Shining The Light

Once when I approached a church leader about the lack of attention on the topic of abortion at the church, he informed me why the status quo was not going to be changed. But his reasoning left me cold and exasperated and wondering what God would think of this PC attitude.

This leader explained to me that we didn’t want to be looked at as an anti-abortion church. Stop Here! If I recall, do not kill is one of the Top Ten things that God asks us to do as His followers. Would a Christ follower, a God worshiper, not believe that the Creator of life would value human life? God condemned the baby sacrifices of the Molech worshippers; wouldn’t He also consider abortion to be evil?  Who are these people who come to church? Do they come to hear the same things that the world teaches, or do they come to hear the Truth, the Word, and the Wisdom of God on how we are to live and honor and obey Him?

This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb: I am the Lord, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself…   Isaiah 44:24

 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”    John 8:31-32

The next problem with mentioning abortion in church: we don’t want to offend people. Of course we wouldn’t want to do that. But once again, let’s think a minute. How does one come to the knowledge of their sin if their conscience isn’t pricked or prodded? Does God want us to sit in our sin and not confess and repent? Why would we be afraid to call sin, sin when it would lead to healed hearts and relationships?  How can we let women and men deal with their guilt alone, apart from the church, with only the world to support them?

…I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. 2 Corinthians 7:8b–10.

 And the third reason—Publicity, or rather, bad publicity. We’d have all the news stations camped out in front of the church, blaring their wrath and condemnation on the church who dares to say abortion is wrong, hurtful and heartless.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven , for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12

There are loving and non-condemning ways to mention abortion as an evil that will harm women and families. It isn’t the women who are evil, it is the one who speaks lies, the one who comes to kill, steal and destroy that is to be condemned. The one in three women sitting in the pews, need to hear that they have a church, a safe place, to bring their pain. And the pastor who neglects to offer that safe place is hindering their healing and their hope of being forgiven.

I know women can take care of themselves; they do it all the time. They go to college and wait tables to pay their tuition, they get degrees that only men used to get, they challenge the status quo and aim for the CEO level of opportunity, and they effortlessly shine as the perfect mom and wife.

 What happens though, when a husband leaves and barely gives a backward glance as he flits his way out the door to be with his new ladylove? And what happens when a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and she can’t work? More than likely she will be able to face these things (though difficult), with the support of her friends, family and faith community.

 But what happens when she reveals a dark secret about herself that some would condemn her for and throw stones?  Who is there for her? 

 Many women have hidden their secret abortion(s) so deep, that no one around them would have any idea they were once pregnant and chose abortion. They don’t even acknowledge it themselves. After abortion, many women go into denial. Denial is the protector of their mental health. They deny the reality of abortion, the heinous act that it is. But when women are exposed to the truth of what they did, their world can crumble like a gingerbread house in a rain storm.

 With the unprecedented exposure that abortion has gotten lately, women will be hurting as they see fully what they have done, and that the blob of tissue actually did have hands and feet and…a heart. It’s incredible the shame and guilt that is burdening women whom you would consider strong, capable and competent.

 Let’s be aware of the hurting women around us since the release of these explicit videos and frank talk about abortion. Let’s help them find peace and restoration. One way we can do that is by directing them to post-abortion healing. Forgiven and Set Free, Surrendering the Secret, Rachel’s Vineyard, and other programs are available to tend to those who regret their decision to abort and want to find the peace that comes from taking secrets out of the darkness.

 If you are one of those women—know that you are loved no matter what by a Heavenly Father who forgives and heals your wounds. He is waiting for you to seek His comfort, and He will show you His mercy, compassion and love.

 For a Forgiven and Set Free class, contact:

            Pregnancy Care Center of Chandler/Gilbert—480-374-2994

            590 N Alma School Road

            Chandler, AZ 85224

                       And:

            894 E Warner

            Gilbert, AZ 85296

For Rachel’s Vineyard, contact:

            Rachelsvineyard.org

For Surrendering the Secret, contact:

            Surrenderingthesecret.com

Maybe you’ve never heard of Bernard N. Nathanson, M.D.

I’ll let him introduce himself:    

“I am one of those who helped usher in this barbaric age (of abortion). I worked hard to make abortion legal, affordable, and available on demand. In 1968, I was one of three founders of the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL). I ran the largest abortion clinic in the United States, and as its director I oversaw tens of thousands of abortions. I have performed thousands myself.”

 I would add that he readily admits to two abortions in his personal life: one of which he performed himself on his girlfriend who desperately wanted to keep their child.

Fast forward to 1979…he stops doing abortions and eventually becomes pro-life, and after a circuitous journey, gives his life to the Lord. How did this avowed abortion enthusiast decide that abortion was a barbaric practice? Why does this self-proclaimed atheist bow down his crown to be baptized in the Catholic church?

Could it be that it started with prayer?

Nathanson mentions that he had been aware in the early and mid-eighties that a great many of the Catholics and Protestants in the ranks, “had prayed for me, were praying for me…” But it was when Nathanson witnessed the peace on the faces of those praying in front of abortion centers, that he took note. He describes the scene at a pro-life rally where these stalwarts stood in the bitter cold: insults flying from pro-choice adherents, some pro-lifers being jailed, unsympathetic media, and yet they prayed: not for themselves, but for the nurses, the doctors, the women and the unborn inside the walls of the abortion centers.

He then began to question what “indescribable force” compelled them to this activity. And thus, the journey for knowledge and understanding brought him to say yes to the Lord, and he became a new man, a new creation with new eyes to see the destruction and the evil his hands had performed.

So, pray! Pray like the pro-life warriors we are!  God in His miraculous might brought a serial abortionist out of that wicked world…who knows what other miracles God will wrought out of this sin we call abortion.

(Quotes take from, The Hand of God, by Bernard N. Nathanson, M.D.)

Do you know when to be silent, and when to speak? The verse, “A time to be silent, a time to speak,” comes from Ecclesiastes 3 where we also find the verse that tells us:

“There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven.”

It seems that we are entering a season where the horrors of abortion are in the public eye almost daily, not allowing us to bury our heads and wish it wasn’t so. Because of the recent graphic videos, more Christians are finding their voices and finding that it is time to speak.

But it’s not a new thing for some hardy souls who have been tasked from above, it would seem, to go forth and speak. They have not kept silent over the years while others condone by their silence, the tragedy that sits at their doorstep. Unfortunately, in the past, some, in their zeal against abortion, have used their voice to devalue women entering the abortion centers. Now, though, you’ll find new compassionate voices who speak up softly, without condemnation—and in prayer. So things have changed for the better. Mostly.

In the past few weeks, we’ve seen the insider’s view of abortion so painfully vivid and disgusting that we fall to our knees in despair. And it incites us to speak up and condemn these foul practices. So, many have decided to take our fight to the streets—and possibly, not in a good way.  I don’t know?…is this the way to speak up? Their signs blurt out words that provoke defensiveness in others (Planned Parenthood kills babies, sells their lungs.) We must speak up, but must we become protesters?

I realize that attention needs to be brought to the callousness, the total lack of humanity that we see with Planned Parenthood. It is not a time to be silent, it is a time to speak. We also have to be careful in our anger; we must still love as Christ loved. Hopefully, we will do our duty, and let God deal with the evil.

“Fear God and keep His commandments,

for this is the whole duty of man.

For God will bring every deed into judgment,

including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.”

Ecclesiastes 12: 13b-14

In the eyes of God, there are times that call for bluntness and righteous anger. When Jesus took to turning over tables in the temple courts, He probably didn’t do it with a smile on His face. But we always want to be mindful when we confront the sin of others because, unlike Jesus, we are not without sin ourselves. So we take note of the “the log in our own eye,” as we sift all righteous anger through the Word of God. And so I will just copy down some of the Words written in Psalm 10 to express our grief from this week’s horror regarding abortion and harvesting fetal body parts. The Bible notes for Psalm 10, tell us that this is a prayer for rescue from the attacks of unscrupulous people.

Though the Psalmist wasn’t purposely addressing abortion when he wrote it, you’ll see that Psalm 10 aptly describes what we know of abortion: the murder of an innocent, helpless human being and the crushing of its frame so it collapses to allow it to be yanked from its safe place in the womb. And how when these “doctors” (for lack of a better word) wish to procure special body parts from these little bodies, they do it in secret, and it entails being careful not to crush the valuable parts. Psalm 10:8-10:

“He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.”

Our hearts break when we hear what the evil do in secret, and we may look to the heavens and beseech God, “Do you not see these dark deeds? Have you forgotten these tender beings, the helpless infants who have not earthly father nor mother to protect them?”

Psalm 10:14a calms our troubled hearts:

“But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.

And Psalm 10:17:

“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.”

I recently came across an article written in response to someone in the public eye using the word Holocaust in reference to abortion. It appears the Jewish community takes issue with Pro-Lifers absconding with this word that represents atrocities beyond imagination and holds a reverent place in their history. As pro-life representatives, we need to be sensitive to the concerns of the Jewish community. Perhaps some open dialogue is necessary to come to an understanding on both parts.

If we offer reasoning and explanations for why we use that term, hopefully our Jewish friends will give us grace. To start with, the dictionary has a number of meanings for the word Holocaust, and one is:

Any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life
Dictionary

Abortion is the very epitome of this definition. The babies killed in abortion, approx 1,000,000, per year, every year in the U.S., are killed against their will–taken to slaughter, innocent of any crime. They have no value, they have no voice, they have no choice. They are human beings, yet treated as inferior based on their size, their location and their level of development. And as gruesome as this is, the truth is, as the baby is farther along in gestation, he is ripped, limb by limb from the womb.

Abortion is an atrocity of the most heinous kind. I believe this is why we dare to compare abortion to a Holocaust.

Let us pray that the horrendous, barbaric, inhumane treatment of the Jewish people and the unwanted babies in the womb, will never be forgotten or regarded as trivial and unimportant.

Sarah loved her boyfriend Sam. He said he loved her.

One night in Sarah’s dorm room, they snuggled on the couch watching a romantic movie. Their love ignited and they let their passions guide their actions. Soon after that night, Sarah noticed that Sam seemed to be less attentive. No more cozy movie nights on the couch, unless, of course, it included an opportunity to show her how much he loved her, physically. Then before you know it, Sam stopped calling. Sarah was almost relieved. But then, the unexpected happened…nausea. Oh no. The blue cross told her what she dreaded.

She faced Sam with the news and his anger flared. He yelled at her to take care of it. “What does that mean?” she asked. “Take a guess,” he said. She didn’t have to guess, she knew. Abortion. She knew that was the only answer. With no support, no money, no insurance, no resources, not to mention all the plans for her life—ruined. The only obvious answer was to ‘take care of it.’ And anyway, it was just a blob of tissue at this point.

As she agonized over her situation, she thought back to when her married sister was pregnant. She glowed with joy in her pregnancy (except for the barfing early on!). Everyone was so happy, including Sarah–expecting that little bundle of joy, that precious little baby. And when the baby came, she loved her niece from the moment the wrinkled little munchkin cried out her first “Hellooo!”

Sarah didn’t know how to reconcile this inconsistency. How did it make sense that when the circumstances are difficult, and seemingly insurmountable, somehow the little bundle of joy is now a ‘future-threatening blob of tissue’ that needs to be destroyed?

It didn’t sit well with her. And besides, in her heart, she knew, she absolutely knew, she was a mom. How could she reconcile the inconsistency of these scenarios: A mom leaping for joy when she was told she was six weeks pregnant versus a mom sad and sullen when she was at the same point in her pregnancy. It boiled down to nothing more than–circumstances.

She asked herself—Can I deny that I have a baby growing inside of me just because this baby is unplanned? Am I going to allow my circumstances to dictate whether my baby is going to live or die?  

The circumstances are real and foreboding and scary, yet she knew there could be joy in the difficulties. Love can make things sweeter. She felt it every time she gazed upon the pink, innocent face of her beautiful baby niece. And she realized, circumstances can change…but that kind of love won’t.