57This is how you acted with the daughters of
Israel, and in their fear they
yielded to you; but a daughter of Judah did not tolerate your lawlessness.
The internet is a great tool and benefit to mankind;
however, it is also used by evil men, as in this chapter of Daniel, to enslave.
Today we see that many on the internet kill the life of men and women by enslaving
them. Many of our beautiful youth are caught up in human trafficking and the
production of pornography.
Daniel in this chapter freed the woman Susanna from
powerful men who tied to get her to yield her body to them or be killed.
Today let us emulate Daniel in freeing women from
this type of slavery by never treating women as an object of desire by avoiding
any and all use of pornography or venues of entertainment that use women as object
to fulfill men’s lusts. This could even include our selection of music and TV
shows we watch.
We could also offer our prayers for these women by a
monthly fast; thus giving up a portion of our body to redeem their bodies for
the Lord.[1]
When I was stationed in Belgium there in the town of
Mons was an annual celebration of the killing of a dragon called the Dudu. In
one of the local museums we were shown the large skull of a crocodile (two foot
by 5 foot) which was according to the legend to be the Dragon killed by St. George. The lesson
here is that if we allow evil to grow like the crocodile it may get so large that
we cannot defeat it. The sex industry is a dragon that we must slay.
Saint George[2]
The traditional legends have offered a historicized narration of George's
encounter with a dragon. The modern legend that follows below is synthesized
from early and late hagiographical sources, omitting the more fantastical
episodes. Saint George likely was born to a Christian noble family in Syria
Palaestina, during the late third century between about 275 AD and 285 AD. He
died in Nicomedia in Asia Minor. His father, Gerontios, was from Cappadocia, an
officer in the Roman army; his mother, Polychronia, was a native of Lydda. They
were both Christians from noble families so their child was raised with
Christian beliefs. They decided to call him Georgios, meaning "worker of
the land" (i.e., farmer). At the age of 14, George lost his father; a few
years later, George's mother, Polychronia, died. Eastern
accounts give the names of his parents as Anastasius and Theobaste. George then
decided to go to Nicomedia and present himself to Emperor Diocletian to apply
for a career as a soldier. Diocletian welcomed him with open arms, as he had
known his father, Gerontius — one of his finest soldiers. By his late 20s,
George was promoted to the rank of Military Tribune and stationed as an
imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedia. On 24 February AD 303, Diocletian
(influenced by Galerius)
issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and
every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Roman gods of the time.
However, George objected, and with the courage of his faith, approached the
Emperor and ruler. Diocletian was upset, not wanting to lose his best tribune
and the son of his best official, Gerontius. But George loudly renounced the
Emperor's edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and tribunes he claimed
himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian
attempted to convert George, even offering gifts of land, money, and slaves if
he made a sacrifice to the Roman gods; he made many offers, but George never
accepted. Recognizing the futility of his efforts and insisting on upholding his
edict, Diocletian ordered that George be executed for his refusal. Before the
execution, George gave his wealth to the poor and prepared himself. After
various torture sessions, including laceration on a wheel of swords during
which he was resuscitated three times, George was executed by decapitation
before Nicomedia's city wall, on 23 April 303. A witness of his suffering
convinced Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become
Christians, as well, so they joined George in martyrdom.
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