Shat  terd

Men 

The hidden half of domestic violence

How to have eternal life

Remembering Egypt!

I have listened to many people who tell me they can not forget the
past. Many have flashbacks in which it seems they are right there
living the horror of abuse again. Often it seems they will never be
able to move past it.

Flashbacks are common for those who experienced sever trauma. Many
wonder why they can not forget. There are answers my friend.

I have seen many counselors tell people to forget the past and move
on. I do not think God intends for us to fully forget the past. Let
me explain. For several hundred years, God's people, the
Israelites were slaves in Egypt. As time went on, their burdens
became heavier and heavier as their task masters placed more
conditions on them.

Most of us know the story of Moses and the Exodus in which after a
serious of ten plagues ending with the death of the first born of
every family unless blood was applied to the door post so I
will "passover" this.

Many of those that left Egypt remembered the past too. They often
complained that they at least had food and shelter in Egypt and some
wanted to return to those times. They had not known any other life
then that of excessive demands and abuse that was placed upon them.
Even with the horrible abuse they experienced, they knew what to
expect and the unknown was often too much for them.

In spite of one miracle after another, although they had left Egypt,
Egypt still had not left them.

Should they have forgotten all about Egypt?

NO.....God told them to remember it!

Deuteronomy 6:

20 And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean
the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD
our God hath commanded you?
21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in
Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22 And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon
Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23 And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to
give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.

The Passover was started to be a remembrance of how GOD delivered
HIS people out of the hands of a cruel taskmaster.

My friend, what is YOUR Egypt? Does God want you to forget all of
it? If not..why does HE want us to remember?

Many of those reading this may have been abused in horrible ways as
children. Many of you do have flashbacks to these days and wonder
if it will ever get better. Others have been abused in marriages,
jobs, or by society in general. Some may want to go back to your
Egypt because there you at least had a sense that someone did notice
you were alive, that you existed. Others have never left Egypt. You
are still there.

Why would God want us to remember? I believe it is so that we can
remember where we were...and where we are today. Think of the
Exodus and how God parted the Red Sea to deliver His people, How He
fed them in the wilderness and went before them in battle after
battle. My friend, GOD wants to part YOUR Red Sea!

I wonder....I wonder if you were to think back, were there times
your abusers had their plagues like those in Egypt where God was
trying to get their attention to stop abusing you? Were there times
in which God spoke to them and in return, they hardened their hearts
even more against God until God did deliver you from their hands?
Think for a moment. Are their times that you should have drowned in
the "Nile" only to be saved because much as with Moses...God has a
plan for YOU?

God does want us to remember those times in which HE was there.
Just as with the Passover, God want us to remember how HE brought us
out of our Egypt however, just as with Israel, it was not easy nor
will it be with us.

My friend, when Israel went into battle, the most important people
were not the archers, the horsemen or the infantry. The most
important people were the priest! There were to remind the army of
something very important!

Deuteronomy 20

2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the
priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day
unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear
not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you
against your enemies, to save you.

What is this promise land for us?

Jesus said: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill,
and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly.

Do you have this more abundant life?

Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for
I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Remember Egypt my friend..but ONLY to remember what God brought you
OUT of. If you are still having flashbacks, if you still remember
the horrible times of being abused, ask GOD to take Egypt out of you
and then rest in HIS grace!

Focus on the word of this song and pay close attention to the chorus.

Remind Me Dear Lord 

by Alison Krauss

The things that I love
I hold dear to my heart
they are borrowed and
not mine at all
Jesus only let me use them
to brighten my life
So remind me, remind me dear Lord

Chorus:
Roll back the curtain of memory now and then
show me where you brought me from and
where i could have been
just remember I'm a human and humans forget
so remind me, remind me dear Lord

Nothing good have i done
to deserve God's own Son
I'm not worthy of the scars
in His hands
yet he chose the road to Calvary
to die in my stead
why He loved me i can't understand

Roll back the curtain of memory now and then
show me where you brought me from and
where i could have been
just remember I'm a human and humans forget
so remind me, remind me dear Lord

Just remember I'm a human and humans forget
so remind me, remind me dear Lord

Another song that will remind us of what it is all about is 

"It will be Worth It All!

There be no sorrow there
No more burdens to bear
no more sickness No more pain
No more parting over there

But forever I will be
With the one who died for me
What a day GLORIOUS DAY that will be

What a Day that will be when My JESUS I shall see
When I look upon HIS face
The one who saved me by His Grace
When He takes my by the hand
And leads me to the promise land
What a day. glorious day that will be.


My friend, if you are reading this, if you have never placed your
trust in Jesus for the full payment for your sin, you are still in
Egypt To move to the promises of GOD....please read this:

http://www.shatterdmen.com/first_step.htm

PLEASE note...that when we talk about being in Egypt in this
message, we are not talking about a country but a state of mind...we
are talking about being a slave to sin. You can be free from that
sin by reading the link above.

ken

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JUNE is Domestic Violence Against Men Awareness Month