Protection from dangers unseen

I just realised this morning how blessed I've been. The Lord has protected me from dangers seen - but especially dangers unseen.
Teaching special needs children has opened my eyes to the difficulties that some people experience in life. These children have 3 strikes against them:
1. They're children - that very state makes them vulnerable
2. many of them come from underprivileged or unstable households - opening the door to all sorts of abuse and neglect
3. They have special needs - so they may lack the mental, emotional tools need to make adaptive choices to protect themselves.

Lord, I thank you so much for protecting me - from dangers unseen. I pray for your children, the ones who may be experiencing sexual, physical, emotional abuse and neglect, especially those with special needs. Lord, they are your children, you have created them and I pray that You would lay your hand of protection on their lives. I pray that through (in spite of) their circumstances they would come to know you personally. To know that you are healer, a deliverer and a provider.
In Jesus name I pray. Amen

Seven Pounds

**Spoilers ahead, stop now if you plan to watch the movie**

The other day I watched the movie "Seven Pounds" staring Will Smith. He performed excellently in it. He played the main character who (we find out at the end) had caused a car accident (cell phone) which killed his wife and 8 others who were in a bus. He then decides to donate as much of himself as was humanly (and inhumanly) possible. He donated a lung to his brother, parts of his liver, bone marrow. He planned to donate everything...

But first had had to meet the people who were going to receive the parts of him. He had to make sure that they were good people. He fell in love with the woman he eventually gave his heart to.

It was a depressing movie, because he died at the end - he committed suicide.
But I came away from it encouraged because it made me think of Jesus.
Jesus died that we might live...eternally. He gives us a blood transfusion, a new heart, a new mind, he saves our souls if we accept it.
2Corinthians 5:17 : Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

With some very important differences from Will Smith's character.

1.Christ had done nothing wrong, he was not repaying his sins, rather, he repayed our own. 2Cor 5:21 : For our sake he made him to be sin, who knew no sin; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2. Christ died so that we could live but he didn't stay dead. He completed the transaction and then came back to life - so we have not lost him.

3. (The best part!) He didn't only die for good people. in fact, He died for the bad. Romans 5:8: But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

He doesn't have to ask anyone about our character, he knows us intimately, He knows that we sinned, and he died for us anyways!

So, I have to give a thumbs up to the movie writers - but I give everything to Christ.