The Response Matters - Prophetic vs. Pathetic

The Abolitionist message is a PROPHETIC response, 

bringing the word of God into conflict with the culture of death, 

agreeing with the Creator King and Savior, 

proclaiming the words of the LORD in a society that loves lies,

and calling a rebellious people to repent and trust on Him.  

It follows the course of "Duty is ours. Results are God's" 

and 

"The word of God, to this I yield.  The word of God is what I wield".  

It is, simply put, the Biblical response to child sacrifice.  

Jeremiah 25:5 "They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:"

Ezekiel 18:30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin."

Contrawise, the ProLife message is a PATHETIC response, 

keeping a finger to the wind and to the pulse of what society wants at the moment, 

pursuing policies according to polls and the platitudes of professionals,

rather than heeding the heart of God in Whose image the victims are made, 

the God Who commands us to do no murder, 

to establish equal weights, 

to do justice and judgment, 

the God with Whom we have to do, 

and before Whom every knee shall bow.

Ephesians 5:10-11 "Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."

I Corinthians 15:34 "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame."

The ProLife Movement would do well to heed the word of the prophet:  "Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit" (Jeremiah 7:8).

Revelation 3:19 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent."  Repent with us.

Abortion must be abolished.

Why Sit We Here?

 

Fellow Christians in the pew,

I plead in Jesus' name that you

Would love your preborn neighbors, 

Who are being slain today.

Babies murdered--so much violence!

While Christians sit in passive silence.

Under color of law this deed is done!

Are we not commissioned, heralds of the Son?

Are we not the truth to boldly speak?

And open our mouths for the small and weak?

To God's word we must humbly yield,

Then take it up as Sword to wield.

This situation to my mind brings

The circumstance in II Kings;

A day of death, disease and war

There sat outside the city four.

Four outcast men during a siege,

Bodies racked with loathsome disease;

If any had excuse, you may suppose

To be inactive, it was those.

Yet the four lepers said unto themselves,

"Why sit we here until we die?"

Let us rather ask ourselves,

"Why sit we here while THEY die?"

Abortion Must Be Abolished.

AbolitionistsRising.com 

Christian, bring the Gospel into conflict with child sacrifice:

This culture of death and dearth needs the Good News, 

The Gospel is the answer, no time to lose!

If we sit idly by as the lost go on to Hell, 

As the lepers quoth, "We do not well".

[See II Kings 7]

Instead of "Being at Ease", Consider these E's

"Woe to them that are at EASE...!" (Amos 6:1a).

Multitudes of Christians are not standing up or speaking out against the evil of child sacrifice (murder by abortion), because they have been AT EASE too long.  The church has been content to have an opinion against abortion, but not necessarily any obedience to Christ in righteous action to oppose the evil.  

The millions of people today who are murdering their children by abortion, are doing so in service to the god of Convenience.  And in the same way, the millions of Christians who are not doing what they should in the face of such evil are serving the same master...Convenience.  It seems much easier to hide their eyes, to stop their ears, and to regard not to know it.  Yet, the admonition of Leviticus 20:1-5 should stir believers to not be apathetic (and being apathetic is a pathetic way to respond to the horrific violence).  These children are the poorest and most needy in our day, and hearken to the words told us in the Proverbs: 

Proverbs 21:13 "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard."

Proverbs 28:27 "He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse."

Proverbs 29:7 "The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it."

With our littlest neighbors in eminent danger, how can we not but act in urgency in response to this emergency?  

Rather than remain at ease, we need to do something in obedience to God's word.  Below are actions prescribed in scripture which incidentally begin with letter "E".

I. ENGAGE the culture.  Bring the conversation of abortion to the forefront.  We are living in the middle of a Holocaust.  Be intentional to spread truth about it across the table, in the open air, in the public square: in the streets, at schools, with friends, outside abortion mills, at church, at public events, in city council meetings, at the state house, at the grocery story, and everywhere else you may find yourelf in society (Proverbs 1:20-21; Isaiah 59:4; Ephesians 4:15).

II. EXPOSE the evil by showing the violenc1e being done under "color" of law.  Bring it out of the shadows so people can see.  This is our Holocaust, and it needs to be treated like such.  Show the victims of this heinous atrocity. Whether on social media, through literature you hand people or leave places, signs or bumper stickers...make it known.  Allow the world to see what Christianity looks like in a society that kills its own children (Lamentations 3:51; Isaiah 58:1; Ezekiel 22:1-2; Ephesians 5:11). 

III. EXPOUND the Biblical view of the child in the womb, of what God says about child sacrifice, of the fatherless, of justice, mercy, and equity.  Do this behind pulpits, across dining room tables, in coffee shops, at Sunday school and in Bible studies, on campuses, at street corners, and over the phone (Psalm 139:13-16; Proverbs 22:20-21; Deuteronomy 16:19-20).

IV. EVANGELIZE the lost. Hand out Gospel tracts that deal with abortion or leave literature where it can be found, hand out or share videos, declare the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the abortion mill, share it in letters to your legislators, and others with whom you come in contact.  Bring the Gospel into conflict with the culture of death.  Declare it in the open air.  Preach the word, in season and out of season, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear (Mark 16:15; II Corinthians 5:20; II Timothy 4:2).

V. EDUCATE born neighbors on behalf of their preborn neighbors.  As you learn yourself what God's word specifically says on abortion, take the time to show others.  Teach about the Holocaust in which we live, and the righteous response to child sacrifice.  We don't just want to be doing something about abortion.  We want to do the right something.  We do not want to oppose evil only to find out that we were opposing it in a way that God calls evil.  Most of the church has been taught to be ProLife, but not Biblical in this regard.  Educate yourself, equip yourself, and then do the same for others (Isaiah 1:17; Romans 12:21, I Thessalonians 5:21-22).

VI. EXHORT brothers and sisters in Christ to also take action and obey God. Encourage the church to be salt and light in a dark and decaying society.  Provoke one another to love unfeigned and godly zeal.  We must be stirred, not only to know the truth and have a Biblical opinion, but also to live in Biblical obedience.  Our love must be unfeigned and without partiality (Hebrews 10:24; I John 3:18; James 2:8). 

VII. ENJOIN the magistrates to establish equal protection under the law for the preborn.  Stand against the ProLife regulation of murder by abortion, and call leaders to do right in seeking legislation to abolish abortion as murder.  Support those legislators who work to establish equal justice for all humans, by bills of total and immediate abolition (Exodus 23:2-3,6-7; Jeremiah 22:3; Jeremiah 5:1).

Don't be found at ease.  Be found doing these.  

Not all of us can do everything, but let NONE of us do nothing!

Abortion must be abolished.

Fruits from the Labor

Fruits from our labor.  We can trust the Lord of the harvest for the results of our service in Him.  It must be recognized that there are differing kinds of "fruit".

Earlier this month, while setting up one morning outside the death camp, I heard the yell of a passing driver behind me, and turned in time to see her reach for something from the seat next to her, and see the green object fly from her hand.  

She missed me.  I waved at her as she kept going, called out, "Love your neighbor!"

Then I walked over and picked it up.  This was the item thrown at me.

It was a tomato.  I have heard and read of other servants of the LORD in history having rotten tomatoes and other produce cast at them as they sought to preach and reach the lost in their culture, but the tomato hurled at me was still very green. 

I took it home, set it on the kitchen windowsill, let it ripen, and a few days later, had it in a sandwich for breakfast, before heading out to preach and plead at the gates of death again.  

We are to face persecution for Jesus' sake with patience and joy, and sometimes where we face mistreatment, we find that the Lord our King has meant it to provide for our good, even a treat, but it is always for the praise of His glory.

"As for fruit, 

Remember what is:

Duty is ours;

Results are His."

Abortion must be Abolished.

From Lost Shoe to Tracting up the Place...

 See the Shoe?

I do not know whether other people notice shoes that are abandoned out in public, but I do.  I have seen them on the side of the road, in parking lots, and even right in the middle of busy hotspots like the Power and Light District.  

(I'm not sure how one loses a shoe when out and about.  

-Is it rejected and cast aside purposely?  

-Did it fall off and the owner didn't notice?

-Did it fall out of a vehicle when the door opened?

-Was it left by a person being kidnapped, to leave a clue, to help law enforcement to find and rescue him?

-Did the owner simply get tired of it, and just say, "Shoo"?

Sorry, these possibilities came to mind, and I ran with it.)  

Whenever I do see a shoe left out in the open square, I am reminded of a certain verse of Scripture: 

In Mark 8:36, Jesus says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"  

I like to use it as an object lesson.  If I see it while I'm witnessing or street preaching, I will often point it out, and springboard from the lost sole to the lost soul and the Gospel. 

Today, when I saw the shoe pictured above out in a QuikTrip parking lot, I decided to make it into a Truth dispenser.  I wrote a note on a card, put some tracts in it, and placed it where it could be seen.  

From a shoe that used to leave tracks, to a shoe where tracts have been left for others. 

Abortion must be abolished.    

Coming to Terms with Using Terms like "Gay"

"The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness." (Proverbs 15:2).

It is a good practice to think about the words we use, what they mean, and how we can speak "aright".

The word in question in this post is the term "gay".

Right off, I will say that I personally could not recommend using the word "gay" as any sort of slur, especially in a flippant way.  I think the reason is because I am stuck with the knowledge of what it means.  

The word "gay" in truth means cheerful, happy, merry, jovial; brave, bright, fine, etc. that does not seem to me a proper term of insult.  

We find it once in Scripture.  James 2:1-3 "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. 2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:"

The word "gay" there in James 2:3 means someone's finery in apparel.

In modern times, the word was co-opted for the sodomite homosexual death style (not really a lifestyle) to endeavor to make homosexuality seem more acceptable and normative, and fun.

The casual use of it can have unexpected consequences.  I know of people who were teased and called by that term in derision so much that they began to believe that perhaps there were of that identity.  Others hearing it, have been influenced to think that it is something to laugh about, and thus is not so serious a sin.  

As a rule, I try not to use it to mean anything of that perversion, because those who are in bondage to that abomination are not truly gay in the proper meaning of the word. "Even in laughter, the heart is sorrowful: and the end of that mirth is heaviness" (Proverbs 14:13).  I have talked with homosexuals in front of sodomite bars, and when they got away from their companions, sometimes they would express their guilt and their desperation over the chains of this wickedness that they loved and were enslaved by, even groaning and crying.  So the meaning of the name does not belong to that conduct of identification.

Furthermore, when I hear that term attributed to other, especially by Christians, even in a joking or flippant manner, to borrow from another brother's expression, "I feel part of me die inside".  That sin with which the term is linked today, effeminacy and sodomy, rejection of God's design and enslavement to unnatural lust, is not a laughing matter.  I know people who are pursuing that path to their own perdition, and it grieves me. 

Ponder on these verses from one of my favorite psalms:

Psalm 119:136 "Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law."

Psalm 119:158 "I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved; because they kept not thy word."

Psalm 119:53 "Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law."

How can I laugh at that which is destroying my fellow human beings?  It is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.  We are to shine light on it, reprove it, but how can I make it a joke?  

I am not seeking to bind another man's conscience, but the topic was raised by someone recently, and I felt compelled to share my thoughts and position.  

Abortion must be Abolished. 

Because "His Precepts are Right", Call for JUSTICE and Plead for TRUTH

Psalm 119:128 “Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right: and I hate every false way.”

I don’t want to oppose evil only to find out later that that I was opposing it in a way that God calls evil.  I don’t want you to do that either.  But I fear that the Christian community has been well trained to be ProLife in its perspective, practice, and policy concerning abortion, yet not Biblically consistent.  And if we have been doing it wrong, it is best to NOW “prove what is acceptable unto the Lord”, “cease to do evil, and learn to do well”.  

JUSTICE - God is JUST.  He is a JUST God and a Saviour.  In Him, there is no respect of persons.

Exodus 23:2-3,6-8

:2 “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:”

:3 “Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.”

:6 “Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.”

:7 “Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.”

James 2:4,8 “Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? …If ye keep the royal law, according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.”

Partiality in protecting people from murder is transgressing God’s true justice. Inequity is Iniquity.

Jesus said “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24).

Equity and Justice must be established.  Equal justice under the law.

TRUTH – God is TRUTH.  He cannot lie.

Also in Exodus 23:1 “Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.”  Exodus 20:16 “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”

Truth telling.  True treatment.  Treat the preborn like who they are.  Treat abortion like what it is. When the ProLife Movement regulates abortion, they are treating it like what the proaborts say it is: “Healthcare”.  They are not telling the truth.  Abortion is Homicide.  In the list of things that God hates in Proverbs 6, “hands that shed innocent blood” (v.17) is found, but lying is found twice: 2) “a lying tongue” and 6) “a false witness that speaketh lies.” Jeremiah 9:3 tells about the wicked, that “they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth;” Should we not then “be valiant for the truth” ourselves? Therefore, because His precepts are right, we must demand Equal Justice and Truth, and reject Partiality and Falsehood.

Isaiah 59 speaks of a culture of violence and vanity, in which people’s “feet run to do evil”, and “shed innocent blood” (verse 7).  Verse 8 says, “Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity [going their own way], and “wasting and destruction are in their paths.”  “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man: but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 16:25).

It is described as a day when the vulnerable and the innocent are not being protected from violence. Verse 14 “And judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off: for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”

In such a day, one of God’s declarations in verse 4 was that “none calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth;” instead they trust in vain strategies, and iniquitous measures.  They hatch all sorts of plans, and then call on God, petitioning Him to bless their efforts.  They are choosing their own way too, in opposition of the evil.

What is the LORD’s response? 

Isa 59:1-3 “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:  But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”

Isaiah 59:3 “For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity…”

How can the ones against the bloodshed, have blood on their hands? 

A. By being complicit in the murder.  “Thou art become guilty in thy blood that thou hast shed...” (Ezekiel 22:4).

B. By being either complacent or cowardly in the midst of the murder, silent, absent, and negligent, not seeking to warn the wicked, nor speak for the weak. Ezekiel 33:8 “When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.”

C. By compromising with the crime, in making and supporting bills regulating how to commit the murder.  Psalm 94:20 “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?”  Isaiah 10:1-2 “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed;  To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!”  In the New Testament, Paul spoke of lifting holy hands up in prayer.  Bloody hands all over the country,

When the LORD God says, “WOE”, it is wise for people to say, “Whoa…” and consider our ways. 

What is God’s charge to those in authority? ESTABLISH TRUE JUSTICE.

Jeremiah 22:3 “Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.”

What is God’s charge to you and me as His people?   To love in TRUTH and live according to JUSTICE.

To love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  To love our neighbor as ourself.  If I am not loving my preborn neighbor, the least of these, how am I loving my God and Saviour, in Whose image they are made, and Who takes very personally how we treat the least of these?  We are commanded to love not just “in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (I John 3:18).  Unfeigned love.  I am sure that the priest and the Levite felt bad for the guy on the road, but Jesus didn’t equate that sympathy for love.  True love in I Corinthians 13, “rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.”  Thus, we cannot approve of ProLife laws that regulate abortion as if it is healthcare.   That is bearing false witness against our preborn neighbors and the God in whose image they are made.  We are also commanded to be “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4).  “Open thy mouth for the dumb…” (Proverbs 31:8-9).  For JUSTICE and TRUTH.

What if I was being dragged into that building to be killed?…sidewalks and society and statehouse.  Totally and immediately abolish. Love thy neighbor as thyself.

What can we do?

Engage!  Put the truth out where it can be seen and heard.  In the day when truth is fallen in the streets, take the truth to the streets and intersections!  Engage privately and publicly.  Spread the word!  Abortion must be abolished.

Evangelize Go to the abortion mills and elsewhere to Preach and Plead.  Call the lost to repent and believe the Gospel.

Expose the evil of our Holocaust, and the injustice of ProLife incremental regulatory strategy.

Expound the truth of God’s word concerning life in the womb, child sacrifice, justice and mercy.

Educate, Exhort, and Equip the church to take their role as salt and light in the midst of this Holocaust.

Enjoin the magistrates to establish equal protection under the law for the preborn.

Jeremiah 5:1 “Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.”

It is imperative to press for bills that are both JUST and TRUE.  We need to be pressing our leaders to support these and move them forward, and REJECT all iniquitous bills.  Because they are contrary to God's precepts, we must refuse them as "false ways".

Don’t let Isaiah 59:4 describe YOU.  Call for JUSTICE.  Plead for TRUTH.

Because all God’s precepts concerning all things are right, 

ABORTION MUST BE ABOLISHED.