Monday, October 8, 2012

In the Beginning

Women of Faith:

In the beginning… things always seem fresher, clearer, more easily definable, and it was easier to bear the burdens and sacrifices of our initial commitment.
So, it is good to look back at the beginning, because the beginning reminds us what our intent and purpose was before we were influenced by others, before we tired, and before our self-discipline was challenged.

In the beginning… our commitment is to lose weight so that we will be healthier; our commitment to God in baptism is to love, honor and serve him—as innocently and as trusting as a child; and our commitment to our spouse in our wedding vows is to overlook their faults and to love and serve them unconditionally and faithfully until death do us part.
In the beginning ….marriage was created as man and woman to be helpmates and partners of each other …. The LORD God said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."….. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called 'woman, ' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.” Genesis 2:18-24

In the beginning, children were esteemed precious, a gift from God, to be protected and received by all Christians. “The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said … And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” Mt 18: 1-5 “For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it." Mk 10: 13-16
Yet 3,000 innocent children will die today without a voice. Babies killed by abortion. Nearly ¼ of ALL pregnancies ended--over 50 million since abortion was legalized in 1973. (In comparison 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.)

Will history say that the justices who legalized abortion under the Roe vs Wade decision were more murderous than Hitler? Will history say that we Christians allowed it to happen because we were afraid to be the voice of the unborn child. The argument has been “it’s the women’s right”! The answer is “It’s the unborn child’s right” to have the same right to be born as the mother did.
In the beginning our nation was created… “One nation, under God. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Declaration of Independence

And our founding father’s made this fundamental promise the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. “Congress shall make no law disrespecting an establishment of religion, or by prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”
Yet, today the leaders of our country are disrespecting our religious conscience and prohibiting our free exercise of religion—by forcing public laws upon us that go against God’s commandments. Instead of God being allowed to be “the way, the truth and the life”--our power and our conscience—we will be publicly penalized for obeying His commandments, His laws, instead of theirs.

The HHS (health and human service) mandate which is a part of “Obamacare” dictates that ALL business must provide insurance coverage for their employees that will include abortion and contraceptive coverage--regardless of the employers religious belief/s that abortion and contraception are against God’s commandments.
Every social justice, religious, and non-profit business which serves the poor and homeless—like Christian hospitals and schools and Christian social service agencies (Catholic Charities & Lutheran Family Service)--will face tax penalties so severe that they will be put out of business if they stand up for their Christian religious “conscience” and go against public law. A Christian conscience which understands that every child is a gift from God, created in His image, from the moment of the miracle of conception.

As Christians will be rebuked for not taking a stand and speaking up as Jesus rebuked his disciples, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!” Lk 19: 40 What would it be like for stones to cry out? Imagine how the God of creation, the creator of marriage, and the God of new life, will deal with those who choose to ignore “right to life,” marriage and religious freedom issues which go against His commandments.
Heavenly Father, “You are the head of every principality and power.” Col 2:10 We pray for Your grace on all Christians who fight for You. Help us to remember that in the beginning You created marriage as one man, one woman; and in the beginning it was a blessing to have “a quiver full of children” (Ps 127:5) created by that union. Convert every politician and every citizen to the understanding that You are the real power and the truth and the giver of life. Give protection to the unborn; healing forgiveness and comfort to those who believed abortion was a choice; and bless all those who care for mothers and their babies. Amen.

This is a call to Christian action: To remember our beginnings under God.
Blessings,

Charlotte

No comments:

Post a Comment