January 20, 2018

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21

Abortion has been a poison to our American culture and cancer to our collective soul. You just cannot senselessly murder cand a half million unborn babies every year for 44 years without it taking a toll.

In my previous post I mentioned just six reasons you should oppose abortion and there are easily a dozen others.

So, what can we pro-life advocates do to oppose this evil, destructive and divisive practice?

In my message Sunday I will mention four things believers can do that will oppose the toxic spread of this vile practice.

1) Care for your soul

The battle against abortion is essentially a spiritual battle and can only be won with spiritual weapons and resources.

If you have miscarried a child, if you have lost an infant to death or if you chose to have an abortion you might find comfort in knowing the soul of your child is in heaven with Jesus.

By the grace of God through Jesus Christ, you can see your child again or meet your child for the first time IF you care for your soul. If trust Jesus to be your Savior for the forgiveness of your sins and if you then walk in obedient fellowship with Him, your soul will be ready for an eternity in heaven.

2) Contribute prayer and financial support to pro-life causes

When was the last time you prayed for the ministry of the Choice Pregnancy Center? It is on the front lines of the battle for life!

Today you will have the opportunity to take a baby bottle home with you and fill it with spare change or bills to raise money for this vital ministry.

3) Continue supporting pro-life candidates

I don't know about you but I would never knowingly vote for a political candidate who is pro-choice. Any candidate who is not outspoken in his support for life does not deserve my vote!

Do your research and inform yourself on this vital moral issue before you go to the polls this Fall!

4) Challenge their lies with truth

The pro-choice abortion movement is driven by lies and distortions. It has powerful political people pushing it because it is a giga-billion dollar industry trading of the souls of the most innocent among us.

You will have very little success in changing any of their opinions. They have hardened their hearts and closed up the minds to any moral appeals.

But person by person, friend by friend, family member by family member you can use your influence to confront them with the awful truth about abortion and perhaps change some minds.

Watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xWQHhqOAcg

Don't become weary in the task of doing right. Don't be overcome by the predominance of evil in our society. Overcome evil by doing the right thing every day every time!

You won't save everyone but you make save a few!

January 19, 2018

Some might ask, if over a billion unborn souls have been sent to heaven by abortion, why should we oppose it so fervently?

Before I answer that let me say this, "We should not worry as much over the souls of the unborn as we should over the soul of America."

Here are several reasons why:

1) Abortion grieves the heart of God

Abortion preys on the innocent and defenseless which goes against the plan of God.

Abortionists make life and death decisions that are to be reserved only for God.

When you combine those factors with the act of taking advantage of young women at a very vulnerable time that grieves God! 

2) Abortion is murder

We believe that life begins at conception because the Bible says so and science affirms it. So abortion stops a beating heart.

Abortion is a direct violation of the sixth commandment, "Thou shall not kill (murder)". And to do this vile act purely to make large amounts of money makes it even more reviling. And if those atrocities are not heinous enough body parts from aborted babies are harvested for sale.

3) Abortion has ushered in a culture of death

Since we started down this slippery moral and ethical slope in 1973, we have seen a discernible decline in respect for life. 

When unborn children begin to be seen as nothing more than an inconvenience that need to be disposed of it's not long until elderly people, the chronically ill or the terminally ill become targets of euthanasia or "assisted suicide".

4) Abortion is based on lies

In order to be able to justify an act as cruel as an abortion you have to lie and delude yourself. You must tell yourself, "It is my body! No one can tell me what to do with my body!"

The truth is there are many laws that tell you what you can or cannot do with your body. So that is a bogus argument.

Also, the Bible says your body is "the temple of the Holy Spirit" so it belongs to God not you.

To make the "it's my body" argument seem more logical you have to also believe the lie that it isn't really a baby it is just a fetus - an nonviable tissue mass.

Once you believe a couple of lies you can convince yourself of others!

5) Abortion is bad policy

One of the reasons that Abortion has remained such a contentious and controversial issue is because it became law not from debate in the Congress and then votes by the House and then the Senate but it was legislated from the bench by an activist court.

It is controversial because the court twisted and tortured the 10th and 14th Amendments into saying some things they don't say in order to get the ruling they wanted from a judge they picked.

6) Abortion harms women

There is ample medical and scientific data proving the long-term risks of an abortion. Quoting statistics and numbers can make your eyes glaze over but they are plentiful on the internet.

Abortions can cause infertility for women making future pregnancies difficult.

Breast cancer, cervical cancer and uterine cancer have been traced to abortions.

Beyond the considerable physical risks caused by cancer are the emotional and psychological problems suffered by women who have had an abortion.

So, if you care about souls you MUST care about the considerable damage to the body, the soul, the mind and the spirit of a woman who chooses an abortion.

If you are pro-life you are pro-soul!

January 18, 2018

"And the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” II Samuel 12:15-23

Few things could be more painful than losing a child to death. Perhaps there is nothing more painful than that. Only those who have lost a child can know.

Some of us have suffered a miscarriage and as hard as that was I'm sure it pales by comparison.

In this snapshot from the life of King David we get a glimpse of his grief over losing the child he had with Bathsheba.

That grief suddenly and surprisingly takes a 180 degree turn as he arises, freshens up and goes into the house of worship.

Not knowing what to make of this dramatic change his servants asked him about it. His reply was that God did not answer His prayer to spare his child so now he would have to prepare himself to someday go to rejoin his child.

This is a strong affirmation of his faith in God.

It is a strong affirmation of his hope in eternity.

It is a strong statement of faith that his child was living in eternity.

It is a confident assertion of his belief that he too would live eternally upon his death.

How can you be sure you and your child will be reunited in eternity? 

Do babies go to Heaven?

The Bible gives several hopeful verses to help you find assurance:

"And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it." Deuteronomy 1:39

This verse refers to the grace God would provide to the children of those Israelites who would die in the wilderness because of their failure to enter into Canaan at the Lord's command. They would not be judged for the sins of their parents.

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." I Corinthians 6:9-10

In this verse Paul lists sins that will keep people out of Heaven if they commit any of them. That implies there must be a willful decision to rebel against God and how can an innocent unborn child do that?

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." II Corinthians 5:10

Again, here's a verse from St. Paul asserting that judgment will be based on immoral decisions made while alive in the earthly body. But since an infant child is innocent and incapable of making moral decisions God will hold them free of sin and judgment.

"And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books." Revelation 20:12

Once again there is reason for hope for the innocent child who dies in infancy or who is murdered in the womb by the abortionist. John's peek into the Judgment reveals once more that judgement is based on deeds done in the flesh. An unborn baby and a newborn child have no opportunity or awareness to commit a willful sin against God.

So, do babies go to heaven when they die?

Yes they do!

Do unborn babies who are murdered in the womb go to heaven?

There can be no doubt.

I'm sure this will be small consolation to someone who has lost an infant child. But it shines a ray of hope into the darkness of their grief and sorrow.

And it is all because of the mercy of God and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

She Will Never See Or Know...

"Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

I love the children of FredWes!

One of the things I love about them (or for them) is that they will grow up into adulthood and never be able to remember a time that they didn't go to church!

That is a tribute to their parents!

But I am thinking of a group of children, about 60,000,000 strong, that will never remember a time when they DID go to church. Or ever see a church. Or ever see their parents.

Why?

Because they will be destroyed within the womb before they ever draw a breath. They have been or will be an innocent helpless victim of an abortionist.

I understand that the decision to have an abortion is often made by a young woman who is under duress and who has not been told the truth about the procedure or the possible side effects of this life-altering decision she is about to make.  As a result, she will spend her life wondering if she did the right thing while deep inside she knows she didn't

She will never see or know the life she has carried in her womb for months but there will never be a day for the rest of her life that she won't think about it. She will wonder what her child would have looked like if he had been given the chance to be born. There will be a haunting regret that will never go away. She will see another child out in public places and her thoughts will turn to the child she allowed to 
be murdered.

Abortion is a heinous and hideous sin. There is no other way to look at it. To invade the sanctity and security of the mother's womb to cruelly tear apart a defenseless and innocent body can be considered nothing less than murder.

But as evil as the act of aborting a baby is, the grace of God in Jesus Christ is greater than this sin. There is forgiveness and restoration for the mother who will cry out to God for mercy.

And due to the grace of Jesus through His shed blood on the Cross, that child will never know anything other than Heaven. He will never remember a time when he wasn't in the arms of Jesus and finally in a safe and secure place!

January 16, 2018

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." Philippians 2:3

I have been dealing with the issue of attitudes during this month. Today I touched on the attitude of humility. Here are a few of the thoughts I shared:

WHAT IS HUMILITY?

During the days when Mohammed Ali was a great boxer, he would go around in his arrogance and say that, "He was the greatest." Humility was never his strong suit. One day, back in his prime, he was on an airplane and the plane was ready to take off and the flight attendant had repeatedly told him to put on his seat belt. He finally told her, "I'm superman and superman don't need no seat belt." The flight attendant didn't hesitate a minute but shot back with, "Superman don't need no airplane either, now buckle up."

He buckled up!

That’s not humility – that’s pride. "Pride, the idolatrous worship of self, is the national religion of hell."

Here's the deal with humility, either you humble yourself or you will be humbled. Neither is particularly easy, but humbling yourself is preferable and more honorable.

Humility, Rick Warren reminds us, is “not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.”

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is not thinking of yourself at all.” – J. Elton Trueblood

The story is told of two goats that met each other on a narrow ledge just wide enough for one goat to pass. The two goats faced each other and wondered, What shall we do? They could not back up that would be too dangerous. They could not go around because the ledge was too narrow. Now, if the goats had no more sense than humans they would have began butting each other until one fell over the ledge. However, goats have a lot of sense, more than some people. What they did: one goat laid down and let the other walk over him.

That is an example of humility – NOT THAT YOU LET PEOPLE WALK ALL OVER YOU - BUT THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO LAY DOWN WHEN NECESSARY TO SERVE OTHERS.

Shane Claiborne, who spent a summer in the slums of Calcutta with Mother Teresa, wrote about her experience there. She said, “People often ask me what Mother Teresa was like. Sometimes it’s like they wonder if she glowed in the dark or had a halo. She was short, wrinkled, and precious, maybe even a little ornery — like a beautiful, wise old granny. But there is one thing I will never forget — her feet. Her feet were deformed. Each morning in Mass, I would stare at them. I wondered if she had contracted leprosy. But I wasn’t going to ask, of course. ‘Hey Mother, what’s wrong with your feet?’ One day a sister said to us, ‘Have you noticed her feet?’ We nodded, curious. She said: ‘Her feet are deformed because we get just enough donated shoes for everyone, and Mother does not want anyone to get stuck with the worst pair, so she digs through and finds them. And years of doing that have deformed her feet.’ Years of loving her neighbor as herself deformed her feet.” Humility means that our focus is away from ourselves and not on ourselves.

Humility is taking the focus of life away from ourselves and onto God and others.

A FORMULA FOR HUMILITY - H2O - Think twice about Him – Think once about others – Then think about you! - THAT’S humility!

Don't wait to be humbled - or humiliated, humble yourself before God and honor your brothers and sisters. Start today!

January 15, 2018

"The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." Psalm 90:10

The journey of life is marked by milestones and landmarks. I went speeding past one today as I marked my 68th birthday. That blur in my rear view mirror must be my life!

God has been incredibly good to me! As I look back I and review my life I see His footprints and fingerprints all over the place! I have been blessed beyond belief. And the good news is - I still am!

First, He blessed me with a godly mother. More than any single human being, she has shaped my life. She is one of my heroes. I have am thankful for the family I have. My sisters, brothers, my great children and grandchildren. As well as a large number of nieces and nephews.

Second, I was blessed to be born in a great nation. A land of freedom and opportunity and peace and goodness. It is humbling and gratifying to be an American.

Third, He put people in my path who drew me to Jesus and significantly shaped my faith journey. I am eternally grateful to Him and to them - too numerous to name.

Fourth, He placed a calling on my life and invested gifts in me. He has allowed me the privilege of preaching and teaching His Word and serving His church. I hope to leave a legacy of faith that others will want to follow.

Fifth, He miraculously provided me with a life-partner who has made me significantly better as a person and as a minister. And we aren't through yet!

Sixth, He has blessed me with incredible health, strength and energy that has allowed me to serve him well for a long time. I don't know how long I will enjoy this level of health, but either way I will use whatever strength I have to serve Him. In addition, my wife, my kids and grand kids have also enjoyed great health.

And, He has enriched my life with a host of friends whom I treasure more as the years pass. As I look over my Facebook page I have been flooded with greetings from friends I have known over the years. Some of the friends I grew up with and have known for over 50 years have checked in. Friends that I made in college have checked in. People I have been privilege to serve as pastor from the various churches I pastored, many of them have checked in. Lots of my new friends from FredWes, this amazing church I am serving now, have taken the time to send greetings.

Hitting 68 is sort of a sobering time! According to the Scriptures I am in the home stretch of my race. The Word says that 70 or 80 years is about what we can expect. Only God knows what that number is, and I am fine with that because He has been so faithful with the days He has given me so far! I have always been motivated by the attitude that my best days are still five years ahead! I see no reason to change that!

Pray for me that I will run well on this last leg of the race and run through the tape! Thanks for sharing my journey with me and making it memorable! As gratifying as it is to look back - the best is yet to come!

January 14, 2018

"He answered, 'I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'" Genesis 3:10

This is a very heart-breaking encounter between God and Adam. It shows the death of innocence and the end of intimacy with God. Things would never be the same. However, this encounter is also very instructive. Let's see what we can learn from their misdeeds.

Observation One - It takes more than being honest with God to be intimate with God.

After Adam's sin he played "hide and seek" with God. He hid and God came seeking Him. When God found him, Adam confessed to his sin. He didn't lie to God. He told the truth. But he was still hiding from Him. Agreement with God did not restore oneness with God.

Our corollary would be when we confess our sins to Christ. He promises He will "forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness". That act of faith can bring us into relationship with God but not automatically into intimacy with him.

Observation Two: Adam's honest confession didn't remove the consequences of his sin.

Adam reveals three damaging consequences of sin in his confession - guilt, fear and shame. Those negative emotions caused him to hide from God.

Guilt is the result of moral failure. Adam felt guilty because he was! He sinned against his own spirit because God gave him a clear command and he deliberately disobeyed. Fear is the result of knowing he was in danger of the judgment. The shame comes as a result of his inadequacy apart from God. These are three very strong negative effects that Adam had to overcome to regain intimacy with God. They kept him chained to his past and unable to enjoy the moment. He was never able to overcome those consequences and reestablish the intimate walk with God he had once known. He could hide his sin but not remove it. Adam was doomed to wander on the edge of Paradise the rest of his day. He became a recipient of the grace and mercy of God but never again enjoyed the intimate presence of God.

Observation Three: Intimacy is being spiritually, morally and emotionally naked before God.

Before Adam sinned, he and even were completely naked before God and absolutely comfortable. There was nothing hidden and everything fully revealed. Sin changed that for Adam.

Because of Adam we are born hiding from God. We inherit a nature riddled infected with guilt, fear and shame. How do we come out of hiding? How do we shed the guilt, fear and shame in order to feel like we belong in the presence of God?

Honesty is a good start. Facing the truth about who we and the truth about Who He is and surrendering to that truth will usher us into relationship with Christ. The truth is that it takes faith in the Second Adam to deliver us from Adam. Agreeing with that truth and confessing it will get you into a relationship with God but it won't gain you intimacy.

What does it mean to be intimate with God? It means allowing Him complete access to every area of your life and earnestly seeking to know Him completely. It means clinging to God with the complete absence of guilt, fear and shame. It means coming confidently and comfortably into His presence and feeling you belong.

Doesn't that sound good! It's what the First Adam lost you and what the Second Adam won back for you. He took your guilt! He removed your fear! He absorbed your shame! Don't be content to dwell on the edge of Paradise, enter in and walk intimately with your Creator!