Destroying Our Children

     Several weeks ago now, the New York State Legislature passed a law which repealed previous abortion law; thus removing any restraints on having an abortion during the third trimester of pregnancy.  Further the law allowed other health care professionals to do the abortion procedure without a medical doctor present.  Upon passing this law, there was a burst of congratulations all around and applause.  Governor Cuomo went on to say that pro life supporters and conservatives were not welcome in the state.
     At first, I was shocked that anyone could applaud the killing of a viable baby during the last trimester of pregnancy up to and during the point of labor.  Adoption is a much better option rather than the taking of a life.  In my own experience, I cherished each child and prayed for each one.  I had difficulty getting pregnant so to me, every child was a miracle.

Ryder Glenn Thayer at 6 months

     As I thought about the ramifications of this new law, I recalled the Scripture story of Moses and the burning bush.  God had called him to return to Egypt and the Hebrews that he might lead them out of bondage.  Moses began to make excuses such as the people not believing he was sent from God.  When that failed, he told God he could not speak well.  We pick this up in chapter 4:10-12 of the book of Exodus:  "But Moses said to the Lord, 'Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.'  The the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth?  Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind?  Is it not I, the Lord?  Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.'"
     In this passage of Scripture, I saw something I had never seen or really thought about before.  The Lord plainly told Moses that He makes the mouth.  He also makes the mute (those unable to speak), the deaf, the seeing and the blind.  To put it another way, God makes no mistakes when He creates us in our mother's womb.  For His purposes known only to Him, He makes some to see and some who are blind.  Following along this train of thought, we can conclude that God also makes children who are special needs as well.  Our Branson was a perfect example.  He had multiple difficulties from a physical point of view, and he required a lot of care.  However, the six years we had him brought so much joy to our family and he changed our lives forever.  He was not a mistake.  He was a gift from God's own hands given to our son and daughter in law who lovingly cared for him.
     Two other passages of Scripture also come to mind when thinking about babies as a gift from God.  Psalm 139:13-14 reads:  "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 it very well."  The intimacy with which David writes this beautiful Psalm shows a relationship that began in the womb where God fashioned him.  The other Scripture is found in Jeremiah 1:4-5:  "Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'"  Once again, we see that God formed Jeremiah in the womb and called him to be a prophet even before he was born.
     All of this puts a different perspective on abortion doesn't it?  If God is intimately involved in fashioning a person in the womb and even laying out the plans for their life before birth; then, what we are destroying in abortion is a precious soul made by the hands of God.  How many teachers, musicians, doctors, attorneys, pastors, scientists have been destroyed?  The current count in our country is over 50 million babies killed since Roe v Wade.  Now we are faced with possible infanticide, and God will hold our nation accountable for this slaughter.
     For Christians, we can make a difference by contacting legislators and making our feelings known.  We can volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center or donate to a right to life group.  Certainly the most important thing we can do is to pray.  We must pray for our nation and for the lives of the unborn because we know that God cares even more than we do about each life He has created.  Selah!

Christmas Memories

     Recently, we completed a remodeling project in our home. As we started to put things back, both my dear husband and I have been going through our possessions to dispose of things we no longer use or need.  As we looked through our boxes, we found pictures, news clippings and items given to us from our families.  What a flood of memories for both of us.
     In fact, I can close my eyes and see all the scenes of the snowy Christmases past.  There was the one horse open sleigh ride I had as a small child.  It had been a heavy snow day but my grandfather hitched up a horse to his sleigh and took my cousin and I on a ride of a lifetime.  Then, there were the 5 a.m. Christmas mornings when I tried in vain to wake everyone up because I wanted to see my gifts.  I remember my sister (8 years older than I) opening her bedroom door and throwing shoes at me down the hallway telling me to go back to bed.  All this and more as I think of my childhood home.  It was the same for my husband as he showed me pictures of his childhood.
     Pictures of our children when they were small made us smile as we recalled our many celebrations with them.  Now we have our grandchildren to enjoy watching.  Time grows more precious to us as we grow older, and this brings to my mind a song that has lived in my heart for many years:  "Heirlooms" by Amy Grant.  The words are simple but so meaningful at Christmas:
                                 
Up in the attic,
Down on my knees.
Lifetimes of boxes,
Timeless to me.
Letters and photographs,
Yellowed with years,
Some bringing laughter,
Some bringing tears.
Time never changes,
The memories, the faces
Of loved ones, who bring to me,
All that I come from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I'm going to be.
My precious family
Is more than an heirloom to me.
Wisemen and shepherds,
Down on their knees,
Bringing their treasures
To lay at his feet.
Who was this wonder,
Baby yet king?
Living and dying;
He gave life to me.
Time never changes,
The memory, the moment
His love first pierced through me,
Telling all that I came from,
And all that I live for,
And all that I'm going to be.
My precious savior
Is more than an heirloom to me.
My precious Jesus
Is more than an heirloom to me.
     I remember singing this song in church during the time my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimers so it has always been dear to my heart.  It reflected not only the precious gift of family but the even more priceless gift of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. This is the true meaning of Christmas and here is the invitation that God offers to each of us:  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that Whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).  He loved us so much He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins.  All we have to do is repent (turn away) from our sin and believe in Him as our Savior.  We cannot earn salvation.  God gives it as a free gift to all who believe in Jesus Christ.
     This is the real heart of the Christmas celebration.  He came and we will never be the same.  Of all my memories, I will never forget the day that both my husband and I believed in Jesus Christ three months before we married.  It made such a difference in our life.  If you do not know Him, I pray that this Christmas you will make Him your Savior and Lord.  If you already know Him, rejoice knowing that God gave us the best gift we could ever have!  Merry Christmas from our house to yours!  Selah!

Getting to the Root of It

     While trimming shrubs the other day, I noticed a number of vines had grown up among the shrubs.  These pesky plants can also climb the side of a house.  I always attempt to pull the vine up so that I get the root of the plant.  Doing this, prevents it from regrowing.  Unfortunately, it is hard to get the root to come out of the ground.  It takes effort, but it can be done.  The same is true in our own hearts when it comes to bitterness.  It is a root that goes deep inside, and one that needs to be removed as soon as possible.

A root from a vine

     Most of us have encountered people who are afflicted with bitterness towards another person.  This could come from jealousy, envy, unforgiveness or pride.  No matter what begins the episode the effects of bitterness on the whole person can be devastating.  A bitter person is often angry, demanding and spiteful.  Their reasoning and judgment become poisoned as well.  A biblical example of a bitter person is King Saul of Israel.
     In I Samuel 18:1-30 and I Samuel 19:1-18, the Scripture writer describes the slow deterioration of a relationship that started out well in the beginning.  David had come upon the scene as a shepherd boy who was visiting his brothers to bring them food at the scene of a battle with the Philistines.  Everyone in the army fears the giant Goliath but David takes him on with a sling and a stone defeating this threat to Israel.  Saul is impressed and welcomes David into to his court as a musician.  Eventually David also becomes a military leader and this is where the trouble starts.  For we see that David is more successful than Saul, and the people praise him highly. Thus begins the jealousy in Saul's heart that leads him to try to kill David even though he is a part of the family having married Michal (Saul's daughter).  Even Jonathan, David's best friend and Saul's son, tries to intervene to no avail.  For seven long years, David had to run and hide in order to avoid being killed by Saul.  But who was Saul really mad at?  David?
      Behind the bitterness that Saul felt in his heart is a deep rooted anger at God.  Saul had been anointed a king, but he failed to obey God several times.  Samuel, the prophet, told him that the kingdom would be taken from him and his family as a result of his failure to follow God's laws (I Samuel 15:26-28).  Saul tried to justify his actions to Samuel but this did not change the fact that someone else would rule and reign.  When David came on the scene and God's favor was upon him, Saul reacted with jealousy at his success as well as bitterness that God had abandoned him.  His solution was to eliminate David.  In the end, Saul's disobedience led to his death and the death of his son Jonathan.
     Bitterness distorts
the human soul, and the person that suffers the most is the one who is infected with this sin.  If we are a Christian this is something we must pull out by the root so it does not continue to grow.  In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).  So the first thing we must do when bitterness begins to grow is to forgive the other person who offended us.  Then, we need to begin praying for that person.  This changes our heart quicker than any other thing.  Finally, we need to try to get to know that person.  Our anger and bitterness is often a reflection of how we feel about God rather than another person.  Maybe we didn't get the recognition we thought we deserved and the other person got it instead.  Yet we focus our disappointment on them instead of immediately taking it to the Lord in prayer.  We must not allow bitterness to gain a foothold in our heart.
     Recently, a war hero died, and over the course of years, I had seen him go from being an effective public servant with a likable demeanor to someone who had become very bitter towards the President.  It seemed that he tried to throw a monkey wrench into whatever was proposed by the President.  He even disinvited several people from coming to his funeral.  In my eyes, he had become a bitter man.  Why, I do not know nor do I understand, but it caused me to stop and think how much this sin can damage our character as well as our legacy.  Just as in gardening, we have to grab bitterness by the root and eliminate it lest it consume us and destroy our witness for Jesus Christ.  God grant us the strength to pull it out by the roots!  Selah!