With all of the news in the sports world about domestic violence recently, we wanted to direct your attention to some biblical resources on the topic to direct your thinking. Many of our residents have experienced similar abuse and it greatly saddens us each time we hear those terrifying stories. The good news is that God is redemptive, never wasting the pain of our residents! Below you will find some related resources that we hope will help you and those that are biblical will point you to Christ.
First, there are some startling statistics regarding domestic violence that provide a picture of this widespread problem. According to safehorizon’s Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts, 1 in 4, or 25%, of all women experience some form of domestic abuse! This website will not point you to Christ but it will increase your awareness of the issue and its impact to society.
Second, the book by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb entitled Is It My Fault? Hope and Healing for Those Suffering Domestic Violence provides a biblical message of grace and redemption. The foreword was written by Elyse Fitzpatrick.
Third, Pastor Chris Moles provided some excellent teachings from our Faith Biblical Counseling Conference, tackling the challenging issues of counseling both the abuser and the abused. He also has a website with a blog at www.chrismoles.org that is very helpful.
Finally, the Word of God provides hope to those who think God is standing far off in Psalm 10. Here are verses 17-18 from the Psalm 10: O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. Our God may seem to be standing far off in this sin-cursed, fallen world yet He inclines His ear to the oppressed. The local church is the expression of the body of Christ and is what God uses to provide comfort and hope to those suffering from all types of abuse. Vision of Hope is a ministry of Faith Church and is designed to provide hope to the hopeless.
Jesus Christ has given Vision of Hope to the Lafayette community and to the world at large to transform women’s lives by His grace!
-Pastor Mark Shaw (thankful for the deacons and pastors at Faith Church who have compassion for hurting women)
