Thirty-eight Years Ago Tomorrow . . .

On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its landmark case we all have come to know as Roe v. Wade. Since that fateful day, according to statistics posted on the National Right to Life's website, 49,551,703 abortions have been performed. My friends, that is 49,551,703 too many! Now why do I say this? A large segment of people in our society would passionately disagree with me. They believe that abortion is a woman's right. She can do what she wants. After all it is HER body.

I oppose abortion because of my convictions concerning the sanctity of life. These convictions are summarized well by one of the continuing resolutions of the Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches of which my church is a member. The statement reads as follows:

Human life is worthy of respect and protection at all stages from the time of conception. The sanctity of human life is established by creation (Gen. 1:26-27), social protection (Gen. 9:6) and redemption (John 3:16).

I believe that every time an abortion occurs, a human life is ended. So we are not merely talking about removing a fetus. In reality, abortion ends the life of an unborn CHILD.

For those of us who speak for the voiceless unborn, we have reason to be cautiously optimistic. Consider:

1. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge in April 2007 to the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, allowing the law to go into effect for the first time since it was signed by President Bush in 2003. Some abortion-rights supporters fear the landmark ruling is the first step toward overturning the 1973 law legalizing abortion. This law is still on the books. Yes it is a small step ... but a step none-the-less in the right direction!

2. According to statistics released by both the Center for Disease Control and the Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions in the United States have fallen to levels not seen since the late 1970's. However, there is still, on average, 100,000 babies aborted every month in this country. This is tragic!

Now I am not expecting Roe v. Wade to be overturned tomorrow. But each step we can take (even if they are baby steps) is a step that just may save lives. Please join with me in praying for the lives of the unborn. Pray for pro-life ministries that are on the front lines of this battle for life. And add feet to your prayers by volunteering your time and/or your money to help support the pro-life ministry of your choice. If you are part of our family here at Grace Church, stop by our Hospitality Center and pick up a baby bottle to help support the ministry of Susquehanna Valley Pregnancy Services.

Let's not grow weary in this battle. It is a matter of life and death!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj
 

P.S. I believe I must add a postscript to address anyone reading this that has chosen to undergo an abortion. Abortion is not the unpardonable sin. God's grace is amazing and will "wash over" anyone who comes to Jesus with a truly repentant heart. This is true for any sin, whether it be gossip, adultery, lust, dishonesty, pride, abortion, etc. Thanks be to God for the forgiveness that he offers to us in Christ! Free to us - but at a great cost to Him!

Guilt - Good or Bad?

It was just over a month ago when Lancaster County residents were once again stunned to hear that a multiple homicide had occurred during the early morning hours while most were asleep. And it was just a week ago today that the alleged killer, Alec Kreider confessed his horrible deed to his dad. Two days later, his father contacted the police. By this past Saturday, the 16 year old was in custody.

What was young Kreider's motive to kill three people, one of whom was supposedly a good friend? We don't know. Authorities have been silent to this point on a possible motive. Until they tell us what they know, we will remain in the dark (and perhaps they do not even know at this point!). But here is another question for you - one that I think I can answer: What caused Kreider to confess to his dad? I believe it was, in one word, GUILT. You see guilt is to the soul what pain is to the body. Pain alerts us to the fact that something is WRONG with our body. So pain is really a good thing. Consider leprosy. Leprosy is a disease that attacks the nerves, eventually deadening them. So when a leper injures a foot or a hand for example, he may not feel any pain. As a result, the wound goes unattended, infection sets in and the leper ends up losing a toe or worse, a foot. So it is really a good thing that our Creator wired our bodies with a built in alarm system. What he did with our bodies he also did for our souls. Each one of us has a conscience. This conscience lets us know when we have done something that will harm our souls - and it does so through this feeling of guilt. If we are not careful, if we constantly ignore these feelings of guilt, we can eventually sear our conscience (see 1 Timothy 4:2). When this happens, we feel no guilt - and that is not a good thing!

Now before you get all upset with me, I do acknowledge such a thing as "false guilt." Sometimes we feel guilty over things that quite frankly we should not feel guilty about (like the guilt a godly parent feels over the ungodly choices of a prodigal adult child OR guilt we feel over a sin that has long been forgiven). But for everyone who suffers problems from "false guilt" there are far more of us who suffer because we do not pay attention to our "guilty consciences." My prayer has always been that God will keep my conscience sensitive - sensitive to his Spirit's pressure (which will mean feeling guilty when I sin!). The good news for a follower of Jesus is that when we do feel guilty because we have sinned, if we confess that sin (which is causing the guilt) to God, then "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Praise God that he is a God who is QUICK to forgive! Let's all learn to listen to our consciences when they tell us we are guilty. Let's turn from (the Bible's word for this is "repent") our sin and turn to God and HIS ways! Our souls will be much healthier if we do!

Thanks for listening,

pj