"I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the Kingdom of God." David Livingstone
Piper challenged me today with this quote he posted on Twitter.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
by Randy Alcorn
This Sunday, January 24, is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday; marking the 37th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. There is a great spiritual warfare associated with the issue of abortion. Killing children is Satan's way of striking out at the very heart of God. If he cannot kill God, the next best thing is killing those created in God's image. He is killing God in effigy.
Today our churches must, once and for all, dispel the illusion that showing grace means not talking about hard issues. Every time the subject of abortion is brought up, some people get offended, others get hurt. But what is the alternative? Not bringing it up, thus offending God and setting up people to follow the lies of culture, which ends up hurting them far more than telling the truth?
Our doctrine of grace has been distorted by our culture's dogma of tolerance. Many Christians and even some pastors have told me, "It's cruel to bring up the subject of abortion." But by talking about abortion in our churches—with grace and truth—we will prevent abortions and offer forgiveness and healing to women and men who are suffering in silence. The greatest kindness we can offer them is the truth. Women who’ve had abortions and the men who’ve participated in an abortion decision can find help and healing through their local Pregnancy Resource Centers. (Also see the article Finding Forgiveness after an Abortion.)
Last weekend, along with my son-in-law Dan and good friend Diane Meyer, I spoke at my home church, Good Shepherd, about the sanctity of life. Listen to the audio from the service. (By the way, the Eternal Perspective Ministries website has lots of prolife resources for pastors, including two PDF handouts that can be downloaded for free, Biblical Perspectives on Unborn Children and How Can I Help the Unborn and Their Mothers?)
As we go through this weekend, I would ask believers to remember and pray for prolife ministries and victimized mothers and babies. If the darkness of child-killing is to be overcome with the light of truth and compassion, it will require spiritual warfare, fought with humble and consistent prayer (Ephesians 6:10-20).
I’ll close with these heartbreaking statistics from the The Liberty Counsel, which are a profound reminder of the devastating effect abortion has had on our country:
Since that time [the 37 years since Roe v. Wade], approximately 50 million innocent and helpless children have been killed by abortion. About 1 in 5, or 20 percent, of our nation’s youth have had their lives ended by abortion. Minorities have also been hit hard by abortion. African-Americans account for about 12 percent of the population, but 37 percent of the 1.3 million abortions each year. Latinos make up about 15 percent of the population, yet account for about 22 percent of the annual number of abortions.
In all the wars in American history combined, from the Revolution to the War on Terror, we have lost approximately 910,000 people. However, in 37 years we have lost about 50 million children to abortion. We lose more children to abortion each day than we lost in all the tragedies on September 11, 2001. About 98 percent of abortions are done for convenience unrelated to health. Less than 2 percent of abortions are done for serious health reasons, rape or incest.
The youth of our nation under the age of 35 are more pro-life than any other generation. A majority of all Americans oppose abortion. Last Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about 15,000 people, mostly youth, gathered in Houston, Texas to protest Planned Parenthood’s 78,000 square-foot abortion facility scheduled to open in April in the midst of a minority community comprised of Hispanics and African-Americans. [Read more about Planned Parenthood's first "big box" abortion store in America.] One of the youth held a sign saying, "We survived Roe. Roe will not survive us."
This Sunday, January 24, is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday; marking the 37th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade on January 22, 1973. There is a great spiritual warfare associated with the issue of abortion. Killing children is Satan's way of striking out at the very heart of God. If he cannot kill God, the next best thing is killing those created in God's image. He is killing God in effigy.
Today our churches must, once and for all, dispel the illusion that showing grace means not talking about hard issues. Every time the subject of abortion is brought up, some people get offended, others get hurt. But what is the alternative? Not bringing it up, thus offending God and setting up people to follow the lies of culture, which ends up hurting them far more than telling the truth?
Our doctrine of grace has been distorted by our culture's dogma of tolerance. Many Christians and even some pastors have told me, "It's cruel to bring up the subject of abortion." But by talking about abortion in our churches—with grace and truth—we will prevent abortions and offer forgiveness and healing to women and men who are suffering in silence. The greatest kindness we can offer them is the truth. Women who’ve had abortions and the men who’ve participated in an abortion decision can find help and healing through their local Pregnancy Resource Centers. (Also see the article Finding Forgiveness after an Abortion.)
Last weekend, along with my son-in-law Dan and good friend Diane Meyer, I spoke at my home church, Good Shepherd, about the sanctity of life. Listen to the audio from the service. (By the way, the Eternal Perspective Ministries website has lots of prolife resources for pastors, including two PDF handouts that can be downloaded for free, Biblical Perspectives on Unborn Children and How Can I Help the Unborn and Their Mothers?)
As we go through this weekend, I would ask believers to remember and pray for prolife ministries and victimized mothers and babies. If the darkness of child-killing is to be overcome with the light of truth and compassion, it will require spiritual warfare, fought with humble and consistent prayer (Ephesians 6:10-20).
I’ll close with these heartbreaking statistics from the The Liberty Counsel, which are a profound reminder of the devastating effect abortion has had on our country:
Since that time [the 37 years since Roe v. Wade], approximately 50 million innocent and helpless children have been killed by abortion. About 1 in 5, or 20 percent, of our nation’s youth have had their lives ended by abortion. Minorities have also been hit hard by abortion. African-Americans account for about 12 percent of the population, but 37 percent of the 1.3 million abortions each year. Latinos make up about 15 percent of the population, yet account for about 22 percent of the annual number of abortions.
In all the wars in American history combined, from the Revolution to the War on Terror, we have lost approximately 910,000 people. However, in 37 years we have lost about 50 million children to abortion. We lose more children to abortion each day than we lost in all the tragedies on September 11, 2001. About 98 percent of abortions are done for convenience unrelated to health. Less than 2 percent of abortions are done for serious health reasons, rape or incest.
The youth of our nation under the age of 35 are more pro-life than any other generation. A majority of all Americans oppose abortion. Last Monday, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about 15,000 people, mostly youth, gathered in Houston, Texas to protest Planned Parenthood’s 78,000 square-foot abortion facility scheduled to open in April in the midst of a minority community comprised of Hispanics and African-Americans. [Read more about Planned Parenthood's first "big box" abortion store in America.] One of the youth held a sign saying, "We survived Roe. Roe will not survive us."
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Our Song Is Our Evangelism
Psalm 40: 1-3
I waited patiently for the Lord;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
And what about the secular city, the nations, the people who do not rejoice in God and do not know his salvation through Christ? Does our mission free the future for them?
The answer is found in verse 3: "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord."
There they are. Our joy, our gladness in God is the great mirror in the telescope for the nations and for the neighbors.
God saves me from the miry clay. He makes me secure. He puts a new song in my mouth. He makes himself the feast of my joy.
And what happens: "Many will see and fear, and will trust in the Lord."
Our song is our evangelism. Our passion for God is our persuasion for the nations.
When we are satisfied in God, he will be magnified in others. That's exactly what David says. We will sing and many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
So our joy in God is both our worship and our evangelism. Our mission is to be a Christian Kitt Peak Observatory at the center of the city. We are called to seek God—to see him in the telescope of his Word. And we are called to rejoice and be glad in what we see—to have a new song of praise to our God—that's worship.
And out of that worship flow missions and evangelism as we show the power and love and wisdom of God, and welcome the nations and the neighbors to join us in our joy.
John Piper
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