Viewing the World through God's Word
I’m way behind in Christmas blogs. Trying to finish the Gospel According to Mark first. But when I heard Joseph Smith sing, I had to share the blessing. He sang this song for his winning finale on the TV show, “The Voice.”
God sure has a way of getting his message out, doesn’t he!
“It is clear that having more than one child is just something that none of us . . . has a moral right to do.” So argues Sarah Conly, associate professor of philosophy at Bowdoin College, in a recent “Boston Globe” newspaper opinion.
She is responding to China lifting its one-child-per-couple policy. The nation now permits two. But this, Conly warns, is not a good thing.
According to the United Nations, the world will reach 9.7 billion population by 2050. Just four years ago we reached 7 billion. It will take only about 40 years to increase the population by almost 3 billion. For perspective, in 1800 the world population was only 1 billion.
Conly concludes: The sad truth is that trying to support this many people will bring about environmental disaster. We can see the damage that is already being done by our present population of “just” 7.3 billion. We all know about climate change with its droughts, storms, rising sea levels, and heat. But it’s also soil depletion, lack of fresh water, overfishing, species extinction, and overcrowding in cities.
We are using resources unsustainably, and despite the frequent cries for a cutback in the use of resources and release in greenhouse gases, nothing much has happened. Today we release more greenhouse gases than we did before the Kyoto accords. More people will mean more unsustainable resource use, worse climate change, and, eventually, wars over scarce goods or massive population displacement and migrations to places with remaining resources.
Conly admits there are societal, economic and moral objections to her “have-fewer-children” argument, which she answers in her article. I’ll make only two comments in response to her “moral objections” answer.
One, God created the earth and us; therefore, he provides what we need for human life to be sustained.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them.
And God said to them,
“Be fruitful and multiply
and fill the earth and subdue it . . . ”
And God said,
“Behold, I have given you every plant . . . and every tree . . .
You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:27-29).
Though the first couple sinned (Genesis 3 and though later God added meat to the menu (Genesis 9:1,2), the essential narrative remains: God created male and female and provided food necessary for them to thrive. Logic demands that God who created humans and provided for their needs will continue to provide. Jesus refers to this when he teaches . . .
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things (food, drink, clothing) will be added to you
(Matthew 6:33).
This doesn’t mean we should misuse God’s resources. But it does mean that when calculating population in light of resources, we can and should remember throughout his Word God is shown as Divine Provider who can be trusted. Just two examples . . .
He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens
when they call (Psalm 147:9).
God . . . richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17).
Two, God really exists; he isn’t a concept of our religious creation.
Answering the moral argument against one-child-per-couple, Conly writes . . .
Does the right to religious freedom mean we have a right to do whatever our religious doctrines dictate? Of course not. No one thinks that if a religion required, say, human sacrifice, those who follow it would be allowed to engage in ritual killing, no matter how sincere their belief. We want to accommodate religious practice whenever we can, even when that has some cost to social welfare. But again, if the cost is too great, we tell practitioners that in this case they need to amend their own ways. We’ve done this many times and will do it again.
Ms. Conly’s answer posits religious doctrines but not God. The question isn’t, “Does the right to religious freedom mean we have a right to do whatever our religious doctrines dictate?”. The question is, “Do we have the right/duty/freedom to do whatever God dictates?”. If God is just a concept of our religion, then such doctrine can be challenged for the common good. But if God really exists, then what he’s revealed cannot and must not be challenged for whatever we see as “the common good.” And the Bible clearly reveals that God exists—eternal, alive in the past, the present and the forever future.
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God,
be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).
Simon Peter answered,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,
who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).
This begs the question, “Which God?” Not enough space to answer that here. Suffice it to say that it seems foolish, if not arrogant, to merely dismiss evidence for God’s existence and speak only of “religions.” Inevitably that leads to God as a religious concept and that leads to the rejection of certain “religious beliefs” for “the common good”.
* * *
Too many children? There may be good economic or health or relational reasons why a couple should have only one child. But, as I see it from God’s Word, God exists as a living being outside ourselves and, because he created us, he is willing and able to always provide for us.
My advice? Have as many children as you believe you should. Love them. Care for them. Enjoy them. Lead them to know the living God who’s revealed himself in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t be afraid earth’s pantry will someday be empty.
And my God will meet all your needs
according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
To our God and Father
be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Philippians 4:19.20).
I fell last night. Good thing I fell on my head.! I was standing by the bathroom sink, my walker at my right side. I turned, somehow lost my balance and fell, my right temple hitting the ceramic tile floor, my legs twisting in my walker, and my glasses breaking. (If my blog seems dark, it’s my prescription sun glasses!)
I’m okay. Not as well-dressed as this guy, but okay. Just a minor bump and a darker-than-usual day. But it got me thinking. Questions.
How do persecuted Christians handle suffering? Even though my hard head meeting hard floor hurt (the fall didn’t hurt, just the sudden stop), some of my brothers and sisters suffer far worse. When a man’s wife is raped, when his daughter is kidnapped, when he cries to God and gets silence, how does he maintain faith?
The only answer can be 2 Corinthians 12:9 . . .
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
It’s not the strength of the man’s faith; it’s the gracious power of the Lord. It’s a gift of faith from the Holy Spirit that surpasses our “normal level” of believing (1 Corinthians 12:9a). It’s the shield of faith which smothers all the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16a).
He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5b). In other words, when our suffering is great and our “normal” faith seems small, our Lord is with us throwing the punch of his power into us, so we can keep trusting even when the agony is beyond reason.
Is all our suffering ordered by our Father? Somehow it’s easier to believe that persecution-suffering—or even judgment-suffering—are ordered by God than suffering from falling in the bathroom. After all, we’ve got biblical warnings of persecution and judgment.
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also (John 15:20).
The LORD is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
he will give them over to slaughter (Isaiah 34:2).
But we have no biblical warnings of bathroom falls or flat tires or broken air conditioning. Does our Father order the “big stuff” but the “little stuff” just happens? I remember Jesus’ encouraging words . . .
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29,30).
Many versions, such as the NIV, translate “apart from your Father’s will.” But the ESV (above) correctly omits “will” because it’s not in the original Greek. So what exactly did Jesus mean? That our Father wills even the fall of an insignificant sparrow or that our Father knows about the fall of each insignificant sparrow? Does Matthew 10:30 mean our Father determines the number of our hairs or knows their number?
Charles Spurgeon beautifully answered this way . . .
“I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes – that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens – that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence – the fall of . . . leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche.”
So did our Father order my fall? Did he command that only my glasses break and not my arm? Or was my fall devil-inspired or merely the natural result of my disability?
Such questions lead to others: Does God really work for the good in all things? If so, how in the world does my bathroom fall conform me more to the likeness of God’s Son?
And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
For those God foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified;
those he justified, he also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).
Honestly, I find it hard to believe that our Father will use my fall for good, especially to conform me more to Christ’s likeness. Yet maybe one good thing is this: someone who reads my blog may be encouraged in their suffering.
When it comes down to it, in a situation like this, while I don’t fully understand, I’m like Peter. To many of his followers, Jesus made some hard statements. John recorded what happened next . . .
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:66-68).
I choose to believe that persecuted Christians endure suffering by God’s grace and gift of faith. I choose to believe that all suffering is ordered by our Father (even though I don’t understand). But my bottom line, when I’m hurting and confused and tempted is Peter’s statement:
“Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:66-68).
No one else–no place else–to go with my hurt and pain and ignorance, but to Jesus. Because he alone speaks the words that lead to eternal life.
This is the world in which our children are growing up. It should shock us (if anything can anymore) and move us to vote for whomever the Republican party nominates. Hopefully then all this socialistic ideology will be destroyed with a presidential or congressional stroke of the pen.
The blog below is from “National Review” staff writer David French. Mr. French is an attorney, veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and author or co-author of several bestselling books. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School, the past president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), and a former lecturer at Cornell Law School. He has served as a senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the Alliance Defending Freedom. David is a major in the United States Army Reserve (IRR). In 2007, he deployed to Iraq, serving in Diyala Province as Squadron Judge Advocate for the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, where he was awarded the Bronze Star. He lives and works in Columbia, Tennessee, with his wife, Nancy (who is also a New York Times bestselling author), and three children. This post appear in the blog “The Corner” on November 3rd.
To defund Planned Parenthood, focus on three video-caused problems. So writes Stephen J. Heaney (Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Saint Thomas Saint Paul, MN), in the current edition of “Public Discourse” from The Witherspoon Institute (http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/09/15670/). Here are the problems . . .
“First, Planned Parenthood affiliates, with consent of the national office, are clearly violating several federal regulations concerning obtaining fetal tissue for research—possibly including making an illegal profit from the deal. Second, in doing so, they are violating their own protocols and terms of consent with the women undergoing the abortions. Third, it is apparent from these violations that Planned Parenthood does not care about the women it claims it is so moved to serve.”
Heaney warns that if we use the videos to argue against abortion, pro-abortionists will always counter with a PC answer, such as, “You’re against women’s health!” Rather, we should focus on their violation of federal regulations, their violating their own protocols, and their non-care about women.
First, focus on federal regulations violations.
“US Code Title 42, Chapter 6A, Subchapter III, Part H, paragraph 289g-1 gives the conditions for the donation of fetal tissue. Under b) 2) A), the following regulations are in place:
1. the consent of the woman for the abortion was obtained prior to requesting or obtaining consent for a donation of the tissue for use in research;
2. no alteration of the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy was made solely for the purposes of obtaining the tissue
Furthermore, HHS regulations, as spelled out in Chapter VI of the Institutional Review Board Guidebook, insist:
-The decision to terminate a pregnancy and procedures of abortion should be kept independent from the retrieval and use of fetal tissue.
– The timing and methods of abortion should not be influenced by the potential uses of fetal tissue for transplantation or medical research.
– Payments and other forms of remuneration and compensation associated with the procurement of fetal tissue should be prohibited, except payment for reasonable expenses occasioned by the actual retrieval, storage, preparation, and transportation of tissue
The Code of Federal Regulations at 46.204 (h) and (i) says:
(h) No inducements, monetary or otherwise, will be offered to terminate a pregnancy;
(i) Individuals engaged in the research will have no part in any decisions as to the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate a pregnancy.
And at 46.206:
(a) Research involving, after delivery, the placenta; the dead fetus; macerated fetal material; or cells, tissue, or organs excised from a dead fetus, shall be conducted only in accord with any applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations regarding such activities.”
Here are regulations regarding fetal tissue donations . . .
“US Code Title 42, Chapter 6A, Subchapter III, Part H, paragraph 289g-1 gives the conditions for the donation of fetal tissue. Under b) 2) A), the following regulations are in place:
1. the consent of the woman for the abortion was obtained prior to requesting or obtaining consent for a donation of the tissue for use in research;
2. no alteration of the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate the pregnancy was made solely for the purposes of obtaining the tissue
Furthermore, HHS regulations, as spelled out in Chapter VI of theInstitutional Review Board Guidebook, insist:
-The decision to terminate a pregnancy and procedures of abortion should be kept independent from the retrieval and use of fetal tissue.
– The timing and methods of abortion should not be influenced by the potential uses of fetal tissue for transplantation or medical research.
– Payments and other forms of remuneration and compensation associated with the procurement of fetal tissue should be prohibited, except payment for reasonable expenses occasioned by the actual retrieval, storage, preparation, and transportation of tissue
The Code of Federal Regulations at 46.204 (h) and (i) says:
(h) No inducements, monetary or otherwise, will be offered to terminate a pregnancy;
(i) Individuals engaged in the research will have no part in any decisions as to the timing, method, or procedures used to terminate a pregnancy.
And at 46.206:
(a) Research involving, after delivery, the placenta; the dead fetus; macerated fetal material; or cells, tissue, or organs excised from a dead fetus, shall be conducted only in accord with any applicable federal, state, or local laws and regulations regarding such activities.”
Regarding profiting from the sale of baby body parts, Planned Parenthood denies they don’t profit because they are a non-profit organization! However, the videos clearly reveal Planned Parenthood often establishes the price and that it is as much as the market will pay.
Heaney writes: “In the second video, Mary Gatter, president of the Planned Parenthood Medical Directors’ Council, and medical director at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles until 2014, is clearly willing to accept, not what it would cost her clinic to process the fetal organs, but whatever the buyer is willing to pay. In the third video, Deborah Nucatola, senior director of medical services for PPFA, recognizes that the affiliates are looking for ways, not simply to break even, but to make a profit. In the fifth video, we see Abby Johnson, former director of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, testifying before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, that fetal specimens were bringing in up to $120,000 per month. ‘That is certainly not “recouping costs”,’ she concludes.”
Second, focus on PP’s own protocol and terms of consent violations. Videos one, two and five all reveal PP officials stating their abortionists “are perfectly willing to change the type of procedure they will perform, better to obtain the types of specimens desired.” Procedure-type should to be chosen by what is best for the woman, not what is best for getting fetal tissue. To change procedure without the patient’s consent violates federal law and PP’s own protocol.
Third, focus on PP’s lack of care for women. The violations identified above suggest PP doesn’t genuinely care about women they claim to serve, Again, Heaney writes, “We have the testimony of former StemExpress procurement agent Holly O’Donnell that it was her job to pressure women into giving consent to fetal tissue donation, even when they clearly did not want to, by telling them that some good would come as a result of the valuable research to be performed on their dead babies’ remains. We further have her testimony that fetal tissue was not infrequently donated even when the woman did not give consent.”
Conclusion. In discussing these videos. Heaney counsels, “Stick to the pertinent facts: Planned Parenthood is profiting from the sale of fetal parts. Planned Parenthood is routinely violating federal law. Planned Parenthood really does not care about women.”
Planned Parenthood proponents argue the videos are edited. What a ridiculous charge! How could “innocent” videos possibly be edited to this horrific degree! The reality: Planned Parenthood is guilty of violating federal regulations as well as its own surgical protocols.
Lois and I want to continue in ministry. But my disability limits us. While this blog has become my primary ministry and Lois still bears witness of Christ at work, we want to contribute more.
Intercessory prayer doesn’t require me to run or even walk, so I can partner with Lois to pray. We’re aware of many needs. Still others we don’t know. So . . .
If you would like us to pray for you or a need close to your heart (whoever and wherever you are), please let us know. Send it via email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. We will keep your request confidential. And we will pray daily for you. The only thing we ask is that, when the Lord answers, you tell us!
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving
be made for everyone (1 Timothy 2:1)
This is the confidence we have in approaching God:
that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.
And if we know that he hears us– whatever we ask–
we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14,15).
We really do care about you! And, more importantly, the Lord does!
Set aside two hours to watch and listen to some of the most informative, dynamic lessons about homosexuality you’ll ever hear! If you care about this “issue”—more importantly, if you care about people—click on the link and be taught and inspired.
https://www.crossway.org/blog/2015/04/what-does-the-bible-really-teach-about-homosexuality/
I sit at my desk this Easter morning. I feel the breeze through my window. I hear birds singing. And I wonder, Was it a morning like this? Click on the link below to listen as you follow the word and rejoice in praise to our Risen Lord!
Was it a morning like this
When the Son still hid from Jerusalem?
And Mary rose from her bed
To tend the Lord she thought was dead
What is a morning like this,
When Mary walked down from Jerusalem?
And two angels stood at the tomb,
Bearers of news she would hear soon.
Did the grass sing?
Did the earth rejoice
To feel you again?
Over and over like a
Trumpet underground,
Did the earth seem to pound:
“He is risen”
Over and over
in a never ending round
“He is risen, alleluia, alleluia!”
Was it an morning like this,
When Peter and John ran from Jerusalem?
And as they raced for the tomb,
Beneath their feet was there a tune?
Did the grass sing?
Did the earth rejoice
To feel you again?
Over and over like a
Trumpet underground,
Did the earth seem to pound:
“He is risen” alleluia, alleluia!”
Was it a morning like this,
When my Lord looked out
On Jerusalem?
He is risen, alleluia, alleluia.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=was+it+a+morning+like+this
Blogging is so different from preaching! I can’t see the traffic-tunnel-size yawns or the glazed-over eyes in the congregation. I hear no “Amens” or sanctuary doors opening as someone streaks to the restroom.
I know how many people are reading on any given day but not who they are. Most don’t send back a comment. So, unlike preaching, with blogging there’s virtually no interaction. I miss that.
So here’s my request: Would you take a minute and reply with a simple comment like, “I’m here!” or “I’m reading!” or “How did you get my address anyway?” And, if you’d rather not reply on the blog, just email me at [email protected] with the same message. It’s not much interaction, but it’s something. And I’d really appreciate it.
(If this doesn’t work, I may have to offer free cruises to the Caribbean for the first ten responders. Just to be clear, though, I’m not offering that this time.)
I could hardly believe what I was reading.
My emotions ranged from astonishment to anger to admiration. I could barely restrain the animosity I felt for the State and the tears that welled up at this Christian grandmother’s courage and faithfulness to the Lord. Please read the blog at the link below. An additional blog with the link at “article” inserted in this one will give broader background information.
We are not being threatened with death for our faith, as are many of our brothers and sisters. But we are increasingly being threatened by the State with major—in some cases, overwhelming—financial loss if we want to practice our faith. This is no time for us to treat Christianity as “our religion” or something we do in a building on Sunday mornings! This is the time for us to focus our Christian worldview, dig deep into God’s Word, and follow our Lord in a society that is increasingly become anti-Christ. And it’s the time to thank God for courage grandmothers who lead the way!
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