God's AMBER ALERT: Finding and Caring For His "Missing" Children

God has issued an "AMBER Alert" in the spiritual realm. Many of His children have gone "missing" due to pressures in their life that have discouraged them from actively seeking God, being a Christian witness and testifying of God's goodness to them.

AMBER Alerts are issued by police and broadcasted on radio and television when a child goes missing. AMBER stands for "America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response." AMBER Alerts have the name, description and photo of the child, where the child was last seen and, if available, a description of the last person seen with the child. In some instances, communities organize a "search" party to help police find the missing child.

In the same way, when we find out that someone is struggling emotionally, financially, physically or spiritually, we must rally to help, as the Lord leads. We may not be able to pay that person's bills or take care of their physical needs, but we can provide emotional support by listening to them, offering an encouraging word and reassuring them in the fact that God cares for them and knows what they are going through.  

Despite media reports about improvements in the economy, job and housing markets, people are still struggling to make ends meet. Many have lost their homes, cars and jobs. Some who still have jobs have had their wages reduced or are working longer hours for the same rate of pay. As a result, people are not giving as they one did to the church, many of which – small, midsize and mega – have been foreclosed or are on the brink of foreclosure. 

Yes, we may be struggling, but we are not defeated because our hope and our help is in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 10:10 (AMP), …I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows). The only way we can have this kind of life is to place our trust in God and follow His leading. With our abundance, we can then help those who are hurting and threatening to abandon their faith and turn away from God. 

This is why God has issued an AMBER Alert: He wants us to work together to "find" those who are "missing", (although we already know where some of them are) and bring them either to, or back to, the saving grace of Jesus Christ. 

The sci-fi movie, "Pacific Rim," (released in the U.S. in July 2013), tells the story of giant monsters coming from beneath the Pacific Ocean to attack the coastal cities along the Pacific.  The humans devise a program made up of giant mechanical "monsters" (that look like oversized versions of Robert Downey Jr.'s "Iron Man") to ultimately destroy the monsters from the deep. Operating the mechanical monsters are highly trained pilots who learn how to synchronize their movements to launch attacks together. The pilots' training even includes a "drift" in which their memories are linked together. Without giving too much away of the plot for those of you who have not seen the movie, in one scene the pilots destroy a monster by using a chain-sword.

Just like the pilots in the movie, we are to use our weapon, which Ephesians 6:17 says is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" to defeat satanic attacks thrust on ourselves and others.

With God issuing an AMBER Alert and giving us His Word and His Presence as our weapons, we can bring back God's children who are "missing" and need encouragement to continue on their life's journey in Christ. 

Galatians 6: 9 (AMP) says, And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.