by Sue Forde | Feb 1, 2019 | Family, General, love
by Sue Forde
February 1, 2019
There has been so much controversy over recent events in a couple of States – New York and Virginia, in particular. It is unbelievable to me that anyone could even consider taking the life of a baby – in the womb or after birth. Life is precious. Life is a wonder, and a gift from our loving Father. All one has to do is look at the physiology of a human body to see all the intricacies involved with how it works.
I am pro-life. To say that a person is “pro-choice” is misleading. “Choice” should come before intimacy with another human being. It’s the reason God spelled out in His Word – the Holy Bible – that sex before marriage is wrong. And we see, in our society, the results of following that wrong path for so many years. One parent families. Abortion. Drugs and alcohol abuse. Child abuse. Children removed from homes for many of these reasons, and placed in foster care or group homes to be raised by someone other than parents.
Why has this happened? It’s very simple, in my view. We as a society have gone off the path of righteousness. We have forgotten God. We put ourselves first. We don’t follow the moral code that was set up early on in our nation.
God has made promises about these things. There are many verses in the Bible which speak to these. There are “blessings” and there are “curses.” For many years, our nation has lived under God’s blessings – because we have paid attention to and followed His path for us. Over recent years, (probably since the 60’s with the advent of “free love” – and at the same time, making things like abortion “okay”, living with various partners rather than in a committed relationship called “marriage”, and the so-called “separation of church and state”), our society has moved away from the teachings of the Bible, and toward a hedonistic (self-loving, making oneself a “god”) approach.
To understand how both the blessings and curses can affect a society, just go back in time to the days of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, where God made it clear what would happen when society follows His way, and when it doesn’t.
An example of blessings:
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. … (Deuteronomy 8:1-68)
And an example of curses:
“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.” (Deuteronomy 28:47-48)
And a warning:
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,…” (Deuteronomy 30:19 )
Blessings and curses can be found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. More examples can be found at Open Bible/Topics/Blessings and Curses)
If we, as a nation, do not repent (turn around and head in the opposite direction), we will experience not blessings, but curses. Please consider sharing the Good News of the Gospel with all you know who have headed down the wrong path – that we are all wonderfully created and loved by God. One person talking to another will sometimes be all it takes to start the change in direction.
SOME ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
Abortion’s New Level of Evil Opens Witnessing Opportunity
A 2015 video on YouTube reveals a high-level administrator in Planned Parenthood’s abortion field admitting that abortion procedures are carefully executed to preserve certain organs in the murdered baby.
Would You Consider Abortion in These Three Situations?
See how your answer could change the course of history.
“Adopted” Tract + the Lord = a Baby’s Life Saved
She used a simple tract to save a baby’s life.
by Shauna Millar | Jan 7, 2019 | Fruits of the spirit, General, kindness
When I think about all the things that are coming against us as our nation “matures”, my heart breaks. Yet, the hope is for our family. Have you noticed that family values have been decaying over the last several decades? That our children are running around dictating what can and can’t be done? That those who have said, “let children decide” if they want to do something or not; believing that children can know the value of something; like friendship, kindness, sharing, without being taught?
While I do believe that the innocence of children can lead us in many ways. Such as how they will make friends with anyone, no matter the color, race or religion of that person, they also need to be taught the value of those friendships they make. We don’t focus on teaching our children that yes is just as important as no. Or that their behavior, interrupting someone while they are talking or trying to grab attention at not only an inopportune time but for a something that can wait “I want candy”. The value of putting away their own toys after they have played with them, cleaning up after themselves, no instead society says. “aw that is cute.” Not giving thought to how these attributes are going to develop over the months and years to come.
An undisciplined child goes up to be an undisciplined adult. A child who grows up thinking that they should be given everything goes up into the same type of adult. It is the values we instill in our youth, both good and bad, that are seeds to what they will grow into. Yet, these same attributes are what many leaders will focus on. They understand the value of training a child from an early age. They know that by watering the seeds that are planted in a child, will grow and flourish in the adult version. These tendencies, while at times may stray, will always take deep root form. Anchoring an individual through their life. This is where the term, “and a child shall lead them” takes on a different perspective. The child grows to be an adult who influences others with what they believe.
I can point to cases where teenagers will shout out what they believe to be true, any adult who contradicts them will not be heard. However, take another teenager who doesn’t share their point of view, and that person is heard. We can ‘hear’ and we ‘listen’ to the voices of our peers before we do the same for any other generation. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking.
I am thankful for Focus on the Family. I believe that the ministry says and does so much for the family. However, I want to challenge you that this year, not only should you focus on your family but also on doing random acts of kindness. Doing something to help someone else. Whether that is a child, teenager, adult, family, friend or a stranger. This year, why not try to do small random acts of kindness from the heart. Not because you have to. Not because you ‘feel’ you should but because you truly want to. Perhaps this year through these acts, we can change lives, we can stem the tide that is running so rampant away from the family. Perhaps we can help bring the focus back to helping to instill values into individuals who will then influence others.
Remember, we are a pebble in the lake, but the small wake we make will ripple farther than we will ever know in this life.
by Shauna Millar | Jan 2, 2019 | encouragement, General, Lord Hear Our Prayer, Thank you
A prayer for the New Year
Lord,
As we move forward into this year, 2019, let us find your love, joy, and peace in our hearts and minds. Help us to follow your will throughout the year. If we stray, help us find our path back to you.
You know us. You knew us before we were formed in our mother’s wombs. You know our joy and pain, our heartache and happiness. We thank you for your constant guidance and care of us. We thank you that you have given us free will to choose to follow you rather than be forced into our beliefs. We ask that you help us to remember this as we walk our daily lives as witnesses to your glory and love.
Help us to not be oppressors but to be lights to the world that we can shine brightly for you. Help us to know you more closely and walk with you on a daily and hourly bases. Let us be the best that we can be in each moment. Lord, when we stumble and fall, we ask that you pick us up and help us dust ourselves off so that we can walk taller and stronger from what we have learned.
We thank you for this opportunity of another year to begin renewed. We know so many didn’t make it this far. We pray for those families who have lost loved ones and have suffered heartache last year, and even today. We pray that you will comfort and guide them in your righteousness and love.
Thank you, Lord for all you have done and all you do. We praise your name and give you glory.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen
by Shauna Millar | Oct 23, 2018 | encouragement, General
Let us stop and take a breath. Take a moment to look around at our surroundings. What do you see? Is your life half empty? half full? Do you see that your life is always being filled back up with newness? Are you aware of it? Or do you just see the whiteness of winter in your life? How do you handle it? Yes, there are a lot of questions that are being asked. Maybe you can answer some of them and maybe you can’t or don’t want to.
The point I want to make is this: our world and how we see it is affected by what is going on directly in front of us. What is happening to us, as an individual, at any given moment. We will scream about the injustice done to others, even if we don’t understand it fully, because we are being inflicted with an injustice in our own lives. You may not remember when the WWJD was a big thing. Asking yourself at any given moment, “what would Jesus do” in this situation? How would He handle it? We don’t think about how we are reflecting Christ in our lives most of the time. We simply exist, endure and move through our moments. We neither savor the moment nor do we curse them. We let it happen and don’t even acknowledge it.
Our life is a reflection of our beliefs. It is the road we are traveling. Often during moments in our lives when we want to shout about the injustice, we need to remember we choose to travel a different path. We have chosen to walk the road less traveled. This road is the one that says we don’t scream out about the injustices in a way that will not mirror who we are. Every action we take, whether intentional or not, illuminates our beliefs and how deeply ingrained they are in us. When we choose to say something about issues we don’t fully know about or act out on things that have affected someone without knowing whether it is true or not, this is a reflection of our deeply (or not so deeply) seated beliefs.
None of us are perfect. I am not. We get upset by the lack of common sense we may feel we see in others or the injustice that is happening around us. It is difficult for me to want to acknowledge the pain in the world around me. Whether I like it or not, I am affected by these things. At the time of this writing, the U.S. is going through another political transition; which happens all the time. I don’t like to mix politics and religion, I am going to do it at this time, for one simple reason; it is my opinion that so many people are screaming out about an injustice that has or hasn’t happened as if it is personally affecting them.
The recent nomination to the Supreme Court of Judge Kavanaugh; I am not in a position to know what happened or didn’t happen. I do feel that the way the world (the media) has spun things has made it very difficult for everyone involved to have any sort of true view on what happened. The way that the politicians have handled things and brought the media into the situation before doing their due diligence has created a harmful ripple effect.
What I mean by this is that we are a light set upon a hill. We have chosen to walk a path different than other people’s and therefore our judgments and views should be different than others. Yet, so many people have vocally taken sides judging what was happening. How can we judge what is going on? Who are we to judge what is going? Especially without full and complete knowledge of any given situation? Even the Word tells us to “judge not lest we be judged”. That God is the only one who can judge. Can we stand up with an opinion or view of what we feel a person is based on what we know? Yes. Can we make determinations on the past, without any form of proof or having been there ourselves? Yes. Should we? This is something you need to answer for yourself.
My heart is that this nation needs to be healed. At every turn, there is corruption that has affected it to its very heart. There are so much sorrow and pain. So much anger and self-centered oppression that it is hard to heal and recover from. My hope is in the Lord. That this will work to His glory and benefit as it always should. My hope is that if you follow your core beliefs and you are in tune with who you believe you are or should be, that you will follow that path to the best of your ability and uphold it with peace and love in all you do. If you can’t then I encourage you to continue to seek God in his wisdom and in His love. Let him judge not just the situations affecting those around you and around our nation but also let Him judge you. Know that He sees into the heart of the matter and if we always seek him first, He will guide, protect and lead us.
Peace in His Love.
by Sue Forde | Dec 27, 2017 | Fruits of the spirit, General, joy
By Sue Forde
I’ve heard individuals say, “I just want to be happy!” Some people seek happiness in the pleasure of relationships with other individuals; some try to find it in drugs or alcohol. Still others pour themselves into their work to the exclusion of everything else, or seek to become rich in order to be “happy.” “I can only be happy if I have a new house.” Or, “I will be happy if I get that man/woman to be my spouse.”
Yet time after time, we hear people sigh that these things never bring real or lasting happiness, and there always seems to be a “hole” in their lives. This type of happiness is based on emotions and circumstances; it’s temporary and must be sought again and again. It only lasts for a short while. As the great King Solomon said, “all is vanity,” as he sought to find happiness in all these ways and more. (Eccl. 1:2).
True happiness or joy is an attitude that does not rely on emotions or circumstances. In the book of Proverbs in the Bible, we learn what can bring long-lasting happiness or joy. It starts with a good relationship with God. Psalms 144:15 says, “Happy is that people whose God is the Lord.” And more astonishing, we find that God himself can be happy (pleased), when His people do the right thing. “And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing,” (referring to Solomon’s request for wisdom, instead of material things). When King Solomon pleased the Lord, he reaped the rewards from his loving Father God.
In other places, we read: “The Lord had done great things for us; we were joyful.” (Psa 126:3) The joy of the Lord also brings strength in hard times. (Neh 8:10).
Joy starts with the Lord who created us in His image. And, as followers of Jesus Christ, the son of God, we also become sons and daughters of the Father. (2 Cor 6:18).
Can you even imagine this? Think about it: Jesus Christ is Lord of Lord and King of Kings. (1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14, 19:16). As sons and daughters, we become princes and princesses in His kingdom. See yourself in this new light. How would a prince or princess act? Would they be kind, loving, giving – when all that their Father has, has been given to them? These freely given gifts include salvation (Jesus died to bring us that, paying the price for our faults and failures in life); joy, peace, love. All the good things we all seek, every day. There’s a simple way to tap into this type of happiness/joy. That’s by seeking God’s will first and foremost; and everything else is added to your life in return (Matt 6:33).
No matter what your circumstances, joy can be yours by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ into your life, by turning your life and your will over to Him, and then start each day with a recommitment to His will for your life. You’ll find amazing things start to happen – sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly – but exactly on God’s time schedule as is best for your life! Why not give it a try? You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.
by Sue Forde | Dec 18, 2017 | General, Music Review
The haunting Christmas song, “Mary Did You Know?” reflects the true meaning of the Christmas season. In a nation that has become obsessed with giving and receiving gifts, holding parties, and promoting “Frosty the Snowman,” Santa Claus, and mostly focusing on “what do I want for Christmas?”, it’s good to be reminded of the “real” reason for this season. In my mind, the lyrics in the song “Mary Did You Know?” does a terrific job of bringing that idea back to us. This season, it would be a good idea to reflect on what’s really important. Of course, family and friends are an important area of our lives to nurture. One never knows how long any of us will be here to spend time together. We’ve recently lost several of our loved ones – and don’t we wish we could just spend some “quality” time with them once more?
But the greatest impact on our lives happened some 2,000 years ago, in a manger in Bethlehem. God Himself chose to send His only begotten Son to be a baby, grow up like the rest of humankind and experience all that is truly human in the way of sorrow, pain, laughter and joy. And it all started with a young virgin, Mary, who humbly accepted the role she was asked to play by God through His angel Gabriel.
This is a season for rejoicing that He loved us so much that He sent His beloved Son to take our place in death, so that we can become sons and daughters of the King – and live forever! This indeed is cause to leap for joy! All that happens to us during our very brief stint on earth cannot compare to the awesome adventure we will have in eternity.
As I grow a little older – and perhaps a little wiser – I realize how quickly this life experience happens. It just seems like yesterday that I was a teenager; and now, I’m into my 70s! Wow, it went so quickly!! I haven’t done all the things, nor seen all the places, nor had time with all the people I love, and my time is almost up here. And then, I focus on the adventure ahead – the meeting face-to-face with my Savior, who willingly gave up His life so that I could live! Amazing.
Jesus’ short time here on the earth was full: Full of teaching, showing, healing. He died for us. He rose again as a human being, transformed, to head for the heavenlies. He’ll come back to get us. And to judge. And to reign.
But, the journey had to begin somewhere. That’s why we celebrate Christmas. It may not be the exact date and time He was actually born; but that doesn’t matter, really. It’s the fact that we DO celebrate His birth. So, pay attention to the lyrics of the song made famous by Songwriters: Lamont Savory / Buddy Greene / Mark Lowry / Courick Clarke / William Barclay / Wayne Buchanan and made famous by a number of performers.
MARY DID YOU KNOW?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God?
Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb
Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am
Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know?
Songwriters: Lamont Savory / Buddy Greene / Mark Lowry / Courick Clarke / William Barclay / Wayne Buchanan
Mary, Did You Know? lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group
