What's the Value of Shock?

What do you think about using the graphic photographs depicting the aftermath of abortions?

Pro-abortion people get all kinds of bent out of shape when these images are used in the war against abortion. But why? Because the truth hurts. And informs. And sets people free.

It wasn't until Russian and American soldiers entered German concentration camps in 1944 and 1945 and found the piles of dead, naked, bodies, the ovens and gas chambers, the items made out of human flesh, the stories and records of devils like Josef Mengele, that the world knew what had been going on inside the world of the Third Reich. It wasn't until pictures and film were taken that the world could see what the SS had been up to and be properly horrified at the atrocious, unconscionable actions of Hitler's demonic henchmen.

There's a reason those camps were so secret. Imagine how much harder the allies would have fought in Europe had we had a glimpse inside the camps in 1942 or 1943. It is true that the Allies were 'aware' of the camps, but what was going on inside of them was not completely understood until later.

In a similar fashion, the more secretive pro-abortion activists are about the aftermath and effects of abortion, the more ignorance there is and therefore the more acceptance by way of indifference exists.

We can argue against abortion quite effectively from many angles. There are solid answers to every argument for abortion, and indeed, information is powerful. But what about using the 'big guns' which are the horrendous images I mentioned before.

They are not inaccurate. They are not photoshopped. They ARE shocking, horrifying and possibly more than some people can handle. I myself won't look at these images again. I have seen them in the past but I can't do it anymore. That was enough horror to last my whole life. But strange as it sounds, I'm glad I've seen them. Or perhaps it is better to say that I value how those images reinforced my repugnance for abortion. What do you think? To use or not to use?

Pro-abortion forces use misinformation for the purpose of extermination. So did the Nazis.

Colonel William W. Quinn of the U.S. 7th Army said of Dachau: "There our troops found sights, sounds, and stenches horrible beyond belief, cruelties so enormous as to be incomprehensible to the normal mind."

The same is true when a baby is killed by abortion.

Nice To Meet You...I'm Your Other Half

Just a great little song about being in love...



I couldn't embed the official production vid, so here's the link:
The Best Thing OFFICIAL VIDEO

Prodigal Animation

Seems like I've posted a lot of videos lately...oh well! :) The following is an animation, set to the song "Prodigal" from Sovereign Grace Music.

Trying To Pray Right (Correctly)

I would never get to the end of myself if I prayed about everything on my to-do list. It would be an enormous waste of time. As a guy, I'm so much all about checking things off my list each day and frankly, I often have to stop myself as I begin to pray, "Lord, I've got a lot of stuff to do today..."

It's not that I'm against praying for things like that, but I don't like the fact that my first impulse is to bring up my schedule when talking with God.

What I've discovered (surprise!) is that when my inner life is ordered, settled, and centered on things above, other things tend to work themselves out. Of course, my daily duties don't magically dissolve and drain away. If only... Instead, I find that the Lord supplies me with the focus and determination to work hard and work well, thus overcoming the sinful side of me that would tend towards laziness and laxity. That's why we approach the throne of GRACE and not the throne of GIMME. I need grace to supplant my sinful weaknesses so I can live out my day in the Lord's strength. I need daily bread. Strength for today.

So I guess I'm trying to beware of being satisfied with a lot of boxes checked off in my prayers. Instead, I want to make sure I've touched on the topics that change me and not JUST my circumstances. I will always have certain people and things I pray for regularly, if not daily. But for me, it's important that I don't stray into mindless, scurrying-around prayers instead of staying at Jesus' feet to listen.

On The Heights

When I was a kid, our family travelled to Colorado just about every summer for vacation. It was just a day's drive from our home in the rolling hills of northeast Kansas and across the fruited plain to the mountains. One of the coolest parts of that road trip was (and still is!) sighting Pike's Peak from I-70 when it was yet 80 miles away.

The feeling of leaving the plains and moving into the enfolding protection and majesty of the Rocky Mountains remains something that is almost palpable for me. Being in the high country is where I've always wanted to live. It's a constant barrage of beauty and wonder and the ruggedness all around stirs adventure in the soul! Even today, I return to the mountains often and find that the feelings and emotions I had as a child haven't ebbed in the slightest.

Sometimes the trail we're walking turns steeply upward and taxes our strength. Often we're on what seems to be an interminable succession of switchbacks, making little progress. We're out of breath, and the summit we're straining for disappears from sight even though we're closer to it than we ever were. Such is life, such is hiking. Nevertheless:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights.
For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

This Is The Way

Two love songs for this Wednesday, sung by a couple of beautifully creative artists - Charlie Peacock and John Foreman. So, here's to my God and the wife He gave me.

Feasting and Foes

Don't you think it's interesting that Psalm 23:5 declares that those shepherded by God will actually feast in the presence of their enemies? Given the choice, I think we'd rather dine in peace and safety, but if life has taught me anything (and therefore simply confirmed what the Bible proclaims as fact), it's that purity comes by way of the furnace, maturity comes through trouble, and fellowship with Jesus comes through suffering.

For the believer, being in the presence of enemies is no cause for alarm. It's a time to feast on the riches of Christ and to be satisfied with His comforting presence.

And thanks to a good friend and Grooveshark, I've found a great long-lost song by Russ Taff that talks about the Table In The Wilderness.

Say Once More

Please allow me the next five minutes of sentimentality...for my wife this Wednesday...

Keep Watching the Chain!

Do you actually see an anchor when it's working? Can you indeed watch an anchor doing its job? Of course not. And this is the essence of trust.

Where is the anchor of hope for the believer? Well, it's right HERE.

Christ's victory on the cross, His priesthood, His intercession on our behalf - now THAT'S an anchor!

However it is quite true that we lose sight of that anchor when it's plunged into the depths of our wave-tossed lives. There's no doubt it's down there, holding on, unperturbed by the waves above. But we want to know that our little ship is still connected to that anchor. We need only look at the chain that connects us to Christ. It's not a chain that we have forged by our own smithing, but one of heavenly metal folded and forged of God's character, His faithfulness, His good promises, and His sure salvation.

"But what if the chain is torn from the boat!", you may say. Then take the illustration further. A chain and anchor lying on the seafloor are worthless. God's methods are not, and the work God sets out to do, He finishes. Noah's boat did not sink, nor would it. Yours will not either if Christ holds you fast with His promises and His faithful love.

It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night...

Psalm 92:1-2

Everything He Does

Mark 7:31-37...
Jesus left Tyre and went up to Sidon before going back to the Sea of Galilee and the region of the Ten Towns. A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man’s tongue. Looking up to heaven, he sighed and said, “Ephphatha,” which means, “Be opened!” Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news. They were completely amazed and said again and again, “Everything he does is wonderful. He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.”

With a sigh of deep compassion His healing touch reverses the curse and gives us what we don't have - eyes that see, ears that hear, hearts that finally understand, and souls that are set free. Everything He does is wonderful, and how I need His touch today!

How Can We See That Far?

A great old song from Amy Grant, whether you like her or not ;) ...

The Inspired, Infallible...song lyrics

Recently I heard a woman who had called in to a Christian radio station I like to listen to and as she was talking to the DJ, she broke down and expressed her despair and guilt concerning her life before Christ. She was still struggling as a newborn believer to truly accept the fact of God's forgiveness.

To encourage her, the thoughtful and sensitive DJ quoted for this young lady the precious, inspired words of . . . a song. If I had been sitting in a chair and not my car, I would have fallen out of it.

So, the woman battling doubt and needing assurance came away with a melodic platitude and temporarily better attitude, but how long will that last? What she needed was a promise. What she needed was something truly wonderful and divinely inspired like: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" or "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Wouldn't that have been much, much better?

Spiritual Turkish Baths

Apparently I'm still stuck on Bonhoeffer and suffering and good stuff like that. . .

Soon after Dietrich Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo and locked up in Tegel prison in 1943, he wrote to his parents:

"A violent mental upheaval such as is produced by a sudden arrest brings with it the need to take one's mental bearings and come to terms with an entirely new situation - all this means that physical things take a back seat and lose their importance, and it is something that I find to be a real enrichment of my experience. I am not so unused to being alone as other people are, and it is certainly a good spiritual Turkish bath." ~ Excerpted from this book.

Upheaval is as certain as waves on the ocean, and you can never be quite sure in what form it will come, or what kind of power it will bring to bear. Reading stories like Bonhoeffer's makes me startlingly aware that I have known very little of suffering. It almost makes me yearn for it a little bit - well, not for the suffering so much as the refining influence and the focus that scarcity of well being brings. The impurities and poison that remain in me need a good spiritual Turkish bath to sweat them out. Even so, I'm pretty sure I could never suffer as well as Bonhoeffer.

I'm sure I've quoted this line from Phil Keaggy before: "Suffering restores us, burns away the empty shallowness, softening the heart to be broken bread and poured out wine." But even better are these words:

"If we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8;17,18