” I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” Matthew 9:12 (Message)
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to
look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV)
look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself
from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27 (NIV)
