Is Abortion Murder?

Before I begin this blog, and without prematurely giving away my view as to the answer to the title's question, I want to first state that throughout the Bible God forgives, redeems and restores all who seek Him through Jesus Christ with repentant hearts.  If at any point you feel you've come down on the wrong side of this issue, God is only a prayer away.  He is waiting to forgive you and bring you into His freedom and new life.  You'll find at the bottom of this blog a prayer of repentance you may use that can serve to help you in that direction.  Now on to the blog.

Is Abortion Murder?

In my view the answer to this question lies in the following idea: if an outside influence causes an organism to die at any point in its life cycle when it would otherwise, without that terminative action, continue to further grow and develop, there has been a "killing." 

In the case of a human abortion where the life of the embryo (a successfully fertilized egg which has begun its embryonic development) is terminated, a murder has indeed been committed, because without that terminative action, the baby's unmolested development would continue until birth and beyond.

I've heard an argument that based on this reasoning, using contraceptives or "pulling out" would be murder as well, the point being that since sperm are alive, allowing their death must be murder, too.  This argument is specious because the trillions of sperm produced by a single adult male in his lifetime have very short life spans and die of their own volition within a few months of their inception, regardless of whether they are used in the effort to fertilize an egg or not.  Also, only one sperm per pregnancy (out of millions of sperm) actually causes fertilization, what of the rest?  Without the fertilization process in which a sperm and egg come together to cause a completely new developmental stage, the sperm die and serve no further purpose.  

The same is true of the female egg.  Each month, under normal conditions and without fertilization, two eggs develop and see their end through menstruation.  

However, a fertilized egg, that is, the burgeoning infant, continues on in its development and a healthy fetus only dies or discontinues its development WHEN TERMINATED by outside intervention.  The point is, that without the abortion, the life of the fetus would go on.  And thus, abortion merits the term murder, regardless of the developing baby's age or location, be it in or outside the womb.

When a human life is purposely stopped at any point in its development a murder is committed.

Most of this is common sense, but the mindset that allows for the murder of an unborn infant does not occupy the realm of common sense because it lacks reason and morality.  Therefore, arguments for abortion are a convoluted mess of justifications for what is wholly unjustifiable.

And truly, God has had it with these justifications, and with the murder of millions of blameless, unborn children.

Some might argue that since abortion is legal (as far as the law goes), the act of abortion is therefore morally justifiable.  But just because the rule of law allows for abortions - lots of laws have been on the wrong side of history, see Hitler's Nazi Germany - this does not make abortion legal in God's eyes.  God's makes it clear in His law, the Ten Commandments, that murder is wrong when He commands, "Thou shalt not kill" (Exodus 20).

It is ironic, too, that many of the people who seek for abortion rights also find it quite abominable that society imposes death sentences on certain convicted felons (generally murderers).  It seems that they condone and support the murder of blameless and completely innocent unborn children in the name of a woman's right to choose what to do with HER body (while ironically completely discounting the infant's own right to the preservation of life), while they still fight against the death sentence judgments imposed upon the guilty. Granted, some fight the death penalty due to the executions of the falsely convicted, but others still don't believe in the death penalty even for the guilty, while on the other hand supporting the right to abort innocent fetuses.  This is so backward, upside down, and unfathomably wrong.  How did we ever get to this state of confusion?  (See the father of lies, Satan, for the answer.)

I guess in the minds of abortion supporting anti-death penalty advocates a human must first cross through the matrix into the world before being worthy of the basic human right to just plain live.  In their eyes, once a child is born, only then does he become worthy of a no death sentence judgment, even for those who have committed the most heinous of crimes.

Our society's complete turning of true justice on its head is the real abomination, and God cannot sit back and allow this to go on without passing His own judgment.  Indeed, judgment has been passed and will continue to be brought upon this ghastly sin of abortion and the people and nations who carry it out.

Furthermore, for a woman to cry, "My body, my choice!" is the height of selfishness and hypocrisy.  How can one say, "I am uncomfortable with how this pregnancy can or is changing MY life, so I have decided to terminate that life in me," and expect such an idea to be anything less than the worship of oneself at the expense of all else, including God, His law, and the new life that has been animated in her?  It is unfathomable the lengths and depths of this selfishness, of the lack of care for others, especially for that of the mother's very own child, her own blood.  Not only is it murder, it is the murder of ones own offspring!  In the case of a woman choosing abortion as a form of birth control, rather than nurture, feed and grow her baby, a process that should be a chief joy in her and her mate's lives, she (often in agreement with or at the behest of her mate) instead chooses to end its life.  To kill one's offspring through abortion is an act of abominable hate and is no different than a mother killing her ten-year-old child.  And the agreeing mate is just as guilty.

Societal authorities and the rule of law may not put the abortive parents and their doctors in prison for this murder - though a proper law would - but without God's redemption, the abortive mother (and all involved, but especially the mother) will enter the prison of her own existence.  And, without seeking and receiving the forgiveness of God, she will never get over it.  She will do as so many others and suffer depression, grief, guilt, growing more conscienceless, ever hardening, ever becoming fiercer in the wake of the murder she has committed.  The same goes for the mate if he had a hand in encouraging and supporting the abortion, as well as for the healthcare workers who saw it through.

I know this is anecdotal evidence, but I have never known a person who has undergone an abortion who wasn't on psychotropic drugs to deal with abortion's aftermath of guilt and depression (which lasts a lifetime without the redemption of Jesus Christ.)  I've asked others about those in their lives who have had abortions and they, too, had observed these women were also on anti-depressants.  In that light I ask, if abortion were so right, why would abortive mothers need drugs to deal with it?  Just a quick search of the internet and you can find all sorts of statistics (such as here: http://www.azpolicypages.com/life/abortion-harms-women/) on post abortive mothers who go off into life long bouts of depression, who get hooked on over the counter as well as street drugs, who consider or commit suicide, etc.  Is it any wonder?  A person can't kill a human being and remain psychologically healthy or feel peace and joy in her life.  A consequence of murder and hate is the loss of peace and joy.  God has made us this way so that we can find a place of repentance when we do wrong, so that we may see the error of our ways.  It is this sorrow that leads us to repentance and, hopefully, to the seeking of forgiveness from God through Jesus Christ.  This is the only way we can find the freedom, peace and joy that has been lost through abortion, by reaching to God for redemption through His Son Jesus Christ.

One final observation with regard to those who defend abortion is the argument that abortion is a must for women who have been raped or experienced incest.  A survey called "Reasons U.S. Women Have Abortions: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives," showed that around 1% of respondents who had abortions had been raped and even smaller number, about a 1/2 %, of the aborted pregnancies had been the result of incest.  This illustrates just what a small number of abortions are actually derived from rape/incest victims.  But even so, the wrong of rape or incest does not justify the killing of the innocent baby that results.  Some may say that this contention is heartless because the baby growing in the rape victim's womb serves as too much a reminder of the trauma she endured and thus justifies the abortion.  But I am saying, and rather vehemently, that the incredible wrong of rape can in no way justify the second greater wrong of murdering the baby growing in her womb.  It is still an act of selfishness to kill this baby, even though you've been traumatized by something as severe as rape. As a man I know that I can't completely fathom what it would be like to go through this experience, but I do know that killing the baby will only cause you to become a murderer and in the end will only hurt you even more.

There is no black and white with abortion.  It is wrong on every level. A baby that is the result of rape could be seen through to birth and put up for adoption.  Yes, the pregnancy could be difficult, but a person in this situation can seek God for the strength to see it through, and see to it that a new life is brought forth.  What courage it would take, but in the end the reward would be great and the mother would prevent even further scarring of her life through killing the baby.

I hope that those who have read this blog understand the seriousness of abortion and will seek the Lord on this matter.  This topic gets addressed a lot by the Church, but it can never hurt to hear an additional perspective, especially for those who are yet to become future members of the Body of Christ who want to come to the Lord but the issue of abortion stands between them and the Lord.  The hope of this blog is that an understanding of the truth about abortion will be imparted so all who have participated may come to a place of repentance and forgiveness in Christ and be drawn into His kingdom.  If only one person does so, that’s more than enough.

If you are person who has been involved in an abortion, or multiple abortions, you can say a prayer like this (try to use your own words if you can, but this is a good start):

Father God, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, sorry for all my sins, but in particular for the sin of abortion.  I have had an abortion(s) (or encouraged or helped someone else to have an abortion(s)) and I understand that in so doing I committed a murder of my own flesh and blood.  I repent, Lord, for that murder and I will never do such an act again, nor will I encourage any one else to do so.  I will stand up for life from now on, and encourage every one to see through their pregnancies through because that's what You want.  I believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son and that He died on the cross for my sins.  I plead the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the mercy of His sacrifice over myself, and ask your forgiveness through Him.  I thank you for forgiving me through Jesus Christ and granting me your peace, love and joy in that forgiveness.  I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit and empower me against sin, darkness, and against Satan and his demons.  I renounce the devil and his works of selfishness, murder and lies, and I renounce all the justifications I agreed with to justify what I did.  In Jesus' mighty name I bind up and command all demons associated with the deception I believed regarding abortion to leave me.  I also bind up and command all demons of abortion and murder to leave me, in Jesus' mighty name.  In Jesus' mighty name I bind up and command all spirits of depression, sadness, overwhelming grief, bipolar, schizophrenia, insanity, etc. to leave me right now.  In Jesus' mighty name, I loose over me the peace, love and joy of the Holy Spirit and complete deliverance from every demonic spirit the abortion allowed into my life.  Thanks you Father God for the forgiveness you've given me through Christ Jesus and His sacrifice.  I am forever grateful! A-men.

If you said that prayer, praise God, you are forgiven and set free from the sins relating to abortion in your life.  Praise the Lord.  Time for you to celebrate!  As the Bible says there's a celebration in heaven when just one sinner repents.  Go tell someone and have a party of happiness.  I know there were Christians in your life along the way who tried to help you that you may have denied.  Tell them of this freedom you've found so they can celebrate, too.  Believe me, God's had people praying for you all along.  It will really bless them if you contact them to let them know.  If they're real Christians they will jump through the ceiling in excitement to hear of your repentance and that you've found eternal life.   God be with you and all of us as we seek to clean up our lives in preparation for the Lord's return and to get clear of any participation in the act of abortion. A-men!

Signs of the Coming of End of This Age?

If you're a reader of the Bible and a follower of Christ, it's difficult to watch the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, not to mention the nuclear catastrophe that has followed (as well as the Asian tsunami and Haiti's earthquake) and not think of what Jesus said in Matthew 24 when describing the state of affairs prior to His return, 

"4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.   6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.   7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.   8 All these are the beginning of sorrows."

So we see that earthquakes are not the only sign of the beginning of sorrows.  We also have wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences (diseases that kill).  But what is this "beginning of sorrows"?  Most studiers of the Word would say that the time of "sorrows" refers to the tribulation period described in revelation which is a seven year span which leads up to Jesus' return and 1,000 year reign on the earth. 

Some say, and I agree, that we are in the birth pangs of this tribulation period even now, that the commencement of the seven years of tribulation could begin at any moment.

Many also believe, and I do as well, that the sign that the tribulation has begun will be the war against Israel described in Ezekiel 38.

Ezekiel's vision describes Gog and Magog (most believe this to be Russia) along with Persia (Iran) and other north african/middle eastern nations coming against Israel in war.  But when they do God defends Israel and 5 out 6 of the soldiers of the invading armies die.  Ezekiel also tells us that it will take 7 months to bury all their dead bodies, as well as 7 years to clean up the aftermath.

This 7 year cleanup period is what leads many, including me, to believe that this war begins the tribulation because of the specific seven year period it takes to clean up the mess.  Others believe this is the war to end all wars, known as Armageddon, when all the nations of the world come against Israel. But this can't be, because Ezekiel's vision includes only a handful of nations coming against Israel, while the battle at Megiddo (Armageddon) includes ALL nations.

So, when you see the Ezekiel 38 war begin to come about, know that we are entering the tribulation period where many of the prophecies from Daniel, Matthew 24, and Revelation will come to pass.  It will be a terrible time of sorrow on the earth, but the time will serve a great purpose which I will address momentarily.

But first I would like to make mention of the fact that some Christians say that at the beginning of the tribulation, the Church will be "raptured" out of here, not having to endure any of this time of sorrows.

Others say we will be here for half of the tribulation because the halfway point (three and a half years in) marks the time when the Anti-Christ becomes the world ruler and imposes an economic system when no one will be able to buy or sell without his mark.  (We have the technology and automation right now to do this.  All you need is your mark, or chip, or whatever it might be, on your right hand on your forehead.)

But I believe, as many do, that we Christians will be here for the entirety of the tribulation, for Revelation describes that at the halfway point the anti-Christ will make war against the Saints and will overcome many, while others of us will be protected in the wilderness for the final three and half years.  (Some believe the Saints described in Revelation are simply those lukewarm Believers who were "left behind", but not one molecule of me believes that explanation.  I fully believe that ALL of us will be here.)

The truth is that we Christians, as a people, have so severely failed to serve God correctly that only a tiny percentage of us would be found worthy of the rapture anyhow.  We have much purifying to do as a people, and to my earlier point about the purpose of tribulation, it is when tribulation is in the earth that people finally take stock and realize the need for change.

As it is written in the book of Isaiah,

"...when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness" (Isaiah 26:9).

Why do people learn righteousness during times of tribulation? Because through tribulation we are shown our own mortality, that we are not invincible, that we have to answer for our lives.  We come face-to-face with the idea of an afterlife, of facing God, of standing before Him and having our lives reviewed and judged.

No one wants to stand before God and be found wanting, or guilty.  But if everything in your life while you live in sin is all "hunky-dory" and you don't take the time to think about your mortality, you won't be concerned with facing Him, about the way you are living NOW, even though the notion you should be MOST concerned about is your eternity, where you will be, what you will do, after this life.

So during tribulation when you see life all around you change, the world in tumult, death very prevalent, the fear of the Lord comes upon you and you, hopefully, begin to determine to get things right with Him.

Let's face it, tribulation is punishment, and the point of punishment is to wake a person up, to make the person reconsider the wrong he has done and to make a change.

People are put in prison every day for wrong doing, and it is there they are given the time to consider their wrong doing. With their creature comforts and freedom removed they have no choice but to consider their behavior.  

Tribulation in the earth serves that same purpose.  For many, the care-free "I don't care about the future" life finally takes a back set to the sobering reality that life as we know it is finite, not permanent, that there is an end to what we know on this earth.

Some of you may not believe we are nearing the end of this age and coming closer to the Lord's return.  I hear a lot Christians say that people throughout history thought his return was imminent.

Well, nowhere in history have so many of the prophecies of the Bible come to meet at one moment in time when all of it seems possible.  The groups, like Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah's Witnesses who proclaimed Jesus would return in the 1800s to their own embarrassment did not recognize that Ezekiel 37 had to be fulfilled first, the chapter that predicts Israel's resurrection as a nation.  But since 1949 this has been the case.  And many other prophecies have come about such as Daniel's vision of an increase in knowledge and many people going "to and fro".

Even if the tribulation is not imminent (though I don't see how), still take this time when so much is going on in the world to take stock of your relationship with God.

Are you keeping His Word? Do you even know His Word?  Do you spend time talking with Him?  Do you know Him personally?  The answers to these question determine if you are living a life of true eternal purpose.  We were put on this earth, ultimately, to have relationship with God (first) and each other (second).  Are you paying any attention to the first matter?

I pray with all my heart that the events happening worldwide, where many people are coming to a quick collision with their own mortality, will lead each one of us to consider our own mortalities, to consider our REAL purpose here on earth, and to have the courage to seek God as to what that purpose is as well as for the help to complete it.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Is Your Church a Cult of Personality?

Why do you attend your Church?  

Is it because you feel like your Pastor is "the man"?  

Do you find it a big letdown when he is absent and others step up to speak?

Does your Pastor spend enough time pointing you to Christ, or is he instead trying to get attention for himself?

I ask these questions because when a Church becomes too much about the Pastor and not enough about the Lord Jesus Christ, it can quickly devolve into a "cult of personality."

I'm afraid there are a lot of these cults of personality around today.

Being part of a Church is not supposed be Pastor-centric, rather, the Church should be focused on her real Leader, Jesus Christ, and one of the main reasons we're missing this point is because we are honoring our Pastors and leadership above Christ and His Word.

Sure, we still give Christ lip-service, but our hearts are far from Him.

The reason for this is because many of us do not have a tangible relationship with our Savior, who we can't see, and therefore we build the relationship that was intended for God with the person we believe to be His surrogate, the Pastor, the one we can see.

But this is idolatry, in the same sense that Israel built the golden calf to worship in the desert, when we put the Pastor in place of Christ, we have made him into our own personal golden calf.

So, our cults of personality are replacing Christ with our Pastors because we are not hearing from Christ ourselves.  We are not following the Truth.  We are not acting as His sheep, for if we were, we would not hear another shepherd, even one who is said to come in His name.

Jesus is our true Shepherd.  A good Pastor knows this and should seek to send you to your true Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

But why is it that are we not hearing from God and have filled that void with overmuch honoring of our Pastors?

There's a one-word answer to this question:

Disobedience.

Jesus said, "If you love me, you'll keep my commandments."

But we, as a Church body are currently in a constant state of disobedience, and being so, we can't hear from God.  We have, as the prodigal son, effectively left the estate of God to do our own thing and thereby we don't even hear His voice.

But, you say, how do we disobey?

Your false Sunday Sabbath, your Lent and Easter paganism, your Advent and Christmas paganism, your Halloween and Valentines paganism, and this paganism only serves to support and propogate many other sins such as the rampant divorce and remarriage in the Church, the adultery, lust, porn, homosexuality, the greed (prosperity gospel), the covetousness, the thefts, the pride and haughtiness, and so much more.

The pagan traditions of the Church have usurped the word of God and when this happens the people involved can't really know God.  They know a false god, true, but NOT the true and living God.  

And many of our Pastors who are running their cults of personality know these things, they know about these false days of worship, about our corporate sins, and they don't tell us.  They keep us in ignorance because they're afraid to lose congregants.

So we remain ignorant.  But it's not just our Pastors' faults.  We're in this situation primarily because we are too lazy to eat and partake of the Word of God ourselves and not knowing God's Word we can't really know Him and can't know that these traditions of man are actually against His Word.

Then, when someone comes by who is not your Pastor and tries to warn you, your heart can't receive it because what you're hearing, though in line with God's Word, contradicts your Pastor.  But because you're so caught up in your Pastor's teachings, rather than Christ's, you don't even know the Truth when it's sent your way.  You're deceived.  You're trapped in your Pastor's double bind.

We must, therefore, as a people, begin to to seek our own relationship with the Father through His Son Jesus Christ by partaking of His Word and seeking Him out in prayer.

This may sound crazy, but most of you would do so much better for your everlasting souls if you would only leave your current Church and pick up the habit of trying to get to know the Lord for yourself, one-on-one. How? By praying and reading your Bible (three chapters a day takes a year) everyday so you can know Him for yourself.

God is a very jealous God.  He doesn't want any man, spirit, animal, celestial body, etc. to be between you and Him.  The purpose of your spiritual leaders is simply to lead you to a closer walk to Him, but I tell you a serious truth, most of them are failing miserably at this.  They are putting themselves between you and God by not sharing with you the WHOLE TRUTH.

This is why so many of you don't truly know God right now.  You know your Pastor, you know what he says, but believe me when I say that for most of you your Pastor isn't telling you everything and in many ways can be hindering you from your walk with God.

Even if you have a perfect Pastor, who shares with you all his heart and all the counsel of God, he still isn't God Almighty with whom your relationship is really supposed to be cemented.

You must know God on a personal, one-on-one level.

It's time for many of you to drop out of your cults-of-personality and join in relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, the one true and living God.  Don't be afraid.  God will still get you in fellowship with others.  Trust Him and Him alone and He will lead you to another group/family of Believers.  I warn you in advance that where God leads you next may not be anything like what you're used to (that's because what you've been made used to is just PLAIN WRONG!), but this new place will be one of peace and joy.

Find a place to worship where the Pastor is constantly pointing you to Jesus Christ and your personal relationship with Him, a pastor who is not seeking glory for himself or to make more followers for himself, but is seeking to point everyone in the direction of Christ, not toward himself.

Don't be afraid to stand alone on God a while.  In actuality, this is the safest place to be.

Most Church-goers will ride you for not attending Church.  To the contrary, you should first be scolded for skipping prayer and BIble reading so that you can personally know God.  If you don't do at least that, it doesn't matter much if you go fill a pew each week. You're just an empty vessel at the point, and if you're Pastor is filling you with half-truths and lies, that's all you'll have inside.  Instead, get the truth of God's Word down in you so that you can be a fount of truth to all around you.

So take this opportunity to meet and know God.  He's so worth it.  Let Him show you who He REALLY is.  You will not be disappointed.  You shall be more than pleasantly surprised.  He's so much more than the this current apostate Church has made Him out to be.  Give Him that chance to show you.