two souls meet

 

Luke 1:39–45

[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, [40] and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. [41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, [42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! [43] And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? [44] For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. [45] And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (ESV)

31 years ago...

31 years ago I went on a Halloween date with a girl... Through a series of unexplained (but providential) events... things like VW Beetles with holes in the floor, Ghost Rallies, scared best friends in haunted houses, break up tapes, get-back-together tapes, love notes, giant pumpkins, long-distance phone bills that made for angry parents, burned-out clutches, worm t-shirts, over-loaded moving vans, multiple faulty alternators, hospital trips, dragging mufflers, living-accommodations in stranger's basements, rat-houses, old houses, run over dogs that survive, short nights, crying babies, long work hours, more dragging mufflers, root-clogged drain pipes, more basement living, more crying babies, long-distance moves, wing-and-a-prayer bill paying, over-flowing septic tanks, fallen trees, used cars, faulty gas tanks, leaking radiators, more bad alternators, ice storms, no air-conditioning road trips to the beach, zero-dollar paychecks, paying $6.83 to sell your own home, moving van road trips with a dog and two kids, guest-room living, bats in the attic, water in the basement, faulty wiring, old pickup trucks without brakes, dying pets, bi- and tri-vocational living, paying to sell your second home, hospital bills, bad backs, stress tests, fake pandemics, kids graduating, an old red van that won't quit working... we have, by God's grace, continued to weather every storm.

I'm convinced now, that you are my final destination each and every day. If changing one thing in the course of my life would mean that I'm not with you, then I would never change a thing. I praise God for the sweet and bitter providence that has led me to you and kept me with you.

Love you, babe.

End of the Year Thoughts...

This is the 17th time I have ended a school year as a teacher. Actually it is my 18th, if you count my student teaching experience. I have spent nearly an equal amount of time teaching at public schools as I have private Christian schools, and there has been a wide variety of types of schools in each of those two categories. I think I may have learned some stuff about teaching, but I still feel like a rookie most of the time: like I still have a lot to learn.

As this year ends, I thought I would share a few thoughts from my years as a teacher (and specifically this last year):

Atrocious

John Calvin, commenting on Exodus 21:22-25:

The fetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being (homo), and it is almost a monstrous crime to rob it of life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a fetus in the womb before it has come to light.

[HT: Kevin DeYoung]

For me, abortion is not a political issue.  It is a life or death issue.  It is also a personal issue.  I can't agree with John Calvin more.

Read Also:
Three
Moral Vote
Four
Decisions Made in a Pickup Truck
15 Pro-Life Truths to Speak (by John Piper)

Officially an Old Guy

It happened in one week.

I've always felt like such a kid, and I've always felt like I was on the younger side of life.  But then in one week it all faded.

On Monday, August 27th, I turned 40.  That's a big number to an actual young person.  I'm sure I could ask some real old people and they would tell me, "... Aw!  You're just a young pup!"  I think their perspective is just a bit skewed though.

The 40 by itself wouldn't have done it, but at the end of the same week I received a prescription for cholesterol medication.  I've had high cholesterol for a while, and even though I've worked really hard at getting it down with diet and exercise... since I've done next to nothing to remedy the problem through diet and exercise, the doctor felt like it was necessary to put me on some meds.  It was really high though.  triglycerides through the roof.  My blood was basically lard.

So this double blow of oldness has hit me.  I am just glad that I still have my hair and my wits.

Pastor

I am a Pastor.

I am not exactly sure what I want to blog about this, but I felt that I needed to mention it. So, I am mentioning it.

Edgewood Baptist Church unanimously voted me in as the Pastor. I had applied to be the interim Pastor as they were looking for someone permanent, but immediately before the vote someone made a motion to simply vote me in as the permanent Pastor. Someone else seconded it, and before I knew it, I was the Pastor.

It is a small church that isn't currently in a position to hire someone full-time, so they really needed a person to come in and work another job and do this on the side. I saw the need and wanted to fill it if I could.

The truth is that I have been wanting to be the Pastor of Edgewood since 1992... and now I am.

Since I started, my hope has been simple - That I would be God's mouthpiece. Like John the Baptist I am saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease!" I am hoping that my sermons will be full of Jesus and empty of me! In the book of I Samuel, it says that when the prophet Samuel began to speak that God did not let any of his words fall to the ground. That is my hope, that none of my words would fall to the ground.

It has been really good these last few weeks, and we have seen God answer some prayers and move in the lives of some people. Whether or not He is going to do something big, I don't know, but I do believe that He is going to do something.

If you are the praying sort, I would appreciate a prayer or two for the little church in Danville, IL

The Mercy of God

This week I will be preaching at Edgewood Baptist Church. I have been going through the Sermon on the Mount and I am currently studying Matthew 5:7, the next in the line of Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, which states, "Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy."

In my studies I always find that I am afforded opportunities during the week to experience, in some way, exactly what I will be teaching. This week has not been any different. I had an opportunity this week to show mercy, but I flopped. Miserably. I am so thankful for a merciful God. I always pray that God will help to understand what I will be talking about, and then He gives me these real-life experiences to do some real learning.

I am saying all of that because I want to share a mercy quote with you. This one is from A.W. Tozer in his book "The Knowledge of the Holy":

"When through the blood of the everlasting covenant we children of the shadows reach at last our home in the light, we shall have a thousand strings to our harps, but the sweetest may well be the one tuned to sound forth most perfectly the mercy of God. "For what right will we have to be there? Did we not by our sins take part in that unholy rebellion which rashly sought to dethrone the glorious King of creation? And did we not in times past walk according to the course of this world, according to the evil prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience? And did we not all at once live in the lusts of our flesh? And were we not by nature the children of wrath, even as others? But we who were one time enemies and alienated in our minds through wicked works shall then see God face to face and His name shall be on our foreheads. We who earned banishment shall enjoy communion; we who deserve the pains of hell shall know the bliss of heaven. And all through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us.

"Mercy is an attribute of God, an infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate... If we could remember that the divine mercy is not a temporary mood but an attribute of God's eternal being, we would no longer fear that it will someday cease to be. Mercy never began to be, but from eternity was; so it will never cease to be. It will never be more since it is itself infinite; and it will never be less because the infinite cannot suffer diminution. Nothing that has occurred or will occur in heaven or earth or hell can change the tender mercies of our God. Forever His mercy stands, a boundless, overwhelming, immensity of divine pity and compassion."

The Killing of George Tiller

Here are a few links from this recent news story. I just think that it is so cool that we can hop on the internet and hear the thoughts from the "Preachers of our age". When current issues come up, we can get current Biblical thoughts to go along with those issues.

To Kill and Abortionist
by James MacDonald
I like this one. James MacDonald's blog is called Straight Up, which is a fitting name. He always seems to get right to the point. He really nails this one quite well. I appreciated his words.

A Wicked Deed in Wichita -- A Test for the Pro-Life Movement
by Albert Mohler
This one is worth a read. He brings in the similar case of John Brown from American History.

Some thoughts on the Killing of Abortionist George Tiller
by Randy Alcorn
Randy Alcorn always has a great eternal perspective. His blog post includes some other links that you might find interesting, including a "horribly misguided" one from Frank Schaeffer (Francis Schaeffer's son).

To give my opinion, I am going to quote Al Mohler. He states at the end of his post:

Murder is murder. The law rightly affirms that the killing of Dr. George Tiller is murder. In this we must agree. We cannot rest until the law also recognizes the killing of the unborn as murder. The killing of Dr. George Tiller makes that challenge all the more difficult.

If I find anymore good links out there, I will pop them onto this same blog post. Also feel free to contribute other links or your own thoughts in the comments section.

Abortion Debate

Here is a really interesting article from the Denver Post. It is by a guy named David Harsanyi, who starts his article titled The Abortion Debate changing, by stating,

As an atheist and a secular kinda guy, I practice moral relativism regularly. Still, I've always struggled mightily with the ethics and politics of abortion. Apparently, I'm not alone."

I mention this article because he brings about a point, from a different perspective, of something that has bothered me for a long time. I have often noticed that there are many people who have a liberal leaning who use the "if there is a possibility..." argument in so many arenas, yet they are unwilling to apply the same logic to the abortion debate. Harsanyi states it much better than I do by saying this,

After a life of being pro-choice, I began to seriously ponder the question. I oppose the death penalty because there is a slim chance that an innocent person might be executed and I don't believe the state should have the authority to take a citizen's life. So don't I owe an nascent human life at least the same deference? Just in case?"

read the entire article here.

Do you see the logic that is being used?

One other time I saw this sort of logic was in the Global Warming debate. I saw a video on a blog. It was well done, here is a link to the blog where I got it. I liked the video so much I posted it on my blog. It wasn't until a few days later that I got to thinking about the logic behind the argument that it began to bother me.

That was last December, and it has continued to gnaw at the back of my mind. If someone can say that the Death penalty is wrong ... just in case we're wrong, or if someone can say that we should do something about the environment... just in case it is really impacting things they way some say it is, then can't we say that abortion should be stopped... just in case?!?

How much do we need? What if there was only a 10% chance that that fetus was a real human being? What if there was only a 1% chance that they were, in-fact, alive?!? If there was even a 0.5%, wouldn't it be enough to pass some laws to prohibit it?

Think of some of the excuses that people give to not pass laws to prohibit it. What do they have to do with? The economy? The freedom of others? What if I said, "there should be no pollution control laws because it will put a strain on businesses." How do you think a global warming activist would respond?

I think that is really why this whole debate bothers me so much. Besides the fact that I really do believe that those babies are really babies... It is the inconsistency with the logic. I am a Geometry teacher, I spend my days engulfed in logic. The refusal to admit the weakness of their arguments and the lack of consistency with how they reason is infuriating.

As for me, if you know me at all, then you know that our family has felt the loss of two babies that never saw the light of a day, that never breathed a breath of air. They died while still in the womb and we grieved their loss. Making an issue like this one a political one just seems wrong. Harsanyi points that out as well.

Read the article, it is worth a few minutes of your time.

[HT: Challies, for the link to the article]

"The Baby in my Womb Leaped for Joy" by John Piper

Just saw this video over at the 22 Words blog. Great.



If you are reading this through a reader, please consider playing this video.

12 Year Old Speaks Out

[HT: The Rebelution]

15 Pro-Life Truths to Speak

by John Piper
[original article]

"You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." - Jesus Christ

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15.Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

More for Non-Sequitur

I know that Non-Sequitur probably won't care about this, but just thought that I would pass this one along as well.

[Additional HT: True Grit]

Non-Sequitur?

In an earlier post I quoted Ronald Reagan.  Here is that quote again:

I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.
~Ronald Reagan, quoted in New York Times, 22 September 1980

I personally like that quote. I think that it really drives home an excellent point. That point, in my opinion, is that the perspective of these children is often dismissed.  To drive that point home, I had someone fulfill this by actually adding this comment to that post:

Non-sequitur. Everyone who is against abortion has already been born, too.

~anonymous commenter

"Non-Sequitur" is Latin for "it does not follow."  In other words, this anonymous commenter is trying to say that Reagan's statement did not follow logically.  Or that there is no absolute concrete evidence to support that statement.  The anonymous commenter, in an effort to support his criticism, then states that "everyone who is against abortion has already been born too. I would disagree with that statement.  I would say that there are those who are not yet born who would be against abortion.  This is, again, ignoring the perspective of the children.

To help validate this, what we would need would be someone who is an abortion survivor.  Someone who has survived, but had also grown up and could be a voice for those who do not survive.  I just saw this video over at True Grit's Blog, and thought that it fit in perfectly with this particular post.

One of my favorite things that she says in this video is a little after minute 7, when she says that she was laying on the table trying to survive.  Do you get what that implies?  "Trying to survive."  Right after that she says something about women's rights, but then she says, "What about my rights.?"

Normally it bothers me when people use the phrase, "What about my rights?"  But this is a case when it should be said.  Usually people say that in the midst of immaturity, and they are referring to small unnecessary items, but she is talking about life! 

This video is great!  My favorite part in this video is when she says something to the men.  She says something like, "You were made for greatness.  You were made to protect women and children."

To sum up:  In my house we celebrate the conception of a new child into our house.  We pray for that baby and talk about that baby.  When the baby doesn't survive, we mourn that loss of life, because that is exactly what it is... A loss of life.

If you are at all confused as to whether God sees an unborn child as a person, search the scriptures.  Consider Psalm 139.  Take in Jeremiah chapter 1.  Look in the gospels when it talks about the mother of Jesus and the mother of John when they meet for the first time.  Notice that it says that the "child" leapt in its mother's womb.  There are other scriptures as well, but I will pick this up again later.