Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 161

Let’s Reach Out with the Gospel to Women Victimized by Abortion

Millions of women and men, both in society as a whole and in our churches, are suffering under the guilt of abortion. The heavy emotional burden of abortion isn’t limited to those who’ve had one. A schoolteacher in her forties said, “Advising my daughter to have an abortion led me into a long, suicidal siege. I’m not over it yet." [i] (Another group of people affected are those who work in abortion clinics. Check out this article, “Mugged by Ultrasound,”about why so many abortion workers have turned prolife. Wow. Also, see Justin Taylor’s blog for the sixth video released about Planned Parenthood.)

I encourage you to read through the following perspectives from Diane Meyer, a close friend of ours. In fact, she’s like a third daughter to me and Nanci. She lived with us when our daughters were small and she was a young unwed mother. We had the joy of seeing her come to Christ, and helped her place a baby for adoption.  (Just this last year she was reunited with her 33-year-old son and it was our privilege to be there with Diane’s family and the adoptive parents.)

Over the years we’ve seen Diane honor Christ and serve the needy, with a great heart for women damaged by abortion (She and I and Pastor Dan Franklin spoke together about abortion to our church several years ago; video is available on our site.)

I can’t express how deeply Nanci and I respect Diane. She’s a courageous and insightful voice who deserves to be heard. She has helped countless women, including those she’s worked with in prisons, come to terms with their abortions and seek forgiveness and healing in Christ.

Diane’s thoughts that follow remind us that as we continue to speak out about abortion, we should do so in a spirit of grace and truth, always pointing to the hope and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. Christ died for the sins of us all; and His forgiveness is freely available to all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Because of the mountain of blogs, posts, statuses and tweets on social media concerning the Planned Parenthood videos, I hesitated before adding my own voice. But then I remembered that I am a witness and it is my job to speak the truth.

I am encouraged by these videos being released because it is good that, however horrible, this truth is coming out and is being discussed. It is being seen.

The really difficult part for us to stomach is not so much the profit being enjoyed by Planned Parenthood but rather the simple truth that there are baby body parts to harvest because there is a baby’s body.

Along with many thousands of other women, I don’t need to watch these Planned Parenthood videos (in fact, I cannot) because I’m a firsthand witness to what happens at abortions. I have my own unwanted videos that play in my head. There is no unseeing that, there is no unhearing that and there is no unknowing that. I am a witness to the truth.

 Not “my” truth.

THE truth.

These videos are so enflaming because they are making us actually see what is happening.

The truth of these videos may make women who have chosen abortion, or had abortion chosen for them, lash out in self-righteous indignation and bitter anger. They cannot face this truth because it would mean that they ended the life of their own child.

Or they may howl in pain and despair, because how are they supposed to live, supposed to go on, supposed to breathe at all, knowing what they did. We are missing our babies.

You have an opportunity to be Jesus here.

Cry with us as we miss our children.

Show grace.

Show love.

Be kind. Be gentle.

I want to gather all these women up and hug them until they don’t hurt anymore.

Please convince me, convince all of us, we are wrong. Show us that Planned Parenthood is not actually harvesting children’s body parts; that it is just unorganized unrecognizable blobs of tissue. Don’t just tell us; prove to us that we didn’t really kill our children. Show us evidence that they could feel no pain during the violent procedure that took their lives. Tell us that the parts weren’t taken for profit. Convince us mothers that we’ve not experienced great loss and that we should not grieve for our children.

I wish you could do that. But you can’t, nor can anyone else. Because I am a witness to the truth.

So how am supposed to live with myself? I can’t. I don’t.  It is only because of Jesus Christ who forgives me for EVEN THIS, and it is He that lives in me.

Did you hear that, sister? EVEN THIS. Repeat that out loud to yourself.

Believe that. Count on that. I am testifying to the truth.

Can you imagine that God that would come live in ME? Amazing grace is what that is. He redeemed me from shame and sin and death and He calls me His own. And I, who am more unworthy than most, will proclaim this unbelievable, preposterous truth until the very end. Praise God.

As Diane shares, because of Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf, God freely offers us forgiveness, for abortion and every other sin. Here are just a few of those offers:

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. . . . As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. (Ps. 103:10, 12–13)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1)

If you or someone you know has had an abortion, there are Bible studies designed for women, and others for men, offering compassionate help and healing. Many online resources can help you find the support group you need. Those in the Portland, Oregon area can learn more at Portland Heart. For those in other areas, see Silent No More, Heart Beat International’s Abortion Recovery Ministries or Hope After Abortion to connect with a post-abortion healing group in your area. 

 

[i] Family Planning Perspectives, July–August 1996, 12.

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Let���s Reach Out with the Gospel to Women Victimized by Abortion

Millions of women and men, both in society as a whole and in our churches, are suffering under the guilt of abortion. The heavy emotional burden of abortion isn’t limited to those who’ve had one. A schoolteacher in her forties said, “Advising my daughter to have an abortion led me into a long, suicidal siege. I’m not over it yet." [i] (Another group of people affected are those who work in abortion clinics. Check out this article, “Mugged by Ultrasound,”about why so many abortion workers have turned prolife. Wow. Also, see Justin Taylor’s blog for the sixth video released about Planned Parenthood.)

I encourage you to read through the following perspectives from Diane Meyer, a close friend of ours. In fact, she’s like a third daughter to me and Nanci. She lived with us when our daughters were small and she was a young unwed mother. We had the joy of seeing her come to Christ, and helped her place a baby for adoption.  (Just this last year she was reunited with her 33-year-old son and it was our privilege to be there with Diane’s family and the adoptive parents.)

Over the years we’ve seen Diane honor Christ and serve the needy, with a great heart for women damaged by abortion (She and I and Pastor Dan Franklin spoke together about abortion to our church several years ago; video is available on our site.)

I can’t express how deeply Nanci and I respect Diane. She’s a courageous and insightful voice who deserves to be heard. She has helped countless women, including those she’s worked with in prisons, come to terms with their abortions and seek forgiveness and healing in Christ.

Diane’s thoughts that follow remind us that as we continue to speak out about abortion, we should do so in a spirit of grace and truth, always pointing to the hope and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ. Christ died for the sins of us all; and His forgiveness is freely available to all: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Because of the mountain of blogs, posts, statuses and tweets on social media concerning the Planned Parenthood videos, I hesitated before adding my own voice. But then I remembered that I am a witness and it is my job to speak the truth.

I am encouraged by these videos being released because it is good that, however horrible, this truth is coming out and is being discussed. It is being seen.

The really difficult part for us to stomach is not so much the profit being enjoyed by Planned Parenthood but rather the simple truth that there are baby body parts to harvest because there is a baby’s body.

Along with many thousands of other women, I don’t need to watch these Planned Parenthood videos (in fact, I cannot) because I’m a firsthand witness to what happens at abortions. I have my own unwanted videos that play in my head. There is no unseeing that, there is no unhearing that and there is no unknowing that. I am a witness to the truth.

 Not “my” truth.

THE truth.

These videos are so enflaming because they are making us actually see what is happening.

The truth of these videos may make women who have chosen abortion, or had abortion chosen for them, lash out in self-righteous indignation and bitter anger. They cannot face this truth because it would mean that they ended the life of their own child.

Or they may howl in pain and despair, because how are they supposed to live, supposed to go on, supposed to breathe at all, knowing what they did. We are missing our babies.

You have an opportunity to be Jesus here.

Cry with us as we miss our children.

Show grace.

Show love.

Be kind. Be gentle.

I want to gather all these women up and hug them until they don’t hurt anymore.

Please convince me, convince all of us, we are wrong. Show us that Planned Parenthood is not actually harvesting children’s body parts; that it is just unorganized unrecognizable blobs of tissue. Don’t just tell us; prove to us that we didn’t really kill our children. Show us evidence that they could feel no pain during the violent procedure that took their lives. Tell us that the parts weren’t taken for profit. Convince us mothers that we’ve not experienced great loss and that we should not grieve for our children.

I wish you could do that. But you can’t, nor can anyone else. Because I am a witness to the truth.

So how am supposed to live with myself? I can’t. I don’t.  It is only because of Jesus Christ who forgives me for EVEN THIS, and it is He that lives in me.

Did you hear that, sister? EVEN THIS. Repeat that out loud to yourself.

Believe that. Count on that. I am testifying to the truth.

Can you imagine that God that would come live in ME? Amazing grace is what that is. He redeemed me from shame and sin and death and He calls me His own. And I, who am more unworthy than most, will proclaim this unbelievable, preposterous truth until the very end. Praise God.

As Diane shares, because of Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf, God freely offers us forgiveness, for abortion and every other sin. Here are just a few of those offers:

He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. . . . As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. (Ps. 103:10, 12–13)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Rom. 8:1)

If you or someone you know has had an abortion, there are Bible studies designed for women, and others for men, offering compassionate help and healing. Many online resources can help you find the support group you need. Those in the Portland, Oregon area can learn more at Portland Heart. For those in other areas, see Silent No More, Heart Beat International’s Abortion Recovery Ministries or Hope After Abortion to connect with a post-abortion healing group in your area. 

 

[i] Family Planning Perspectives, July–August 1996, 12.

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As the Planned Parenthood Videos Continue, May We Remember the Women Who Were Told Lies

Should we view and share the Planned Parenthood expose videos? Yes. Even a secular news source such as MSN addresses “Why Every American Should Watch the Planned Parenthood Videos.”

And as we continue to do so—with more of these videos yet to come—may we also remember the women who have been lied to by Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. There are two victims in an abortion—one dead, one damaged. Abortion is horrible because it’s a process in which instruments of death invade a woman’s body and kill her innocent child. Neither laws nor slogans nor attractive waiting rooms nor advanced medical equipment can change that reality. Nor can they remove the guilt and pain resulting from abortion.

Ann Voskamp offers some honest thoughts about how we can understand and sympathize with those who choose abortions, while holding firm to the conviction that abortion is a moral evil that kills one person while damaging the other.

Our dear friend Diane Meyer shared with me this blog post by Anne Marie Gurney. (In Friday’s blog, I’ll be sharing some of Diane’s own perspectives.) This is vitally important for us to remember as Christ followers:

Missing a Compassion Component

I am in my mid-forties and approaching an anniversary date from 25 years ago that turned my life on a completely different trajectory—though few know about it. I was sexually assaulted on August 4, 1990. I became pregnant from that assault and chose to have a second trimester abortion. It was horrific.

I have walked a journey of healing and restoration since then. As the videos revealing the insidious intentions of Planned Parenthood’s to harvest fetal body parts are published, I am having a hard time. As a person who has done a very thorough and personal inventory of her abortion experience and laid it before God and mankind, I am struggling with these videos. 

We need a component of compassion as these videos are released. And they should be released and need to be released. Planned Parenthood has gotten away with murder for too long.

I spent years after my abortion, by the grace of God, finding healing. I consider myself extremely fortunate. I know of many women who live empty shells of lives because of the trauma of their abortion choice and were not able to find the kind of help I was able to. 

Additionally, I also spent a few years leading post abortion support groups. I have been given a gift. It is a gift of sincere peace and forgiveness from my abortion experience that only God can provide. Let me repeat that…there is no pill, doctor, prescription, book, YouTube video or app that can fix that kind of pain. Only God, creator of this universe yet intimately involved in the inner workings of my soul, can fix that kind of messed up pain. 

In the ensuing years I have not been shy about sharing my experience. I have shared my story before churches, groups, youth and on the radio. 

As I follow the methodical and timed publishing of undercover videos depicting Planned Parenthood administrators peddling human body parts for profit, the voice inside my head strongly exclaims, “Good! Finally!”  I am glad the inside workings of Planned Parenthood, their motivations and their tactics, are finally being revealed. 

Yet I have not watched one of them from start to finish. I can’t. Even after all I’ve been through, it hurts… A lot.

I am a tough cookie. There’s not a lot you can say to me to make me change my mind on being pro-life. Try calling me a hypocrite. I’ll quickly reply, “No. I learned my lesson the hard way. I am pro-life not only based on medical facts, but on personal experience.”

I say this to my fellow pro-life friends publishing these videos and disseminating them through media. First I say, “Don’t stop and keep going!”

Next I say, please take a moment each time you share these videos to also share hope. There are post abortive women watching these, and reeling from them. They are hurting….badly. I cannot stress enough. These videos are pouring salt on a seeping, gaping wound that hasn’t healed. 

For those who are struggling, it is causing nightmares, increased depression, despair, and potential increase in destructive behaviors such as addiction if that is their coping mechanism to make the pain go away. I am saying this not as a professional counselor, but as someone who has walked this path and had to refer women to professional services for these very things…when videos weren’t being published. 

Let’s make sure not to forget the second victim in abortion, and that is the mother. She was fed the lie that abortion was “the best decision”, “she had to do it” and “it’s only tissue”. No woman ever wakes up and says, “Hey, this is a great day to abort my baby!” No. Women choose abortion as a last resort under immense pressure and extreme situations. She has the abortion to end the immediate pressure, but the emotional consequences afterwards are a horrifying reality that don’t go away on their own—they are permanent and despairing. 

There is hope. If you live in the Portland METRO area, I strongly recommend HEART (Healing Encouragement for Abortion Related Trauma). You can find them at this website. All services are confidential and free. 

*All views are my own. 

If you or someone you know has had an abortion, there are Bible studies designed for women, and others for men, offering compassionate help and healing. Many online resources can help you find the support group you need.

See Silent No More, Heart Beat International’s Abortion Recovery Ministries or Hope After Abortion to connect with a post abortion healing group in your area. 

Marvin Olasky on Being on Guard in Our Churches

 

Editor-in-chief of the World News Group, Marvin Olasky, writes insightfully on the subject of churches and what constitutes true grace and compassion when it comes to gay marriages. It also applies to other challenging issues:

Be On Guard

When leaders of City Church in San Francisco (see “Blindsided” in WORLD, July 11, 2015) recently decided to offer membership to same-sex marriage partners, investment banker Liza Hing says “a lot of people in the church were totally blindsided.”

Others see such a change as inevitable. But that’s not the way it has to be, even at churches in cities with large gay populations. Redeemer Presbyterian Church Pastor Tim Keller has shown how to attract thousands of young New Yorkers while remaining biblically faithful.

The Acts 29 Network is also attracting many young Christians to the new churches it plants. Its president, Matt Chandler, criticizes those who say, “Let’s soften the stances of the Bible in order to win people to Jesus.” He says, “It’s not just those issues that are offensive; it’s Jesus Himself. What goes out the window next is the atoning work of Jesus Christ.”

Chandler adds, “To back away from the teachings of Scripture around issues that our culture finds offensive is to wave the white flag on human flourishing. It is to say, ‘Our Creator God does not know what is best for His creation. Creation knows what’s best, not the Creator.’ That’s madness.”

Nevertheless, pressures on pastors are likely to become even greater. How can church members—without roasting their pastors for Sunday dinner—take precautions against being blindsided?

Read the rest.

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The Life-Long Process of Mastering Your Writing Skills

I enjoyed Kevin DeYoung’s blog “How to Write More Gooder,” in which he shares some great advice for writers. (You might also be interested in C. S. Lewis’s tips on good writing.)

Here are a few of my own thoughts about writing:

Be a voracious reader. To improve my skills I continue to read and reread books on how to write. I also analyze both the fiction and the non-fiction I read. What do I like or not like? What is the author doing to create this mood, develop this character, create this tension, set up a plot twist, etc.? Good writers are readers, and writers who don’t have time to read won’t ultimately be worth reading.

Work hard at it. Anything that’s easy to read is usually hard to write. What’s easy to write is hard to read. I heard one author say, “Writing is like giving birth to barbed wire.” Writing is 5% inspiration and 95% perspiration.

Learning to write well is not a matter of memorizing a set of rules. It’s a matter of mastering a set of techniques. The artist—and writers are artists—who desires to excel at writing must dedicate his life to mastering the skills. You’ve heard it said many times: How does one learn to write? By writing, and writing, and writing...That’s because the writing itself is your practice. Every page you write is the equivalent of that half-hour at the piano keys, honing your skills.

Realize that the best writing comes in revision, not creation. I learned long ago that I should never wait for inspiration or a good beginning. I just jump right in. I’ll either cut it out or clean it up later. Years ago I heard someone say, “Never edit at the point of conception.” I think a lot of writer’s block happens when people wait for the right words. I just write. Later, I labor over the right words, and there’s no block because I’m already looking at something on the screen.������

First drafts are the lump of clay; repeated revisions shape it into art. Someone asked Hemmingway why he rewrote an ending 37 times. His answer was, “to get the words right.”

Write to please the Audience of One, Jesus Christ. Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do (including writing), we are to do to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). If your writing is about you, not God and His glory, find something else to do that you can make about Him.

Be humble. “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:5-6). Do we want God’s grace or His opposition? 

The way to be humble is to take a good look at God and then a good look at yourself, and notice the difference. When you see Him as He is and yourself as you are, the very thought of being proud or arrogant should be absolutely laughable. Writers who are proud will not depend on Christ and will operate on their own strength. Throughout the process of writing a book I find myself on my knees repeatedly because I know I cannot do it without Him, and anything I do without Him will not last. Jesus said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

 

photo credit: via photopin (license)

The First Five of an Estimated Dozen Video Exposes of Planned Parenthood Selling the Body Parts of Unborn Children

Yesterday the fifth video exposing Planned Parenthood was released by The Center for Medical Progress. (I shared videos one and two on my blog, and you can watch video three and video four on Justin Taylor’s blog.)

The video is the fifth by The Center for Medical Progress documenting Planned Parenthood’s sale of aborted fetal parts. Project Lead David Daleiden notes: “This is now the fifth member of Planned Parenthood leadership discussing payments for aborted baby parts without any connection to actual costs of so-called tissue ‘donation.’ Planned Parenthood’s system-wide conspiracy to evade the law and make money off of aborted fetal tissue is now undeniable.” Daleiden continues, “Anyone who watches these videos knows that Planned Parenthood is engaged in barbaric practices and human rights abuses that must end. There is no reason for an organization that uses illegal abortion methods to sell baby parts and commit such atrocities against humanity to still receive over $500 million each year from taxpayers.”

I appreciate David and his team’s efforts to share the truth, even when it is difficult or uncomfortable to see and watch, as parts of these videos are. (The picture here, a screenshot from the fifth video, is of a tiny hand being held up by tweezers as the staff pick through an aborted baby’s remains.) Consider the Holocaust, which was so evil that words alone couldn’t describe it. Descriptions of Nazi death camps had long been published in American newspapers, but when these papers started printing the pictures of slaughtered people, the American public finally woke up. I pray the Lord will use these videos and the surrounding controversy in much the same way. (If not for the pictures, even today most of us wouldn’t understand or believe the Holocaust.)

I believe it’s important for people to understand the true history behind Planned Parenthood, the world’s largest abortion promoter and provider. Margaret Sanger was the direction-setter and first president of Planned Parenthood. The shocking truth, which I have carefully researched and shared in my books ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments and Why ProLife?, and also in this blog, is that her organization was thoroughly racist and viewed abortion as one more means of controlling the birthrate of those they considered inferior.

This history helps to explain why to this day Planned Parenthood does virtually nothing to promote adoption or help poor and minority women who choose to give their children life rather than abort them. Planned Parenthood has even brought legal action to shut down pregnancy centers that give women other choices besides abortion.

It’s also important for Christians to remember that we are not dealing here with “one more social issue,” but a unique and focused evil in which Satan has deeply vested interests. Abortion is Satan’s attempt to kill God in effigy by destroying the little ones created in God’s image.

Jesus said of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning.... When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). It is no accident that Jesus speaks about Satan’s murders and his lies in the same breath. Lies are the wheels that turn every holocaust. To pull off his murders, Satan tells us lies. He is so eloquent, so persuasive in his lies, and we are so gullible, that we fall for his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11). He masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), calling right wrong and wrong right, making us think—as many prochoicers do—that they are taking the moral high ground even as they defend something unspeakably immoral.

If some of the prochoice arguments momentarily cloud and eclipse what you know to be right, realize it is simply because the devil is behind the persuasive rhetoric of the prochoice movement. He is fluent in the language of lies and uses the prevailing assumptions of culture, education, and media to draw us away from God’s thoughts about children and abortion and toward his.

We are dealing here with a force of darkness that will bitterly resist every effort to combat it and that requires earnest and sustained prayer and alertness to the spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:10–20). The abortion battle is being fought in the realm of thoughts and ideas. Paul says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 

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Should I Leave An Inheritance To My Children?

For those desiring to be wise stewards of the money and possessions God has entrusted to them, a serious question might be, “What about our children? Aren’t we supposed to leave them all our money?”

In a society with such affluence and opportunity as our own, I believe that in most cases Christian parents should seriously consider leaving the bulk of their estate to churches, parachurch ministries, missions, and other kingdom purposes, leaving only a small portion to their children. Our children should work hard, plan, and experience the joy of trusting God. Let God decide how much to provide for our adult children. The money we’ve generated under God’s provision doesn’t belong to them—it belongs to Him.

Leaving a large inheritance to children is not just a missed opportunity to invest in God’s kingdom. It’s also rarely in the children’s best interests. Even a modest middle-class estate—consisting of land, a house, furnishings, retirement funds, savings, collections, and other valuables—is often worth half a million dollars and sometimes much more.

In this video interview with Todd Wagner, senior pastor of Watermark Community Church, we discuss the question of whether we should leave an inheritance to our children. (If you’d like to read more on this topic, I share further related thoughts in this blog.)

 

photo credit: 56/365 - Coinage via photopin (license)

Some Great Friends with Big Hearts for God and for Missions

While taking a break from doing an audio recording of Happiness several weeks ago, I had the privilege of spending a couple of hours in the studio with several friends, including these two great people in the photo: George Verwer and Karen Coleman.

Karen Coleman is a dear sister I worked with many years ago at my home church, Good Shepherd. Karen was for many years a missionary to Cameroon, and now works on our EPM staff. One of her sons, Zac, works on the Logos Hope ship that takes the gospel and great books into the ports of countries all over the world:

23-year old Zac Coleman leaves his cabin on the Operation Mobilization ship Logos Hope in Singapore, heading toward the engine room.  He’s 6’2” so he has to duck at intervals when he passes through low doorways.  He is a watch-keeper, the job that keeps someone monitoring the ship’s many systems—engine, water, electrical, etc.— 24/7, to make sure everything is running smoothly for the 450 people aboard.  He is trained to listen for alarms that warn that something is amiss and needs to be serviced or tweaked.  Over the years, EPM has donated thousands of books to this ship ministry.

The picture above is of Zac with some visitors from the Philippines, showing some of my books that are on the ship.  (Thanks for sharing the picture, Zac!) Learn more about Logos Hope in this 5-minute video.

George Verwer is the founder of Operation Mobilization, and one of the great missionary statesmen of our time. It’s hard to overstate the extent of the influence of this man. Wherever he’s gone he’s made a difference for Jesus. At age 77 George still travels the world sharing the Gospel, calling churches to greater outreach and discipleship, and also speaking up for the cause of unborn children. George frequently gives away my books and many others to the people he speaks to. The face of world missions today would look very different if God had not raised up George. Here’s a tribute I wrote about him some years ago.

Many may recognize the coat with the countries of the world that George usually wears when speaking.

So yes, George literally gave me the coat off his back.

I love George and Karen and people like them, with big hearts for God and for a world that needs to hear and respond to the good news of great joy in Jesus.

Pastoral Reflections on Gay Marriage: A Series of Five Short Videos

Much has been said presenting a Christian response to same sex marriage. I’ve posted in previous blogs some excellent perspectives from others. But I haven’t heard anything better than the five brief videos below from Dan Franklin, Pastor of Teaching at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California.

The videos average seven minutes or so each. Watch them one at a time and ponder them, or view them in succession for a total of about 35 minutes. Consider watching them in a class or group and discussing them one by one.

Rather than explaining their distinctives, I’m going to ask you to trust me on this. Watch them all—they are REALLY helpful in bringing a truthful and gracious perspective, and each builds on the previous. Dan makes several points I’ve not heard elsewhere, and he speaks thoughtfully, logically, biblically and lovingly.

Dan is married to my oldest daughter Karina, which may explain why I saw and watched these—but I wouldn’t be giving them this enthusiastic thumbs up unless I thought they were exceptionally helpful. (Life Bible Fellowship in Upland is a great church which we have the privilege of visiting periodically. Three grandchildren provide a big incentive!)

Part One: Looking for a Third Way

Part Two: Is the Church Inconsistent?

Part Three: Love Is Love. But What Is Love?

Part Four: Does God Want Me to Deny Myself?

Part Five: In the World, Not of the World

Planned Parenthood, Brit Hume���s Comments, and One Woman���s Compelling Story

The case against Planned Parenthood continues to build, with a latest video showing another senior medical adviser to Planned Parenthood of America negotiating over the price of selling baby body parts.

Be sure to watch this two-minute commentary on the Planned Parenthood scandal from Brit Hume. Wow.

What can we do as believers? Many things, such as share this information with others on social media, contact political leaders to take action, refuse to purchase products from companies that support Planned Parenthood and respectfully contact them to let them know why, etc. (For those in the Portland, Oregon area there is a rally on Tuesday, July 28, 2015, 12-1 at the Planned Parenthood in Beaverton.)

We first need to realize there is a great spiritual warfare associated with the issue of abortion. Killing children is Satan’s way of striking out at the very heart of God. If he cannot kill God, the next best thing is killing those created in God’s image. He is killing God in effigy. I would ask Christians to pray daily for prolife ministries and victimized mothers and babies. If the darkness of child-killing is to be overcome with the light of truth and compassion, it will require spiritual warfare, fought with humble and consistent prayer (Ephesians 6:10-20).

Second, I believe there’s a time and place for women who’ve had abortions and regret them to share their stories. These stories can bring healing to the women, and also save children’s lives, and mothers from the pain of abortion. I recently received this compelling note from a reader:

I'm so very horrified and broken hearted about the news regarding Planned Parenthood.  I finally had to tell my story.  I've never allowed people to see this part of my life.  I remembered how you and your wife have lain yourselves down for the unborn.  So, I've decided to share this with you:

A Heart Laid Bare

This is going to be the most difficult thing I’ve ever written in my lifetime.  I apologize in advance and must prepare you in all fairness…if you are looking for something encouraging, this is not it. You may be tempted to turn away, but I pray, oh how I pray, that you won’t.  This is going to come at a great cost, at such great exposure for more pain.  But please understand…I have to speak now.

The year was 1986.  I was a junior in college, and I had everything going for me….a spot on the dance team, an almost perfect GPA, an attractive, athletic boyfriend, and a belief that I could do almost anything. My goal was to get a PhD and become a psychologist.  I was fiercely competitive, so when the grades for each exam were posted, I was not satisfied unless my student number was placed by the highest score on the list.

But things suddenly changed.  I began experiencing severe illness that made it difficult to attend class.  My boyfriend took me to see a doctor, and that’s where the shocking news was delivered.  I wasn’t sick at all.  I was pregnant.

This was not my plan.  

This would change everything.

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photo credit: Miniature via photopin (license)