We have a spiritual enemy who wants to see us divided and conquered in our homes and our country. He speaks and acts through people. He wants us to hate and turn on each other so we might destroy each other from within.
Sadly, the plan is working. Many are swallowing the bait then unwittingly become agents in the enemy’s hands to accomplish his purposes to steal, kill, and destroy.
Then no one has to bring an army against us to conquer us. We will do the job for them. We believe the lies and begin to dehumanize others in our minds whether it is:
- men vs. women
- husbands vs. wives
- one ethnic group vs. another
- one political group vs. another
- one socioeconomic class vs. another
- one generation vs. another
- moms vs. unborn babies
- etc…
We know that:
“Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.” Luke 11:17
As believers in Christ, we should be able to see through this ruse to the real enemies and recognize the strategy to sow hatred, discord, and division.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Eph. 6:12
Jesus, alone, is able to bring peace to all sides. “He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace and reconciling both of them to God in one body through the cross, by which He extinguished their hostility.” Eph. 2:15-16
The above passage is about Jews vs. Gentiles, but it applies to any divisions. Jesus can heal and reconcile us, bringing peace where there was hatred and enmity.
Lord,
We pray for Your people to be awake, prayerful, and alert to the enemy’s schemes to steal, kill, and destroy in our marriages, families, communities, and nation. We pray for our own repentance and repentance for our country. We pray for revival. We pray for a mighty movement of Your Spirit to bring healing, genuine peace, and grace.
Help us stand and have the courage to choose life for the innocent and to protect freedom. Surely those who demand the “right” to kill their own babies (legalizing abortion up to the point of birth and celebrating it) will have no qualms about silencing or even killing other people they deem to be inconvenient. We know from history that wherever socialism/communism has been tried, Christians, the elderly, the sick, and anyone else who is troublesome to the government often have been slaughtered. Lord, may this never happen in our nation on our watch!
Let us choose LIFE! Help us ensure the freedoms and rights of everyone equally.
Let us agree with You about what is good and right vs. what is evil. Help us to see through the enemy’s strategies and be powerful instruments in Your hands of Your righteousness, truth, hope, love, and peace.
We don’t deserve Your mercy, but perhaps, for the sake of Your Name, you might grant it once more, that we might turn and follow You and our land, marriages, families, and individuals might be healed. We ask that our children might live in peace with righteous rulers in a country that honors the Lord.
Amen!
Perhaps I’m not smart, but in the above prayer it mentions about people joyfully killing their own babies, who is this referring to?
I pray for our country ande leaders as well.
Blessings
Susan Kay Myers,
There were a number of states a year or two ago who celebrated and rejoiced over making abortion legal up to the point of birth. In New York City, for example, they lit up the Empire State Building with pink lights and cheered, with leaders giving a standing ovation.
Thank you for praying for our nation!
Sick.
Amber W.,
Yes. I was completely shocked and mortified to see this. It is not the direction our country should take if we want God’s protection and blessing.
Exactly!
Here is one article about it and here is another.
Unfathomably sick. Can’t’ even believe some of what I just read.
ramonaquimbylives,
If our nation does not repent, how can we escape God’s just judgment?
It seems to me that our nation’s “basket of fruit” is getting extremely ripe, as in Amos 8.
We are at a most urgent impasse, I believe.
May we stand firmly for what is right in God’s eyes and may we lead the way to humility and repentance. Perhaps God may extend mercy again.
I just wish my husband would quit seeing the other political party as “the enemy.” Although with laws like that which all the rest of the comments are on, I can’t blame him for doing so.
Ellen Porter,
When there are policies and laws that go directly against God’s Word, we do need to stand firmly against those things. We can’t compromise on murder or foundational principles of God’s Word.
But you are also right. The people are not our enemies. They need Jesus like we all do. They are beloved people for whom Christ died.
Some people may be deceived. But they need our prayer and we all need a big movement of God to heal our land.
May the Lord have mercy on us!
Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi April,
Thanks for this post.
I go on pro-life websites every day and I’m often shocked at the hateful and mean-spirited things that devout Christmas say about people who support abortion, homosexuality and transgenderism. I’m often appalled by the vicious verbal attacks towards politicians and leaders. We are supposed to be people of kindness and love, not hatred.
Just today I was reflecting on the cruelty we inflict on Jesus Christ every time we sin and how God the Father continues to extend grace and forgiveness towards us. Every morning, his mercies towards us are new.
We should all have the same attitude of pouring out mercy, kindness and love to everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, religious beliefs, colour, class, age or gender.
Nneka,
That is heartbreaking.
We will not win these precious lost souls to Christ with hatred. It is the kindness of God that leads us (and others) to repentance.
I love Abby Johnson’s story. She was a clinic director at Planned Parenthood and had 2 abortions, herself, if I remember correctly. “Unplanned” is a movie about her story. But one day, she witnessed an abortion first hand when the doctor asked her to assist with the ultrasound.Suddenly, she realized that it was truly a baby. Not just a clump of tissue. She decided she would never be involved in an abortion again.
Two weeks later she quit her job, walking into the welcoming arms of members of the Coalition for Life who prayed outside her clinic. The people were kind to her. Not hateful. It was through their kindness that she came to know Jesus and now is, arguably, the most effective Christian minister to those in the abortion industry. She shares the ugly truth about the reality of abortion and the costs with everyone she can and the Lord has given her a huge platform. God is using her in powerful ways to reach millions of people with the grace of Christ and practical help for frightened women in crisis pregnancy situations.
May we pray for those who oppose God’s Word and His kingdom. And may we welcome broken, hurting, confused people with open arms. May God use us to even reach those who are still hostile toward Him with His love, truth, compassion, and hope.
Yes, every person on the planet is created in God’s image. Jesus died for each one. Each person deserves to hear about Jesus’ love and offer of salvation and eternal life.
Thank you, dear sister!
I think that it is understandable when a woman has an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy and is not wanting that baby. But as a Christian – I feel we need to promote, emphasise, celebrate the value of pre-born life rather than condemn the mother – because society gives her the choice – between the sacrifice needed to nurture this little life – and the destruction of this little life to suit herself at that moment in time. I really believe we need to focus on the value and personhood of that little life – so that women embrace motherhood as a privilege and a blessing and a gift and not a parasite as we so often hear. May God grant that society and the powers that be – hear that tiny voice saying – spare me, let me grow, let me live, have mercy on me, value me, love me! May God grant this – and May we be the voice of the little ones who have no voice. Lord have mercy. ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Martha M,
Yes! Our radical feminist culture has taught us that babies are an inconvenience, a parasite, a bother, and nothing but trouble. They have indoctrinated us into believing that a career is “more glamorous” and “more fulfilling.” These women who are afraid and confused do not need our condemnation, but our love, help, and resources to offer hope.
And yes, if they could see that these are real babies with full human worth and how precious and priceless they are, they would want to protect them. That is why so many pro life groups try to encourage women to see an ultrasound first, because then they can see that the baby is a little human, not a blob of tissue.
Thank you for sharing. Lord, show us how we can help!
Yes April. I think we need more of great scans and photographs showing the beauty and humanity of the pre-born – and less of the horror of bloody images of destroyed fetuses. There just seems to me something wrong about showing those horrific images. I cannot look at them anymore. I think it would be more effective and inspiring to show live fetuses.
April it’s so sad how divided our country has become. I feel like it’s the worse I ever seen. Lord have mercy on us.
Regina,
It seems to be the worst I’ve ever seen. It breaks my heart to see us like this. Yes, may we repent and may God have mercy!
Hi Regina and April,
Every time I think of a divided society, I think about Rwanda and the horrific genocide that took place there 25 years ago. One of the genocide survivors, Jeanne Celestine Lakin, wrote these chilling words in her book “A Voice in the Darkness”:
“One day we were called Tutsis, an ethnic group and a branch of the human family. The next day we were “cockroaches”, “snakes” and other pejorative names…no longer human”. This hatred led the the massacre of one million people and a huge refugee crisis.
When we resort to name-calling and allow ourselves to hate others, we open a door to satan and when he enters our hearts, there is no limit to the evil we can do!
We need to wash and clean our hearts and minds with the Word of God and prayer every single day and not even allow one hateful thought or feeling to take residence in us.
May we all act as instruments of love in the world!
Nneka,
Wow! That is very chilling. Yes, when we resort to dehumanizing a group of people, we are opening the door to hatred, malice, and, eventually, violence, war, and/or genocide.
What a tragedy!
And yes! May we all act as instruments of God’s love toward others!
Thank you for sharing, dear sister. ❤️
Hi again,
I have one more thing to share on this issue.
Jeanne Celestine Lakin shared that her parents taught her that when we hate someone, our prayers don’t go up to God in heaven. Her parents said that hatred acts as a cap that keeps our prayers on earth. That is what helped her to keep her heart pure and free of hatred even after seeing her father get killed before her eyes and seeing her mother’s and baby brother’s dead bodies and seeing the effects of the genocide on her tribe.
I hope to impart that kind of wisdom to my son and I hope we all do. I pray that we all work daily to fill our hearts with Christ’s beautiful love.
I don’t ever want any sort of war or genocide to take place in America. I pray that all Americans would see each other as fellow sons and daughters of God and will truly become united again.
Much love,
Nneka
Nneka,
What a powerful testimony. Thank you very much for sharing. I don’t want us to be overtaken by hatred, war, or genocide.
May God have mercy on us all.
Much love!
I feel like it’s important to remember that our country is not, and was not founded as, a Christian nation. The very first amendment of our constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion…”. We cannot force an entire country to live by our morality and values just as we can’t force someone to accept and follow the teachings of Jesus.
Just as God gave us free will when we were created, the people in this country have the freedom to believe as they choose, including their own morality. We will all be judged for our own actions, not the laws or evils in the world or particular country we live in.
Speaking particularly of abortion, since this has predominantly been the topic of discussion, I don’t think there is anyone who WANTS to get an abortion. I’m sure every one has a valid reason. The person cannot financially support a child/another child (statistically, this is the most common reason). They may not feel emotionally or mentally ready for a child. They could have a bad or abusive relationship with their partner and need to get out. Or it’s a very new relationship. They or the partner may have physical or mental illnesses that they don’t want a child to suffer from. Perhaps the pregnancy was due to rape or incest. Maybe they just don’t want a child at all, which is completely fine.
One thing I hear a lot from other Christians is that “actions have consequences”. While this is true, a child should NOT be considered a consequence or punishment! This will surely cause resentment, and I doubt that resented child will grow up in a loving and nurturing environment. An unwanted child will, more than likely, be neglected and possibly abused.
I believe the Bible mentions a few times when it “would be better to have never been born”. The one I’m thinking of is in Ecclesiasties:
“So I congratulated the dead who are already dead more than the living who are still living. But better off than both of them is the one who has never existed, who has never seen the evil activity that is done under the sun.”.
This may just be my opinion; but I think we, as Christians, could make so much more of an impact if we focused more on the love, acceptance, and forgiveness of God and Jesus.
Hannah,
Hey! Thanks so much for sharing your comment. ???? I believe your viewpoints are pretty popular in our culture today and in many churches.
These are really important issues, so I appreciate you bringing them up, and I am going to try to take the time to try to address each one. Although each of these issues could be a long post, or even a book, practically. So my responses won’t be able to cover everything, sadly. I can certainly share more resources, if it is helpful for anyone. ❤️
CHURCH AND STATE
There is a separation of church and state in our country, to prevent the state from taking over the church, yes. Absolutely. But our founding fathers never intended to strip the government of the influence of Christianity or morality. In fact, John Adams, one of our founding fathers, affirmed, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Our founding fathers did create a type of covenant with God, calling America, “One nation under God.” And God has richly blessed us.
That breakdown of morality we are seeing now is why we are at such a crossroads in history in our nation.
LAWS AND MORALITY
And while I completely agree that we can’t ever force anyone to become a Christian and I agree that our nation is not a theocracy or intended to be wholly Christian, our laws are based on morality. As all laws are. And the laws in the USA are based primarily on Scriptural morality from the Bible.
We have laws like:
– Do not murder.
– Do not steal.
– Do not assault people.
– Do not kidnap people.
– Do not rape people.
– Do not lie in court.
– Do not commit adultery (was on the books for many generations).
All of these laws, and all of our other laws, are based on the idea that some things are right and some things are wrong. If we have no laws, we have anarchy. God provided us with government to protect the innocent, provide justice, and punish those who harm others (Rom. 13).
If we get rid of God and the Bible, we will have to use some other basis for morality. Some countries use the Koran. Some use Karl Marx’s ideas. Some use the Communist Manifesto. At some times, like the time of Noah, there were no governments and no laws and people just did whatever they wanted until things got so out of hand, God had to bring His righteous, holy judgement against their heinous sins. Things were so bad, they went beyond the point of being able to repent. The damage was that severe and irredeemable.
What I really want to know is, “What does God think?” And the way I can know this is by turning to the Bible as the inerrant Word of God and the source of absolute truth.
ABORTION
As far as the subject of abortion, I realize that it is legal in many places today. And plenty of people think it’s no big deal. Some people don’t even believe that unborn babies are human (because they have been deceived). There are those who don’t like it but feel it is necessary. Then there are Satanists who believe abortion is a “sacred rite.” There are those who “shout their abortion” and literally celebrate it. And, if you look at the news from 2019 in NYC, you can see the leaders celebrating abortion up until the moment of birth, cheering and lighting up the Empire State building pink to rejoice over abortion of babies who are even a few minutes away from being born.
That’s why we can’t be trusted to make decisions for ourselves about what is right and wrong. We humans are easily deceived. In fact, the entire Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 3) was about this very issue. God gave Adam and Eve one command. Don’t eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or you will surely die. Satan tempted Eve by twisting God’s words and questioning His wisdom and goodness. He encouraged Eve to be as wise as God, to be like God, by eating the fruit and told her she wouldn’t die. Of course, she didn’t die that day physically, but she did die spiritually. And she eventually died physically. Satan’s goal is always to get us to decide for ourselves what is right and wrong and discount God’s Word, ignoring the fact that we will experience terrible consequences for choosing sin.
Thankfully, the Bible doesn’t leave us in the dark about whether killing an unborn baby is wrong. There are many verses that show us that God sees unborn babies as fully human. In the Old Testament, for example, if someone injured a pregnant woman and her unborn baby died, the person’s life who caused the death of the baby was to be taken. Eye for eye. Tooth for tooth. Life for life. Here are some passages that support the sanctity of unborn babies’ lives.
Yes, women always have reasons for why they decide to have abortions. But having a reason for wanting to do something doesn’t justify something that God calls sin. Each of us will stand before Him one day. He will be our Judge. None of our reasons that we use to justify our sins will matter. We will answer to Him for ourselves and for the things we supported, condoned, and even voted for.
People have reasons why they commit any sin. Murderers have motives. Money. Convenience. Hatred. Getting the girl. Insurance.
Thieves have reasons why they steal. Addictions. Poverty. Desperation. Habit. Greed. Kidnappers have reasons why they kidnap people.
What God calls us all to do is to live lives of love. We are to
1. Love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength. And
2. We are to love others with God’s love. God says “love does no harm to its neighbor.” Rom. 12:10. So we don’t have the authority to harm others in ways God calls “sin.”
Thankfully, there are other options for women. A woman who doesn’t want her baby or doesn’t feel ready can reach out for help. She can even give up the baby for adoption. Abortion is not the only solution. God always provides another way out when we are tempted to do something that will hurt Him, ourselves, or others.
A child is a consequence, a result of sexual intercourse. That is simple biology.
Where we have the greatest power of choice, in the vast majority of cases, is if we want to engage in sexual intercourse with a particular man at a particular time. We can choose not to. If we are not ready to have a baby, we don’t have to have sex. Of course, if we are not married, God says we are not to have sex at all. Not to hurt us but because He loves us. He gives us commands for our blessing and benefit.
We can choose to obey God’s design for marriage to be honored and holy by only having sex in marriage with one man. We can choose chastity before marriage and monogamy inside of marriage. All of that is within our rights to choose. And if we are married and don’t feel ready to have a baby yet, we can prayerfully consider different methods of birth control. There are many choices there, as well.
Sadly, there are some women who don’t have a choice and who are raped. That is never justifiable and never okay. God condemns rape as sin. And yet, the baby is innocent. And the baby’s life is precious. It’s not an ideal situation, but destroying an innocent life doesn’t fix anything. So women in crisis situations need and deserve love, help, support, and assistance.
And women who find themselves pregnant, alone, and scared need and deserve help, love, support, and assistance.
Women don’t have to raise their children in resentment. They can choose thankfulness. They can choose to see their babies as a precious gift and believe God’s Word and invite Him to change their hearts, minds, and souls. They can choose to change their attitudes. Interestingly, once they hold their sweet baby, a lot of women’s feelings change. Many women who felt resentful earlier in the pregnancy are overwhelmed with love for their babies at birth and want to keep their babies. And if they don’t, they can give them up for adoption.
ECCLESIASTES
The Bible does talk about people who are so grieved over painful situations they wish, at that moment, they had never been born. But wishing one had never been born in a moment of pain, or saying it would have been better not to have been born isn’t the same thing as condoning abortion. And the book of Ecclesiastes is an unusual book, similar to Job. First Solomon goes into all the worldly philosophies that are ungodly, looking for wisdom. Then he comes to his godly conclusion at the end of the book.
CHRISTIANS AND LOVE
Christians are definitely to be known for our love. Totally agree about that. We are to share God’s love with everyone because we have experienced the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of Christ. We have received His gift and sacrifice on the cross, His incredible payment for our mountain of sin debt. We have repented of our sins. And we are yielding the throne of our lives to His Lordship every day, allowing Him to transform our thinking and make us more and more like Jesus.
God IS love. He loves all people because He made us all in His image. We are all equally loved. And He does offer us forgiveness through Jesus and His blood shed on the cross. But God does not offer forgiveness without repentance. And He does not offer salvation without submission to His Lordship.
GOD’S ENTIRE CHARACTER IS IMPORTANT
And even though God is love and He has immeasurable grace and mercy for us if we will repent, He does not accept sin. He does have wrath against sin because He is a holy and just God. He can’t ignore sin. Someone must pay for it. With his/her life. With death. “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”
So God, Himself, came, as Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life we couldn’t live. That is God’s standard for entering heaven… absolute perfection. None of us meet that standard by quite a long shot. So Jesus took our place. Lived without sin. Died the death each of us deserved. Took God’s wrath upon Himself. He paid our sin debt in full. And He gave us His righteousness. But not so we could just sin and sin and live however we want. He wants to live in and through us by the power of His Spirit. He wants to give us the ability to live holy lives if we will trust Him and yield control to Him. And if we mess up, we can repent and He will forgive us and change and heal us.
It is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. But we do need to be sure we understand who God is. We can’t cherry pick His qualities and only focus on the ones we like and leave out the ones we don’t like. Then we create a different god.
The God of the Bible has many qualities that all balance in perfect tension and harmony: love, goodness, omnipotence, omnipresence, holiness, perfection, righteousness, mercy, wisdom, faithfulness, wrath, judgment, and many more.
God created us to love Him and bring glory to Him. And, like you said, He gave us free will. He doesn’t force us to come to Him. He doesn’t force us to accept the only way of salvation, the only path to heaven, Jesus. But He invites us to. He wants all to repent and be saved. That is why He waits so patiently now for us to repent as individuals and as a nation. If only we will turn back to Him individually, as the church, and as a nation, He will be willing to shower us with mercy!
But eventually, the time of grace will end. And judgment will begin for those who are determined to rebel against God. For individuals and for nations. And during the Great Tribulation, judgment for the whole world.
We see throughout history that those nations who rebelled against God, who committed idolatry, and who sacrificed their innocent babies eventually faced judgment from God when they did not repent.
I want to see everyone choose to repent from anything God calls sin and live! I want to see people experience God’s greatest blessings here on earth and I want to see everyone get to live with Jesus forever in heaven, too.
Much love!
Blessings!
Here is a more in-depth explanation of salvation for anyone who is interested from http://www.gotquestions.org. And here is a post I wrote about salvation, as well.
ABC’s OF SALVATION
A = Admit you are a sinner and you can’t be perfect and holy enough in God’s eyes to be right with Him on your own. Turn away from your sin.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Rom. 3:23
B = Believe that Jesus (God in the flesh) died on your behalf to pay the price for your sin and to give you a way to be right with God – to be forgiven. He lived the perfect life you couldn’t live. He died the death you deserve and rose from the dead in victory over sin, death, and the grave on your behalf!
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus, our Lord.” Rom. 6:23
C = Confess that Jesus is your Lord – this means, Jesus is now your Master and you live your life for Him and His glory rather than for yourself. You say it out loud to others and you live it from now on. You lay down your will and your desires and follow Him, inviting Him to direct and use your life for His will.
“If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.” Rom. 10:9-10