Have You Missed the Signal?

When Samuel was old, the people came and asked him to make them a king.

In reply this brazen request, God told Samuel make sure the people knew how a king would behave and the ways that is would affect them!  owing, in I Samuel 8:11:

"And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots." (1 Samuel 8:11)

And about 80 years later, during the reign of King David, we are told in II Samuel 15:1... 

"And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him."

Absalom was out to overthrow his father's throne, and become king himself.  By craft and conspiracy, he stole the hearts of Israel from the man after God's own heart.  Why didn't the king, his faithful officers, and the subjects loyal to him catch on right away?!  Wasn't Absalom  just doing that which is the manner of a king? 

They missed the signals.

And when David was old, in I Kings 1:5...

"Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him."

Another son also made HIS bid for the throne, and did after the manner of kings, though the throne had been promised to Solomon.  If it had not been for the swift action of Nathan, the prophet of God, Adonijah might have succeeded!  

David and those loyal also missed the signals, or didn't know how to respond.

There are certain signals to pay attention to, certain behavior that can be perceived in those who are plying for certain types of governments and societies--particular ploys, steps they take in preparation for a takeover, for overthrowing that which is contrary to their design. 

But how many have been blinded to the signals, or bulldogged into not speaking?  How many have been scared into inaction in the face of the evil?  And many who do thunder about it, do so in church but whimper in public!

In my country, we missed the signals long ago.  

"Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision" made one wrong decision after another, choosing not to stand, not to speak, not to be a dissident of the culture of rebellion against the Truth.   

Those who chose instead to be content with their own feeling of security and not think Biblically, and certainly not prudently, to the generations to come!

Now we find that the precious rights and freedoms given by the Creator, Who created us equal, have been relinquished one after the other.  They those freedoms are trodden under foot and the evil that has risen to replace God's order is celebrated openly!

And the blessings given and come down from the Father of lights, upon a nation whose God is the LORD are diminishing, for we, as a people in our policies, as families, and yes, churches, are more and more, casting God's word behind our backs and arrogantly assume that the LORD will not see, nor regard it.  

We believe that He will benignly pass over our lukewarmness, and still shower pleasantries upon our heads.

We have been silent:
While government schools have become more increasingly overt in being AntiChristian, tossing out prayer and Bible reading, "decrying religion" while promoting false religions, especially that of Secular Humanism (which is tax-supported).  This has been followed by attempts to inhibit the declaration and expression of Bible truth in all public areas.

We have been silent:
While real science has been usurped by science falsely so called as the fairy tale for grown ups, known as Darwinian Evolutionism has been lauded in all places, so that millions who have been indoctrinated into thinking that they are merely bipedal protoplasm, evolved from star dust, now walk about, believing they are the god of their own universe. 

We have been silent:
While American society at large has become increasingly inundated (by both Media and Academia) with sexual immorality and confusion, exposed and exploited from early ages to abominable perversions of the design that God has ordained, bringing destruction upon its participants, those around them, and the nation that supports and promotes the atrocity, so that evils like fornication seem commonplace and run rampant.

We have been silent:
While over 60 millions of unborn American babies have been dehumanized and destroyed (poisoned, burned in chemicals, hacked to pieces) in their own mothers' wombs.  This homicide in the worst degree is called healthcare and a human "right".  Students are taught to esteem abortion as good even while exposing and despising Hitler, though we have slain over 10 times as many as the Nazis slew Jews. Innocent blood has been shed very much, and those who oppose such wickedness and seek to plead for lives and establish equal protection for the preborn are branded as "haters". 

All this, while the majority of the American church have kept their children in those government schools, enjoyed the entertainment of the world without recognizing and countering the lies and ungodly worldviews therein, and allowed the shutting up of truth from public life to avoid discomfort. 

Therefore now for several generations, millions upon millions of Americans, have been trained to not think or live according to the Biblical worldview.  And those millions and millions include children who grew up in Christian homes, going to Christian churches.  So many are in bondage to pornography, homosexuality, and are confused even about what to think of gender. 

Millions of those who still attend churches and call themselves Christian are not even aware of how much they have been infected by the lies. 

My Brethren, these things ought not so to be!  

How shall we answer? 

If we speak not to warn the wicked of judgment, their blood is on our hands (Ezekiel 3,33)!

Christian, if you speak not for the innocent and the righteous, then how shall ye answer Him with Whom we have to do (Proverbs 24:11-12)?

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 signals!  

Have you missed them?  

They are being set up by the government, the media, education, on all sides.  Even now more are prepared, cloaked by subtle words and "responsible sounding" rhetoric, to throw us into more ruin.  The signals of more takeovers unimagined by previous generations.  Will your voice be heard?

Is there yet time to turn the tide?  I do not know.  

But I know what God can do.
Isaiah 59:19 "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him."

When God judged His people for their wickedness, He sought for a man among them who would stand in the gap, and make up the breaches in the hedge, that He might destroy it not.  Yet He found none.  Even if it is too late, I am resolved that as the judgment continues to fall upon my people, the LORD will find me, standing in the gap.

As the king of Nineveh (weeping and in sackcloth) told his people, when the signal of destruction was preached in the streets,

Jonah 3:9 "Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?"

Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to ANY people.

I love my country!  I pray for God's deliverance and for the awakening of my people.  

As with Daniel, I pray, 

"[I] do not present [my] supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies." Daniel 9:18

I beg God to give America what she needs, and NOT what she deserves.  For we deserve the worst destruction for our corruption, callousness, and cold blooded massacre of the most innocent and defenseless of human beings.  

God forgive America for United we have sinned!

Abortion must be abolished.

Let Not Man Prevail - Asa's Prayer

The prayer of King Asa of Judah (made earlier in his reign), has long been a favorite of mine.  I have studied it, taught through it, exhorted others, and implemented its truth into my own prayers and perspective.

Two years ago on this day, I posted that prayer on Facebook in response to the way that the abolition bills across the nation, bills written to bring an immediate stop to the murder of babies under "color" of law and establishing equal protection under the law, were being opposed by THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BE AGAINST ABORTION.  It was first opposed in 2016 when SB1118 was put forth in Oklahoma to abolish abortion in that state, and was squelched by the ProLife Senate leadership and the largest ProLife organization in the nation.

This outright opposition to righteous bills, all the while supporting legislation that regulates murder, has continued each year since.  And each year God continues to expose the compromise and complicity of those who have long been hailed as the "champions" of the preborn. 

Each year, more people are awakened to their responsibility to love their preborn neighbors as they do themselves, call for justice, and plead for truth.  Each year "the voice as strong as thunder" is heard louder and in more sectors of the Union.

Here is Asa's prayer. 

"And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said,

"LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude.  O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee." (II Chronicles 14:11)

I love how Asa calls on the Lord:

• in recognizing that God is not limited by the number or strength of those who engage in His name.
• by aligning with God, as "our God", relying on Him, as belonging to Him.
• by acknowledging full dependence upon the Lord and full confidence in His will.
• by applying the course of which states duty is ours--results are God's / obey and watch what God will do.
• and by seeking the glory of God, not his own.

Asa did not pray, "Let not our enemies prevail over us."

He said "Let not man prevail against THEE!"

And so I echo,

"Lord, let not man prevail against Thee!"  Whether that man be Pagan, Papist, Protestant, Pragmatist or Pietist!  And whether that man be ProMurder or ProLife!  Let justice be done!

Oh Father, the fatherless are slain without cause!

"They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage!"
We are "a people laden with iniquity!"
So many of those who worship Thee don't even realize that their "hands are full of blood!"
"Judgment is turned away backward!"
"Justice standeth afar off!"
"Truth is fallen in the streets!"
"Equity cannot enter!"
"They have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly!"
They say "Peace, peace; when there is no peace!"
"They hate him that rebuketh in the gate!"
"They abhor him that speaketh uprightly!"
They "condemn the innocent blood" and "contemn God!"

Lord, glorify Your name!  Shew Yourself strong!

"Let not man prevail against Thee!" 

CONVICT the hearts of the hard, the apathetic, the depraved indifferent, and the silent!  Provoke the conscience of those guilty of complicity, collaboration, compromise, cowardice, and complacency! 

"Let not man prevail against Thee!" 

CONVERT the souls of sinners in rebellion against Your to salvation, and the souls of Your people from selfishness so that they may truly love their neighbor, and be faithful in obedience!

"Let not man prevail against Thee!"

CONFOUND the schemes of the wicked and the compromisers! Expose their error and wake those who blindly trust and follow them!

"Let not man prevail against Thee!"

CONFIRM Your word and Your servants as they stand in the gap in Your name in the cause of those made in Thine image!

"Let not man prevail against Thee!"

CONSUME me, my family, and my brethren with zeal for Your righteousness, justice, and mercy! Let not my own expectations dictate my actions, but rather Your word:
"Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear."
"It is time for thee, LORD, to work: for they have made void thy law."
"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."
"My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words." (Psalm 119:38, 126, 128, 139)

"Let not man prevail against Thee!" 

And that includes me.

Abortion must be abolished.

Prayer Targets to Shut Down Abortion Mills, and for the Abolition of Abortion

Nearly all Christians know that we should be praying about the onslaught upon the preborn in our midst.  

However, I find that many are at a loss of specific things for which to pray.  So here are some definite targets of prayer concerning child sacrifice. I hope it is edifying to some, in hitting the mark of intercession with our God about the violence against the fatherless.
  

BELIEVERS: O Lord of the Harvest, I pray that You would awaken Your people to repent of apathy in regards to the plight of the preborn.  That we as churches would be convicted to go to this field, to labor for life and souls at the gates of death.  That the sidewalks would never be empty when babies are being sacrificed; but on the contrary, that Bible believing Christians would line the sidewalks and be such a shining presence for the testimony of Christ that the mills will not be able to withstand the truth.  May the churches search the Scriptures and reject ProLife partiality in favor of equal protection in alignment with God's precepts of Justice, Truth, and Love.  May they seed the culture and bringing the Gospel into conflict with this great evil.  That Christians would be salt and light in all society, not just at the gates of slaughter, but also at the gates of state, and the streets in between.

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished. 

PARENTS: O Father, I pray for parents to whom You have granted conception, who are considering or planning to have their offspring murdered.  Turn their hearts away from their own selfishness and toward their children!  We pray that they may fear You and flee evil!  Cause them to value their babies, and protect them from this horrific onslaught!  Work in their consciences, reproving them of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment!  May they refuse to make their babies take the hit for them!  May they cease to destroy little ones at mills, by pills, through birth control, or in vitro fertilization!  May fathers and mothers valiantly welcome and defend the children given to them by God, and may business therefore at Planned Parenthood and other mills grind to a halt,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished.

WORKERS: O Lord of all, I pray for those who work at the mill, that they would have no rest and no peace in their jobs.  Lord, open their eyes, and break the hardness of their hearts!  May they humble themselves, repent and trust in Christ, and find healing in Christ!  May they forsake the foolish and live.  Lord, lead them to jobs that do not involve the shedding of innocent blood!  May the nurses, the receptionists, the IT support—everyone—from the administration to the janitors, run from this business,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills will close down, and abortion abolished.

ABORTIONISTS: O Giver of Life, I cry unto you for those physicians who have left true medicine to engage in the violent onslaught of defenseless children in the womb.  I pray for those "healers" who have turned the Hippocratic oath into the "Hypocritic" oath.  Lord, they condemn the innocent blood and contemn You.  There is no fear of God before their eyes.  Let not man prevail against You!  Convict them.  Show them how abominable the shedding of innocent blood is to You.  Pierce their calloused souls with Your word!  Teach them to fear the Lord!  Cause them to heed the Gospel!  May they turn from their pride to bow the knee to Christ openly and without reserve.  Then, saved and forgiven, cause them to stand against abortion themselves, and cry for its abolition!  If they will not, take them away, so that they cannot continue this atrocity.  May those who slaughter children repent or be removed, so that no doctor will take money to murder babies,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished.

COMMUNITY: O Righteous Judge, awaken particular regions across the nation, and especially the citizens of cities that have murder mills!  May their eyes be opened to the wickedness done in their midst, and may open eyes weep in remorse and repentance.  Expose the abominable practices of these; show their depravity, their unethical doings, their greed and cruelty. 

Confound their crafty conspiracies, and show them to be hateful.  May it become evident and loathsome to the community, the businesses surrounding them, companies who service them, the media, city officials, and even their own client base.  May the horror of what abortion is so take hold upon citizens, that they cannot remain silent and unmoved.  Cause the people of towns that contain human sacrifice centers within their city limits to rise up and say, “NO MORE! We will no longer stand by and allow this bloody holocaust to continue on our turf!”  May they cry out out mightily to God for mercy and seek the clearing away of blood guilt from their border.  Ah, that the public sentiment, public presence, and public pressure would cause the abortion industry in ___________ to shrink away in shame,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished.

STATE LEADERS: O LORD of Hosts, I pray for state leaders and other lesser magistrates, that have collaborated and compromised with child sacrifice, including those "prolife" leaders who seek to regulate murder, rather than abolish the slaughter within their jurisdiction.  Cause them to remember that they will answer, not only to man, but also to You for their acts as authorities.  Teach them the fear of the LORD.

May they be confronted by the people under them (who will follow the widow's example in continual coming), to execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor.  May the Christians rise in Jesus' name to speak for the weak, to be a voice in every state house, demanding total abolition of child sacrifice in every state legislature.  May the magistrates repent of their cowardice, complicity, and compromise.  Cause them to cease to do evil and learn to do well.  Lord, move them to defend the poor and the fatherless, to do justice to the afflicted and needy.  May legislators put forth bills of total and immediate abolition of abortion.  May lesser magistrates on each level interpose for the innocent, and stand to protect the vulnerable.  Draw them to turn from partiality, to criminalizing this slaughter of son and daughter as the murder it is.  Use them to punish the evil doer, and reward the righteous, in essence to do their duty,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished.

 NATIONAL LEADERS: O King of kings, Ruler of nations, I pray for those who lead this country, from judges to the legislature, to the president, that You would turn their hearts as the rivers of water.  That they would see that they have framed mischief by a law, and permitted, funded, and promoted the murder of millions of their own citizens (over a million each year), indeed, the most vulnerable of our society.  That they would be put in fear, and know themselves to be but men.  That they would cry to You for mercy and turn their hearts to Jesus Christ, and our nation’s policies, laws, and positions to TRUE justice for all.  May these United States rise, denounce this bloody industry for the holocaust that it is, and utterly abolish human abortion,

and may THAT be why the abortion mills close down, and abortion abolished.

May this be useful to aid and arm the prayers of my brothers and sisters.

Keep in mind...

Many will say that we need to pray over the evil of abortion, and prayer IS vital.  
However, let us NOT simply PRAY, when God has commanded us to OBEY.

Abortion must be abolished.

Plain Thoughts from Romans 1:23, Basic as 1-2-3

Just some plain thoughts about the following verse (plain thoughts come easily to a Kansan).

Romans 1:23 "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things."

Thought #1  We were made to glorify our Creator.

Isaiah 43:7 "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him."

Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."


Thought #2 He will not share His glory with another.

Isaiah 42:8 "I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images."


Thought #3 When a man glorifies any other that the Lord of Glory, it always ends up with shame on sinful humanity.

Psalm 4:2 "O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing? Selah."

Hosea 4:7 "As they were increased, so they sinned against me: therefore will I change their glory into shame."

Philippians 3:19 "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)"

As Christians, what should our prayer be for those who arrogantly rebel against God and His glorious Gospel and who seek instead after vanity and their own way (iniquity)?

Psalm 83:16 "Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD."

Do The Math

I don't know how often I have heard it said in various ways by fellow believers:

"Unfortunately, at this time the church does not have the people, the power, nor the funds, to make an impact on the evil of abortion in this country." 

"We cannot really do anything but vote, give to pro-life groups and crisis pregnancy centers, pray, and hope for the best.  There is nothing else we can do that will make a difference."

I for one, want to counter this sentiment with truth.  Let's take into consideration a very practical use of numbers.  

There has been a campaign across this nation for Christians to gather and pray at their state capitols.  Franklin Graham has spearheaded it, and thousands of churches, families, and individuals have turned out to hear exhortation and pray together in public squares.  Pastors and Christian leaders have encouraged these gatherings, and they have been well attended.

In Nashville, Tennessee, it was reported that about 9,000 gathered to pray in that state's capitol city on May 3rd of this year.  Let me repeat that.  That is NINE THOUSAND believers who intentionally took time out of their busy lives that specific day!  They organized, and went and stood in a multitude to pray.

Incidentally, just one mile from where those 9,000 gathered to pray about the sins and needs of this country, stands a building where the murder of innocent and helpless babies is committed.  That is an altar of human sacrifice to the god of Self.  Babies are butchered there six days a week.  Just eight miles away from that prayer gathering in another direction  is another murder mill, where four abortionists murder babies on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.  

And yet on most days there is NO ONE standing regularly, or even occasionally, to bring the Gospel into conflict with those who are committing the gross sin of homicide (in the worst degree, on the most vulnerable victim)!  NO ONE standing to declare God's truth and mercy to those who are shedding innocent blood.  

There is a problem with this.

Especially since there are over 600,000 people living in the city of Nashville, and nearly 1,000 churches in the Nashville area!  

Those few Christians who do make it a point to go to those specific Tennessee abortion mills are abolitionists who drive 45 minutes to several hours to stand for Christ and those made in His image. 

Again, there is a problem with that.  

I well remember the morning in Pensacola in 2006, out in front of a baby butcher shop, when a police officer looked at me and my friend, and said "This must not be a real issue for the church, since you two are the only ones here."  In the middle of a conservative Christian "stronghold", surrounded by hundreds of churches, and only two Christians were standing as emissaries for Christ at the Gates of Death.  What message is the church sending the world by our silence and absence from the field? 

The watchword of the Decision America Tour campaign has been "Pray.  Vote.  Engage."

I would like to put some focus on the word "Engage."  What effect would it have if we did?

Since 9,000 individuals were able to schedule several hours out of their very busy lives to gather and pray (and I am sure that abortion was possibly one of the prayer targets), let's just take that number and play with it for a while.  Consider the impact if 9,000 Christians chose to love their neighbors by showing up when they were scheduled to be killed.

Taking one mill into consideration: If just 24 of the 9,000 went to that abortuary on one day, and then a different 24 went the next day, and then another 24 went the next day, and on, and on...you would have 24 Christians at the mill EVERY SINGLE DAY of the YEAR without ANY ONE INDIVIDUAL having been there twice. 

Imagine, 24 Christians, exercising various roles at the Gates of Death—

• Preaching the Gospel. 
• Pleading for the lives of little image-bearers. 
• Praying fervently on site for God to work in hearts.
• Providing help, information, and resources at the entry.
• Provoking with signs, etc.

What if they chose to take on both mills?  If each person in the multitude of 9,000 committed to stand, representing Christ and pleading the cause of the poor and needy (as Scripture commands) outside the Gates of Death one day a month, that would mean that each of those two abortion mills would have 145 Christians outside it EVERY DAY with each person only giving one day a month to plead for the lives of the innocent and provide truth to all who enter (and that is if every month had 31 days; 5 months have fewer).

This by itself would have a HUGE impact on the business that sheds innocent blood.  This would clearly showcase the Gospel to the lost deliver numerous babies from slaughter, and shut down both mills!

For sake of clarity, I must state that I am not at all against Christians gathering in small or huge numbers, privately or publicly to earnestly and fervently pray for revival and a turn in this nation.  I am merely using that example to show what can happen when national Christian leaders and local area pastors encourage the church to "show up!"  They show up!

Why is there not a greater cry for action?  A greater plea to engage?  

Why is the plight of the unborn and the Christian biblical response not campaigned for every Sunday from behind the pulpits of our churches?

The reality of this post is that thousands are gathering for an event to pray about the sins and needs of this country, and yet one mile away from that crowded site, almost no one is gathering to regularly or even occasionally "engage" those who are committing this crime against God, their own children, and their own conscience.  Oh, that after everyone bowed in prayer at that Nashville rally to beseech the Almighty God, those 9,000 had then been directed to march down to Planned Parenthood and actively love their neighbors who were being murdered that very day—some to preach, some to pray, some to plead, some to provide help, and all to provoke as God's word commands, calling to repentance, and seeking the abolition of abortion.

Francis Schaeffer said that every abortion mill should have a sign out front that says, "Open by permission of the church." Please let that quote hit hard!

I saw a billboard in Arkansas that said, 
"When 1% of the church shows up to stand at the abortion mill, Abortion will cease in Arkansas."  That would be true in any state of the union.  Darkness cannot stand the presence of Light.  

God has commanded us to "love our neighbour as ourselves", "visit the fatherless in their affliction", to "open our mouths" and "plead the cause of the poor and needy", to do "justice and equity".

But even though God has made Himself clear, and has given us all we need to make a huge impact simply by assembling as His ambassadors at the Gates of Death (not to mention all the other ways to effect abolition of this evil), it is not enough, nor honest, neither is it "Christian" for us to say, "All we can do is pray."

Prayer is never meant to be a substitute for obedience.  Imagine if Isaiah said in prayer, "Here am I; send someone else!" (Isaiah 6).

I would that the thousands upon thousands of believers in every city would learn about, get involved, and then engage for their pre-born neighbors being slaughtered!  I would that they would take God's command to "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the case of all such are as appointed to destruction" (Proverbs 31:8) at His word.  I fear that it is far easier to go to an event then it is to do the inconvenient thing.  

"Some want to live within sound of church and chapel bell. I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of Hell."  C.T. Studd

[Note: the 9,000 number used as an example in this post is simply taken from the number of attendees at that one city event.  If we took instead the real number of Christians and Bible believing assemblies in Nashville, or another major city (like the Kansas City region), the number of Christians activated could easily be larger, and have even more impact.]

[Note also: Going to the abortion mills is ONLY ONE way that Christians can engage justly on behalf of our preborn neighbors.  There are many areas in which we are to seek to be active in doing justly, as God requires.  Seeding the culture with literature, declaring truth and destroying misinformation, exposing the holocaust to the public in various forums, social media interaction, starting the conversation, exhorting the brethren, utilizing your car as a vehicle of agitation, putting the symbol and message of abolition out to be seen on clothing, products, etc.  Right at the top must also be prodding our elected leaders to abolish the murder of abortion instead of simply regulating it!]  Imagine if 9,000 Christians in the Greater City Area chose to do all those things as well!

The church MUST take right ground, and engage.

Abortion must be abolished.

Active Application of AGAPE to Annihilate Apathy

Take a look at the front driver door of this Mitsubishi.  It has words that are derived from I Corinthians 13, the passage in the Bible known around the world as the "LOVE Chapter".

Describing LOVE, the sticker says---
"Is not easily angered, ALWAYS protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres: LOVE Never FAILS."

This is evidently a car of those who are willing to profess Christ out in public, to let it be known that they are Christians.  I think that having bumper stickers on one's vehicle, etc., with Scripture, and messages that represent our Lord, the Gospel, and righteousness is a good way to provoke thought in passersby, start conversations, and spread truth.  It is part of being a testimony for Christ wherever you go.  I personally make it a practice to have Christ-honoring messages on my car, and have many brothers and sisters in Christ who do the same.    

Now, you may ask, "Why is Kevan showing us this picture?  We've all seen similar stickers and know their purpose.  What is the point or the problem?"

HERE'S THE PROBLEM...That picture was taken as the family in that car drove into an abortion mill in order to have one of their children ABORTED.  BUTCHERED.  MURDERED.

[It happened in Nashville a week ago, on Saturday, February the 6th, 2016.  The photo was taken by a grieved abolitionist who was there to represent Christ at the gates of death.]

Think of it, a car with words from the Love Chapter went to a child sacrifice center to do the exact OPPOSITE of what LOVE is to their child!

(Sadly this is NOT a rare occurrence.  I have myself seen cars with fish symbols and Christian logos entering these places to murder the innocent.  Dear friends of ours have seen cars with bumper stickers representing local churches down the street, driven by those claiming to be Christians.  We have heard people say, "I will be in church tomorrow!"  More professing evangelicals will go to these baby butcheries as customers this week than as representatives of Christ for those made in His image!)

Please mourn with us over this murder, over the abominations of our people.
Pray for God to bring that family to repentance.
Pray for all professing Christians who participate in or are apathetic to the slaughter of their preborn neighbour.

Christians may be troubled at hearing this, but feel helpless.  But what can we do?  We can do what is right.

What is really needed is for the church of Jesus Christ to awaken from the slumber of ease and compromise, repent, arise, and be present at the gates of death. We are ambassadors for Christ, are we not?   SO, let us be "speaking the truth in LOVE" as He commanded, loving as He loved, demonstrating that LOVE in embracing the "least of these".

The LOVE that is found in I Corinthians 13 is CHARITY (agape LOVE).  We find it described in the passage.  Let us take just a portion!

I Corinthians 13:4-8
4 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,"
5 "Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;"
6 "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
8 "Charity never faileth..."

Here is the incredible description of Agape love, selfless intentional love, which gives to others needs without motive of personal reward.  The Bible in this passage (as in some others) uses the English word charity, which denotes giving, not in a weak, insipid way (that it may be thought of today, as many words have become shallow in our understanding), but the TRUE meaning of CHARITY.

The Latin root of the word carries the meaning of giving something "dear, costly, and beloved".  The Greek word charis is the word often translated grace in the Bible, giving with kindness to need.  This CHARITY love is not merely a feeling, but an action!  It is the lovingkindness extended to another.  This CHARITY is the love of heroes, who will put aside their own agendas, their own comforts, even their own lives, to take the hit for someone else, to rescue the weak and poor in their distress.  This is compassion with clout.  This actually makes a difference.

This love is the love which God so loved us with, that He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16).  
It is the love wherewith Jesus Christ loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood (Revelation 1:5).
It is the love that a husband is to demonstrate toward his wife, in giving up himself for her (Ephesians 5:25).
It is the love with which we are to love both our God (in response to His great love for us) and our neighbour (Mark 12:30-31; I John 4:19).

Notice the denial of selfishness in the passage: CHARITY does NOT envy, does does NOT "vaunt (boast) itself" or get "puffed up".  It does NOT allow itself to behave "unseemly" or be "easily provoked", but is humbly harnessed to the task.  NOR does it think evil.  CHARITY "seeketh NOT her own".  Love is not demanding or following "my own way", but holding onto that which is right and true for all.  Another word for selfishness, or going my own way is "iniquity".  See that love "Rejoiceth NOT in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth".  

I fear that one reason that most Christians are not showing this powerful love to the unborn in distress by confronting the culture of child sacrifice with the Gospel, and standing at the gates of death to deliver the weak with our mouths (Proverbs 12:6; 31:8-9), is because we are allowing our own selfishness (iniquity) to abound in our own lives.

The Scripture says, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew 24:12).  Thus, our compassion in action to the littlest among us grows shallow and cold.  Oh, we care (at some level), but we don't charis.  We don't stop, and stoop over, and weep, and lose sleep at night in begging God to use us the next day outside Planned Parenthood to rescue lives and souls.  Our love (as the church) for the poorest, most needy, and most vulnerable people has grown cold.  And millions and millions of little ones have been slaughtered as a consequence.  Chilling, isn't it? 

It is called APATHY.  DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE.  Because we have our own plans for the day, our own cares, that don't include the inconvenience of pleading for our neighbour who is getting murdered down the street.  Being Apathetic is PATHETIC.  

The question is: Will we remain in our selfishness?  Or will we turn from it, and say, "Down Self, Christ is my King!"  Will we cast off our Cowardice?  Our Callousness?  Our Comfortlovingness?  To do what?  To take up the burden for the little ones!  To do as Job, and search out the cause we know not, to rescue the innocent from the jaws of the wicked!  To open our mouths in this generation, and speak for those who have no voice!  To bring the truth of Life and the Gospel with the Clout of CHARITY!  As the church of Jesus Christ, we must repent of loving our own ways, our own building projects, and our own pet peeves over the needs of others.  We must rise and engage for the abolition of this great evil!  This abomination, which is a bomb in our nation, bringing destruction and the judgment of God!

Let us NOT condone this evil by our silence!
Let us be shaken and awakened and go to the battle with the Gospel on our lips!
Let us forsake the slack hand of laziness and be diligent with all our might!

LET US PUT APATHY TO DEATH!

Consider two more characteristics of CHARITY: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind"

What is "SUFFERING LONG"?  To patiently bear a burden for a long time; to persevere in the face of offense and insult for the sake of another or a righteous cause.  To incorrigibly endure till the task is completed.

Suffer long?  That is not quite the description of the aspiration of the American church at large today (I must admit, it's not my greatest aspiration either).  We naturally want to avoid suffering, to get fast food, short checkout lines, easy living, comfortable situations, quick fixes, and answers to prayer right away.  Patience for us is often waiting without complaining for the popcorn to finish in the microwave.

Let us CHOOSE to "suffer long", to TAKE TIME to go to the child sacrifice center, to see the need ourselves.  To INTENTIONALLY do what may be INCONVENIENT, to hold out our hands to offer help and hope as our neighbours are being carried away to slaughter, even when it is cold outside or hot outside, even when those we call to choose to ignore, curse, or mock us.  Why should we not learn to be longsuffering, seeing that God is longsuffering (Isaiah 65:2; II Peter 3:9), and calls us to be as well (Ephesians 4:2; Colossians 1:11; 3:12; II Timothy 4:2).  Let us choose to spend and be spent, showing this LOVE, as Paul did, no matter the response: "And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved" (II Corinthians 12:15).

What about the other characteristic of CHARITY love?

"and is KIND"  What does it mean to be kind?  To put others before oneself; disposed to do good to others, supply needs, and assist in distresses; to see and act.  It was first used in this way during the age of chivalry (circa AD1300), and conveyed the idea of being courteous, doing noble deeds, righting wrong, and aid those in danger.  The word kind is connected to the word kindred, as in family, giving the concept of treating someone, even the stranger beaten on the road and left for dead, "like family."  Being kind is not minding your own business.

How would you pray and plead for the unborn child if he or she were YOUR own flesh and blood? Would you stand idly by if someone was going to kill YOUR child under protection of the "law"?  Or would you plead for their lives as if your own life depended on it?

O, LORD!  Let us not slumber while the weak are destroyed!  Let us not fail to visit the fatherless in their affliction!  Let us not remain apathetic!  Let us win battles for You before the sun goes down on this generation!

Rather than merely having the words of Charity on our cars and in our mouths while we continue our own selfish ways, let us show the world true CHARITY in our lives, by engaging our culture in society and on site for the sake of Jesus Christ and those who bear His image, till human abortion is abolished.

CHARITY "Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

"CHARITY never faileth"

Abortion must be abolished.

Sons of Amittai, Arise!

Jonah 1:1 "Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,"

This is how the great story of Jonah begins.  This is, very possibly, the most well known, most talked about, and most preached on book of minor prophecy.  There are so many truths, sermons, lessons, and insights that pour out of those four short chapters!  I personally love to study the life of Jonah, and teach others what I have learned.  However, in this post, I want to focus on four words which may be the most overlooked words in the whole book.  Which words?

"...the son of Amittai..."

Jonah was the son of Amittai.  Amittai was his dad.  The Hebrew name of Amittai carries much significance!  It literally means "veracious"!

Before we delve into the full definition let's look at another word: VORACIOUS!  This word has the Latin root, vorax, from voro, which means "to devour, to eat, to clear away, to consume, as food".  We find other English words with this same root, such as "herbivore", and "carnivore".  The picture given by the word VORACIOUS is to be given to EAT!  To be ravenous in appetite!  To be rapacious!  Very hungry!  Eager to devour!  Driven by hunger!  Ready to partake with a fierce desire!

Now just change one little letter, switch the first o for an e, and we have VERACIOUS.  This word comes from another Latin root, verax, from verus, which means "true".  The Latin motto Veritas vincit means "truth conquers".  Other English words that come from this root are "verification", "veracity", and "verily".  So to be VERACIOUS carries the idea of being given to TRUTH, to fix one's gaze on truth, to be disposed to speak truth, to be true, in VERY truth.  How I love language!

To be "given to truth"  is that of taking truth for one's personal life.  Amittai is derived from the Hebrew ameth, which means "stability, certainty, truth, trustworthiness, establishment, faithful, right, and sure."  There is the picture of firmness, reliability, and continuance.  This word is used both for speaking the truth and being true.

Ameth in turn comes from the Hebrew root, aman, meaning "to render firm or faithful, stedfast, trusty, verified, to nurse and build up, to establish, to turn to the right, to support.  A number of Hebrew words are derived from this root, with varied meanings, include:
"believe; faithful, sure"
"right hand (as the firm, the strong)"
"cunning workman, in the sense of training, as an expert"
"verity; truth"
"surely; indeed"
"sure; truly; verily; so be it; truth"

The last of this list is the Hebrew form from which we get the blessed word that has come into common use by believers today, so much so that it is considered an English word and is spoken out in the midst of Bible preaching. "AMEN!"  It is found in our English Bible 78 times, in both Old and New Testaments.  We find that that one of the names of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the faithful and true Witness, the Lord of glory, is "the Amen" (Revelation 3:14).

Almost the only background we have of Jonah is His father's name.  And that name became Jonah's identity.  It was an honourable name.  A name that would have set him apart, and challenged him in his life and ministry.

Beloved brethren, let us consider Who our Father is.  Are we not, in very truth, also "sons of Amittai"?  Are we not to be known as children of Truth?  Have we not, through spiritual birth, become the sons of God (John 1:12; 3:3)?  How should that affect our words (Ephesians 4:25) and our walk (II John 4; III John 4)?

The natural out flowing of being sons of Amittai is to answer God's call to stand and speak His words to the lost in this world.

Jonah 1:2 "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me."
Jonah 3:2 "Arise, go unto Ninevah, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee."

ARISE, AND GO!  Go where?
To the wicked!  To those in danger of judgment!  Even to that which Satan considers HIS turf!

In this country, in our society, we find a culture that tolerates, condones, harbors, and promotes the horror of child sacrifice!  Over 3,000 babies a day are ripped apart in the name of the god of Self. This vile and violent practice is abominable to the LORD of Heaven, and yet nearly all those who are called Christians in this nation are completely silent concerning this evil and absent from the field of battle for life and souls.

"They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them" (Proverbs 28:4).

ARISE, AND SPEAK!  Speak what?
Speak the truth!  "Cry against it"  "Preach unto it"

We are to be those who "sigh and cry" concerning the abominations of our people!
We are to be those who stand for righteousness and against wickedness!
We are to lift our voices when "truth is fallen in the street"!
We are to warn the wicked of the judgment of God!
We are to preach the word!
We are to deliver those that are drawn unto death and those that are ready to be slain!
We are to open our mouths for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction!
We are to judge righteously!
We are to plead the cause of the poor and needy!
We are to call to repentance and declare the Gospel!

We are to be sons of Amittai!  Children who speak the truth.  Do we not desire that our Father could say this about us? "For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour" (Isaiah 63:8).

Did you know that God has said that the upright should use their mouths to deliver from those who lie in wait for blood?  "The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them" (Proverbs 12:6).

Those to whom we are sent may hate us.  In fact, it should be expected. "The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul" (Proverbs 29:10).  Notice that we are to seek souls.  

William Booth said, "Go straight for souls, and go for the worst."

This is also the call to every Christian, to every son of Amittai.

What will YOU do with it?  Will you go?  Will you speak? 

Or will you choose to go the other way?  To run from God's call?  To follow your own agenda?  

To be silent and absent?  

Have you been lolled to sleep in the ship of your own desires, in spiritual slumber, indifferent to the cry of the innocent and the lost and the call of your Father?    Are you interceding for this land of yours?  Standing in the gap between the judgment of God and the wicked (Ezekiel 22:30)?  Have you grown so comfortable, so calloused, so cowardly, that it is nothing to you, that the righteous wrath of God is upon this country, and yes, even upon the lazy, luxurious, lackadaisical church, who will not wear out their designer shoes standing at the devil's doorstep, because they are caught up in enjoying the devil's entertainment, and cannot be bothered with the inconvenience of the fellowship of their Lord's sufferings?    

If you are asleep, you need to hear the hard voice of reality, telling you, "What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not" (Jonah 1:6).

Let us arise, repent of our apathy, arrive to the battle field, and engage in the good fight!  

Let us behave in such a manner that those who see our lives and hear the words on our lips will seek to know, 

"Whose sons are you?"  

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). 

Abortion must be abolished.