Are we really pro-life?
Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
Every so often, I use this scripture to evaluate my personal life. I ask myself if I am living this truth out in my day to day decisions. I am convinced that these three qualities are the gateway to what real abundant life in Jesus looks like. If our desire for justice is held in tension with a love for mercy and saturated in humility before God, we will live a life that honors God and reflects His beauty and holiness to the world.
Recently as I have been letting the Lord speak to me about the status of my heart before Him, I have been reminded of this scripture again. God has been causing me to evaluate a very specific area of my life in the light of this truth. Logan and I have been actively involved in promoting a pro-life agenda for the last 6 years. We have spoken in churches, campus ministries, and missionary training schools about the sin of abortion. We have led teams of people to pray at abortion clinics and government buildings. We moved to Washington D.C. to fast and pray for the end of abortion and for revival in America. Most people would probably say that we are committed to the cause. We have invested our time and energy to see abortion end, healing come to America and restoration to come to the countless lives that have been affected by this terrible scourge.
As the Lord began to prick my heart in the light of Micah 6:8, I have sought to see if I am really living a life that honors God in this issue. I can honestly see that I have loved mercy. I understand, in part, the breaking heart of our God over the issue of the shedding of innocent blood. I understand that our God is a God that avenges the shed blood of the innocent. He is a God that longs to bring speedy justice to those who cry out to Him day and night. I also know that God takes no delight bringing judgement on nations. He truly delights in giving mercy rather than bringing judgement. But He is waiting to see how His body will posture themselves before Him. The judgement that is deserved by a sinful nation can be turned back by the repentant hearts of the body of Christ in that nation. To understand this and to then put your self in the place of intercession and repentance on behalf of the nation is to “love mercy.”
The place where I have felt the conviction and urging of the Holy Spirit to yield more of my life to Him is in the area of “doing justly.” Up until this point, I believe that I have done all that I have known to do and been obedient to what God has asked of me, but recently I have felt the desire to do more. As Logan and I have talked about what it really means to “do justly” with the issue of life and the ending of abortion, we have come to the conclusion that we are supposed to be the answer to our prayers. Not only have we prayed that God would end abortion and send revival to America, but we have prayed that God would use the church to be the answer to these problems. We have asked God to raise up an adoption movement from within the church to provide real solutions to girls who find themselves in crisis pregnancy situations.
As the church we often call ourselves pro-life, but practically we live only as people who are anti-abortion. The time for this one-handed approach to the life issue has to stop. How can we, as the pro-life community, tell people that abortion is wrong and then not provide a viable alternative to women in crisis pregnancy situations. These women wrestle with serious questions to which we need to be the answer. Many of these women are scared. They wonder if they are ready to be mothers. They wonder if they will financially be able to afford caring for a child. They wonder how this will inconvenience their lives and what adjustments they will have to make in order to bring a child into the world. And because of fear, lack of viable alternatives and selfishness an average of 3000+ women a day choose to abort their children.
The church must come to grips with this. Many of us in the church, when confronted with the option of adopting children from crisis pregnancy situations, wrestle with the same things as these mothers. We wonder if we can afford to take in a child, if we are capable of being good parents to these kids. We think of how inconvenient it will be to adopt a child. And so we come to the conclusion that now is not the best time for me to adopt a child. This is the same conclusion that millions of mothers have come to over the last 37 years in America and countless lives have been lost because of it. The church can no longer stand by and not take action.
Logan and I have decided that the next step in our journey as believers who value the sanctity of human life is to take the steps necessary to adopt a child from a crisis pregnancy situation. We want to be a part of the answer to our prayers for God to end abortion. We have been talking with an adoption agency and are attending a weekend seminar to give us all the information we need to get us in a place where we are able to take a child when one becomes available.
Logan and I both desire to be parents and are ready for the Lord to give us children. We know that children are a blessing and are excited about the size of our family growing. We strongly desire to have biological children of our own, but feel strongly that adoption is not an alternative to having our own kids. It is an equally valuable dream to pursue. If we found out tomorrow that we were pregnant, we would still pursue adoption with glad, hopeful and expectant hearts.
Please be in prayer for us as we walk through the steps necessary to become adoptive parents. We will keep you updated along the way.
Is Prayerlessness Practical Atheism
I’ve posted a new article at ywamtyler.org. Click here to read it now.
The Call – Houston, TX
Houston We Have A Problem
The Second largest abortion clinic in the world is being built at this present moment in Houston, Texas. This six-story Planned Parenthood abortion “super center” is right in the middle of four (4) “super neighborhoods.” Three average to 85% Latino in population and the other is 85% African American. Planned Parenthood is targeting these minority pro-family communities, both for their finances and the restriction of their populations. But, there is a voice rising out of Houston and out of Texas, declaring, “We don’t want this death camp specializing in late-term abortions in our neighborhoods!”
On Martin Luther King Jr.’s holiday, January 18th, 2010, thousands are gathering to march against this Goliath to pray, fast, and peacefully siege this massive injustice in the spirit of that great liberator Martin Luther King Jr. Key African American, Latino, and political leaders are coming to speak and hold a nationwide press conference challenging this “super center.” This is a great hour for the Hispanic pro-LIFE people, Catholic and Evangelical, to raise their voices against abortion and for adoption. Public opinion over abortion is shifting radically in America to pro-LIFE at the same time this facility is exalting itself above the humble and oppressed.
[excerpt taken from bound4life.com] Click here to read the full article.
YWAM Tyler’s Response to Haitian Earthquake
YWAM Tyler’s MercyWorks is responding to the worst earthquake to strike Haiti since 1770. MercyWorks has several ER doctors who have already indicated their readiness and availability to go. Their initial job is to immediately take care of people affected by the 7.0 earthquake, then over time transition to primary care. The plan is to send waves of teams to the area to sustain ongoing restoration efforts. The first MercyWorks team is tentatively scheduled to depart tomorrow, and will focus on providing medicines, food, and help with rebuilding efforts.
The response effort will be immensely challenging. The earthquake occurred 45 minutes before the sun set and due to the loss of electricity, people were soon in total darkness. Phone service was lost, keeping people from getting in touch with family and friends. Dozens of aftershocks measuring up to 5.9 kept people awake throughout the night. Even before the earthquake, there were few, if any, emergency services in Haiti. Most of the people survive on less than $2 per day. Haiti’s envoy to the United States described the earthquake as a “catastrophe” and says the damage from the earthquake could run into billions of dollars. Read more
Testimonies from the Prayer Room
This semester we have been doing some things different when it comes to how we approach prayer in our Discipleship Training Schools and School of Worship. Typically we will break schools up into intercession groups that will meet on a weekly basis to seek the Lord together. These groups meet each week to give the Lord time to teach us how to pray. We spend time waiting on the Lord to speak to us and tell us what He wants us to pray for. It is always an awesome experience to see students learn that they can hear the voice of the Lord. Read more
Quote of the Day
To say that God is omniscient is to say that He possesses perfect knowledge and therefore has no need to learn. But it is more: it is to say that God has never learned and cannot learn.
A.W. Tozer-The Knowledge of the Holy
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Quote of the Day
Faith is the one condition on which all Divine power can enter into man and work through him. It is the susceptibility of the unseen: man’s will yielded up to, and moulded by, the will of God.
Andrew Murray-With Christ In the School of Prayer
Some thoughts on God’s goodness.
This past weekend, YWAM Tyler held its annual Fall Staff Kickoff. This years theme was “Pursuing the Call of God.” It was a great weekend. We had several great times of worshiping the Lord. We heard from some great men and women of God who encouraged us in the love of the Lord.
As the weekend progressed, I was overwhelmed by the goodness of God. With every song that was sung, with every testimony that was shared, with every prayer that was prayed there was one message that came through loud and clear. God loves each and everyone of us with an undying love. He is so good. His mercy is good. His judgement is good. His dealings with us are good. In everything He does or says, He is good.
I began to meditate on the goodness of God. Immediately I was reminded of this scripture in the 2nd chapter of Romans:
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
Romans 2:4
God reveals his goodness to us because He truly does love us perfectly. This goodness, when rightly understood, should evoke in us a genuine heart of gratitude and repentance. When we see the perfection and holiness of God juxtaposed against the sinfulness of our own hearts and realize the compassion God has towards us, we should all fall to our faces and humble ourselves before Him. The fact of the matter is that every single one of us is guilty before God and deserves to be eternally separated from Him. God in His infinite mercy chose to show His goodness to us in the sacrificial life and death of His Son Jesus. In Jesus, we are extended forgiveness and redemption.
I don’t know about you, but I am more convinced than ever that God is a loving God who deserves our love. I have been asking the Holy Spirit to search my heart and help me live a life of repentance before Him. I encourage each of you to do the same thing. Ask the Lord to reveal your heart to you and trust in His goodness. If and when He reveals to you the sin that may be hidden in your heart, confess it to Him and receive the forgiveness He has offered to you in His Son.
If you haven’t accepted Jesus as your personal savior, you can do so right now. The bible tells us that if we believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to save us from our sin, and confess this with our mouth we will be saved. If you would like to receive Jesus as your savior, ask God to search your heart and reveal your sin to you. When He does, confess it to Him as sin. Ask Him to save you from your sin and invite Him to be the Lord of your life. Ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit and give you the boldness to tell people what He has done in your life.
Let’s all commit to live lives that bring glory and honor to God. Remember each of us has the ability to bring joy to His heart.
A Call to Consecration
Recently I have felt a specific tug on my heart from the Holy Spirit. Over and over again I have heard the Holy Spirit whisper, “It’s time for consecration. What was permissible a year ago, is not permissible any longer.” The dictionary defines consecration as the process of declaring or setting apart as sacred or holy. God’s invitation to us is to let His spirit set us apart for sacred use. He is looking for a people that He can form into the image of His Son and use as messengers and ministers in the move of His Spirit that is coming.
Read more
Call2All
Logan and I are having a wonderful time at the Impartation Seminar at YWAM’s Kona Campus. We are learning so much about the faith and values the Lord looks for in leadership and the fruit that He promises to us if we will abide in Him and allow His word to abide in us. The last 3 1/2 days of the seminar will actually be combined with an international event called Call2All.
Call2All is a movement of several global missions organizations that have come together to raise up laborers to complete the great commission. We are really excited to be apart of this historic event. We are in unprecedented times, friends. We are closer now than we have ever been to seeing this divine commission to preach the gospel to all peoples and disciple every nation on the earth completed. God’s kingdom is advancing and His Spirit is divinely orchestrating unity in the body of Christ like never before. He is preparing the church for a great influx of souls that is about to take place.
Thank you for your prayers and faithful support. We are humbled to partner with you in ministry. We serve a big God with big purposes for each of us. Lets continue to seek Him and ask Him what part He wants us to play.
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