A DISCOURAGED HEART

In my first couple of years of college, I was often discouraged regarding my prayer life. I felt like a failure and disconnected to God. One day, I was so pooped out that I picked up a book my roommate was reading just to distract myself. Oddly enough, the book was called “With Christ in the School of Prayer” by Andrew Murray. I randomly opened the book and as I read I came across a sentence that significantly impacted my prayer life: “Even the snail reached the ark through perseverance.”

I was so struck by the truth in that sentence. It didn’t matter that I was the slowest of all Christians. Through perseverance I would “arrive” as much as anybody else. Through the years, the Holy Spirit has brought that phrase to my mind over and over again to tell me that He loves the weak. And now I’m convinced. He loves the snails in His kingdom. I feel like His favorite snail, His favorite little person!

Looking back I can tell that I have gone much deeper in God than I would’ve imagined. I must say that although I’m a snail, the grace of God has given me wings.

THE BIRTHING OF ADOPTION

What does this have to do with God’s love for life? Everything.

When it comes to abortion and the needs of the orphans, I can become easily overwhelmed.  Therefore, I continually do the simplest and most effective thing I can: pray. But now my heart has been transformed. I will continue to pray but I will also adopt. You see, I must adopt not because of “calling” or a “prophetic word” or anything else, but simply because of love. I love Him and I can’t ignore the reality of His heart in this matter. I must adopt!

But now that I want to adopt, how can I? I don’t have $20K to adopt a child. And the paperwork… and the dangers… It feels like it’ll take a long time… Ugh! I’m a snail. I’ll never be able to do anything.

But then again, God’s grace gives wings to snails.

The Lord spoke to us and a door has been opened. It seems now that my wife and now could be only months away from adopting a medical special needs child who is already available for adoption in the foster care system. I am overjoyed. God did it again. He is accomplishing the impossible through a sincere but very weak lover. Hallelujah!

YOU?

When it comes to adoption there are so many “buts”. I know I had a ton. But all I ask is this: Will you pray about it? Ask the Lord to speak to you. Pray about it repeatedly and continually.

If you think adoption would be great but don’t think you can do it…  just wait. The Lord might just give you wings!

Click the link below and take 1.5 min video and think about when life starts…

Love Life

I’ve felt so broken and disappointed in the last few days. The health care bill and the Executive Order is absurd. I know that many people feel this way as well. And in my prayers, there are two themes that have been running through my heart and mind continuously. They are the themes of faith and martyrdom. For some reason, I feel the need to write about it. Perhaps I need to process my thoughts. I hope you enjoy this stream of consciousness.

MARTYRDOM

Martyrdom is often a gift from God. It is the will of God (Phil 1:29). And at times when good men cave into dark schemes, I am pressed in my heart to have a power that can only come from heaven. Stupak failed, but he tried. How many times have I tried and failed? How many assignments from heaven have I received and not followed through? Stupak failed, but maybe I am not as pro-life as I’d like to be either. I wonder if it is the Church’s fault that Stupak and his colleagues were not filled to the brim with heavenly wisdom and power to stand against evil schemes. No man can naturally stand under the pressure that he probably went through.

Therefore, I take to heart Paul’s command to Timothy: “… do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God” (1 Tim 1:8). I do not want to be ashamed of the Christian’s calling to martyrdom nor of those who are openly committed to the Lord at all costs.

I openly tell my friends that Lou Engle is one of my heroes.  Praise the Lord for James Dobson. They are faithful men and true role models for the kind of person I want to become.

I am pro-life all the way. And I pray that I would have the supernatural courage to go to prison and even die for my belief in Jesus and His word.

My wife and I talked about what we would do if we ended up in jail for our beliefs with no one to take care of our 7-month old daughter. It was a hard swallow. But that night I surrendered myself to death at the cross again and I said, “Jesus, help me say ‘Yes’ to You if that ever happens.” Although it’s hard on my heart, I believe the greatest gift I can give my daughter is a heritage of martyrdom – even if I have to miss her growing up.

Why have I said all of this? The government has obligated us to buy health care. Who knows what kind of liberties will be taken from us next… I want to be free from compromise and say YES! to Jesus no matter what.

FAITH

But the fight is not over!!! The Lord raised up David out of nowhere, and in just a few moments Goliath died! Israel was under terrible taunting and shame for forty days, and suddenly a boy anointed by the Lord destroyed the mocking giant. Israel became bold in a second and rushed forward to win the battle (1 Sam 17).

We are now under a season of shame, oppression, and taunting from the enemy. But the Lord is merciful. And He hears prayer. He hasn’t said anything about it being over yet.

So demons beware!!!! He likes me. He loves me, and He likes to answer my prayers.

As my wife and I have prayed and researched about adoption, one question has come to mind again, and again: “How will we pay for all of this?”

It’s a daunting task, and can be discouraging at times. But praise God who is our Rock and strength. He has taught me lessons that have built up my faith. I want to share some of those here.

SIMPLICITY

Many years ago I had a dream in which the Lord described to me how I am to live my life. In the dream, I was in a field with a man named Jonathan, who I understood to be my best friend, and we were standing by a white car made in the 80′s.

Suddenly a comet fell from the sky and Jonathan and I took off in the car. Jonathan was driving and we escaped being crushed by the comet. However, I saw that many fancy SUV’s had been crushed by it. I got out of the car and opened my trunk (I don’t remember why). When I did, I saw that the trunk was a lot larger than I expected and it was filled with water. There were also wooden boxes full of fruit floating around.

I don’t want to go into much detail, but the Lord clearly told me to live simply (car from 80′s) rather than pursuing the American dream (fancy SUV’s). He is my best friend as Jonathan was to David, and if I follow His leadership in the simple lifestyle, my heart will be spared from destruction when shakings come from heaven. In fact, my heart will be enlarged, full of living water and the fruit of the Spirit.

Some might say that God wants me to have the best and that living simply is “religious.” What people don’t realize is that living simply, even when your finances increase, is not a vow of poverty. It’s a vow of servanthood. I want to live simply so I can use all my increase to bring children into my home. This is the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle, and it actually is the least religious lifestyle there is because there is no burden on my shoulders. You see, my heart is detached from those so-called “blessings.” I’m pretty blessed with what I have. There is no anxiety or coveting – just expectancy for when those children come.

Paul says that God “…supplies seed to the sower and bread for food…” (2 Cor 9:10). So all of our money is either (1) seed, which is to be planted in the kingdom, or (2) bread, which include all of our necessities but not always our wants. The simple lifestyle is in full accordance with the Scriptures.

FAITH

In the same passage mentioned above, Paul explains that “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Cor 9:8).

In other words, God gives grace so that there will be “an abundace for every good deed.” The Bible does not promise that we will have the car, house, or education that we want, but that we will have an abundance for every adoption, for every foster care child, for every missionary, for every widow.

There will always be enough because He is the One doing the mighty work of adoption through us. This desire was never mine to start with, and my hands will not be the ones fulfilling it.

REST

Ah, what rest I find in His word, His faithfulness, His leadership! Lord, search me and let me know if there is anything in my heart and finances that is not in accordance with Your heart. I trust You for every good work and I know that nothing will be lacking. There will always be enough!

I’ve heard it several times. “Changing laws doesn’t change people’s hearts.” “You can’t legalize righteousness.” “We’ve got to focus on changing hearts one at a time.”

It’s all true, but not necessarily the Truth – at least not some of the time.

THE DECEPTION

A few days ago a dear friend expressed to me that public prayer against abortion is not the best way to address the issue. “Evangelism is the key,” she said, “and changing hearts.”

It frustrated me. It frustrated me very much.

What people don’t understand is that crying out against abortion is not the same as passing a law requiring all citizens to be baptized into the church. We are not reverting back to the Middle Ages and shoving religion down people’s throats. Abortion is not a religious issue. It is an issue of justice.

CHRISTIANITY 101

Justice is as basic and important to the gospel as prayer and reading the Bible. Jesus said in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness…” (emphasis added). In other words, if you focus too much one issue, even if it is “reaching out,” and ignore justice, you just miss one of the weightier issues in God’s heart!!

In fact, we can judge our own growth in the Lord over time by how much we care about justice. The Lord spoke clearly through Jeremiah on this issue when He said, “[The king] pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?” (Jer 22:16, emphasis added).

Would you have the guts to go back in time and tell William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King that they should keep their opinions personal and focus on evangelism? I hope not! They were fighting for Christian morals, yes, but essentially, they cried out for justice!

I do not want to pass Christian laws. I want justice to prevail. Nobody in their right mind would agree that slavery or child labor should be legalized, but I bet there are dark hearts who would profit very much from such evils. Should we evangelize the hearts of oppressors and forget those who are oppressed? That is exactly what the false philosophy of “don’t-be-public” preaches. We are the oppressors because we allow abortion to continue. Must all of America be evangelized before those babies are saved?

Yes, evangelism is important, and it is key to societal reformation. But we must never take a stance for evangelism by watering down the weighty matters of injustice and sin. If we do that, what are people being saved from?

THE HYPOCRISY

In Nazi Germany, many Christians would sing worship songs loudly whenever trains filled with Jews would pass by. They eased their consciouses by praising the Lord.

Today, we still see similar patterns. Pro-abortion folks and in-the-closet-Christians stay quiet on the issue of abortion but they certainly want to stop genocide in Darfur. But it makes no sense because 50+ percent of African American babies are aborted in America. How can we stop genocide in Darfur if our nation has legalized genocide? Perhaps those soothsayers are like the Nazi Christians. They appease their conscience about injustice in our land by crying our for justice in a far away land.

The truth is that, like David, we must kill our own lions and bears before we attempt to bring down Goliath in front of an audience!

THE SOLUTION

I do not think I have all the answers, nor am I better than anybody else, but I pray for my sincere brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ whose minds have fallen prey to demonic soothsaying of false preachers. And I know that my prayers are powerful through the blood of Jesus.

So sing your lullabies and your false worship, soothsayers, and I will continue to cry out in prayer, fasting, words and deeds. I know that the Lion of the Tribe of Judah hears me. He roars when I pray in private and in public and He will cause justice to prevail in the earth!

A little while back, I talked about stem cell research and how the advancement of medical technology has caused us to ask new questions and re-examine our beliefs. I talked about stem cell research from a philosophical standpoint. But today, I want to look at some verses a little bit more closely.

BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

We can find the answer to every question in the Bible, though the answer may not always be direct. I personally believe the following passage demonstrates what God feels about embryonic stem cell research.

And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Heb 7:9-10

I know… this is odd. Let me quickly explain. Jesus was not a descendant of the priestly tribe of Levi, but the Bible calls Jesus a priest. How could this be? The writer of Hebrews explains that Abraham gave offerings (tithes) to a non-Levite priest, and thus concludes that the highest priest does not have to be a descendant of Levi.

My goal here is to not discuss the priesthood of Jesus but to talk about embryonic stem cell research. In the verses above, the writer of Hebrews informs us that, figuratively, Levi took part of his great-grandfather’s action  because he was still in the loins of his [great-grandfather Abraham] (v.10). This is amazing! God saw Levi in Abraham’s loins (to be brutally frank, in Abraham’s sperm)!

If God can see a man’s great-grandchildren before that man ever has a son, why do we think that God does not see a fertilized egg (a zygote) as a child? And are not children worthy of human rights?

A person is a person no matter how small. We must not pursue a science that steals a child’s right to life in order to improve the life of one who is sick.

WHERE’S THE $$$

The private sector is not fiercely pursuing embryonic stem cell research as the general population might think. Do you know why? It’s too high of a risk!!! If embryonic stem cell research was as potentially wonderful as the media makes it seem, I guarantee you that there would be quite a few companies pursuing it. Can you imagine how much money one could make by discovering the cure for diabetes? The private sector is not dumb. They know embryonic stem cell research is not the answer.

If it’s such a non-issue, then why the big fuss? Because we are not fighting people. We wrestle against demons who feed on the blood of innocent children, who pour their demonic power behind deceptive arguments, and who blind men and women to simple truths.

And God wants Christians to be the light to a blinded world. We must pray for enlightened eyes. We must allow the voice of the unborn to be heard. We cannot stay silent.

A person is a person, no matter how small.

Stem cell research is a controversial issue that is very unique to the times that we live in. As medical technology advances we face more and more complex issues that cause us to go deep in our roots and analyze what we truly believe.

It is my goal to discuss a biblical perspective on embryonic stem cell research. But before I delve into passages, I’d like to start off with a simple parable.

A SEED

When I hold a seed in my hand, I hold in reality a very powerful, though fragile, entity. If I were to crush it in my hand, it would never grow into a fruit tree. The people that would rest in its shade will not have rest, and the people that would feed on its fruit will not be fed. Some birds will not have a place for their nests.  One could say, “It’s just a seed. I’m not killing a tree.” But the reality is that the seed is the tree. They are not two different entities. You cannot destroy the seed without destroying the entire tree and all that would come out of it, whether good or bad.

To crush the seed is to destroy the tree.

A SILLY ANALOGY?

A silly analogy for a complex modern problem, you might say. Let’s re-phrase the analogy. If somebody were to kill a woman, we’d call it murder. But beyond murder, they have committed a thousand other crimes. They have wounded that woman’s parents and friends. Her children and husband would have been devastated, and perhaps traumatized for life. All that she would do in the world – whether good or bad – was brought to a sudden end. Her freedom abruptly taken away from her…

Do you not agree that a murderer has not only destroyed one life, but impacted thousands of other lives? This is the power of one life.

THE TRUTH

The truth is that a zygote is not just a cell. It’s the seed of a human being, and it as powerful as any other life. To destroy the seed is to kill a person even if we think they are too small. Perhaps Horton, in Horton Hears a Who, has said it best: “even though you can’t see or hear them at all, a person’s a person, no matter how small.”

To use those seeds for medical research is unethical and inhumane. It’s an injustice.

It’s murder.

We must all honor the sanctity and the power of a life.

Next week I will write on some passages that I believe give us an answer to embryonic stem cell research.

So many of us have heard several stories on CNN, Fox News, etc, about the Haitian orphans. But some of us might be starting to get bored at those news. I was overhearing two people talk about Haiti the other day. One of them said, “Isn’t that old news by now?”

“Wow,” I thought. We really are media-crazy and excitement driven. The only problem is that it’s not old news for the most vulnerable in Haiti. It’s reality!

THE PROBLEM

James 1:27 says that true religion is to help the widow and the orphan in their distress. And there is so much distress in the earth. If I truly have the Holy Spirit – the Helper – in my heart, then at one point in my life I will want to be helpful. It’s just supernaturally natural.

Right now, governments and all sorts of international agencies are asking people who want to help Haitian orphans to respect Haiti’s national sovereignty. Let me explain what that means. There are lots of us in the United States and around the world who are willing to take care of some orphans until their parents are located or they can be adopted. The goal is to get them out of Haiti so that they can be healthy and protected from sex traffickers and local abuse. But the leaders of the world are saying, “We must respect national sovereignty.”

There is a lot of merit to the principle. If countries just go there and sweep all the orphans out of Haiti, then a terrible precedence will be set in which a stronger nation can come into a weaker nation and take away its citizens in order to “protect” those citizens. Very dangerous for sure!

But what we are asking is not for national sovereignty to be broken. We are asking for the government of the United States and other governments around the world to ask PERMISSION from the Haitian government to allow some willing citizens to care for orphans only until their parents can be traced.

THE ABSURDITY

I’ve read at an international adoption agency’s blog that “experience” has taught them that it’s best to attempt to locate their parents first before children are adopted. True! So true! But what I want to know is how in the world are the UN, UNICEF, the Red Cross, and so forth, going to be able to:

(1) provide shelter and nourishment to all the orphans/at-risk children in Haiti: there are reports of approximately 1 million people sleeping on the streets of Port-au-Prince.  Orphanages are being attacked by armed locals for supplies. CNN has reported that an orphanage cannot take more than 2 days worth of humanitarian aid for fear of attack from locals.

(2) protect the at-risk children from sex traffickers: There are reports of humanitarian aids buying children. How do you tell the angels from the devils? There are children running around the streets of Port-au-Prince and how can governments and NGO’s keep track of them? Who will miss those kids once they are lost?

(3) effectively locate parents and re-unite them to their children that were lost during the earthquake mayhem: The country’s infrastructure is a disaster! In certain places in the city, there are wires all over the streets and if electricity is turned on, the wires will become hot! Obviously, the goal now is disaster relief, and since governments are normally slow and bureaucratic, all common sense tells you that the Haitian government will not consider orphans at top priority, making them easy targets for profit-hungry sex traffickers.

THE ANSWER

The answer is prayer and fasting. Governments are ruled by the true King on high. He is the One who delivers the lonely and abandoned (Ps 68:6). If we pray and fast for a door of deliverance to be opened, then it will. And the Lord will deliver hundreds of vulnerable children from the mouth of the devouring dragon through us.

I would like to ask you to join me this week, Mon 1/25 through Sun 1/31, in a partial-fast of no sweets or meats for the deliverance of the orphans in Haiti. Also, let’s pray that pro-abortion health care in the US will fall to the ground and that the US will not become a place of refuge for children all across the world.

(If you would like up-to-date information on Haiti and the orphanage situation, then visit the following sites: http://randybohlender.wordpress.com/ and http://betheanswerforchildren.wordpress.com/ Some of the information posted on this blog came from the sites above).

I know this blog is dedicated to pro-life issues, but I decided to detour this time.

The recent earthquake in Haiti has all of us thinking and many of us talking. Did God do this? Or perhaps more generally, does God bring about such terrible judgments on people? If He does, how can He be good and do such evil? If not, how can He be good and let the devil have so much power?

I too had a difficult time with this issue, until I understood that Jesus will one day bring war, poverty and terrible famine leading to the death of ¼ of the earth’s population in a very short period of time (Rev 6:7-8). I wondered because it isn’t heaven on earth, but then I realized that these judgments will be done by the Lamb (not the Lion) and from heaven to earth. This upset me, and it upsets most of us if we truly stop and think about what that means, and that you and I will certainly be affected by such events.

Well, I also discovered that my upset-ness is also God-caused. Jesus said that He came to release a fire, and that even in His first coming He already wished it was kindled (Luke 12:49). There are fiery commentaries all over the internet, radio, TV, dinner tables, etc. This is a fire that God has kindled, and He is trying to get to our hearts. Beloved, there will be an earthquake that will strike all the nations of the earth one day (Rev 6) and we will ask, “Did God do this to us?” There’s no escaping it. We must deal with this issue sooner or later.

Do I think God caused the earthquake in Haiti? Probably, though I can’t say with certainty. I don’t have that kind of prophetic clarity – and this is the worst tragedy.

You see when God crushes nations He does so because He loves them and they have left Him. He told Ezekiel, “Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, … and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed…” (Ezek. 6:9)

God crushes them out of kindness—so that in their pain they will remember Him and loathe their sin because of the lowly state to which their sin brought them, and return to Him.

And we can trust that God will not crush anybody without first giving them chances for mercy.

What needs to happen now is for God to raise up messengers to Haiti like Hosea, who said to Israel, “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us” (Hosea 6:1, 2). When I heard about the tragedy, I thought, “Where are the messengers?” God raise up messengers who will say, “Haiti, you are His favorite, but you have left Him. Return and He will heal all your wounds.”

And then I wondered about what if it happened where I live. Would I have the courage and anointing to preach a hard message that brings true hope of restoration? I don’t think I would, but I can get ready.

We don’t need to deny God’s judgments. WE HAVE A HARD TIME RECONCILING JUDGMENT WITH KINDNESS. They are not opposing virtues. Beloved, the Haitians are suffering, but there is still hope for them. It is much kinder for them to suffer now and to be saved for the rest of their lives and be spared of eternal hell, then to go on without repentance. Whatever it takes!

I have had times in my life that were hard. I wanted to bind the devil (I actually did), as well as some people who I thought were contributing to my hardship, but that’s when I realized that the devil wasn’t really behind the situation. It was my Father. He was jealous for my righteousness and He was disciplining me because I hadn’t listened to Him. It was hard to admit, but I had to say, “You’re God; I’m not. You have not been unfair to me at all. Forgive me my sin and thank you for getting my attention this way.” When I did, my mind cleared and I was able to trust Him like I never had before. He was committed to me – so committed to me. I trust Him with myself much more than I ever did before and I have a lot less fear in my heart. I know Him better.

The message of God’s judgment is scary, and many of us are afraid of facing such a God, but I encourage you to jump into the dark cloud just like Moses did (Ex 24:18). Perhaps you will hear God say, “[I am] the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness and truth” (Ex 34:6).

When my wife was pregnant with our first child, I told her that I saw our daughter as a flower. At that time she was a seed, and throughout life she would blossom and become a beautiful flower.

That little baby has been around (outside the womb) for over four months now and I have come to discover that my little flower is also a little lioness.

One of the things that made me fall in love with my wife was her strong, independent spirit. Also, she was living proof that kindness and defiance are not always opposing virtues. It seems that apples don’t fall far from trees because my girl is adorably cute and incredibly loud. Her doctor said once, “This baby is very strong,” as she held our squirmy worm. I love it!

I realize my daughter is a gift from God. So I told my wife, “We are going to raise strong, independent women.” I want my daughters to be free to love the Lord in whatever way He has created them to love Him. Marriage and family will not be their highest priority. Education and career will also not be their highest priority. The first and second commandments will be their highest priority – whatever that looks like in their lives.

It’s odd to me that “feminists” are pro-abortion. They say a woman has the right to an abortion if it interfeers with her career and education goals. Bull-dung!!! I say those “feminists” believe women are weak and cannot be succesful working moms. So much for feminism. Not my girls! They will know they can do both and that they can overcome life’s greatest struggles!

It’s also odd to me that many Christian girls and young women live day and night on the lookout for a mate. It is my opinion that their minds should be occupied with Christ. I plan on strongly urging my daughters to pursue a college education so that they are not so financially dependent on their future husbands that they cannot fend for themselves should a tragedy occur.

I’m assuming, of course, that it is in the Lord’s plan for them to be married – which might not be the case.

Either way, I’m looking foward to my years ahead with my little lioness. I want to love her and give her the courage and the faith that she can do ALL things through Jesus.

I remember one particular Sunday in which my wife cried during worship. When I asked her what the Lord was doing in her heart, she said that she felt the Lord’s grief over so many children that had been aborted, but that He was happy ours was going to live.

I must say I’m really happy my lioness is around. I can’t imagine what life would be like without my little girl. And it’s only been four months.

I’m looking forward to many years with her. I’m going to see her blossom into a beautiful, kind, strong woman.