Friday, January 31, 2003
The Gospel creates peace in the world by creating peace in the human heart. We are commanded to love our enemies and forgive those that hurt us. Jesus willingly submitted to crucifixion rather than resisting though he could have summoned armies of angels to his defense.
God is love, and his methods are the same. Though judgment will eventually overtake the unrepentant wicked, he enjoins us to forgive and to put aside all bitterness, wrath, anger, and malice. See Ephesians 4:31. “Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord, and I will repay.” Romans 12:19.
-Martin Wishnatsky
-Matthew 5:44
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you . . .”
Thursday, January 30, 2003
As we wrap up a month of writing about pro-life issues it is time to look forward to February, the month of love. Approaching Valentine’s Day we will hear much about love that has nothing to do with love at all. It has to do with infatuation and sensuality rather than love. True love is a commitment to one another that bridges mere infatuation.
True love involves a lot of forgiveness and grace. True love opens lines of communication because it casts out fear. One of the greatest fears we have is that we will not measure up. Fear that we will somehow be found not enough and rejected because of it. When you feel loved by someone it is not because you feel that you are ‘good enough’, ‘pretty enough’, ‘smart enough’, or ‘______________ enough”,(you fill in the blank). When you feel loved by some one, truly loved, you know it is because they accept you just the way that you are.
This is the love that God has for us. The ‘just as I am without one plea’, kind of love. God is not waiting for you to improve yourself so that you can be good enough for Him to love. He loves you first and fills you with His righteousness as a part of His love.
No matter what has gone before in your life, and no matter what is to come, God loves you with a never-failing, everlasting love.
-Romans 5:6
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
-John Roe
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
It takes a lot of courage to love. We open ourselves up for disappointment, suffering and severe emotional wounds. For some those wounds even become physical in this day of domestic violence. Love is not supposed to be that way in a perfect world, but we don’t live in a perfect world.
I have long observed that there is only one way for love relationships to be really successful and that is when both the man and the woman are committed, submitted and focused upon God. When we commit ourselves to God we generally do that with an oath, and God takes oaths very seriously. When we are submitted to God we obey and practice living our lives according to His Word and His will. It is really only then that we can be or want to be focused on God.
Then a miraculous thing takes place in a love relationship between a man and a woman, they reach a higher understanding of love and a higher place of a love relationship through the committed, submitted heart that focuses on God. And finally, they see each other as God sees them and we call this love.
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 27:4-8 NIV
One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.
6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
There is no way to describe “daytime” television. I am home today trying to nurse myself through a terrible chest cold and I turned the television on to see what was playing. I was rather startled to see the shallow programming that gives a message of such shallow love. And some of the acting is so lousy that it reminds me of going to a professional wrestling or boxing match. And amazingly, some people watch this everyday.
True love between a man and woman is nothing like what is portrayed on daytime television. On these shows it appears that no one is really faithful in their relationships and all relationships appear to be explosively temporary. When God’s love is the cement that keeps a relationship together there is no resemblance to daytime television.
Come to think of it, I have never heard of couples praying together on daytime television. No wonder their relationships are volatile, shallow and short.
-Lyn Sahr
-Prov 20:6 NIV
Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but a faithful man who can find?
-Prov 28:20 NIV
0 A faithful man will be richly blessed,
but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished.
Monday, January 27, 2002
A young couple holds hands for the first time and their hearts beat an extra beat. I can’t think of a much greater thing in the world than a man and a woman falling in love. The perplexing thing and the question is. “Why do so many people fall out of love?”
In Dr. Harley’s book, “Her Needs, His Needs” he illustrates relationships by comparing it to a “Love Bank” with deposits and withdrawals determining the strength of the relationship. The concept is so simple and practical that every couple should take the time to read the book and start making deposits in their spouses love bank to strengthen the account. Considering how much debt and little savings people have today, it is no wonder the idea of building a love bank account with positive words and actions is foreign to most relationships. You need to read the book!
The bottom line is, love is an action word and relationships are built or destroyed on actions. The relationship between a husband and wife is sacred and it pleases God when we build and preserve the relationship by depositing loving kindness into our spouses Love Bank.
P.S. Speaking is an action so speak in love.
-Lyn Sahr
-1 Peter 3:3-5 NIV
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.
-Eph 5:25-29 NIV
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Sunday, January 26, 2003
Today is the day that millions of people watch a football game called the Super Bowl. Now I have never had much interest in football, partly because I really don’t understand the game. But for many people, today means parties just to watch the game. In the company where I used to work, many people spent the entire week before the game discussing it, and for sure, that would be the subject for several days after the game. It amazed me how so many could talk with such passion about this player or that player and relive the “special moments” in the game, but these same people didn’t seem to have much to say about the most important people in their lives—their husbands or wives and children. It always amazed me how so many would belittle their spouses around their co-workers. I guess they thought that it was just a simple way of letting off steam. However, this can be very dangerous. I watched one person in particular discuss very personal matters with many people in the office. He wanted to confide in me and there was a part of me that wanted to be the friend who listened, but I felt very uncomfortable hearing him confide very personal things with his co-workers and didn’t want to hear everything he was willing to share. Over the years I saw that he became extremely close to a couple of female co-workers, taking them out to lunch. I often wondered how the husbands of these women felt (or if they knew) that he was meeting with them for lunch when they were out on maternity leave. I began to have a real uncomfortable feeling about the whole thing—especially since I was pretty sure that all he could talk about was how badly his wife treated him.
This man was (is) not a Christian, and I doubt he would have listened to any advice. He saw his life as one long miserable existence and blamed his wife for it. He never took into account her good points-at least none of us heard any mention of anything positive. If I had to do things over, I may have suggested to him that he start looking for positive things about his wife rather than focus on the negative. Could it be that if he had looked for the good in his wife, that his viewpoint of his life would have been different? ¿Could it be that if he encouraged her and affirmed her, that her response to him would be completely different?
The Bible tells husbands to love their wives just as Christ loves the church and that the wife is to submit to the husband. I don’t picture Christ complaining to the Father how His bride is treating Him so badly—although we really do treat Him badly. I see Him telling the Father, “Look at her! Isn’t she beautiful? Isn’t she wonderful?” When you think of what we really are like compared to His holiness, He would have every right to complain and put us down. But I don’t think He does that. I think He says, “She is mine and I love her, no matter what. And I will go to any and all lengths to prove that I love her.” And He did just that—He went to the cross for His bride.
I believe that if we would love each other sacrificially—looking for the other’s welfare before our own—we would find much more fulfillment in our marriages. What person would be unhappy with someone who truly was encouraging and loving. When the husband loves his wife as Christ loves His church, the wife will be the helpmate that God intended for her to be.
-Ardis Rivera
-Ephesians 5:22-30
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church– for we are members of his body.
Saturday January 25, 2003
Today is a special day…my wife Andrea and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary.
One year ago today we spoke words from our heart to one another as confessed our love for Christ, and for one another in front of our family and a few good friends. As I look back on the past 365 days—I am blessed.
Three years ago my wife of twelve years and I divorced. The pain that I went through was unbearable at times, and had it not been for my loving God wrapping his arms around me and holding me through it—I might not be here writing this today. In just a few short months I lost my wife, my job in ministry, and I feared I might lose my children as well. I knew God had a plan, but many days I doubted it.
Then—one day a time he started revealing his plan to me, and even used my experiences to minister to those around me who had gone through a divorce or were in the midst of a family crisis. The Lord eventually brought someone into my life that made me laugh, and taught me to love again. I even argued with God and told him that if he wanted me to marry again that the woman I fell in love with would have to love my children just as much as I do. Surprise, God knows my heart, and brought Andrea to be my lifelong helpmate and partner. Our heavenly father is truly the God of second chances (and third and fourth….). And he proves to me each and everyday that no matter how bleak things look, he always has a plan that’s better than anything we can imagine. We just need to wait on him.
Yes, I am truly a blessed man with a Godly wife, five wonderful children (God also blessed us with an addition last year), and my heavenly father guiding me every day.
Don’t give up on love. Christ first loved us and has given us the capacity to love and be loved. If you are in the midst of that separation or divorce, or some other family crisis, then stop and re-evaluate where you are with the Lord. Then take it one day a time, and lean on the love from his everlasting arms.
-Garrett Novak
1 John 4:19 NIV
We love because he first loved us.
1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Friday, January 24, 2003
When a woman who left her two sons in a hot car for half an hour complained to the judge about the challenges of raising children, and the divorced father also offered his own grievances about parenting, Judge Al Chrumka of Provincial Court in Edmonton, Alberta, responded with a commentary on divorce:
“That parties who decide to have children together should split for any reason is abhorrent to me. They have a responsibility to the children and to each other to make sure, for whatever reason they may have gotten together, not to separate. I get upset where children are involved, because I feel we as adults have a responsibility to give them the very best that we can. If that means we have to suffer as parents because we don’t like each other anymore, then we still have to stay together for the benefit of the children.”
Judge Chrumka’s bold remarks (reported in the National Post for January 9, 2003) (www.nationalpost.com), are a call to self-denial on the part of parents for the sake of their children, the exact opposite of the abortion ethic, which proclaims the mother’s convenience superior even to the lives of her children.
-Martin Wishnatsky
“And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Thursday, January 23, 2003
If you spend much time watching movies or television, you can get a distorted view of love these days. According to the media, love is something that doesn’t last very long. And when “love” ends, the relationship ends. I have even heard of marriage vows that change “until death do us part” to “as long as we shall love”. That’s not the way God meant it to be.
God is our example of love. Love doesn’t look for its’ own interests, but seeks the best for the object of the love. The Bible’s main message is that God loves us. In fact, He loves us so much that He didn’t withhold His only Son, but sent Him to take our punishment. Do we love those in our lives to the point that we would die for them? What happens when the feelings of love pass? Do we want to move on to someone better?
There is a line in an old movie that says it quite well. In the Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda movie, “Yours, Mine and Ours.” Henry Fonda’s character tells his stepdaughter that love is not about passion, hugs and moonlight kisses, but rather it is about getting up each and every day, facing whatever comes that day and being committed to being there in the good times as well as the bad.
The world needs to see God’s love demonstrated in us in the way we treat our spouses, children, friends and co-workers. Is this a difficult task? Sure. There are times when love is not easy. But nothing that is of value comes easy. And what would happen in our world if we started living lives with God’s love demonstrated to those around us? I believe the world would take notice. Maybe the world needs to see God’s love in us to take the Gospel message we have seriously.
-Ardis Rivera
-1 John 4:7-8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Wednesday, January 22, 2002
IT ‘S JUST A ROSE
It’s just a single rose.
But it stands for something more.
They usually come in dozens,
For people to adore.
But this simple rose,
Stands above the crowd.
It stands for lives once lost,
It’s message oh so loud.
The rose is a mere symbol,
Of lives that someone took.
The lives of real children,
Not a fairy tale book.
Every soul is counted,
Baby’s tears are dried.
But many mother’s mourn,
For their baby that has died.
So as I see the rose,
It does not comfort hold.
It only brings me thoughts,
Of 40,000,000 souls.
And I’m not here to judge,
It’s not my place you see.
God comforts His daughters,
Throughout eternity.
I look again to the rose,
It speaks so much to me.
I see the broken fathers,
Weeping on their knees.
They never saw their child,
Most were never asked.
There was no choice for them,
And time just will not pass.
And grandmas cannot hug,
Their precious little jewels.
Grandpas cannot tell them,
Stories as grandpas do.
The single rose,
It’s beauty to behold.
Still remains,
The saddest story ever told.
-Lyn Sahr
January 22, 2003
30th Anniversary Roe vs. Wade
Tuesday, January 21, 2003
The road to Calvary was paved with forgiveness. The road to abortion is paved with selfishness. But thank God for Calvary, the wonderful road of redemption where God transforms selfishness to loveliness, guiltiness to forgiveness, stressfulness into peacefulness and emptiness into fruitfulness.
Thank God for Calvary!
-Lyn Sahr
-Phil 2:1-11 NIV
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Monday, January 20, 2003
When we approach the golden years of life we have to ask ourselves, “What makes them golden?” Is it that we are finally finishing the race or is it because we have accomplished so much. Few realize their dreams and less their potential. In other words, many people get old with a sense of dissatisfaction with life in general. What a pity. I am thankful that my grandmother “aged in the beauty of the Lord.”
She experienced a lot of negatives in her life but it never made her bitter, only better. Her mother died before she started school, her father couldn’t afford to keep her so he gave her to another family to raise her. Then her Father, brothers and sister moved to Canada and she would not see them again until later in her adult life.
She was married for over 40 years when her husband died suddenly in her presence. She remarried and a few short years later her second husband died suddenly in her presence. She remarried again and her third husband died a slow death from lung cancer. She buried three husbands in her lifetime.
But throughout the years she was able to be a great inspiration to all those around her because of her great faith in Christ. Not only did she believe but also she lived her faith in such a way that it drew people to Christ. Although uneducated, she was a Bible Scholar. She led a weekly Bible study in her home until shortly before her death at age 89. And it as well attended.
When her name, Ruby Flodin, is mentioned it is with a sense of clarity that her name is synonymous with her faith. Ruby really was a gem! And her ministry lives on through the lives of many people including her nephew Lynn Anderson http://hope.faithsite.com and myself http://www.churchmouse.net http://www.pinecitychurch.org .
But I wonder if her mother had the choice, with the poverty, hard times and the number of children she already had, would she of chosen an abortion? If so, literally thousands of lives would not have been touched by her and her message, “God forgives you and loves you!”
And my mother would have never lived, my brother and sister would have never lived, my uncles and their children and grandchildren would have never lived, I would have never lived, my children would have never lived and my grandson would have never lived.
You see, abortion doesn’t just affect the person who is pregnant or the child that dies; generations of people are “eliminated” by one person’s choice, A WRONG CHOICE!
-Psalms 146:1 NIV
Praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in mortal men, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them–
the LORD, who remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free,
8 the LORD gives sight to the blind,
the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,
the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the alien
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The LORD reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the LORD.
Sunday, January 19, 2003
Tomorrow is the 21st anniversary of my father’s death. It’s not the kind of anniversary we tend to celebrate, but it does cause us to look back. As hard as it was to realize that my father had died, it was evident that this was his divine appointment with death that God had set up. It was sudden—he was in good health, but feared that his knees would give out (he had broken each knee at least once in his lifetime) and that he would end up in a wheelchair. He lived less than one year after retiring and spent those months with the cattle and sheep, doing what he loved the most. I remember that the pastor of our church at that time came to see us and reminded us of the verse in Hebrews where it says that we each have an appointment with death.
Somehow, society (or the government) has wanted to take over that appointment book. First there was the Supreme Court decision-making abortion legal. Now we hear of the Right to Die and physician assisted suicide. Is it possible that the Right to Die will become law?
A little while ago I read a book entitled “Duty to Die” written by Janice Thompson. This is a work of fiction, but it really made me think. The setting was sometime in the (not-too-distant?) future, when the Right to Die is law. Anyone who cannot contribute to society is put to death. The person enters a special part of the hospital and is quietly put to sleep. Of course, the government decides who can and cannot contribute to society. Some of the people destined to die are the elderly, anyone that is handicapped in any way, a child who happens to be the 3rd (or later) born in a family, and anyone with chronic illness who would require extensive medical treatment. Of course, the book takes the characters on a journey of having to deal with and fight the law of the land. But it does raise a very valid point: is the day coming when the government will decide who can and who cannot continue to live? When I think of the type of people that (in the book) would not be allowed to live, I think of the handicapped people who have been used mightily by God, such as Fanny Crosby, Helen Keller and Joni Eareckson Tada. And who would make the final decision as to who lives and who dies? Somehow I think God never intended for man to make that decision. That is a decision that He alone is capable of making.
-Ardis Rivera
-Hebrews 9:27
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
-Jeremiah 10:23
I know, O LORD , that a man’s life is not his own;
it is not for man to direct his steps.
Saturday January 18, 2003
My wife and I baby-sit a six-year old neighbor boy before and after school each day. He loves to spend time with our five children and he rides the bus to and from elementary school with them daily.
We always stop our kids and give them hugs and tell them we love them before they head out to the bus stop, but just a few days as I was handing out hugs to my kids this little boy asked me, “Who is going to hug me?” I stopped for a second, then smiled and gave Brandon a hug and sent him on his way to school with my children. After watching them walk together to the bus stop I sat convicted by the Holy Spirit. Why hadn’t I offered Brandon a hug before?
Brandon lives in a single parent family and only sees his Dad a couple times a month, and then his father pawns him off on relatives when they are together. He is starving for attention from a man and it took a “two-by-four to the head” from God for me to get it. I had missed an opportunity to show this little child the Jesus in me when I sent him out the door each morning.
Brandon could have very easily been one of the 40,000,000 babies legally aborted over the past thirty years, but his mother chose to have her child. Over the past three decades there have been millions of “Brandon’s” who haven’t been able to learn to walk, tie their shoes, learn their ABC’s. Pray for the mothers (and fathers) who are wrestling with the thought of what to do with their little “Brandon.” And guys, be Godly men to children of single moms around you. There are so many single parents who would love to have a Godly influence around their children from time to time. Ask you pastor or youth pastor they can help you find a child, and then spend some time cultivating relationships with those children.
I can tell you this; Brandon won’t get out the door without a hug from me from now on!
-Garrett Novak
-Matt 18:5-6 NIV
“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Friday, January 17, 2003
The selective destruction of innocent life is always the triumph of the powerful over the powerless, the triumph of despair over hope. In every case, it is the triumph of will over love. A society that is ruled by the
will of the strong becomes a hazardous place for the weak.
This misdefined freedom–the freedom of the autonomous will–has made our society less than just, less than decent, less than human.
In a community informed by the Christian faith, no one is a stranger, neither the “unwanted” child, nor the “useless” aged, nor the “worthless” handicapped, nor the “hopeless” sick. Rather than being burdens, such human lives are gifts of God, opportunities to demonstrate what is at the heart of a caring society.
–by Nathan Lewis, Pastor, Evergreen Presbyterian Church (Beaverton, Oregon). http://www.evergreenpca.com
-Martin Wishnatsky
-Romans 15:1
“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.”
Thursday, January 16, 2003
On election day 2000 I was at Hardee’s for my normal Tuesday morning breakfast with several of my Christian brothers. A man that we know joined us and began talking about the election. “Everyone has to get out to vote for the Democrat,” he said emphatically. “If George Bush gets elected he will stop abortions and that would be terrible.” The rest of us at the table stared at him in amazement then told him that none of us supported abortion and that we thought it was a horrible thing.
“A woman has the right to decide whether to carry her baby to full term or not. She has the right to end her pregnancy if she doesn’t want to have a baby or if she can’t afford to have a baby, or if it would affect her career.”
Seeing a little girl across the restaurant I pointed her out to this man. “That little girl looks to be about five years old doesn’t she?” I asked.
“Something like that,” he agreed.
“If that mother got a new job and the little girl was too much trouble should that mother be allowed to kill her?”
“Absolutely not!” He was horrified that I would even suggest such a thing.
“How about if she were only four instead of five? Would it be OK then?” Of course he agreed that it wouldn’t. We went down the line then: Three, two, one, six months, three months, one month, ten days, two days, one day. To all of those he agreed that it would be murder if the mother did away with the child for the sake of convenience.
Then I asked the big question. “Why is it OK for a mother to abort her child ten days before birth if it is murder for her to kill her child ten days after she is born?”
He didn’t respond for quite a while and then he shook his head and said, “I never thought of it that way before.” Then he got up and left.
Part of the problem is that people do not think in terms of real babies, only imaginary fetuses. It is time that people understood that unborn babies should have the same protections that five year olds have. The RIGHT TO LIVE!!
Prayerfully submitted by,
John Roe
Wednesday, January 15, 2003
Today President Bush declared that this Sunday will be “National Sanctity of Life Day,” recognizing the plight of the unborn who have lost their lives at the hands of the abortionist. Please share his announcement with your church leaders so they may recognize this day in your worship services.
Is abortion a problem in our country? Yes, but it is not the biggest problem. The problem with the abortion issue in America today is not that we need new legislation (although we do), but rather we need Americans to have new hearts. Although abortion is a moral crisis, the depth of the problem is a deep-rooted spiritual problem. In fact, it goes far beyond that. To simplify it, as my grandfather would have set it, “You’re trying to close the gate after the horse has already gotten out.”
Abortion is the result of pregnancy. Pregnancy is a result of sexual intercourse between a man and a woman, far too often between a boy and a girl. Little if anything is said about the act of sex except for condoms and abstinence. But the fact is, sexual intercourse is the act of marriage and the only act of marriage. This spiritual act leads to far greater significance and consequence than our society realizes or the church is willing to say. It’s not the pregnancy that destroys people but rather what we call “pre-marital sex.” The fact is, I don’t think there is such a thing as pre-marital sex!
How is that possible when everyone knows that people have sex before they are married? Could it be that when they have sex with someone for the first time they are married spiritually to that person? In other words, the spiritual union of the man and the woman is consummated through sex. Therefore, the first person a man or woman has sexual intercourse with is spiritually their husband or wife in God’s eyes?
Consider the possibility that my understanding of the scripture is correct. Then I think that you will realize that the chaos we are seeing in the American family is really not so hard to understand.
Pray for our young people to understand the spiritual implications of sexual intercourse, the only act of marriage.
Pray for those who have bought into the misguided life of sexual promiscuity, that they will seek God for his forgiveness and guidance. Certainly it is not the unpardonable sin but it certainly leaves its trail in the tattered and torn lives of people.
Pray that our churches will catch the vision of hope through God’s love and forgiveness.
Pray that our pastors will find the courage to proclaim the scriptural truths.
Am I overreacting? Is my theology wacko? Am I being too hard on our churches or pastors? You decide but first let me ask you this question, “When was the last time you have heard a pastor or your pastor preach a sermon against premarital sex or sex out of marriage?”
And if he did, how much longer was it before he was no longer your pastor?
The idea of sexual purity is so old fashioned that it has always been… and always will be!
-Lyn Sahr
-1 Cor 6:13-20 NIV
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
Tuesday, January 14, 2002
As people walk down the street it is not uncommon to see them bend over and pick something up off the ground. Usually it is something shiny like money, a jewel or a precious metal that caught their attention. Regardless of how much in a hurry they may be in it seems people cannot pass over something that may be of value. Interestingly enough, as I have observed, regardless of what it is they pick up and they rarely throw it back on the ground. They put it in their pocket
That’s kind of the way God is as He sees lost, alone and discarded people. Somehow we are so precious to Him that He can’t resist picking us up, protecting us, carrying us and holding us close. We are his shiny precious jewels!
Considering this I find it especially painful to think that we have a Heavenly who so passionately loves us and yet our society has chosen to walk past the over 40,000,000 babies who have died at the hands of the abortionist since 1973.
If we stacked the skeletons of the babies who have lost their lives to abortion in your community along the road you drive everyday, and daily added the bodies of the babies who were aborted that day, would it get your attention?
I think the abortion holocaust in America has God’s attention and I believe His tears are streaming. Children are very precious to God and He always has the time to reach down to pick up His precious jewels. And so it is for the 40,000,000 aborted babies in America since 1973, He continues to hold them close to Him.
I know I sound a little radical. There is something radically wrong with this picture.
-Lyn Sahr
-Ps 72:14 NIV
He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Monday, January 13, 2003
Is There Life After Abortion?
The call came about 3:00 A.M. The young woman on the phone was weeping and said, “I just can’t sleep. I keep hearing a baby cry, my baby. I had an abortion a couple of years ago and I just can’t forgive myself. Will God punish me for the rest of my life?”
God forgives and does not punish the forgiven.
Some would say that there is nothing to be forgiven of. An abortion is nothing more than a fetus, a blob of tissue. Therefore, what’s the problem? The problem is that the word fetus is Latin for “young one” or “offspring,” not “tissue.” In other words it is what we call a baby.
Post abortion trauma and depression is real to those who suffer from it and the spiritual implications are troubling. The “love letter” God wrote to us directs us to a logical understanding that abortion is not part of God’s plan for even the most unexpected, unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. That same “love letter” also leads us to a very clear understanding that abortion is not the unpardonable sin. God’s passionate and endless love for his children prevails on His heart to forgive, forgive and forgive.
On January 22nd we observe the 30th anniversary of the tragic Roe v- Wade Supreme Court decision leading to the death of over forty million (40,000,000) babies at the hands of abortionist since 1973. This is the most horrific event that has ever taken place in American history and we still remain silent about the loss of gifted teachers, scientist, musicians, artists, statesmen and people of all walks of life and the effect on our country culturally, economically and spiritually.
The answer will be found on our knees. The counseling offices are full but the altars in our churches are empty.
-Lyn Sahr
Sunday, January 12, 2003
The other evening I watched a movie that came out a few years ago called Pay It Forward. The story is about a school assignment in which the students are told to think of a way to change the world and to come up with a way to make the idea work. One student comes up with the idea of doing something for three different people that they can’t do for themselves. In return, each of the three does the same for 3 other people and in this way, the world could be changed.
I began to think about this. Helping another person is a good idea, but only God can really change the heart of a person. If Jesus were walking on the earth today, what would He do? I believe He would want to spread a simple message to every person that He could speak to and that message would be “I love you.”
I have been wondering what causes a young woman to choose abortion. What brings a person to the point of wanting to take his or her own life. I’m sure there are many reasons, but I wonder if many times in the case of an abortion, the decision is made to keep the partner happy, or to avoid conflict with someone. We each have a need to be loved and accepted and will sometimes go to great lengths to gain that love and acceptance. What would happen if we could reach out and let these women know that they are loved and accepted and that their unborn babies are loved and wanted. What about the person that is tired of living and sees no reason to go on? Would the knowledge that God loves them and they are important to Him make a difference? Will they see this love demonstrated in us?
More and more I am convinced that we need to be less concerned about the various doctrines of the church and put more emphasis on the fact that God loves mankind so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son so that He can spend all of eternity with us. When the world sees God’s love put into practice, I believe people will flock to it. No one wants to be around people who are always disagreeing, so maybe we should put our doctrinal differences aside, and proclaim to the lost, hurt and dying that God loves them. We just might be able to change the world with a message like that.
-Ardis Rivera
-1 John 3:23
And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
Saturday January 11th, 2002
I am sitting in the recovery room of Marshfield Clinic/St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield, Wisconsin, and just holding my son, Jonah, as he recovers from surgery. The doctor assured us that the surgery to correct his four-year-old eyes is routine, but I was anxious just the same.
A trip to a strange city, motel stay, then a very early morning with several doctors and nurses, this is the first time for me as a father of five to have one of my children undergo a surgical procedure. YES—I was nervous! A million thoughts went through my head this morning thinking of my precious child that God had placed in my care, and how I was placing him into the care of surgeons I barely knew. What if the scalpel slipped and my son was blinded in his eye? What if the anesthesia was not mixed properly and he never wakes up? What if…?
My thoughts also returned to a day almost five years ago when my former wife and I found out we were pregnant with our fourth child. She said that three children were more than enough and she didn’t want to have another baby. I was crushed! I prayed that the Lord would give me the discernment to tell her why God had special plans for my child (and every child), and we could not end his life. Slowly over the next several weeks she changed her mind and nearly nine months later our precious son was born. This precious son of mine I now hold in my arms after his surgery. What if my former wife had convinced me to terminate the pregnancy that she didn’t want…what if?
As the 30th anniversary of the legalization of abortion approaches this month, please remember to pray for those mothers (and don’t forget the fathers) who are struggling with the decision to keep their baby or not by abortion. I encourage you to get involved with the local crisis pregnancy care center in your town or county. If there isn’t one, then I encourage you to petition God to see if you are the catalyst to starting one.
God’s plan for each and every life is remarkable and perfect. He knew what he was doing when he created each of us in our mother’s womb. As for my son Jonah, well he might be a teacher, design the next module of the space station, or better yet, be the next Billy Graham and spread God’s good news and gospel message. What he becomes is all part of God’s plan. My part will be showing him a loving father who loves his “heavenly father” with all of his mind, soul, and strength. I will strive each day to show him a Christian home, loving him and his brother and sisters. What will my son become….I wonder?
-Garrett Novak
-Phil 4:6-7 NIV
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Friday, January 10, 2003
Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Not by power, not by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.
When we seek our own glory, we are withdrawing from Christ into the fallen nature.
It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
It is no longer I, but Christ.
The fallen man has the glory of his own works.
But the risen man, who has been crucified with Christ, is a new creature, who glorifies only God.
Let Christ renew you this year.
I must decrease, but he must increase.
-Martin Wishnatsky
-John 3:27-30 NIV
To this John replied, “A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30 He must become greater; I must become less.
Thursday, January 9, 2003
Monday afternoon I was in the car with one of my foster sons, age sixteen. He was talking about seeing an ultrasound and how awesome it was to see the baby moving and even playing with its toes. A comment that he made struck me as being so simple, yet so profound. He said, “I don’t know how anyone who looked at an ultrasound could possibly say that it was just a blob of tissue and not a baby.” I told him that I couldn’t figure out how people that are trained as doctors and nurses could possibly miss a diagnosis by so much. Would you trust a doctor who looked at your fingers and said, “I’m not sure what those blobs of tissue are on the ends of your legs?” That is no more ludicrous than a trained professional calling an unborn baby a blob of tissue.
A few months ago I brought the devotional at a prayer service at our local Pregnancy Information Center. One of the prayer requests concerned obtaining an ultrasound and the trained technicians to run it. They quoted statistics on the number of women that changed their minds after seeing their baby on the screen. Also it had a tremendous impact on the fathers of these unborn children once they saw the active baby inside the mother’s womb.
As we approach the anniversary of the worst Supreme Court decision in history let’s remember to pray for the not-yet-born babies that are under threat of being aborted, the mothers of these babies, and the fathers, too. Also pray for the misguided abortion providers that God would get a hold of their hearts and that they would turn their efforts toward healing rather than harming.
-John Roe
-Ps 139:13-14a NASB
“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
The changing of the seasons is something that we can take for granted. Here in northern Wisconsin, we should be walking in snow and be experiencing some of the coldest days of the year. However, there is very little snow and the weather has been unusually warm. Now, I am happy about that, but there are those who are not. Of course, there are the people who like to take part in the winter sports that can’t be played in this weather, but there are other reasons to not be happy about the warm weather. The farmers want the snow that provides moisture and in the case of a sudden cold spell, protects the earth like a blanket. And, if I remember correctly, the plants take advantage of the cold weather to rest. There is also a sense of purity when the freshly fallen snow covers everything. And I will admit that I enjoy standing in front of the wood stove, feeling the warmth of the fire. So, as much as I really don’t like the winter, there are reasons for it and there are parts of it that are somewhat pleasant.
In the same way, we experience different seasons in our spiritual lives. There are the times of new life, like spring. There are the times of warmth and growth, like summer. And there are the times when life seems cold and harsh. We need all of these seasons in our lives just as the plants need the winter When life seems dreary and gray, and there is little beauty in the world such as a late fall day, when the ground is covered with dead grass and leaves, the Lord sends a blanket of white to cover up the ugliness. In the same way, He blankets us with his protection when life is hard and ugly and it seems that all will be lost. His Word refreshes us just like a cold wind wakes us up. He provides much needed moisture in a dry land, sometimes one snowflake at a time. These may be the times when it seems that God is far away because we can’t see Him working. In the winter, we can’t tell what good is happening in the ground under the snow. We can’t see it until the snow leaves and the green grass appears in the ground left wet from the melting snow.
It is good to remember that God holds the seasons in His hands and He holds our lives in His hands. He knows why our winter has been mild (so far). There is nothing in our lives that surpises Him He brings things into our lives for our good, not for our hurt. We need to remember that just as God has put the seasons in place, He has put things in our lives. We need to look for His hand in each and every season of our life and thank God for each and every thing God brings. Things may not seem pleasant at the time, but we can be assured that God is working behind the scenes and that His purposes will be accomplished.
-Ardis Rivera
-Psalm 74:17
It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.
-Ephesians 1:4-12
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
In him we were also chosen,] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Tuesday, January 7, 2003
Last night I visited with an old friend and we were talking about ministry. She told me of an elderly lady who had died. Because she had no children she left her entire estate to her sister’s family. Ironically, when the body was taken to the funeral home it was discovered that the family didn’t want to have a funeral service. But then the most amazing thing happened; they didn’t want the body either. But the took they money! And once again I thought, “Money is still worth more than life!”
We are entering that time of the year when we remember the millions of babies that have died in abortion chambers across America. Every day the abortionist makes a decision that the fee they receive for taking the life of a baby is worth more than baby’s life. The story of the unwanted body seems incomprehensible yet abortion, the story of unwanted babies, has become acceptable to society.
The good news is that it will never be acceptable to God.
-Jer 1:5 NIV
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;…”
Monday, January 6, 2003
A number of years ago there was a popular movie out called, “The Color of Money.” It is interesting how we think in terms of green as the color of money as if there was something mystical about the color. In reality, if money were red or blue it would not be worth any more or less. Money can be used for good or bad and it doesn’t care who owns it. The color has nothing to do with what can be bought with money, possessions or power.
Sin is kind of like that. When we refer to sin in color, we color it black. But here too, the color we relate to sin has nothing to do with it. But what really matters is the result of sin. Unlike money, sin is never used for good but only bad. It destroys people’s lives and takes away their innocence. It attaches itself to everyone who rubs against it and the result is always the same, a broken relationship from God. I suppose we could color that blue.
But then we think of the shed blood of Jesus as red, the blood that cleanses us from all of our sins and fixes our broken relationship with God. We then color our hearts white.
God colors it love.
-Rom 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sunday, January 5, 2003
The holidays are over. We have celebrated our Lord’s birth and welcomed a new year and now it is back to work. But will it be back to the same old thing, or will we allow God to work His will in our lives?
I believe God desires to do something new in His people this year, but He won’t do it unless we allow Him to do what He wants. Are you willing to let God have His way completely in your life in 2003?
There are many times that I feel that I have nothing to offer God, and in a way, that is true. There is nothing that I have or that I can do that God really needs. But He does choose to work through us, His children. There are people that won’t hear the Gospel unless I tell them. There are things that God is calling me to do, but it is ultimately my decision to obey God’s leading or not. He won’t force me to do anything. And the same is true for you. My prayer for you in this new year is that you will follow wherever God leads you in this new year. I have no idea what 2003 has for me, but I do know Who goes with me wherever I go and He will never leave me or abandon me. He also knows what is best for me—I just need to walk with Him each and every day and do the best I can to be obedient to what He calls me to do. That could be the best New Year’s resolution ever!
-Ardis Rivera
-Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Saturday January 4th, 2002
Two of my favorite times of the day are sunrise and sunset. In the morning everything is still and quiet as light slowly arrives to greet the new day. In the evening as the last shadows of daylight evaporate into the western sky as the stars start to twinkle.
For several years I worked in the late afternoon and early evening and rarely saw a sunset, so my daughter Gabriella drew me a picture of one so I could see one every day. Kids are great for that aren’t they.
Have you taken the time to enjoy a sunrise or sunset lately? Have you in the last week? Or have you in the last month? How about during 2002?
God’s creation is so incredible, and I marvel at it with each sunrise and sunset I see. Each one has been “hand painted” by the master creator. During this new year of 2003, take time to seek God during the sunrise or sunset and you’ll get a different view of the “Son” than you had before.
-Garrett Novak
-Psalm 113:3 NIV
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
Friday, January 3, 2002
A New Year is a reminder of mortality. The clock clicks forward like the odometer on a car. The bright shiny humming car that issued from the new car lot will one day be a junker or crushed back into the lump of metal from which it was formed.
So it is with our mortal bodies. They wear out and eventually die.
“God looks not on the outward appearance. God looks on the heart.”
Of course, for the redeemed, this mortality shall put on immortality.
That is the hope and assurance of the gospel.
As the clock ticks forward, we are that much closer to eternity, where the ravages of time are not felt.
Our Spirit inherits that world. Let us be wise and keep our lamps lit that we may be preserved in that day.
-Martin Wishnatsky
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
-Psalm 116:15
Thursday, January 2, 2003
At time for new beginnings. As we view the New Year we think of resolutions, changes, opportunities and plans for the next 12 months. Some of us will vow to quit procrastinating – tomorrow or maybe the next day. This would be a great time to lose weight – just as soon as all of the holiday food is finished and the refrigerator cleaned out. Fitness centers will be packed for the first couple of weeks and then attendance will drop back to the normal levels. There will be a lot more talk than there will be action on changing habits and lifestyles.
What are your plans for the year? Is this the year that you will actually read through the Bible the way that you have intended to do each of the past 10 years? Is this the year that you will have daily devotions on a regular basis? Or will this be the year that you _______________ (fill in the blank)?
The reality is that this year will be exactly the same as last year unless you determine that it will be different and then act on that determination. Whether they are spiritual goals, physical goals, career goals or family goals, they will not be accomplished unless you put action to your words and initiate the process.
Pray for direction and then move in the direction that God gives. Faith is increased as you act on the things that God shows you.
You can make this year the year for change if you are willing to act but nothing will be accomplished unless you begin to move. Changes are hard but not impossible.
-John Roe
-Ps 55:16-19 NIV
But I call to God, and the LORD saves me. 17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. 18 He ransoms me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. 19 God, who is enthroned forever, will hear them and afflict them– Selah men who never change their ways and have no fear of God.
Wednesday, January 1, 2003
Happy New Year
Many of us have come through Christmas with a peace that passes all understanding. Jesus has blessed us. Others of us are not so fortunate. In my immediate family, two members did not find that peace. My son and my brother-in-law had good intentions but Christmas is too often a burden. They long for the season to be over. Please pray for them and others like them.
Many people are like that. For whatever reason, they feel something separates them from God and family. Some feel like social outcasts, some suffer ethical problems, huge financial debt, unemployment or heartache but none is more sinful that any of us.
Is it simply that they wear their sins more publicly than we do? Whether it is depression, something from one’s past like an abortion, a present living situation, a past scar, something they’ve done or suffer with in the present, it separates them from seeing Jesus in his majesty and love coming to reach them.
When we are fearful and our hour is dark, we tremble and grope for answers to find peace. It is there that we can depend upon God. Each of us is far from being acceptable to God, apart from Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
At least in the United States, it’s fairly easy to talk to people about the Lord and ask them how God is working in their lives. God has placed in people’s hearts the desire to know Him. The Lord uses the influences of a great many people to bring each person to Himself. Could it be said about us, “He’s the first true friend I’ve ever had.” Many of our energies and that of our churches revolve around people who are in the flock. Would we be offended if Jesus was down at the Union Gospel mission or in the prison chapel and not visiting one of our churches?
We need to pray and work for those who are not a part of the family of God. We need to work for the benefit of our non-members and spend less energy entertaining ourselves.
I was awaken the other night in a situation of deep distress and couldn’t get the pain off my chest. Some people feel that everyday. Alone with God I cried out in anguish to Him. May we tell others of the peace that comes from knowing Jesus Christ, our help in times of trouble.
Jesus promised: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
–Bob Espeseth
