Abortion

Genesis 1:26 - "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...'" (God)

Psalm 139:13-14 - "For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows this very well." (King David)

Jeremiah 1:5 - "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to all the nations." (God)

Jeremiah 29:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.'" (God)

Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Paul)

Philippians 1:6 - "And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus." (Paul)

These are just a few of the verses in the Bible that lead me to value human life.  God has a plan for us.  We need to keep in mind that there is an enemy whose sole purpose is to destroy and defame the image of God.  He seeks to turn God's creation against Him.  Even though this enemy is ultimately doomed, he wants to take as many people down with him as he can.  He has nothing to lose because he's already lost.  He is extremely dangerous.  He is the father of lies.  "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was to convince the world he didn't exist".  Not a biblical quote, but still dead on.  There is an enemy, and I'm calling him out.

There's been a lot of uproar on Facebook about the death penalty.  Convicted criminals are given quiet deaths that are as comfortable as possible.  Criminals who were given trials and appeals, who have sat on death row for years.  The nation watches one man die, but turns a blind eye to the genocide that is also going on in our country.  Americans sit and condemn Chinese for making their genocide gender-specific while our country is indiscriminate.  I know I told myself I wouldn't preach from the pulpit on this blog, but this issue has been eating me for years.

Abortion is murder.  Period.  Whatever the circumstances that lead to that decision, it doesn't matter.  Do I sound heartless?  Do I care?  We're at war, people, and the enemy is slaughtering millions of us yearly.  He's laughing so hard as he throws rationales at us.  Some poor girl was raped and got pregnant.  That is a horrible scenario.  I do NOT condemn her for considering an abortion.  Even if she gets an abortion, I do NOT condemn her.  I condemn the sick, psycho rogue angel behind it.  I condemn him who lied to her.  The horrible sin of rape has already been committed, but I do NOT want this innocent victim to add murder to the list of crimes.  As a Christian, it's not my job to point the finger in blame.  It's my job to help her be a mother, or at least find suitable adoptive parents.  First and foremost, it's my job to point her to Jesus.  Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

Ephesians 6:12 says "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, powers and authorities of this present darkness, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  I don't battle people.  I battle the lies at the source.  Ultimately, this world will kill me.  I won't get out alive.  "I promise, we all die, and this world is crushed..." - Tedashii's "Do You Feel".  Well, I feel like "reppin' Him now", Tedashii.  I will be dead to this world, but alive with God for eternity.  Satan will ultimately gain this whole world, right before it is destroyed, and he will spend eternity alone in eternal separation from God.  I don't want another person to fall victim to the lies.  I proclaim the Truth.  The Truth is still the Truth even if nobody believes it.

I knew a girl personally who had had 2 abortions before I met her, and she was a wreck.  I've heard stories and testimonials from women who enter a deep depression around their aborted baby's due date (birthday).  I've even heard stories and testimonials from men who failed to protect their children.  Abortion affects men too.  Men are hard-wired by God to be protectors.  If a man gets a girl pregnant at 17, encourages her to get an abortion because they're not ready, and then they get married and have a kid at 24, they still remember that they could have had a 7yr old child ready to welcome a younger sibling, but instead they killed that one.  If the man failed to protect that earlier child, he will have doubts about his ability to protect this new one.  Either that, or he will completely devalue this child's life.  Either way, it's destructive.  Everyone makes a case about why abortions are necessary, but nobody is around to defend those victims of abortion.  Nobody is around to make a case for those men and women who realize they made a mistake, and want to stop others from making the same mistake.  Society stifles them.

Another rationale for abortion is that the unborn fetus is just a bundle of cells, like tonsils or an appendix, that can be removed without consequences.  I ask this question...why are there no counseling groups for people who are victims of a tonsilectomy?  Why have I never met a man or woman completely depressed about losing their appendix?  That rationale is a lie, and I denounce it as such.

Satan's murdering millions of God's image-bearers every year.  Why would he want people to realize it's wrong and stop?  He diverts attention from issues where he's winning onto the inhumanity of killing convicted criminals, or other issues.  He will support crusades.  He is the master illusionist.  We humans cannot beat him.  I cannot beat him.  God has already beaten him.  I cling to God, and His victory and protection here on Earth, and I will spend eternity with Him.

I really like Randy Alcorn's take on abortion.  Look him up if you want to know more.  I only know what I've heard from others, and what I have read from the Bible.  If you or someone you know has had an abortion, or been affected by abortion, please understand that I am NOT condemning them.  There is healing, there is forgiveness.  I have my own list of sins that I need God's grace for every day.  God does not condemn them either.  Remember Romans 8:1, no condemnation exists for those in Christ Jesus.  Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17, if you're in Christ you are a new creation.  The old has gone and the new has come!  Now, scars do remain.  I bear deep scars from my own failures, but we will be healed.  Some scars we must bear as reminders here on Earth, but with God in Heaven for eternity we will be without blemish or scar.

Satan is the Father of Lies.  God is Truth.  I serve God, and I'm at war against Satan.  This Earth will be the death of me, but Christ is the life of me.  If the Truth does not upset people then it cannot save people.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart

Heaven and Hell

"For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.  (2 Peter 2:4-10 ESV)

Make no mistake, God punishes sin.  And since we've all sinned (Romans 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) then we all deserve to die.  We declared war on God when we decided in Eden that we didn't need Him anymore.  We figured we could do things on our own.  "Claiming to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).  We decide we do not need or want God here on Earth, so He does not force Himself on us for eternity.  That is Hell.  Hell is eternal separation from God.  If you don't want God on Earth, you don't have to have Him in eternity.  That is your choice.  God does not send people to Hell, people choose Hell. 

On the flip side, God in His steadfast love prepared a way for us to re-enter His presence.  Since sin is punishable by death, and sin entered the world through one man (Adam), God sent His Son Jesus to live the life we could not live, and die the death we should have died, to take the punishment for sin so that through one Man (Jesus) we could have life. (It's all Romans 5).  Heaven is the presence of God.  If we seek God here on Earth, He promises we'll be with Him for eternity.

God is not a rapist.  He won't force Himself on you.  Consider these words from God Himself:
"Who then is he who can stand before Me?  Who has first given to Me, that I should repay him?  Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine."  (Job 41:10-11 ESV)  I could quote more Scripture (Romans 6 mostly), but I am tired.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart

Judgment and Salvation

Woo!  I have something spiritual to write about!  In Sunday School this morning, General Vic preached on Exodus 14 where Moses parted the Red Sea.  The point of judgment for the Egyptians was also the point of salvation for the Hebrews.  It was a baptism.  Baptism is more than water, it is the point of judgment and salvation.  Salvation comes by passing through judgment.  You are saved from that judgment.  The judgment is from God since God is the holy and perfect Judge.  At the Red Sea, God judged Egypt and saved Israel.  At the Cross, God judged Jesus for all of our sins, and saved us.  The crazy thing is, a lot of the Hebrews didn't want to be saved.  They wanted to go back to slavery because at least they were familiar with it.  Romans 8:15 says that we were not given a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.  My desires to sin, my decisions to let my armor fall, are not of the Spirit.  No, I have the Spirit of adoption by which I cry out "Abba!  Father!"  I'm reminded of the song lyrics, "I know I wanna sin, but, dawg, I'm born again!" (I love Christian Rap).  Yet, I still sin...I still sprint back to what enslaves me.  Like a dog returning to its vomit, and a pig returning to roll in the mud, I am still a depraved fool.  I should only desire God, yet I desire other things.  All that I do deserves judgment.  I am guilty.  Before God, I am guilty.  I stand accused and found guilty.  God is a holy and good Judge, and I deserve death.  I deserve to be drowned, just like those Egyptians were.  But then in steps Jesus!  Like the Israelite former slaves I follow the Messiah through the judgment of death into the salvation of life.  Though I did not want it, though I did not even know I wanted it, though I didn't even know I could be saved, I am saved!  There is salvation.  There is adoption.  God saved me for a purpose.  The story did not end on the other side of the sea.  It began.  The Promised Land awaits, and I need the purification of this earthly wilderness.  Sanctification is a slow process.  Romans 8:29 says I am being conformed to the image of Christ.  That will take forever for me!  Fortunately, I have forever :)  After the Hebrews passed through the sea, they stood on the beach strewn with Egyptian bodies and they worshiped God by telling Him what He did for them.  They glorified Him in an emotional narrative.  Worship is a narrative.  It tells what God has done, and shows faith that He will do what He promised He will do.  This blog is my act of worship.  It is a narrative.  It is not lessened by the lack of music to accompany it.  Amen.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart

His Grace Is Sufficient

It's been over 2 weeks since I've updated this blog :(  I've been caught in the routine of class, work, church and sleep.  Really, my life hasn't been very noteworthy of late.  I've had no drastic spiritual revelations that make me run to the nearest hilltop to shout out.  Mainly, I've been just grinding it out one-on-one with God.  I've been faced with my own depravity, and just craving His grace.  Also, I've been walking/jogging/running every weekday for the past few weeks.  Today I ran a total of 1800yds, which is a little over a mile.  The farthest I have run without stopping was 660yds yesterday.  I started off walking, then upped the intensity.  I seriously could not have done this on my own.  God led me to ask UGA's Strength and Conditioning Coach for help, and he's been a huge help.  Seriously, one of the reasons I have hated myself is that I did not continue with the diet/exercise program I started as a freshman in 2004.  If I could go back and do it all over again, I would do my best to stick with it.  Seriously, I could be a super stud right now :(  Once again, I'm confronted with my own depravity, but there is grace.  I've kept with the exercise for weeks, and I'm committed to it.  The diet is harder since I developed terrible eating habits at an early age.  Once again, there is grace.  Slowly but surely I am improving.  Satan would rather me just sit on the sidelines.  I went through and re-read some of my journal entries, and I said something along the lines of "I've always been a sideline manager, but God wants me to be a lineman." LoL.  His strength is perfected in my weakness.  I want to remain humble, and learn humility, but I don't want that humility to become self-loathing.  I'm glad I'm running because I have to completely beg God for that next breath, that next step.  I have to do it for something higher than myself, or else I'd just quit.  I have quit in the past.  So, physically, I'm on the right track.  It's a slow process for me though.  Everyone has an opinion about the best way to lose weight and get in shape, but ultimately I have to do what's comfortable to me.

I learned what God meant when He said "if you present your offering to the Lord, but remember that you hold a grudge against another person, leave your offering and go make peace with that person."  I had to do that yesterday.  Once again, I'm glad there is grace.  I felt a lot better, and my buddy and I were able to go to the Tate Center last night and have Gospel conversations with two guys.  One was Hindu, and the other was raised Christian, but is of the mindset now that there are many paths to salvation.  Ultimately, there is one God who created everything.  Man rebelled against God and earned eternal separation from Him by doing so.  God sent His only Son Jesus to bridge the gap again so that we could have fellowship with Him.  We can't do anything to earn salvation.  People try to climb Mt. Olympus to see the gods, but my God humbled Himself and came for me because He loves me.  He's not an impersonal deity.  I could write more on the subject, but I don't want to write a book just yet.  There are a lot of topics I want to address:  Heaven & Hell, Abortion, Election, Eternal Salvation, Baptism, Communion, etc. but this blog isn't about me climbing on a soapbox and preaching.  It's about what God's doing in my life. 

I read a passage in 2 Chronicles 18 yesterday where 400 or so prophets told Ahab, king of Israel, that it was okay for him to go to war...basically, they were yes-men...but one prophet spoke truth from the Lord about the king's imminent destruction.  That prophet (Micaiah) was imprisoned pending the king's safe arrival from the battle.  Micaiah told him "if you return unharmed, then the Lord has not spoken through me."  Ahab and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, teamed up against Syria for this particular battle.  Ahab disguised himself, but told Jehoshaphat to wear his kingly robes.  Ahab hoped to remain inconspicuous while offering Jehoshaphat up as a prime target.  Indeed, the Syrians focused their attack on the king, but when they realized it wasn't Ahab they backed off.  And then one random Syrian fired a random arrow from his bow, and it struck the disguised Ahab in a weak spot in his armor.  By the end of the day he was dead.  God does not play around.  I want to be like Micaiah.  I want to boldly proclaim the Truth even when people command me to lie.  I want to be able to say, "As the Lord lives, what my God says, that I will speak.” (2 Chron. 18:13)  It's funny how I just randomly opened my Bible to that page yesterday, and decided to read.  It's what I needed to hear.  I am imperfect.  Indeed, I am a wretch.  My credentials are unimpressive, but God can still use me.  I just want to be humbly bold.  Sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it?  With God, all things are possible.

For the Kingdom,
Stuart