The War Against Abortion

      I would like to break with my normal blog posts about Proverbs and focus on a matter that I feel is very important. I would like to show the root cause for abortion and what is the best way to deal with abortion. I am not going to show how terrible abortion is. This is assumed. It is murder. I think this is very self evident. When people want their baby, it is a baby and we do all we can to protect the baby, even the government encourages us to do this. When we don't want the baby, then we are permitted by the government to kill the baby. Such is the strange hypocrisy in our land.

 The reason people allow, perform, and ask for abortions is not a lack of information. We know more about what happens in the womb than all the generations before us. We have ultrasound machines. We have research and pictures. These may reinforce what we already know deep down inside that this baby is really alive. But abortions are legal not because of a lack of information. Abortions are legal because of the sin of mankind's heart.

Abortion is a spiritual problem. When we fight against abortion, we are engaged in a spiritual war. People allow, perform, and ask for abortions because they are selfish and proud. Abortion is a form of child sacrifice to our idols. The Israelites were warned never to sacrifice their children to the god Molech. "You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD." Lev 18:21. If they did, they were to be killed. And if other Israelites ignore what happens, God would kill them as well. See Leviticus 20:1-5. While our country does not worship Molech, it does worship other gods that may require the sacrifice of infants. The god Work may demand a child sacrifice when that child gets in the way of a career. The god Pleasure may demand a child sacrifice to get rid of the consequences of sexual promiscuity. We could go on, but really the god above these gods that asks for child sacrifice is the god Self. Self desires children to be sacrificed when ever the child prevents Self from pursuing what it wants. We abort babies because by nature we want to be God just like Adam and Eve when they ate the forbidden fruit. People are lovers of themselves. They have rejected God and His Word. They want to be God, so they can live as they please. Since they have rejected God, God has given them over to a debased mind. They call what is good evil and what is evil good. They don't want to listen to why abortion is wrong. The root cause of abortion is the wicked heart of man. Jesus said, "For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder...." Mark 7:21. Abortion is murder and it comes from the wicked heart of man.

 Since abortion is a spiritual problem, it must be addressed by using a spiritual solution. If it is spiritual warfare, then we are fight against it with spiritual weapons. All other methods of ending abortion will ultimately fail, since they don't address the root of this sin; that is the heart. "For though we walk in the flesh, we are waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
 
What weapons has God given us? We have two weapons to fight this spiritual war. The first weapon is the Word of God. " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:17b.  The truth is used to combat lies. God's word is powerful. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is he power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." Romans 1:16. When it is preached, taught, explained, or read, the Spirit uses the Word of God to destroy the lies of Satan. The word of God is used by the Spirit to convert sinners and make them born again. "Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God."1 Peter 1:23.
 The second weapon we have in this spiritual war is prayer, "praying at all times in the Spirit," Ephesians 6:18a.  "The prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working." James 5:16. Prayer is asking for the help of a Sovereign God with infinite power. He can change hearts, governments, laws and nations. With these two weapons we are fully equipped for any spiritual battle.

The most effective way to end abortion is then to use these two spiritual weapons. We need the word of God faithfully preached in churches so Christians are equipped to go out into the world and bring the gospel to those they come in contact with. Healthy churches that zealously evangelize will have the greatest impact on the culture. Praying churches and Christians are a powerful weapon against the sins of our time. These are more powerful to end abortion than all other methods and weapons of the flesh.

Christ commissioned His Church to "make disciples of all nations" and to teach "them to observe all that I have commanded you." Matthew 28:19,20 We are not called to change our culture. But when we do what we have been called to do then we have the greatest possibility to change our culture. We can be sure that when we do God's work in God's way that He will bless it. Our task is to be faithful to what God has called us and to leave the results in His hands. We may not change our culture. We may not end abortion. Those are not the goals of the Church. Faithfulness to the commission of our Lord is.

My concern is many churches have become side tracked in their task. Instead of being faithful to reach others with the gospel and teach others the gospel, we have focused more on ending abortion, influencing politics, and other social issues like euthanasia or childhood hunger. Some people seem more concerned about ending abortion than evangelizing to the lost souls around us. Our focus and passion for pro-life endeavors are overshadowing what Christ has commissioned us to do. Let me show by way of an illustration how important it is that we stay on task. A general has come up with a very detailed battle plan. Each regiment has a task to do that is key to the success of the battle. The officers are given their orders for the battle. But suppose one officer during the battle decides that the general was wrong about his objective. This officer thinks it is more important to attack another enemy stronghold. So he directs his troops to attack his objective. This foolish disobedience would greatly hinder the success of the battle. The same is true for the Christian soldier fighting the Lord's battles. Follow His plans!

 Another concern I have is the way they fight against abortion using the weapons of this world. The weapons of this world, such as protesting or political activism, can't be effective to stop abortion. Such weapons are of limited value as they cannot break the hard hearts of those who support abortion. Our country is becoming more and more depraved. Sin has a hardening effect. There is a moral downward spiral that we cannot get out of no matter what laws are made or what government we have. Our country has rejected God and the truth. Those in power, the government and the media, are the most corrupt or they refuse to do anything. Our country is a living example of Romans 1: 18-32. We may slow the slide with fleshly weapons, but we can't stop it. Only God could stop it with a revival and a reformation of the church. Use God's weapons!

I would say in conclusion, the war against abortion is best fought by staying true to the commission of our King and using His weapons. I do believe that we need to remind our governments in a respectful way of their duty to protect the lives of the unborn. We are blessed to have this freedom as we live in a democracy, unlike so many countries. While this is of some importance, it is always secondary to our commission to spread the gospel and live the gospel. Without that, all other efforts to end abortion are vain.

-Brad-

 

Love Warns

"Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy."

Proverbs 27:5-6

Warning!
This is a brief rabbit trail before I write about the proverb quoted above.

It is important when we read Proverbs that we don't think that the book just teaches us good morals. Proverbs gives us an expansion on the law of God. We see in Proverbs how we are to love our neighbor and love the Lord. As we read Proverbs, we will more often than not, see ourselves as the fool rather than the wise man. What is said of a fool and his folly could be said of us. Yet if we fear the Lord, we will turn to Him in repentance rather than run from Him. Also consider as we read Proverbs that Jesus Christ is the great wise man. Amazingly He acted in wisdom in every action, every word, every thought, every look, and in every situation. The righteousness He won for us who are not righteous in any way was not easily won. Living a life of wisdom is impossible for us sinners. Studying Proverbs should make that clear to us. Yet we can ever be filled with worship and thanksgiving, when we consider that Jesus Christ was wise in all things for our sakes.

My wife was walking one day on a trail in the mountains. I was behind her as I am so much older and slower than her. Suddenly I look up and see a mountain lion about to pounce on her from a large rock above her. I also see a bear coming though the trees to attack her. What is the loving thing to do? I would warn her loudly that she should get out of the way. Then the lion would pounce on the bear instead of my wife. This sounds like one of my wife's nightmares. But this nightmarish fictional story does help to illustrate the proverbs I want to write about.

Love compels us to warn people. We love people so we warn them about dangers. We warn our kids about crossing the roads or the boiling pot of soup. We warn about bad stores and bad merchandise. We warn others about con artists. We warn about diseases. We warn people because we don't want them to suffer harm. We don't want them to be hurt. We want them to avoid dangers. Warnings about the dangers of the world we can see are generally acceptable and appreciated. When we are warned we know that the person warning us cares about our well-being. But what about the dangers of sin?

Sin is dangerous too. Sin can have very terrible short term and long term consequences. Sin can have eternal consequences. Sin is far more dangerous than any wild animal or deadly poison. If we believe this, than wouldn't we want people to be warned about sin? Why are we often so quiet about the sins of others? If we really loved them, wouldn't we tell them the danger their sin is leading them into? The reason we don't is that our faith is weak and our love is weak. We don't really clearly see by faith the deadly effects of sin. Our love is weak towards others. We need to pray for greater faith and greater love.

True love will warn another about sin in their lives even if it hurts them. Rebukes wound us. They hurt our pride. We love our sin and are reluctant to give it up. But a true friend will rebuke anyway, even if it may result in losing a friend. The loving thing to do is to warn them about their sin because we know the danger of sin. We desire their spiritual health. A kind rebuke is indeed evidence of a good friend.

Let us warn others of their sin with humility and kindness and let us accept with graciousness the rebukes of others.

Brad

How God Used a Lost Calf to Teach Me About Evangelism

Last week, one of my calves escaped its pen. This calf was a very large red and white calf. Calves like that are very valuable these days. After his morning feeding he had pushed his door open and vanished into thin air. When I came back to the barn, he was no where to be seen. Normally calves stay around the barn when they escape. But not this time. All day as I did my work, I looked for the calf. I looked in all the tall grass. I looked through out the cow barn. I searched on foot and on the gator. Nothing! I was beginning to think someone stole the calf. I fretted over the disappearance of this calf. I had looked everywhere and now there was no more places to look.The work day was ending soon. I went out to feed the calves. As I looked about again for the calf, I saw a red and white calf off in the distance. As I ran closer I realized it was our lost calf. It must have walked out to the heifers out on pasture and then hid in the grass somewhere out in the field. As feeding time come around, it decided to try find that funny creature that gives it milk. The calf happily followed me back to its bottle and to its pen. Finding the calf was a huge relief. It brought me great joy to find this calf. I ran to tell my wife so she could rejoice with me.

While I was searching for the calf and later when I had found it, the parable of the lost sheep kept running though my mind. I understood that parable in a new way that day and it taught me a lesson. The parable is found in Luke 15:1-7. Jesus wanted to teach the Pharisees that God  joyfully seeks and saves sinners. The story Jesus tells is like this: A shepherd has lost one sheep from his flock of one hundred. So he goes out to look for the one sheep. When he finds the lost sheep, he takes it home rejoicing. Then he has a party with friends and neighbors to celebrate the finding of the sheep. So it is in heaven when one sinner repents. The angels rejoice. God rejoices. The question is: Do we rejoice when sinners repent? Do we share the same joy that God has in the salvation of sinners? Since people will not seek God, God seeks sinners. It brings Him great joy to bring one home. Do we seek sinners? Do we reach out to them with the good news of salvation? Do we struggle and sacrifice to tell others of the riches of God's grace.
   
Evangelism is one of the main reasons God has left His people on this earth. He uses His people to bring the light of the gospel to the dark world. Do we as individuals and churches realize how important this is. Often the church gets distracted by other issues. These may be good and right, but they end up taking people away from the simple task of reaching the lost with the gospel and teaching the gospel to those who believe. People spend more time, energy, money, and effort on these side issues rather than on evangelism. These things could be saving children from poverty, political activism, ending abortion, and feeding the hungry and homeless. These are good pursuits, but when they eclipse our passion for reaching the lost with the gospel, then they need to be put into their proper place. Let us share in God's joy by seeking the lost with the gospel. Let us pray sinners will repent and believe. Then we who are on earth can celebrate with those in heaven over the salvation of a sinner.

Brad

A Goat and The Good news

  This is story is about Ugly the goat. It is a true and remarkable story of a goat with nine lives. When Ugly was younger, she had trouble getting pregnant. Her hooves were always in a bad condition, even though she was hoof trimmed regularly. One year we decided to sell her since she didn't get pregnant that season. We had a buyer, but when he saw her, he decided she was too old for good eating. So we sold him another goat. Ugly the goat lived another day. We thought about butchering her and using the meat for ourselves, but we never got around to it. Then we had another buyer. When they came to the farm, I caught Ugly for them but when I caught her, I checked her just to be sure she wasn't pregnant. To my dismay, she was developing an udder. I couldn't sell her now. So, I sold two of my other goats to these men. After that Ugly faithfully gave us one kid a year. However, one summer her feet were really bad, so bad she walked at times on her front knees. We talked about putting her down. But I was loath to do that, so I tied to save her by hoof trimming her a couple times in that summer. These extra trims gave Ugly the unhindered use of her feet again. She kidded that summer and then she kidded again in the spring. This time it was not just one kid but two kids. Ugly has nine lives like a cat since she has escaped death so many times. We love Ugly the goat and she has proved to me a very profitable goat.

     This story leads me to consider a spiritual lesson. We may avoid death many times, we can't escape it forever. We all must die eventually. Deep down we are all afraid to die. There is good reason to be afraid of death."It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" Hebrews 9:27. After we die, we will all stand before God to be judged for how we lived in this life. The problem is that we have all broken God's law many times and that God is good and just and therefore, must punish us with eternal punishment for our crimes. All of us deserve this for our innumerable crimes against the God who made us to worship Him. But there is a way for us to be forgiven of our crimes against God. 

     God the Son, Jesus Christ, came down to earth and became a man. He lived a perfect life. He died on the cross and paid the punishment for all those who come to Him for forgiveness and mercy. He rose from the dead, and, so, showed that His sacrifice was accepted and that death was conquered. So now those who beg God for forgiveness and trust what Jesus Christ has done, can be counted as not guilty and enjoy an eternity of  joy in worship and fellowship with the Lord God.

     Will you do this today, if you never have? God offers you full pardon. All you have to do is to admit you are guilty before God and ask Him to forgive you because of what Jesus Christ did and you can be sure that God will eagerly give you salvation. 

"If we confess our sins, God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7

Therefore Jesus is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Hebrew 7:25

-Brad-

A Faithful Messenger

"A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing."

 

Proverbs 13:17

 

 During the US-Mexican war, the future Confederate general Robert E Lee had an important message that was to be given to his general. He traveled over mountainous terrain covered with sharp, volcanic rocks during a storm in the night. When he reached the general's camp, he was told the general had moved on. So he re-crossed the awful terrain to where he was told the general had moved to. Yet again on arrival he was told the general was not there. So he again had to re-cross the difficult ground. This time he found the general and gave him the important message which helped the army gain victory. For his trouble Lee had cuts, bruises and weariness, but also the praise of his general who said of Lee's trek, " the greatest feat of physical strength and moral courage performed by any individual, to my knowledge, pending the campaign." This is an example and illustration of the proverb we are looking at today.

 

A messenger is someone who had great responsibility. His task is to go to whom he is sent and faithfully and accurately give the message entrusted to him regardless of what the reaction would be. His was not always a easy task, especially if the message was not a positive one. Often people take out their anger concerning the message on the messenger. Or, as in the case of David's messengers in 2 Samuel 10, the messengers could be mistreated because the message is misunderstood. The messenger's task was important. Failing in his task could have grave consequences. A messenger who changed the message or failed to deliver it could do much damage. A wicked messenger would surely be found out by the one who sent him. You can be sure that the messenger would lose his job or his life. Whatever would happen, trouble would come to him as the proverb says. There are great consequences for betraying someone's confidence in you. On the other hand a faithful messenger would find favour from the one who sent him. His faithful work would bring blessings to those who employed him. One who faithfully discharges his duties and responsibilities will bring a positive and healthy atmosphere, free from distrust.

 

The applications of this proverb can be two-fold. 1) It is important when we are given responsibilities to faithfully and honestly carry them out without regard for self. The greater the trust given to us, the greater our diligence to keep that trust. It is well that employees should learn this as it will benefit them much in the workplace. 2) This is a principle that can be applied to all Christians and then specifically to preachers, teachers and evangelists. All Christians are called to be ambassadors for Christ. We are given a message by God for this world. We have the responsibility to tell others of this gospel message.  We must get the message right without changing it in the slightest. We must give the message regardless of the consequences. This is not only applicable for evangelism, but also for the teaching of God's word. God has given us what He want us to know. We simply need to take that message and bring it to people. We can't pick which parts of the message we like or dislike--no, the whole counsel of God must be proclaimed. And when it is, then there is healing. Our hearts are sanctified by the truth of God's word. Lives, families, and churches are healed through the Holy Spirit working through His word. Souls find new life as the gospel is preached. But to the one who misrepresents, mistreats, abuses, or neglects God's truth, there can only be trouble ahead of him. God will deal with them as He sees fit. God has made us messengers and gave us His message, let us be faithful unto death to discharge our duties and we will receive a crown of life and a rich reward.

 

    -Brad-