Twenty7:7Teen

We seem to be losing our way in this world.  Without Jesus we’ve always been lost, but now we have added unfettered hate and violence.  The only antidote to this is Love.  Sacrificial Love.  The Love of Jesus Christ that says love your neighbor as yourself.  The Jesus who says don’t hate but love your enemies.  The Jesus who says forgive those who have done wrong to you….and if you don’t God your Father in Heaven won’t forgive you.  Those are tough words and difficult marching orders, but in them are the keys to a peaceful life.

So how do we get from where we are to the place we need to be?  The Apostle Paul in Galatians 5 spoke of things that will mess up your life such as sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and the like and keep you from inheriting the Kingdom of God.  But in verse 22 he goes on to give the antidote: “But the Fruit of The Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.”  You see if we will give our lives over to Jesus and submit to His Lordship, the work He did on the Cross, crucifying our sinful nature with its passions and desires, will allow us to live by the Spitit and keep step with the Spirit. That’s the only way this world is ever going to be changed.  You, me and Jesus.

There’s an amazing story that’s waiting to be written.  Don’t let anyone keep you from adding your chapter.  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self Control………..and you.

I’m growing weary of the killing of innocent life.  It doesn’t matter to me anymore who is being killed; Christians, Muslims, or babies.  It all needs to stop.  It’s one thing to yell into someone’s face, but quite different to stand in a corner of a room and pick off folks running for their lives.  It’s one thing to disagree with someone’s faith but it’s way different when you burn down their church and kill those inside.  And it’s one thing to do something with someone else that happens to set in motion the beginning of a new life and quite another to suck its little body from its mom’s womb.

You see, unless we get our acts together and begin looking for the potential goodness in people instead of ways and reasons to hate, we are doomed to live lives filled withbdepression and regret.  I can’t remember ever regretting doing a kind act to someone different than me;  I really can’t.  We all have to begin to lives filled with sacrifice; especially to those we currently think as less than ourselves.  It has to begin with someone.  Why not me?  Why not you?

I’ve been on a bit of a mission these past few weeks.  I thought it was kind of a no brainer, but I’ve since learned differently. As soon as I wrote that killing babies at any stage of their life, either in vitro or post abortion should he or she survive is murder, some church folk came out screaming, “what about the mother!!?”   I was careful to talk about forgiveness for the mom, but I guess not well enough for them.  And though I feel sorry for the physical pain they must have endured, they must realize someone died during the abortion.  Go get help.  You are going to need it.  But with all the guilt and (dare I say it) shame you are going to feel sooner or later, you will at least be able to get help; the baby? Not so much.  So I write this today to encourage others to counsel their girlfriends to take the baby to term, give it up for adoption and live life knowing you did the right thing.  Choosing life; now that’s something we can all get behind.