At this point in history, you would think the basics of the faith would be set in stone. That people in churches would understand right from wrong. Apparently, that is not the case. I saw this article on the web the other day. I highly recommend you read it before going through this newsletter. There are some fascinating quotes in it that I will excerpt for you. It is not very long, but it is extremely eye-opening.
Susan Chorley states in her first paragraph:
“I didn’t want to bring a baby into the world that would feel it was a burden  and I prayed to God to help me make the best decision I could in a situation that seemed impossible.â€Â
Since when did babies become a burden? Babies aren’t burdensome to anyone who loves them. Babies are only burdens to those who don’t want them.
President Obama once said,
“When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include ― which should include abstinence education and teaching the children ― teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include ― it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I’ve got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby. I don’t want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn’t make sense to not give them information.”
So now babies are also seen as a type of punishment? I must have missed something along the way in this journey of life. Now, I did get punished a lot when I was younger but deserved it only about 12% of the time, if I remember correctly! (Yes, my parents read my newsletters! I am sure they will both unsubscribe after reading this one!) But my parents never, ever, ever saw me as a burden or a form of punishment.
Since when did hearing a baby coo for the first time become a burden? Since when has a baby’s first smile been a form of punishment? How could the nestling of their head in the crook of your shoulder ever be something punitive? Could their early morning bouncing to see you be a penalty? Them trusting you for their every need be some sort of retribution? Aren’t their first words of “mama†and “dada†proof of their deep love for you? Their first tooth a milestone? Their first steps toward you a delight? Having them cuddle in your lap while you read their first book to them about Jesus a privilege? The sound of their soft voice as they pray to our Father in Heaven a humbling moment?
My mom told me the other day that as a young one, I would stare out of the window looking for my dad whenever he left for work before I got up. She said I was wondering where he went. Even then, I knew my parents loved me and I didn’t want to be separated from them.
I know the woman in this article thought that abortion was the best decision for her, but what about the best decision for her child? Do we not even care about the exciting life that child is going to have after he or she is born? By the way, did she think she was a burden to God and to her parents when she was born?
I wrote a newsletter years ago called Don’t Pray, Obey. The point was simple; there are certain things you don’t need to pray about. You don’t need to pray about obeying your parents today. You don’t need to pray about reading your Bible today. You don’t need to pray about sharing your faith today. You just need to obey. God will never, ever, ever lay on your heart the permission to murder a child. Never.
“That has led to my 12 years of silence on this reality.â€Â
Wait a minute. If God gave you the “A-Okay†to do this, what is there to be silent about? Shouldn’t you be shouting from the rooftops that God wanted you to murder your baby and that the world is better off because of it? Or maybe, there is something else working in the background. Maybe there is guilt and shame for what you have done, and you didn’t want to tell anyone. The conscience that is pricked by the Holy Spirit can be an interesting thing to deal with.
“The truth is, the majority of women who have abortions are religious.â€Â
What a statement! Think this through for a second. Even if 100% of the people who have abortions are “religious,†does that make it okay? If 100% of the people at your school cheat on tests, does that make it okay? She really isn’t doing a very good job of arguing her case here.
“Decisions about whether and when to grow one’s family carry the deepest meaning, and religious women make this decision in conversation with God, just as we do every decision.â€Â
Yikes! Here we go again. So what conversation are you having with God where He turns to you and says, By the way, that baby in your womb that I formed, feel free to abort it, destroy it, and mutilate it if you want to. I am just fine with that. Maybe it is just me, but I don’t think God is having conversations like that with anyone today!
“Christian theologies, too, have evolved as new voices, new stories, and new experiences have come to light.â€Â
Since when do evolving theologies give anyone the right to violate the commands of God? They don’t. Never have and never will.
What is she forgetting to mention here? She is not mentioning Holy Writ. She is not quoting the Bible. She is not citing the verses she looked up which led her to the conclusion that murdering her baby was acceptable. There probably is a good reason why she omits them; she cannot come up with any! As I read this article, I also began to wonder how highly she actually regards God’s Word.
Psalm 138:2:
“I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.â€Â
She continued to say:
“In the 1970s there was a reawakening of theology and its interpretation. Up until that point most theologians were white, owning-class men, and their interpretations were informed by their worldview.â€Â
So she is starting to get to the point! She doesn’t like what the Bible says. Let me reinterpret it to mean what I want it to mean. And if I can’t do that, then I will find some like-minded people to listen to who will allow me to feel better about ending the life of my child.
“When I had my abortion, I felt the church’s silence and the awkward lack of acknowledgement of the decision I made for myself and my family, as well as my feelings of sadness and loss. I know I’m not alone.â€Â
Now we are getting the crux of the matter. She wants her choice to be acknowledged. Sin always does that. It always wants validation by enlisting the sympathies of others. Then the guilt won’t feel as strong. She knows she has murdered a child. As a lady friend told me, “Why do ladies always cry after an abortion? They don’t cry after knee surgery, ankle surgery, or after getting a fresh injection of Botox.†She told me they cry because they know they just ended the life of their baby! They know, they know, and they know. Sorry, Susan. I will not acknowledge your choice. I will not give you a standing ovation for your sin. Never in a million years.
It is sure nice to hear Presidential candidates who will stand up for the life of a baby:
“Well, I think it’s terrible. If you go with what Hillary is saying, in the ninth month you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb of the mother just prior to the birth of the baby. Now, you can say that that’s okay, and Hillary can say that that’s okay, but it’s not okay with me. Because based on what she’s saying and based on where she’s going and where she’s been, you can take the baby and rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month on the final day. And that’s not acceptable.â€Â
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/watch-hillary-trump-spar-over-supreme-court-late-term-abortion
Matter of fact, you may not have read that the CDC says that nearly 13,000 fully developed babies are aborted in the U.S. each year! (http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/10/20/cdc-nearly-13000-fully-developed-babies-aborted-annually/) So now we have entered the realm of genocide. Abortion really is that wicked. What kind of country have we become?
Proverbs 6:16,17:
“These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,â€Â
Isaiah 59:7:
“Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths.â€Â
You may feel free to shed innocent blood if you want to; but one day, you will have to pay the Piper.
Listen carefully to the message this woman is spreading to others around the country.
“I have started to share my own abortion story from the pulpit in Protestant churches across the country because I want communities of faith to be places that embrace each person’s full humanity.â€Â
Really? Each person’s full humanity? I guess anyone who listens to her learns that a baby in the womb is less than human. At what point did she become human herself? Before birth? After birth? When they cut the cord? When she started breathing? Just when does she believe a person is actually part of the human race? How far has the American church fallen that we will allow this woman to speak from its pulpits?
I know the article says she is an American Baptist minister, but she is not. There are no women preachers in the Bible, and they are not allowed by Scripture. Now they might be allowed by congregations who don’t follow the Word of God, but they are not allowed by God.
Titus 1:6-9:
“If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.â€Â
There are a million things that ladies can do to serve God, but being the pastor of a church is not one of them. This is clear in Scripture and has been clearly understood throughout history.
By the way, has anyone in her congregation challenged her about the qualifications for being a preacher? How about anyone at any of the churches that she speaks in? How about if your pastor says something biblically incorrect from the pulpit? Would you go up and ask him a question, in love, about why he said that? Wouldn’t that be the caring thing to do? Pastors and speakers can make mistakes. We are human, as well. Or have we reached the point where we are no longer Bereans, and we are just going to let unbiblical things slide?
A pastor from California emailed me the other day and wrote, “I want to make sure I’m a ‘Biblical Christian’ and shepherding a ‘Biblical Church.’†You see, Jesse has it figured out. Nice and simple.
Jesse knows that yes, the gospel is something we believe. But he also knows we believe it to the point of bringing our lives into alignment with truth. The gospel is the good news of life, not death. Everything we do should reflect that life by extending it to those around us, including the unborn within a mother’s womb.
Not only did Susan forget to quote Scripture in her article to back up her position, she also forgot to mention Jesus. Both of those should always be red flags anytime you read any article.
Rather than looking to the Word of God, Susan has turned fellowshipping into a self-help group for approving and validating sin:
“Through this process I have witnessed how sharing our stories is a way into community and belonging. After hearing mine, others share their own hidden stories back with me. And, in that momentâ€â€we find one another and we are connected.
“Together, we experience what I like to call ‘God-moments’â€â€the moment when we see the face of God in and through one another.â€Â
I have to wonder which image of God they are seeing in one another. The Bible tells us that we encounter God through the Word. And as we absorb those words into our being, we will reflect the true image of Christ to everyone around us.
What Susan and all of us need is mercy and forgiveness. It’s a pretty simple formula that has worked well through the years.
Psalm 136:1-4:
“O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever. To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.â€Â
We need to make sure that we value children both inside and outside of the womb. It is also time that we make our pulpits great again. When the leadership of churches goes in the wrong direction, it keeps the biblical church from having the power that it should. But never forget, God will always have His remnant! Just make sure you are part of His remnant and continue to uphold truth until you see Him face to face!
Until the nets are full,
P.S. Witnessing opportunities come in surprising packages. A friend of the ministry was visiting the States from Northern Ireland. She emailed with an unusual witnessing encounter while she was out West:
“Forgot to tell you our coach driver from San Fran to Vegas was stoned out of her tree. We refused to travel any further and waited on another coach and driver by the side of the road. I smelt it and noticed her erratic driving from early on and spoke to her, it was then I had a good sniff at her. Imagine!!â€Â
Then she followed up with,
“I was in a state of shock at first because I’d been praying before I left the room that the Lord would go before me and give me right words! The whole time we sat at the side of road maybe hour and half I spoke to her about death and dying and Hell and gave her my testimony. We then all starting singing and praising God. He definitely was looking after us.â€Â
I sure hope this Irish traveler was just watering a seed that someone from America had already planted in that driver’s life. Please pray for this driver to heed the conviction to repent and believe. Thank you.
P.P.S. One hundred years from now, what will matter is if you are born again and saved and what you did for Jesus. Thank you to the people who gave Donald Trump Jr. a copy of One Heartbeat Away recently, which you can see in his hand. Please pray that biblical salvation will take place all throughout both the Trump and the Clinton families!
