It's a mad world...

As I reflect on the year past, I am reminded of the constant state of flux of everything around me. This year, especially, brought so many relational shifts that I never would have anticipated. I would have called you crazy if you'd told me it would be this way. Lesson learned: There is no certainty in the relational realm. Explanation is not always offered, either.

Despite many harsh situations and hurtful words, it all balances out, somehow. God is gracious in His provision--he really does give AND take away, and all for His glory and our good. He also provides us with the strength to withstand whatever is thrown in our faces. I am so grateful for that. Left only with the advice of this world, I would be ending the year with much bitterness (See Romans 3:13ff).

Worldly-minded gurus like Oprah would insist that "you don't deserve to be treated that way!" and that I should tell the aforementioned people that and give them what they "deserve".

God has a better way.

"And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seeks to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:14-17

So my prayer for this year is that we would all learn to be more loving, more gracious, and more truthful. Remember, it's not about you or me. It's all about Him :)

Your many defects and corruptions

Sooooo good, I just had to share it!!! Very encouraging!!!

(From Arthur Pink's "Christ our Exemplar")

"Leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." 1 Peter 2:21 Sincere believers are often cast down by the realization of how far, far short they come to measuring up to the standard which Christ has set before them. According to the yearnings of the new nature--you have sincerely endeavored to follow Christ's example, but being weak in grace and meeting with much opposition from the flesh and temptations from the Devil--you have been frequently turned aside from the holy purposes and designs of your honest hearts--to the great grief and discouragement of your souls. You can heartily say with David, "O that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes!" (Psalm 119:5), and you have tried hard and long to follow after exact holiness, "if by any means you might attain unto it." But your efforts have been repeatedly thwarted, your aspirations dashed, and you have to cry out, "O wretched man that I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin!" (Romans 7:24)

First, let us assure the genuinely exercised soul, that such defects in obedience do not invalidate your justification, or in any way affect your acceptance with, and standing before God. Your justification is not built upon your obedience--but upon Christ's. However imperfect you are in yourself, you are "complete in Him" (Col. 2:10). Woe had it been to Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul--if their justification had depended upon their own holiness and good works. Let not, then, your sad failures dampen your joy in Christ--but rather be increasingly thankful for His robe of righteousness, which hides your filthy rags!

Second, your heart-anguish over your unlikeness to Christ, evidences that you have a sincere acquaintance with the evil of your heart, a deep loathing of sin, and truly love God. The most eminent saints have made the bitterest lamentation on this account, "My sins have flooded over my head; they are a burden too heavy for me to bear. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness!" (Psalm 38:4-5)Third, the Holy Spirit makes an excellent use of your infirmities, and turns your failures unto spiritual advantages. By those very defects--He humbles you, subdues your self-righteousness, causes you to appreciate more deeply the riches of free grace, and to place a higher value upon the precious blood of the Lamb. By your many falls--He makes you to long more ardently for Heaven--and gradually reconciles you to the prospect of death. The more a holy soul is buffeted by sin and Satan--the more sincerely will he cry out, "Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest!" (Psalm 55:6). "O the blessed chemistry of Heaven, to extract such mercies--out of such miseries!" (John Flavel), to make sweet flowers--spring up out of such bitter roots!

Fourth, your bewailed infirmities do not break the bond of the Everlasting Covenant! That holds firm, notwithstanding your many defects and corruptions. "Iniquities prevail against me" said David--yet in the same breath he added, "You shall purge them away!" (Psalm 65:3)

Fifth, though the defects of your obedience are grievous to God--yet your deep sorrows for them are well-pleasing in His sight, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit--a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise!" (Psalm 51:17) Sixth, your very grief is a conformity to Christ--for when here, He was "the Man of sorrows." If He suffered because of our sins--shall we not be made to weep over them?

Seventh, "Though God has left many defects to humble you--yet He has given many things to comfort you. This is a comfort--that your sins are not your delight as once they were--but your shame and sorrow! This is a comfort--that your case is not singular, but more or less the same complaints and sorrows are found in all gracious souls in the world!"

I'd like one of those stretchy brains, please.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace & truth.

John 1:1, 14

I have been thinking a lot lately about the paradox of grace and truth as they relate to living Biblically. They aren't really paradoxical, I'm sure, our brains are just small and not very good at wrapping around the things of God. They are shaped by human logic to such a degree that we have a hard time stretching them to understand things outside of our small scope. When I was younger, I didn't really learn about either one as being more important than the other. As a teenager (big surprise coming, haha) I focused on the grace part, and submersed myself in a culture where God was not treasured. I continued this in to my college years, but eventually learned that I wasn't doing anyone any favors by having a flawed & shallow understanding of the truth part (especially myself). The truth is, I didn't know the truth part! It came as news to me that everyone is seen as wretched before a holy and righteous God, and deserves nothing but eternal fire. (I know, I know... it's in the Bible... but I missed it, somehow.)

After I graduated from college, I jumped on the truth bandwagon. I think this happens to most people when they first learn the truth--they swing that sword around like it's going out of style. That generally leaves a bloody, bitter mess on the other side, at least when it is not coupled with grace. Unlovingly proclaiming the gospel (in my opinion) is more harmful than helpful.
Thankfully, in the past year I've seen what one without the other can do, and I'm trying to get back on the horse. In his book, The Grace and Truth Paradox, Randy Alcorn says that Satan doesn't care which side of the horse we fall off, he just doesn't want us in the saddle. He'd have it that way for everything in the Christian's life, I think. And he probably gets his way much of the time, because it is really hard to find a balance between grace and truth! This makes me think of the battle for the truth going on between Christians and Emergents, but I could write a book about that, so we'll save it for another time.

I'm hoping the book, along with studying the scriptures, will help me to stay in the saddle and not despair when I start slipping towards one side. As a Christian, I have no choice. I am required to be full of both grace and truth.

With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and much grace was upon them all.

Acts 4:33

Beware of the nail and the hammer!

(William Secker, "The Consistent Christian" 1660)

"Flee from youthful lusts--and pursue righteousness, 
 faith, love, and peace." 2 Timothy 2:22 

Flee from youthful lusts and worldly delights. These 
bees carry honey in their mouths--but they have a 
sting in their tails! When this Jael brings forth her 
milk and her butter--then beware of the nail and 
the hammer! Death is in the pot--while you are 
tasting the soup! 

The world always presents a deadly potion--in the 
gilded cup of worldly pleasure. If the cup is sinful--
do not taste it; reason forbids you to taste known 
poison! The fish is caught upon the hook--by leaping 
at the bait! Sin is like a river, which begins in a quiet 
spring--but ends in a tumultuous sea.

Flipping the Light switch.

I have been feeling way too overwhelmed lately (in a good way) to write anything in here.  So much has been going on around here that there is no way I could concisely write about all of it.  We have been so richly blessed through so many situations and people we have gained and lost.  I'm going to try to write about just a few of the highlights of the past month or so. Bear with me :)

First: The Desiring God 2008 National Conference.  Every moment was amazing.  Piper really knows how to pick great, Biblical speakers.  My personal favorite was Mark Driscoll, who talked about how we should use our words within the church.  His main deal was "lead the sheep, rebuke the swine, shoot the wolves, and bark at the dogs".  I'll let you listen to him explain what he means by all of that (you can listen by clicking on his name above).  All of the other speakers were superb, as well.  All VERY worth your time to listen to!  Read James 3. Oh, and watch this.

Second: Baby Jude is getting so big!  He has his first tooth, and many more are on the way.  Here are a few of my favorite shots of him lately.

What a blessing he is!

Third: Abortion is About God: Reframing a Moral Issue.  

I would link you to the course description, but I can't find it.  Soooo... it's basically about abortion being a sin most essentially against God.  We examined many passages from the Bible that can be applied to the topic of abortion, talked about how abortion and racism are closely related/intertwined, and many other things.  I am in the last week of it now (it's a six week course) and I think I could take it 10 more times without being bored.  The most important thing that I have learned is the importance of being compassionate, always.  It is an important social issue that we, as Christians, must work to abolish, but it all has to be done with truth and compassion.  Yeah, I know, duh.

Piper says: "Don't worry if the public doesn't agree with even your most basic assumptions.  Your job is not to win.  Your job is not to control society.  Your job is to say what God wants said."

So, here is my objective: SPREAD A PASSION FOR THE SUPREMACY OF GOD OVER ALL HUMAN LIFE--BORN AND UNBORN--FOR THE JOY OF ALL PEOPLES THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.  

In all things, I want to be a light in the darkness.  Light exposes the darkness until it eventually ceases to exist. Piper, again:

Abortion is one of the darkest works of the human race -it is child sacrifice. And the only way it can survive is for darkness to survive. Wherever the light of truth and love comes, darkness flies away. Therefore it is one of the great callings of the followers of Jesus to let their light shine in both ways: to do good deeds and to expose darkness. The aim is partly negative: reveal the error hidden in the darkness, but mainly positive: tobring people to love the light and be made light in the Lord Jesus.

Speaking of babies, mine just woke up,  so that's all for the updates now.  I'll try to continue this later.  Until then... Hope in God!

Hopeless, vomiting dogs--oh my!

I was just reading through Proverbs 26, since my memory verse (20) is there this week. Wow, the Proverbs have some scathing things to say! For example,
v.11: Like a dog that returns to his vomit, is a fool who repeats his folly.
(Are you diving into sin, or falling in to it?)

v.12: Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.
(We are not wise. Only God is wise. We are so clueless without Him!)
Just had to share, there is so much wisdom in the Bible, it is absolutely astounding. Every day I read something else in there that rings true just looking at the world around me. Not to mention it fits in perfectly to the context of the rest of the book...


In other news, my little Jude is finally getting some teeth! I shouldn't say finally, cause I could wait forever, haha! Ouch. Oh, and we took him camping for the first time last weekend. It was cold and rainy and he didn't sleep... but he did look really cute in his winter hat! :) I'll put the pic on here once I get it off of my camera. I'm sleeping now.

Oh, one more thing... doesn't this look delicious?

I can't breathe enough of this air to satisfy me.

The first signs of fall are upon us!  It is 10:16am and the temperature is still only 55 degrees!  Don't even get me started on the amazing weather last night... I felt like I was camping in my own bed cause it was so wonderfully chilly!  I don't dislike summer or anything, I just realllly love fall weather.  I love to wear hoodies and sweaters, and I was robbed of that last fall because I was so fat (pregnant, fat sounds funnier).  So this fall is all mine!  

We are going camping this weekend (as long as the weather holds up) at Tettegouche State Park along the North Shore.  I hope the weather is like this, it is so perfect!  Well, I guess a little warmer might be good for the little man.  I've never camped with a baby and a dog, so this will be a great adventure.

I watched an awesome documentary on George Muller last night.  He was a great man that, without asking anyone but God for money, built many orphanages in England in the 1800s to house children that society wanted to throw away.  It was a great story, I highly recommend watching it!  (We rented it from the Bethlehem Library, I'm not sure where else you can get it.)

Ok, that's all.  Time to go entertain the baby, husband, and three large dogs we have this week.  Lata.

$$$=lame

"For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Timothy 6:10

Money is lame.  Of course, we all need a little bit of it, but once we get any decent amount of it, we become its slave.  In turn, we become slaves of our jobs, our cars, our mortgages, and anything else that involves our  money.  It causes us to rely on man, rather than God, and to make it the most important part of our lives.  How sad.  I often wonder if we would be better off living in a cardboard box somewhere (ok, not with Baby Jude) or just finding a house half the size and getting rid of all of our junk.  We would definitely be better off with less stuff, cause the less stuff, the less maintenance, the more time for things that actually matter.  I'm trying to get rid of as much as I can, but finding it difficult to do that and keep up with the house and baby.  I should have done this when I had more time.  Oh, wait... I never did... cause I was too busy making money.

Ugh.  I hate money.  

Here I go again...

"Cleanse your hearts, ye sinners,

and purify your hearts, ye double minded!"

I don't understand humans and their double mindedness.  Why can't we remember that we blaspheme the name of our creator when we claim to know him but act in completely contradictory ways?  (I know why, it's a rhetorical question.) You love Jesus, you say?  Then maybe you shouldn't get trashed to celebrate the blessings he's given you.  Your purpose in life is to glorify God?  Then treat others the way God would, not the way you think they deserve to be treated, or you are doing the oppposite.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, & being, or don't bother claiming to know Him at all.  There is nothing worse than a lukewarm "Christian" who claims to follow Christ.  I challenge every one of you today who says claims to be a Christian to live BIBLICALLY and to not subject the Word of God to crooked human interpretation and preference.  Submit your entire being to the one who created you, lest he say on judgement day, "Depart from me, for you I never knew." 

Happy Anniversary to.... me!

And only me, cause my husband is vacationing (ok, he's there for work) in the beautiful state of Arkansas.  If I had thought of this earlier, I would have asked for awesome ideas for things to do alone on your anniversary.  There have to be some things that are more fun by yourself, but that you need an excuse to do/celebrate.  Any ideas for the next holiday Jake decides to spend in Arkansas?  Haha... 

(Disclaimer: I am not whining.  At least I'm not the one stuck in Arkansas!)

The Bible is better than my brain.

The heart is deceitful, and desperately wicked--who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

I heard a great sermon this weekend by C.J. Mahaney about looking for evidences of grace in your fellow believers before focusing on their faults.  It's important to hold each other accountable, of course, but he said we should first look for evidence that God is indeed working in their lives and that they are moving forward in the sancitification process.  I wasn't really on board until he read from Paul's letter to the Corinthians, who were really messed up as far as personal holiness and running the church in a Godly manner.  Paul spends most of the book correcting them and imploring them to change, but begins by praising God for the evidences of His grace that could be seen there, though they may have been small.  

I want to be able to do things this way.  I want to see the small workings (to me they seem small) and be encouraged, rather than being constantly discouraged because of my own and others perpetual failure to glorify God.  There are some people in my life that claim to be Christians and KNOW the truth, but for some reason (the flesh!) willfully ignore it.  Why would you do that?  Why do I do that?  I pray every day that every person I know would hold me accountable and call me out when I am not acting/living/speaking in accordance with what I claim to believe.  I feel that it is my duty as a friend to do the same.  But some people are not willing to hear it.  If I (think I) know that my bringing their lack of regard for the commands of God to their attention will sever the friendship and not do any good (again, these are things that I think I know), is it still my duty?  These things drive me crazy.  My brain hurts.  I'm tired of my sinful, deceived heart and its propensity towards the flesh.  Ugggggggh.

This is why Proverbs 3:5 warns us not to rely on our own understanding of anything, because it will always be flawed.  Lord, help me to rely on you, and take away any of my feelings that are rooted in sin!

Goodnight.

"Out of the Abundance of the Heart the Mouth Speaks."

A little bit of wisdom from Dr. John MacArthur (an excerpt from his sermon series, Taming the Tongue, The Speech of the New Man:

**Matthew 12:34 says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

**The mouth is probably the truest indicator of the spiritual condition of a person.

**A person's speech should be greatly altered by the fact that he has been saved.

**"Let no rotten word proceed from your mouth," Ephesians 4:29.

**An unregenerated mouth speaks gossip. Romans 1:29 describing the pagans says; "They are gossips and slanderers."

He lists a lot of verses about the tongue and what we are to use it for:

Our mouth is to confess sin, to confess Christ, to speak good, to speak God's law.

**Luke 1:64 says that our mouth is to praise God. "His tongue was loosed," it says, "and he praised God."

**Our tongue is to teach truth. God said in Exodus 4:15; "1 will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall do and say."

**Our mouth is to bless. First Peter 3:9, "Not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing; but on the contrary-­blessing knowing that you are called to this." In other words, our mouth is to be used to bless.

**Psalm 77:12 says our mouth is to speak of God. "I will talk of Thy doings," the psalmist said.

**Our mouth is to speak wisdom and kindness. Proverbs 31:26; "She opens her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness."

**Our mouth is to be that which conciliates and brings peace, a soft answer turns away, what? Wrath, Proverbs 15:1.

So, the Bible has a lot to say about what the mouth is supposed to say and what it isn't supposed to say. As new creatures, then, we must be committed to the fact that a new man should have a new mouth and a new mouth should have a new speech.

Lord, help me to tame my wicked tongue!

Dirty mouth? Clean it up!

Wisdom:

"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not be so."

James 3:8-10

Oh, faithless and perverse generation!

Gotta love this guy. I know I have to respect him when he becomes pres, but until then, I will campaign against him when he says ridiculous things like this.

Abortion is totally and completely unjust! Please, I implore you, do not support ANYONE who supports such injustices as taking the life of an innocent unborn child!

I'm going to go barf now... catch ya later.

abortion/obama dialogue round two:

Hey Marie,

I appreciate you sharing you views. Although I would like to share with you a concern I see in what your writing. You say Obama "calls" himself a Christian, and say it with a tone that suggests that you think he really isn't. This concerns me very much, that because you find through scripture that one particular view is wrong, any person who believes this is not a Christian. I hope you would agree with me if I said many great people who were spiritual leaders, or any kind of leaders that said they were Christians, probably didn't act perfectly according to one, or any persons personal expectations of Christians. The only person who ever was perfect was Christ, not even (forgive me this may sound condescending but it isn't) you or me or Billy Graham or John Piper or whoever else we think is great or not great. All these people "call" themselves Christians. You and I "call" ourselves Christians. Frankly, I think the only person who can judge that is God. I don't believe it is our place to even begin to suggest judging someone, mainly because I know someone could easily look at my life and find something (or many things for most of us if were honest) that does not align with scripture or is wrong. I do not support abortion, and my political views regarding it may differ from yours but frankly thats not really important to me. What is important to me is that we do not assume or judge anyone based on vague information of how they voted once and take that to a level of saying they aren't a Christian. I've read Obama's autobiography and done alot of research on him, and I think if you looked you would find that he does not support the act of abortion but has political beliefs that make it important for him to support peoples rights. You may not a agree with that and thats ok. What I do believe is that it's not ok is to say or suggest that someone is not Christian when they say they are, I don't not think it's our place or right to make this judgement. We both "call" ourselves Christians, and you and I both fall short of that name and fall short of what God expects of us. I certainly hope that no one takes my imperfections as a believer and says I don't believe what I know in my heart I do. Especially if that person has no idea who I really am or what my heart is. I'd love to talk about this stuff more with you if you wanted to sometime.

me, again:

Hey! I realllly appreciate your reply. Thank you for sharing your concerns (and I'm not trying to patronize you--I am serious! :)

I have been writing responses to my note for the last three hours, so I will just give you a brief response for now (actually, I am going to take a little section out of the reply I sent to Alison). I would love to talk to you more about this, because you are absolutely right about us all being depraved, fallen sinners who fall desperately short of doing the will of God, even after we are saved. Nothing that I say or believe matters one bit--all that matters is the truth, which is the written in the Word of God. It is what I live by, and if I am failing to represent Christ in a Biblical manner, I expect other Christians to call me on it. I am but a slave of Christ.

Here is part of what I sent to Friend A:

"As for Obama--I maybe should have answered this first-- yes, I am "judging" him, not his salvation (which is obviously not for me to judge) but rather, his works. If we claim to be Christians, then we are representing the God of the universe and His Word, so if our actions (political or not) are not in line with the teachings of the Bible, it is the responsibility of other Christians to call us on it. Anyone can hear the Words of God and say they are a Christian, but only those who do his will actually KNOW him (see James 1:22, Romans 2:13). Our primary motive in everything we do should be the glorification of God (Isaiah 43:7). If we are not standing up for the rights of the unborn, we are telling the world that God is ok with abortion. And we can both agree that he certainly is not. So in politics and in everything else, we should be upholding the clear Will of God on essential issues, such as protecting human life. And he is not. This issue is so far beyond personal belief--it doesn't matter what I think. God's creations are being completely and needlessly destroyed. One dead, one wounded."

So there you have it. Let me know if that makes sense.

and back again:

May 22 at 5:02pm

Marie,

I definetly agree with all of that. It is our actions that matter. Faith without works is dead. I think we have a different idea of what works are in this particular sitation though. I've been praying and reading about this issue alot and I've come to feel very convicted about what I am doing FOR people in these situations instead of being against something and subsequently being against these people. I have no idea what it would be like to be a woman living in a very poor area, working a low wage job with not much of a way out and finding out you now had a child to raise. I can't say that I would be very excited about it. Now I don't think that it is an excuse for abortion but I do think that alot of women are in this situation. This is why I support Barack Obama. He has said publicly that he does not support the action of abortion and does not want to see more happen. He wrote a whole chapter in his book about how he feels that creating more opportunities and resources and funds for these women in these situations would greatly reduce the number of women who felt that abortion is the only option.

Now, we could talk about preventative measures and that is something that could be improved in our culture but lets face it, people are gonna have sex and because of that people will get pregnant. So with that said, I want to support programs and funds and legislators that want to DO things that will help women in these situations. I want to see the church DO more for single mothers in helping them, financially, or in any other way that they need and have that be there way of helping prevent abortions, instead of protesting outside abortion clinics. I see small steps toward action like this, in people like Barack Obama. The problem I see is that the same legislators who want abortion to be illegal, also want to get rid of welfare in any form, throw out social security, and lower taxes and cut funding to state and federal healthcare programs. They want it made illegal but they do not offer any other options for the people in these situations. I know that there is the option of adoption, but frankly, as a man, I cannot pretend to know what it would be like give up a child I gave birth to so I cannot expect that to be the easy solution for everybody. I also think that if you look at history, making something illegal does not stop it from happening, and frankly in this situation if you look at the history of our country when abortion was illegal or of countries where it is illegal, you hear horror stories of mothers and their children dying awful painful deaths because of how the abortion is performed. I couldn't tell you exactly what kind of things we could do for these women to help prevent abortion but something is better than nothing. Maybe the state or federal government could give tax incentives of some sort when a mother gives a baby up for adoption. It might sound weird but frankly, I'd be willing to pay taxes for something that help reduce the number of abortions, that might be something that would work, maybe not but I don't believe that making it illegal is the right step to reducing it.

Regardless of all that I guess my point is that I have been convicted lately that ACTION is the things I DO for these people. If I can show them Christ's love in ANY way, whether it be financially or anything else, this will be the way we stop abortion. We show love and care and compassion for the women in these situations and show them that we want to provide as many ways as we can to help them so they don't have to do something so awful. I don't believe it is God's will to say to a woman " What your about to do is a sin in God's eyes!!" and do nothing to help them. I do believe it is God's will for us to say something like " God loves you and that child too much for you to do this. That's why we're gonna help you get through it however we can so you don't have to." I sometimes wonder if Jesus had said to the prostitute, "What you do is sinful, if you don't change I will never love you" Would she have changed at all and gotten up and followed Jesus? But instead Jesus condemned those who were condemning her and told her that he did not judge her and showed her love and her life was changed forever. If i can translate that to the way I see and treat women who want to get abortions maybe someone that I show that love will not make that decision and maybe if alot of people do this, we could make a great impact, not only stopping abortions, but spreading the love or Christ.

the end

Response number one from a friend:

Marie,

I doubt I would vote for Barack Obama either way but I am wondering this--do you think that a president's job is to seek new legislation to enforce the ethical beliefs of his or her religion?

Your note speaks of him "claiming" to be Christian even though he voted against the Illinois Born Alive Infant Act. Reading in between the lines, it seems that you are asserting that his Christian faith is false or at least questionable if he would vote in such a way.It seems like you are judging his faith based on how he voted, meaning that you think somebody's civic life and voting should represent exactly their religious beliefs.

I would vote against the same thing because my beliefs about abortion stem from my religious beliefs which I do not think should be enacted into law. I am content knowing that my religion is my own and that nobody is forcing (legislating) that I act a certain way in keeping with their religious/ethical beliefs.Therefore I have to do the same to them.

Regardless of the golden rule and treating others the way you'd like to be treated (left alone to live as I choose--and how I think Jesus would--thank you very much) I disagree entirely with the idea that God wants us to further the gospel through legislation. It seems like the most impersonal and least compassionate ways of sharing His love. This is why I have no problem with Christians voting in such a way (for their whole region represented) that is not always in-line with their personal religious beliefs.

You obviously think it is important for a presidential candidate to not only share your religious beliefs but to attempt to legislate that others (non-believers, those of other faiths, atheists, christians with a different outlook) follow your same belief system. I understand that if you think something is Right then it is right for everyone. Here is my question: How do you think that is carrying out God's hope for humanity? Do you really think God cares about the laws of the United States?

Just wondering why you think some of these things--not why you believe in the ethics of being pro-life but why you think that it should be law. Does that make sense?

my response:

Thank you for the message, I appreciate the civility. Let me try to explain myself a little, although, as I've said many times before, what I think makes absolutely no difference. All that matters is what is actually true.

I do not believe in legislating faith or spreading the gospel through legislation, no. You're right, that would be very impersonal and downright Muslim of us. However, there are some issues that go WAY beyond the realm of politics (a realm that I love to stay out of if at all possible). Enter: human rights issues. I cannot, without making my conscience go crazy, even consider voting for anyone who does not believe that life begins at conception. SCIENCE tells us otherwise, and more importantly, God tells us otherwise. Abortion is selfish infanticide. I don't care why you're doing it, it is sick and wrong. It is not the child's fault you were raped. It is not the child's fault that you may get sick when you give birth. If God really is sovereign, he has control over these things, and abortion is attempting to take the control of when one lives and one dies out of his hands. This is not a religious belief for me. It is a conviction that involves murder.

(note: i'm not sure about this part... still working on the whole gay marriage thing law deal... this is what i think for now.)
I would not vote or not vote for a candidate based on his acceptance/denial of gay marriage. This is not an essential issue, though The Bible clearly condemns the sin of homosexuality. In that case, I would not work to promote any candidate that went against it, or go against another for the opposite reason. On issues like that, I believe you are right, it is (maybe) bringing religion into the political sphere. However, if anything, whether it be laws other forms of activism, is concerned with protecting the lives of completely helpless beings, I have a moral obligation to help these people. It has nothing to do with religion. Of course, it has to do with the Will of a sovereign, holy, and JUST God, who will not hold us blameless who stand by and watch injustices pass. He has given us our conscience as a moral guide (in conjunction with and checked against the truths of the Bible, of course). God DOES care about the laws of the United States, and so should we. As Christians, we are called to obey the governing authorities (1 Peter 2) unless the laws contradict God's will, which abortion clearly does. Over three thousand lives are being needlessly terminated each DAY on account abortion. In any other circumstance, this would be labeled genocide and/or holocaust (and it is!). 1.21 million babies each year, dead. And that's not counting the ones we are letting starve over in Africa. I won't even get started on that today. In this case, if we are not part of the solution the the problem, we are definitely part of it. We need to fight for the rights of the unborn and helpless. Don't you think God's hope for humanity requires us fighting for justice in the world? There are many other areas that this same idea can and should apply to, this is just the one that God has placed most heavily on my heart and conscience.

I know you were just asking what seemed to be a simple question, but it's hard for me to simply answer it. So now I hope my answer makes sense. There are some things that should not be left alone. Abortion is one of them. I'm not in favor of forced conversion--I am in favor of justice. And those babies are not getting any earthly justice. Society says it's ok to terminate their lives very prematurely.

As for Obama--I maybe should have answered this first-- yes, I am "judging" him, not his salvation (which is obviously not for me to judge) but rather, his works. If we claim to be Christians, then we are representing the God of the universe and His Word, so if our actions (political or not) are not in line with the teachings of the Bible, it is the responsibility of other Christians to call us on it. Anyone can hear the Words of God and say they are a Christian, but only those who do his will actually KNOW him (see James 1:22, Romans 2:13). Our primary motive in everything we do should be the glorification of God (Isaiah 43:7). If we are not standing up for the rights of the unborn, we are telling the world that God is ok with abortion. And we can both agree that he certainly is not. So in politics and in everything else, we should be upholding the clear Will of God on essential issues, such as protecting human life. And he is not. This issue is so far beyond personal belief--it doesn't matter what I think. God's creations are being completely and needlessly destroyed. One dead, one wounded.

Ha, ok... your turn to tell me... does that make sense? What do you think?

Marie :)

there's a storm a brewin...

Yesterday, I posted this on facebook. I have gotten many interesting responses, and have decided to start posting them here, both for future reference and, hopefully, for the edification of others. So first, for those of you who missed it the first time around, here is the note.

Christian? Thinking of voting for Barack Obama?
Then I think you should consider this.

I try to stay out of politics because they are so messy. However, after having many saddening conversations with Christians who think it's ok to vote for Obama, I feel that I need to post this, just for information's sake. I am not a democrat or a republican. I am a Christian concerned with the rights of ALL human beings, born and unborn.

The Bible teaches that the child in the womb is truly a human child, who even has a relationship with the Lord.

The phrase "conceived and bore" is used repeatedly (see Genesis 4:1,17) and the individual has the same identity before as after birth. "In sin my mother conceived me," the repentant psalmist says in Psalm 51:7. The same word is used for the child before and after birth (Brephos, that is, "infant," is used in Luke 1:41 and Luke 18:15.)

God knows the preborn child. "You knit me in my mother’s womb . . . nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret" (Psalm 139:13,15). God also helps and calls the preborn child. "You have been my guide since I was first formed . . . from my mother’s womb you are my God" (Psalm 22:10-11). "God… from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace" (Paul to the Galatians 1:15).

Does Obama, who professes to be a Christian, agree with this? Nope. He voted AGAINST the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act, which did not allow doctors to perform live birth abortions. Meaning, you can't birth your baby and then terminate the life, nor can you kill your baby if the abortion fails. Here is the actual text:

Public Law 107-207
U.S. Code
Title 1, Chapter 1: Rules of Construction
Section 8.

''Person'', ''human being'', ''child'', and ''individual'' as including born-alive infant
(a) In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the words ''person'', ''human being'', ''child'', and ''individual'', shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development.

(b) As used in this section, the term ''born alive'', with respect to a member of the species homo sapiens, means the complete expulsion or extraction from his or her mother of that member, at any stage of development, who after such expulsion or extraction breathes or has a beating heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of voluntary muscles, regardless of whether the umbilical cord has been cut, and regardless of whether the expulsion or extraction occurs as a result of natural or induced labor, cesarean section, or induced abortion.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand, or contract any legal status or legal right applicable to any member of the species homo sapiens at any point prior to being ''born alive'' as defined in this section.

Wonder how he could vote against this? Here is a link to his reasons for voting against it: http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=45553

I have disabled comments because this is not meant to be a soapbox opportunity for me or anyone else. Feel free to send me a message with any comments or concerns. Thank you for reading this. Please consider the information here, and if you are still not convicted, pray.

p.s. I could only tag a few people on here, cause it limits the amount of people you can tag, so i went alphabetically. please pass this info along!

it's been so long...

i know it says that i haven't written in here since october, but really, i have. i just end up reading the entries and finding them so boring that i delete them. i'm going to try for a less boring one this time, but i make no promises.

well, i have a kid now... that's pretty cool. he's a little over 3 months old now and just learned to yell. it's hilarious! he's a little chatterbox like his mom and is distracted by shiny things like his dad. he grunts a lot and laughs at me all day. it's a whole different world for me. and i absolutely love it.
how can i resist this face? i can't! :)



























anyways! we've been attending john piper's church, bethelehem baptist. it is a super sweet church... not cause it has a coffee shop (it really doesn't)... but because Piper preaches the Word of God powerfully and expositionally. every week, i leave church thinking, "i think that was the best sermon i have ever heard." there's just no compromising--no excuses--no wishy washy Christianity--only admonishment to do the will of God and nothing else. i could go on and on. but i'll save that for later when i don't have 1300 loads of laundry to do. oh, joy.

i think that's enough for today. i'll just leave off here saying that i am very, very (and underservedly) blessed. i have everything i need and an abundance on top of that. God is good--ALL THE TIME--if you are breathing right now, you should agree with me! you have been allowed to live another day. don't waste it! do everything to the glory of your Creator!

til next time...

--Marie & Jude