Devotional Book
Contributed
Dr. Patrick Barrow, is the author of the devotional book “Discovering How We Must Save Us For Yourself” available at Amazon for $9.99.
“My inspiration for writing this devotional comes from what I am going to coin, “A Call to Service” from a local radio personality. During the morning radio program, the host said, “I do not understand why so many teenagers are killing one another.” After hearing this plea from the radio host, I began to research teenage violence in our community. Using “Goggle” to search local “Teenage Violence,” following the local news reports, it was apparent our society is plagued with teenage and young adult violent behavior.
The Exodus Experience
The Book of Exodus is the second book in the Bible. The new Pharaoh envisioned that the Israelites would some day become stronger and mightier than the Egyptians. In order to negate this perceived threat, the Pharaoh enslaved the Israelites. The enslavement or conquering of other ethnicities is nothing new. In more recent history slavery was a part of American society. The enslavement of the Israelites lead to oppressive and cruel treatment. Today, we would be remiss to believe the enslavement of African Americans has not had an oppressive impact on many generations. Of course, there have been descendants of slaves that have defied the odds by becoming successful. Although, many of our teenagers and young adults have been systematically mired with the residue of oppression, hopelessness, and despair.
There was a time in which the church was the bridge between despair and hope. It has been said that there are generations missing from the church. I believe the future aspirations of our teenagers and young adults are still the rich rivers of life which run thru the church of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.