Tony Kaye's "Lake of Fire": An honest look at the Abortion Debate

Life Chain '10

I want to start this entry by saying first, there is no inconsistency with the title of this blog, "garments of praise," and the subject of this entry, which is abortion. The way I see it, fighting for the defenseless and taking a stand to stop violence against women is an act of worship. I am God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for me to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
I am not about to let my life go to waste just because standing up for what's good and true and right is uncomfortable and makes people angry. As Gianna Jessen says so perfectly,

"I didn't survive so I could make everyone comfortable. I survived so I could stir things up a bit!"

I just finished watching 22 Weeks...



...and I am terribly angry. I must be careful of what I say right now because I am angry not only at what is happening to women and babies out there, but because the vast majority of WE CHRISTIANS are ignoring it altogether.
I just think, how easy it is to be a self-righteous hypocrite. We are so self-deceiving the way we justify our apathy. We say we love, but then we completely ignore those all around us in our country whose need is most urgent.
I really don't believe we will have an excuse when we stand before the throne. We could see the humanity of the unborn very clearly now through modern technology. There's no excuse. And I am so discouraged at the way we judge all those Christians who lived in the middle of the holocaust and did nothing...and yet we are the same. The holocaust of unborn babies is so cloaked that we do pretty much nothing to defend them. Not only that, but then when other Christians speak up, we get mad at them and tell them to stay out of political issues. That is the biggest load of crap I've ever heard! Defending helpless human beings is NOT a political issue. It is a God issue.

I'm really trying not to judge my brothers and sisters in Christ--I am no better I'm sure--but I just don't think we really believe what we say we believe. If we *really* believed these were babies, why no action on their behalf? Because we are lying to ourselves.

That said, I was really encouraged at Life Chain this year. Not only was there a wonderful turn out as compared to other years, but I really felt hopeful this year that God is moving. I don't know how exactly, but I am convinced He is and He will just for the fact that we are asking Him to and moving out in faith so He can use what little we give Him.
TBT news was there and it provoked some good dialogue. That's always a good thing.

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Galatians 6:9 NLT

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16

Some say it is a waste of our time--a futile cause. I say since we have a high and lofty God we owe it to Him to believe Him for high and lofty goals. He will never be disappointed in us for believing too much, but He will be if we believe too little.

we will probably never know this side of eternity the impact these few hours of our lives have made and how far it has rippled out to touch the lives and hearts of others.

"See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven." Matthew 18:10

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40

One of the highlights of going to Life Chain each year--Isn't she beautiful?

 

My buddy.

Bella Donna

very hopeful that God will use whatever little bit we give Him in faith for His infinitely wise purposes, and His ultimate glory.

want to see some signs reading Jesus forgives and heals.

ECLIPSE OF REASON - Abortion Documentary

Re-post:

It seems some people are convinced that I needed to abandon my pro-life "agenda" and return to doing "Kingdom work". Whether or not I should have, I have taken these suggestions to heart and struggled with them for the last four days. Am I, as Beth Moore calls it, allowing myself to "become the enemy of my best?" Should I put my pro-life battles in only one little compartment of my life and use the rest of it to pursue Kingdom work, or should I abandon it altogether?

The problem is, the more I seek God, the more I can ever so slightly see His image in those around me, and then the more fervent my desire is to "Deliver those who are being taken away to death,and those who are staggering to slaughter"(Pro 24:11), and am more moved with compassion for the "least of these".
So, I've been praying that if my passion for the unborn and the time I spend defending them is interfering with my relationship with God, that He would show me. That if it is His will for me to tone it down, that He would relieve me of this intense burden. Yet the more I pray, the more my heart wrenches for them.

On day 4's homework of this week, God made it crystal clear to me that He has, in this area, "made His passions my passions", as I've been praying for Him to do.


And here's my answer:

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'(Matthew 22:37-39)

Kingdom work and rescuing those in need are not mutually exclusive vocations. Loving our neighbours goes right to the very identity of Christianity and is an integral extension of faith.

However, God did warn me through day 5's homework not to work until I have sought His direction through prayer and His word, so that my God-given passions would be poured out within the safe framework of His agenda, so as not to be used destructively or in vain. After all, to fulfill the law you must love all your neighbours. I need to be careful to go where He tells me, and to say what He tells me to say.



I love this Scripture...

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”(Psalm 37:4-6)

But I must also remember the prayer He gave me...

"now lift up my eyes and let me look at life."

The wise words Shelly gave to Harry on the movie My Girl are whispering in the back of my mind..."I'm not asking you to stop feeling for those people..but life isn't just death. Don't ignore the living." I must remember to allow myself to live, as well as take pity on the living:The women who are in need, half-dead, stigmatized by society and the church... That again, I am to not only hate what is evil, but then also to CLING TO WHAT IS GOOD....and that's where I lack big time.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."


But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"


In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:25-37)

Is it possible that just as the religious leaders of the parable were so consumed with pursuing "God's agenda" that they forgot that, as Paul writes,

"If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing?"(1 Corinthians 13:2),

we do the same with our lack of action on behalf of the unborn and their mothers? Beth Moore writes

"often the tests of our hearts will be similar...they usually involve behaviors and reactions to one another. How we deal with people may be a truer test of the heart than how we relate to things....Stepping across a boundary to help is sometimes our first introduction to the commonality of humanity on the other side. Offering help in a time of need can be the first step to overcoming God-dishonoring prejudice."

So...the question is...




...WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBOUR?


According to Jesus, your neighbour is anyone in need....or are we ourselves attempting "to hide in loopholes of terminology", instead of taking pity (remember, that word means "to feel deeply or viscerally") on the unborn and post-abortive women, and compassionately acting on that?

"It's not a real 'person'...just a fetus...sub-human...not like us..."

"She made her choice...it's her own problem...She's a murderer...sub-human...not like us..."

And so we justify passing by on the other side...after all...we're just so busy doing the important work of God.

If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Deliver those who are drawn away to death, and those who totter to the slaughter, hold them back [from their doom]. If you [profess ignorance and] say, Behold, we did not know this, does not He Who weighs and ponders the heart perceive and consider it? And He Who guards your life, does not He know it? And shall not He render to [you and] every man according to his works? (Proverbs 24:10-12)