With the never-ending news cycle, there’s certainly no shortage of topics for me to address. Choosing a topic for my weekly messages can be challenging. With all that’s happening in the world, I must wade through it all and decide what’s most urgent and what’s just more “noise?”
With a 24/7 news feed, I read the headlines multiple times a day. Recently, something very concerning has emerged — a pattern of multiple cases and multiple horrifying stories coming more and more frequently from all across the nation. So, I’m sorry this won’t be one of those “feel-good” stories we’d all like to hear. Instead, I’m about to share some heartbreaking news — and we should all be in prayer about this, because it seems people in our country have become unbelievably cruel and unthinkably evil — to their own children.
Matthew 24:12 has come to pass… “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” In Matthew 18, Jesus said, “Take heed that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father…”
Scripture talks a lot about children. Psalm 127, “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” In Mark 10, it says of Jesus, “And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them and blessed them.”
Isaiah 49 asks the question, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” And Jesus again, from Matthew 19, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’” I could go on, but let me just add the words of our Lord again from Matthew 18, “And whosoever shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me. But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
From roughly 1500 to 146 BC, people would sacrifice their children to the false god Molech. Molech was an idol built outside Jerusalem in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. It had the face of a calf and outstretched hands. Scorching fire raged inside the idol, making the hands glow from the intense heat. Parents would bring their children to the priests, who would then place them on the fiery hands of the Molech idol. The child would then roll down inside the inferno while priests would bang on drums to drown out the sound of the children’s screams.
“How barbaric,” you might say. Yes, indeed. It was. And this practice took place among the Israelites — (God’s chosen people) — though God Himself strictly forbade it in the strongest of terms, calling it an “abomination.” They did it anyway.
“How unnatural,” you might say, for parents to murder their own children so horrifically. Yes, indeed. It was. They did it anyway.
But how barbaric and unnatural is it for parents to murder their own unborn children today, while still being knit together in their mother’s womb by God Himself? Yet even most professing Christians think nothing much about this, except they may agree it’s “bad.” Most just try not to think about it, and FEW there be that actively stand against it or go out to the abortion centers to try to rescue those being led to slaughter. Most times, those Christians who do are considered “radicals” and “fanatics” — and then ridiculed by their fellow so-called “Christians.” Understand that “God is angry with the wicked every day.” (Psalm 7:11). Whether you participate in the wickedness or simply stand by and do nothing to stop it, you’re equally wicked.
But what’s caught my attention lately is the rash of increasing abuse and violence against children all across our country. News stories like this have been coming out just about every day now.
Let’s start in my own town here in Wisconsin. Last summer, two 41-year-old parents were finally charged with felony child neglect after years of reports, but no charges. Incidents at this home date back to 2017, when a 3-year-old child, with shoes on the wrong feet and clothes unsuitable for the weather, was found wandering the streets late at night by a stranger who called police. Additional incidents were reported for years, and police responded to find the home with “stains on the walls, moldy food on the stove in the kitchen, numerous piles of dog feces throughout the home and massive amounts of debris.” Social services did nothing.
Then, in July 2022, an officer responded to a call from a man who found a 3-year-old child wandering naked in the road. The girl had ink from a pen on the front of her thighs and a scar under her left eye, the report states. Neighbors directed the responding officer to the home, where both parents were inside and unaware that the child had wandered away. The child remained in the parents’ custody, and the case was again routed to Social Services.
Two months later, an employee at a local business called the police after finding the same 3-year-old girl wearing a shirt, a diaper, no shoes, and no pants walking unaccompanied near the road. One of the employees told police the girl was often wandering near the business, complaining of hunger. In this instance, police also found the child had been bitten by an unvaccinated and unregistered dog at the house. No charges were filed.
A year later, the same girl, now age 4, was found wandering the streets completely naked and could not state her name or where she lived. Police were called again on a freezing day in December when the girl was found with no shoes, a quarter mile from home. Police notified Social Services, who authorized keeping the child with the parents and said they’d follow up with the family “during business hours.”
Charges were finally filed against these parents, but they’ve been released on signature bonds, having pled not guilty to multiple counts of child neglect and the trial is yet to take place…eight years after the first incident was reported.
Also in our town, a father and stepmother were arrested and charged with intentional physical abuse of a child. The man’s teenage daughter weighed only 58 pounds when she was rescued by police after years of starvation and abuse. Hospital staff found that the girl’s organs began to fail because of severe dehydration, and she went into bone marrow failure due to malnutrition.
Weeks after the medical emergency was reported, a detective reviewed images and videos taken from a security camera in the girl’s room and noted a lack of blankets and bedding. Instead, the detective saw books taped to the mattress that would force the girl to sleep in a certain position. Videos also showed the girl being forced to stand with her hands up for hours, visibly shaking and crying. Some images showed both parents entering the bedroom and forcing the girl to raise her hands higher, even though she was visibly crying and shaking. The father was sentenced to four years in prison. The stepmother won’t go to trial for another three months.
Another story comes from Ontario, Canada, where a pair of lesbian foster parents is facing charges of first-degree murder, confinement, assault with a weapon, and failing to provide the necessities of life after their 12-year-old foster son died. According to reports, the women would keep the boy’s hands zip-tied, force him and his brother to sleep in tents, feed them only minimal pureed food, and keep them locked in their rooms for 18 hours a day. When the child was found dead, he was soaking wet and covered in vomit. The exact cause of death was undetermined, but a pathologist said it could have been due to hypothermia or cardiac arrest due to severe malnourishment.
In Iowa, a 28-year-old woman was charged with the death of her infant, who was found head-first in a trash can. Blood tests showed the mother had high levels of methamphetamine and benzodiazepines in her system at the time of the baby’s death, which was determined to be asphyxiation.
In California, a $31.5 million settlement was reached in a lawsuit over the death of an 11-year-old girl who died after being starved and tortured by her adoptive mother and grandparents. The case also alleges failures by social workers, educators, and police to act on signs of abuse.
Two women in Pennsylvania are now facing more than 900 criminal charges after a teenage boy under their care was rescued weighing just 79 pounds, isolated, and subjected to extreme abuse.
A South Dakota man will spend 65 years in prison after a jury found him guilty on 11 felony counts involving five children. The charges included one count of second-degree rape, one count of third-degree rape, one count of fourth-degree rape, three counts of aggravated assault, and five counts of abuse of or cruelty to a minor.
And in Utah, a 27-year-old mother pled guilty to three felonies after her 4-month-old baby suffered multiple broken ribs and a skull fracture that caused brain bleeding.
Child abuse in the U.S. remains a widespread and growing issue, with millions of reports of maltreatment and thousands of deaths annually. National estimates suggest nearly 5 million maltreatment reports involving over 7 million children, with neglect and physical abuse being the most common forms. And these are just the cases that are reported. How many more children are being sadistically tortured right now — perhaps even in your own home town?
What is wrong with people? Narcissistic haters of God. Because even though they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were they thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
So, God gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. They purposely changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served themselves and “nature” more than the Creator. Scripture tells us they worshiped “creatures.” And today, we have people considering their dogs and cats their “children,” while they prefer them over real children, made in the image of Almighty God.
So, God gave them up to vile affections. Today, we have women burning in lust for other women and men burning in lust for other men. That’s unnatural and an abomination. It’s a mental illness brought on by a rejection of God. We shouldn’t be surprised that God has given them over to reprobate minds; He’s given them what they’ve asked for and what they’ve earned. And now they have it — unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, hatred, envy, murder, deceit, no natural affection, no mercy, no conscience.
Pray for the children, friends, that they might be spared from the insanity and wickedness of their parents. You know, Satan and his demons thrive on the blood of the innocent, especially little babies and children. And evil is working overtime. As a nation, we’re reaping what we’ve sown. As professing “Christians,” we’re reaping what we’ve ignored as we continue to just sing those “praise choruses” louder.
