America's Top Medical Researchers: "We are blind and intend to stay that way!"

Mood: Not Surprised

This post is a paraphrased-republishing of an artical found in World Magazine.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have revealed that the U.S. suffers from a huge data gap concerning the negative emotional fallout of abortions upon women-- fallout that pro-abortion groups have long claimed does not exist.

After a 25 year study in New Zealand, researchers released in January a study that showed a strong link between abortion and severe mental illness. Upon hearing of this study, U.S. Rep. Mark Souder of Indiana, wrote to the NIH asking whether "any studies of comparable rigor" had been published on U.S. women...." NIH wrote back, saying they were "not aware of any similar data sets that currently exist in the United States." NIH also told Souder that the New Zealand study is not wholly applicable to American women because of cultural differences and that the NIH has no post-abortion studies of U.S. women in the making for the near or foreseeable future.

Heritage Foundation scholar Patrick Fagan said NIH's admission shows that America's top medical researchers have already made up their minds on abortion - and not based on science.
"The NIH letter says, we have no good data, we cannot compare with anybody else's data and we don't have any specific suggestions for acquiring this data. In other words, we are blind and intend to stay blind."

Hindu Extremists: Haters of People Doing Good.

Mood: Prayerful



After weeks of hiding underground, Emmanuel Ministries leader Samuel Thomas was arrested in New Delhi on March 16th. This man and his father, Bishop M.A. Thomas, has done nothing but good for the people of India. Operating 13 orphanages, 65 schools, and dozens of ministries to leper colonies in Rajasthan alone, the ministry targets and helps the "untouchables" as well as other outcasts in the region.

But Hindu extremists in the northern state of Rajasthan would rather see all these helpless orphans return to the poverty- stricken streets. Angered by the message of hope that the ministry brings to Hinduism's lowest members of the caste system, the extremists are sending death threats, arresting ministry officials, even burning down facilities in an orchestrated wave of terror.

Just recently I received an email concerning the arrest of Samuel Thomas described like this: "Five or six men, one of whom claimed to be the station house officer of the police station in Kota, Rajasthan state, tried to push Thomas into a car. One of them then put a firearm to the face of one of the lawyers and warned them not to resist the arrest. The officers neglected to follow proper procedure--showing neither their identity cards nor an arrest warrant."

From his office underground, M.A. Thomas writes, "I really have no idea where this will go or how this will end. But we, the believers in India, will always sing 'because He lives, I can face tomorrow.'"

Pray God will protect Dr. Thomas, giving him calm faith and the opportunity to be a witness of the keeping power of his Savior.
Pray God will protect the Christian school and orphanage in Kota, Rajasthan.
Pray the prayers and written protests of Christians worldwide will force the Indian government to release Dr. Thomas and allow the E.M.I. facility to remain open.
Pray that these Hindu extremeists will be driven to their knees from the guilt of their sins.
Pray that even these Satan-inspired, hate-filled men will be granted genuine repentance and faith in the only Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

For more information about this see the March 25 edition of World Magazine.

Marketing Life

Mood: Grieved

Tonight I read an article in the USA TODAY that made me quite sad. In fact, it was the cover story and it was entitled, "Egg-doner business booms on campuses." In this article, the writer reports that young women across the country are donating their eggs for both research and adoption, and are getting compensated very well. In California, one campus paper has daily advertisements that read “Egg Donors Needed, $10,000.” The donors are typically female college students between the ages of 18 and 29, who are healthy, attractive, and have above average test scores. The really sad thing is that because many, many college students are so bound up in debt with the cost of living being so high and student loans and tuition rates being the way they are, this probably seems like a very easy solution for large amounts of cash in a relatively short period of time. And with new barbaric and immoral practice of embryonic stem-cell research occurring, which is the using of human life for research and testing, the demand for healthy eggs has only dramatically increased, and is likely only to increase all the more.

To me, this strikes at the very heart and soul of what it means to be a person of moral character and true righteousness. To think that woman-kind has been given the awesome and wonderful gift of helping to create another human life… to have such a marvelous treasure and awe-inspiring ability and potential inside her very body… an unspeakable gift from the Creator Himself to her, only for her to turn around and market it and sell it off to the highest bidder for mere money is extremely grieving and disgraceful. It makes me ashamed to be living in a day, when we’ll use and sacrifice the unborn for our own selfish desires. And if you think that I have this opinion just because I’m a Christian and a pastor, then listen to the statement made by Harvard Business School professor Debora Spar who writes about this growing industry in her new book, The Baby Business, where she says, “We are selling our children.”

I’m a very proud father of a beautiful and smart little boy, named Caleb. He is our only child right now; God willing it won’t be that way for long. But I just can’t imagine selling off my child to the highest bidder to pay off some stupid loan or to pay anything else off for that matter. And what’s a thousand times worse, I can’t imagine harvesting cells, tissues, or anything else from my little boy so that I might live a little longer or live a little healthier. When are people going to wake up and learn that death is INEVITABLE!! For thousands and thousands of years the death rate per person has always been and still is 1:1! Except for two special men in ancient history, whom God decided to take before they actually experienced death, the plain, simple truth that if you’re live now, one day you will die! So, why participate in such a cruel and barbaric practice as sacrificing our children for our own well-being?! Especially when it only postpones the inevitable! But the truth is, even if it did work great, and it had the potential of extending our lives by a 100 years, it still would not be right or even worth the price of sacrificing another human life, that is so precious.

May God have mercy upon us… and may the generations to come be better people than we are.

Outside Author Draws Bad Conclusions

Mood: Tired

Gary North in his essay, The Foreign Policy of 20 Million Would-be Immortals, puts his very limited knowledge concerning Christianity’s teachings about the end times to use and draws, in my opinion, some bad conclusions.

In this essay, North tries the make the case that American “Fundamentalists” strongly support the nation or state of Israel for the sole reason that they do not want to die. And because of the certain passages in the Bible that talk about 2/3 of the Jews being killed in the Great Tribulation that is to come, then American “Fundamentalists” all have this “better you than us” mentality and care nothing for the Jews.

I can’t speak for all Christians… I can’t even speak for all Christians who hold to pretribulational premillenialism, but as for myself allow me to correct some of North’s wrongful conclusions.

1. Genuine Christians are not would-be immortals; we are immortals. Jesus said in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son (Jesus) that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” As genuine believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have the gift of eternal life now! Therefore, whether I die tomorrow or 50 years from now or I’m taken up into the presence of God by Christ Himself at the rapture, I have life forever more.

2. Genuine Christians do not fear death. As the Apostle Paul stated in the book of Philippians, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain!” You see, those who true followers of Christ do not fear death, b/c death is only the beginning a much, much better life. In fact, many Christians… especially those who are suffering either from persecution or from a disease-ridden body, welcome death and even long for death. They long to put off this old, ragged mortality for the promised, glorified immortality of heaven.

3. Many Christians believe we should stand with Israel b/c they believe they are still God’s chosen people and He is not finished with them yet. In Genesis 12, God made Abraham, the father of the Jewish people, some promises. One of the promises was “I will bless those who bless you… and I will curse those who curse you.” And for many, many Christians, that promise is still in effect today. Therefore, if we as an American nation desire to continue to be somewhat blessed, then we must stand with God’s people. And the truth is, we are a blessed nation. But as a whole, we have turned away from God in so many areas, it is surprising to me that we are still as blessed as we are.

4. If that interpretation of the prophecy concerning 2/3 of the Jews is true, then it will come to pass regardless of what anyone does. I’m not an expert concerning the doctrine of last things. I do believe that my Lord and Savior is returning one day… I do believe there will be a “rapture” of his church (the word might not be in the Bible, but the teaching is!)… and I believe that much of the book of Revelation is still yet to be fulfilled. However, I can’t really speak on that specific prophecy at this time. But there is one thing I do know about prophecy and God’s word… if He says it will happen, it will happen. You can think I’m heartless, cold, or whatever… the Bible is very clear that God is sovereign and completely in control; nothing happens without His divine permission or command. Therefore, if He said 2/3 of the Jewish people will die in the Great Tribulation, then 2/3 of the Jewish people will die. Is that comforting? No! Is that something to rejoice and be happy about? Absolutely not! But God’s word will happen. Any honest person who has taken the time to really study the Bible and see just how many things have come to pass that He said would… would be a true believer. Those who haven’t, and yet still wail against it don’t want to know the truth.

Commitment To Blog?

Mood: Relieved

Lately there's been a lot of things going on that I am very glad are over... at least I hope are over.

So, what's this commitment to blog all aboout? Well, I've been thinking about it. To make sure I don't stay gone in my own little world, I'm going to try to blog at least once a week... probably like every Thursday or Friday. I need to force myself to think through issues, current trends, and world events, and hopefully to give a Biblical perspective... b/c that's who I am. We'll see how it goes. :)

To everyone reading this... God bless and make it a great day!

Life Coach...maybe. Woman of God...Absolutely Not!

mood: Emboldened




18 For when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage. 20 For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
(2 Peter 2:18-21, speaking of the deception of false teachers)

For about 20 minutes tonight I listened to a self-proclaimed prophetess twist, misuse, abuse, and distort the sacred Scriptures (The Holy Bible) in order to raise money for a religious network on cable television. Without hardly missing a beat or taking a breath, she prophesied and promised people the world, if they would only sow their financial “seeds” into their network. I know this kind of thing has been going on, not just for years, but literally since the world began. I guess it still astounds me sometimes at the audacity and the level of brazenness with which these so-called “prophets” stand before the camera and say “Thus saith the Lord!”

It really is terribly, terribly frightening to think about what will be like for them when they stand before the great and awesome Judge of the earth and give account for how they misled, deceived, and took advantage of so many unsuspecting people in the name of the Lord Jesus.
May God be merciful... but I don't think He will.
Matt.7:21-22

What is Love?

mood: reflective

What is Love: From what feels good to What IS Good!
There seems to be a lot of confusion about love today. Even though millions are searching for true and lasting love (evidenced by the billions of dollars internet-dating sites rake in every year), there still seems to be quite a bit confusion about love. When asked on the street, people say everything from passionate feelings deep inside to sex to something so mysterious it can't be put into words. Well, personally... I don't think its something to be confused about; I just think we've been taught a lot of junk by the world and the culture. For example, let's consider some common fallacies regarding love.

3 Common Fallacies About Love... And the Truth about Love from God's Word:

Fallacy #1 - Love is primarily for the fulfillment and comfort of self.
This is so true when it comes to what many people believe about love. In fact, everytime you hear someone talking about how their needs aren't being met in a relationship, they're progating this idea about love. When a guy tells his girlfriend, "If you loved me, you'd do it!" Or when a girl dates the cool jock at school to inflate and raise her own social standing among her peers... regardless of which one is worse... both are primary examples of self-centered and self-focused love.
The Truth - Love is for the glory of God and for the good of others!
1 Peter 4:11 states, "that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ..." This is a universal truth of Scripture, that everything was created for the glory of God... including the concept of love. And Jesus taught us that true love is selfless, giving, and sacrificing; it dies to its own needs for the sake of others. As He stated in John 15:13, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

Fallacy #2 - Love is primarily a feeling.
This is probably the majority opinion out there, that love is just a feeling. And I must admit that this seems right because we all have feelings of affection from time to time. But feelings do not define, measure, or govern true love. I have tremendous feelings toward my wife... but if my feelings aren't matched with actions of kindness, respect, and faithfulness, then my feelings don't mean squat!
The Truth - Love is measured and governed by our actions, not by feelings.
In Mark 14:32-36, Jesus was praying in the garden the night before his crucifixion. And the Bible shows us that he prayed with great fervency and prayed that if there was any other way for the Father's plan to be accomplished (the plan of redemption) to do it another way. Jesus was looking forward to the cross... He didn't have warm, fuzzy feelings about being stripped, beaten, and nailed to a cross. He was in tremendous spiritual and emotional agony about what was about to take place! Does that mean He didn't really love us as much as we like to think? Or worse that He didn't really love the Father as much? Were His emotions a good test of His love? Absolutely NOT!! Or was Jesus governed by His emotions; did they lead and direct Him? Absolutely NOT!! If they had, He'd never went to the cross! After all that praying, Jesus still in great emotional agony prayed, "Nevertheless, not my will but Your will be done!" Jesus proved that He loved the Father and us, but going against His emotions and facing death anyway!

Fallacy #3 - Love is out of our control.
It is most likely that many of us propagate this false notion about love without even realizing it. We say things like "I think I'm falling in love..." or "Dude, I'm just madly in love!" Stop and think about it for a second... why in the world do we describe love like falling into a pit or worse like a mental illness? What do these statements and others like it reveal about our attitudes regarding love? That love is out of our control. But why teach that? I believe the answer is because it removes all personal responsibility from our lives. You see, if love is truly some external force that effects us that we have no control over, then we can excuse and justify all kinds of behavior... and not just pre-marital sex, but lying, murder, rape, and many other sins of the flesh have all been justified before by people claiming to be in love. Is this true love? Of course not!
The Truth- Love is completely under our control.
When considering what Jesus Christ did for us... Did God the Father choose to send Christ to die on the cross or was He compelled to by some external force? Did Jesus choose to go to Jerusalem to face His death or was He compelled to by some force? In all of it... in everything God has ever done for us, He did it because He chose to. He chose to create us... He chose to love us even after we rebelled... and He chose to die on a cross in our place.
And that same choice is ours today... I can choose to be kind, loving, and respectful to the people around me, or I can choose to be selfish, mean, and cruel. It's not about being under the control of some mysterious force that causes me to do all kinds of ungodly things without responsibility, its about choosing to put the needs and desires of others above my own in whatever relationship I'm involved with.

Conclusion
Hollywood and MTV shows us a hot, steamy love scene between two people and says "This is love." But God the Father takes His only Son and puts Him on a cross to pay for crimes that He didn't commit and says, "No, this is real love... my love for you." 1 John 4:10-11 states, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Ahh.. Valentine's Day

mood: amused

As I stopped by the grocery today to pick up some roast chicken tonight for dinner, I couldn't help but be amused at all the men in the store scurrying about down the card aisle and around the flower table picking up those last minute valentines for their someone special.

As I thought about this, my first thought was look at us... slaves of our culture! The market says buy cards and flowers, and we buy cards and flowers. We're all wimps!

But then I thought, "But on the other hand... for many of us, I'm afraid that if we, men, didn't have a special day set aside for it, our poor, deserving wives would never get flowers!" I think I can speak for the male side of the human race when I say... many of us need some prodding and encouragement sometimes to do what's right. So, thanks Hallmark or who's ever responsible. :)

Happy Valentine's Day, Sweetheart!! I love you more than words can say!!

Of Pups and Wolves

mood: reflective

If you had a young pup, would you throw him in a pen full of bigger, meaner dogs... only to come back mangled, beaten, and bruised... just to teach him what it means to be a dog in the real world?

Or would you rather personally love, nurture, and train up your pup until he was big enough and smart enough to face the mean, cruel beasts of the wild on his own and yet not fall prey to them?

As I stand gazing out our second floor apartment window with my most precious possession in my arms (Caleb), I think about this kind of logic when considering putting my son into the public school system. I know all kids are not bad influences, and I know most teachers are probably doing their best, but way too many of the kids today are quite frankly absolutely horrible influences. They're rebellious, mean, vile and absolutely without any morals whatsoever. They have no knowledge of God; muchless a good, healthy fear of Him. Which is quite understandable when most adults do not fear God either. A generation so without the proper raising and guidance that even children as young as 5-6 years old are coming home talking about sex and using words I didn't even know existed until I was atleast in high school.

As a Christian parent absolutely determined and bent on raising my son to know, fear, and love the Lord God with all his heart, I just absolutely refuse to throw my son to the wolves. The sacred Scriptures are clear, God has placed the burden of responsibility for the raising of children on the parents... Not on the school system, the government, Grandma or Grandpa... Not on the village as some politicians like to spout... and Not even on the church or the children and youth pastors. The responsibility falls squarely on the shoulders of the individual parents under God. With that being the case, how in the world could I ever relinquish this incredible responsibility to strangers in the midst of morally decadent society?? Even rats know when to abandon a sinking ship!

Customers Don't Need Explanations, Just Results.

This morning on the way to the high school with a student of mine, I stopped at a particular fast food place to get some little round hash browns. I normally don’t stop for breakfast, but this morning I was unusually hungry so I decided to stop.

I drove up to the window and placed my order, and then turned to my student and asked if he wanted anything. Without asking me if my order was complete, the employee totaled and finalized my order, and said, “That’ll be $0.79 at the second window.” So, I then politely asked, “Can I get another order of hash browns, please?”

And here was where the employee made the mistake… instead of just saying “yes sir” and doing whatever necessary to get me an additional order, the employee came back over the speaker, “I can’t change an order once it’s been completed.” Now, what was I suppose to think from that comment? Can I not get an additional order of hash browns? Have I just sealed my fate regarding this breakfast stop? Just because the register had been totaled, my desire for 2 rather than one was now impossible… because that was the impression that I got. Oh how tempted I was to respond with, “Ok, I’ll just go down the street to your competitor and see if they can fix my order!” But I didn’t; I refrained from that comment. But I did respond back, “Well, just cancel that order and make a new one,” which was my way of saying, “I don’t care how you fix it or what you have to do… I want two orders rather than one so, just do it!”

Upon pulling around to the window, the employee looked at me and said, “that’ll be $1.59 (for 2 orders),” and then proceeded to tell me about how the order couldn’t be changed until I got to the window… something about other cars being in front of me. But again, I didn’t then and I still don’t care where the problem had to be fixed or what computer they had to use or what the procedures are for changing or correcting orders… all I wanted was 2 hash browns instead of one.

As a faithful, paying customer, I neither desire nor need explanations or excuses… I just want what I ordered… period. When I was working in the public arena a few years ago, and it didn’t matter if it was helping someone with an order of food or loading a bag of concrete or gravel, when the customer wanted or needed something, I said, “yes sir” and then did whatever necessary to deliver. And deep down, I think that’s what all of us consumers want… not excuses, not explanations… just results, plain and simple. I don't know... maybe I just think different.