Bold Answer to Question over Abortion

We have long been debating the "what if's" in this country when it comes to abortion.  We've all seen the discussions in society.

 "Well, maybe partial birth abortions are a bit much...but what about early ones when the baby is so small and hasn't fully developed...maybe that isn't so bad."

"What about if the women is raped...is it really fair to make her have the baby?  What about incest...wouldn't it be wrong to have that baby."  

A member of my own family, who I loved dearly but was unfortunately on the wrong side of this particular issue, once told me she would rather see a baby aborted than to be born with major birth defects that would make their life more difficult.

Many in the medical field are working on tests that would allow parents to test for all sorts of diseases and genetic defects so they can determine whether or not the baby would live.

God's Word makes it clear that life in the womb is life and it is precious and should be protected.  I will not get into politics here, but I do want to recognize one politician for speaking boldly, despite the possible votes it may cost him.  

I don't think I could sum up the reason we don't need to look for loops holes and allow abortions in the "what if" situations better than he did, other than to say God didn't provide any loop holes.

Check it out:

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

O be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little eyes what you see

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

As a child, I remember singing that song. It goes on to say be careful little ears what you ear, little hands what you do, little feet where you go, little mouth what you say. How we live our life is strongly influenced by what we see and hear, and then where we go and what we participate in.

This principle should apply to what we watch on TV and the movies we watch, along with many other aspects of our life. I am not saying a Christian should necessarily avoid all secular music, TV, movies, etc - unless they feel called by God to so. But we must use our ability of discernment, which is given to all believers through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when deciding what to expose ourselves, and our children, to.

What we watch and what we filter out will often depend on the individuals role in their family and the church and the level of their maturity and understanding of Scripture. Please don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that being spiritually mature and knowledgeable in doctrine and Scripture gives you free reign to watch filth.

However, sometimes a film comes along that portrays Christianity or God in a manner that can be dangerous to the church and the spiritually mature and doctrinally sound leaders need to watch or at least be very aware of the film so they can teach their flock and warn them of the dangers.

I recently became aware of one such film that I recommend Christians, especially parents and church leaders, be cautious of. It is called the Golden Compass. Some of the animations looked similar to the Narnia movies, particularly the polar bear, and the movie seemed interesting so we began to watch it.

It wasn't long into the movie when I realized something wasn't right.  Everyone in the movie had a "demon" that followed them around and interacted with them...and some of the demons were portrayed as cute fuzzy playful animals. They also seemed to promoting the rebellious characters in the movie as the heroes.

So I did a little research. Turns out, the movie is based on one of the books in trilogy by Philip Pullman called "His Dark Materials." A quick overview of the book would go like this...God isn't really the creator...He just somehow came out of the "dust" and was the first angel...He told all the other angels to follow He created them...and when He got old and weak he faced a rebellion from the other angels and from mankind.

By the time the trilogy is over, God is dead and two of the characters of the story re-enact the story of the garden of Eden, only this time it saves the universe rather than condemns it. One thing that makes the story so deceptive is the fact that it does make you think of C.S. Lewis and the Narnia story...but that is no accident. Pullman despised C.S. Lewis and said of the Narnia books are "one of the most ugly and poisonous things I have ever read," with "no shortage of … nauseating drivel."

Not convinced that Mr. Pullman is an enemy of Christianity? What if I told you another of his books is entitled "The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ"? One of the press statements about the books reads like this:

In Pullman’s work, Jesus is a charismatic, honest speaker, who believes that the kingdom of God is imminent. Christ, on the other hand, has an eye to posterity, to the need for an organized church and to the requirements of history. “He knows that human beings, being what they are, need structures, they fall into bureaucracy. He knew that the kingdom never was going to come,” said Pullman. See this review and others here

It is important for us to remember that not all things fun, not all things popular, not even all things made for children are things we should watch, listen to, or expose our children to.

Will May 21, 2011, Be the End of the World?

Will May 21, 2011, Be the End of the World?  

According to Harold Camping with Family Radio out of Oakland, California - the answer is yes.  Mr. Camping has apparently used the events in Genesis and other "clues" from the Bible and has successfully calculated the exact date for Judgement Day!

Yet for some reason, I am not convinced.  

First of all, let's take a look at the credibility of the man making the bold predictions - Mr. Harold Camping.  Camping previously predicted the end of the world would come in September 2010.  He also claims God no longer uses local churches, and says that Christians should come out of the churches and not submit to the authority of any church body.   

Camping also believes that God has established Family Radio as the "sole beacon of truth" and he denies the truth of the trinity.  His method of reading and interpreting Scripture is flawed and leaves him lacking any credibility as a Bible teacher.

Secondly, let's take a look at the claim itself.  He claims to have unlocked some sort of secret code hidden in the Scripture by which God revealed the exact time of the final judgement.  

Yet the Bible, in Matthew 24:35-36, says "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."  Verse 44 goes on to say "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

I often joke with friends when such predictions like Mr. Camping's are made that I may not be able to predict when Christ will return, but I have a good shot at predicting some of the days he will not return.  There is no credible reason to believe the end of the world is any more likely to be May 21, 2011 than to believe it will be any other random day.

The Bible makes it clear that God did not intend for us to know the day Christ would return and set into motion the final days but rather wanted us to focus on walking "in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10).

I wouldn't treat May 21, 2011 any different than any other day.  Walk worthy each day, whether it is your first or last day on earth.

More Christians Arrested in China

Posted on Apr 18, 2011 | by Michael Foust 

BEIJING (BP)--Fulfilling a promise to hold a worship service outside despite government demands, a large Beijing unregistered church -- saying it would rather obey God than the Chinese government -- saw 47 church members arrested Sunday in a public square, one week after 160 of its members were arrested by Chinese officials.  Click here for the full story.

These bold Christians reminded me of a story from Acts Chapter 4.  After healing a lame beggar, Peter and John began openly teaching Christ has resurrected from the dead and were teaching salvation through Christ and Christ alone.  

This caused great annoyance to the Sadducees, the priests, and the temple leaders.  First of all, the Sadducees rejected the belief in resurrection or an after life.  Furthermore, these same religious leaders that arrested Peter and John for teaching about Jesus Christ were the very same ones that had been instrumental in His crucifixion.

Because they could find nothing to hold against Peter and John and they feared the crowds, who were praising God for the healing that took place and many of whom had just accepted Christ, they were afraid to harm Peter and John.  Instead they threatened them and instructed them not to speak in Jesus name again.

Peter and John's response was this: "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 

Will you speak about what you have seen and heard?  Will you be a living testimony to the power of the resurrection and the offer of grace that comes only from Jesus Christ?

Very sad: Girl dies after rape.

Reading this story on the Baptist Press deeply saddened me.  I didn't intend to post another blog entry tonight but I felt compelled to share this.  Please join me in praying for this family in their tragic loss.

Posted on Apr 15, 2011 | by Mark Kelly

BANGLADESH GIRL DIES AFTER RAPE, SHARIA LASHES -- A 14-year-old girl in Bangladesh was lashed 101 times after she was kidnapped, beaten and raped by an older cousin.

An imam in the local mosque handed down the sentence against Hena Akhter under Islam's Sharia law. The girl later died in a hospital, and the initial autopsy declared her death a suicide.

Hena was the youngest of Darbesh Khan's five children in the rural village of Shariatpur. Her father's nephew, Mahbub Khan, moved his family to Hena's rural village and reportedly began stalking her, CNN reported March 29. When her father complained to the elders, the man was warned and fined, but after a few months he caught the girl outside at night and attacked her. When his wife heard the girl's screams, she dragged the child back to the couple's home and beat her as well.

The next day, village elders and the local imam concluded the girl and her attacker were guilty of an illicit relationship and sentenced her to 101 lashes, him to 201 lashes, CNN reported. The girl passed out after 70 lashes; the man managed to escape after his punishment had barely begun.

Public outrage over the autopsy caused authorities to exhume the girl's body and a second autopsy revealed she had died of internal bleeding and her body bore the marks of severe injuries, CNN reported. The doctors responsible for the first autopsy now face prosecution and police are investigating the death. Police were guarding her family, who feared reprisals for speaking out against the imam and village elders.

http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=35072