The True Beginning
February 22nd, 2009 A few days ago a meeting was held that could have been monumental. I truly hope it was. In some ways it was comical to read the announcements that came after it. But the meeting itself was deadly serious.
You may have heard about it already. On Wednesday, February 18, Nancy Pelosi met with Pope Benedict in Rome. To the Pope’s credit he did not allow it to be a photo op meeting that would serve to advance the Speaker of the House’s agenda. To Nancy Pelosi, this was suppose to just be a feather in her cap; but to the Pope, the fifteen minute meeting had profound implications. After it was over, the Speaker told the press that the two of them had had a warm meeting about a number of topics. As usual, she was all smiles. Pope Benedict, however, issued an entirely different report on what happened. Personally, since I am given the choice, I believe the Pope.
So what really happened? According to the Pope’s account, he put Mrs. Pelosi’s feet to the fire and told her in no uncertain terms that if she truly was a Catholic, her well known views in favor of abortion had to change. Cafeteria style Catholicism is no longer an option. The truth is that we could substitute the word Christian for Catholic. There is no gray area here. The issue is completely black and white, as is everything with God.
Of course, we could rationalize away anything we want in order to believe what is popular, but when it comes to God’s views we can quote St. Augustine who said, “If you believe part of the Bible but not all of it, it is yourself you believe and not the Bible.”
Some years back a friend asked me to show him a scripture that proved when life truly begins. Quite frankly, at that time I really could not point to one. Fortunately, I did know my Lord. So I closed my eyes and asked Him the same question. Immediately I got the feeling that I had already grown to know, which meant for me to open my Bible. I knew the Holy Spirit was going to show me something. I picked up God’s Word and opened it at random. The first words I read when I looked down at the opened page were, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5.
I won’t go into why God creates us at conception to have a sinful nature. That was covered extensively in Unlocking God’s Secrets, and if you have read the book you understand that the reason was totally because of God’s immense love for us. If you haven’t read it, please do. The main thing for us to look at in this verse today, though, is that the Holy Spirit led the Psalmist to write that he was sinful from the time his mother “conceived” him. God very dramatically answered the question of my prayer by showing me that life begins at conception.
I am more knowledgeable now about God’s Word, and I can emphatically state that there are many verses that teach the exact same thing. Obama’s cute little answer to Pastor Rick Warren in the Saddleback Debate that “knowing when life begins is above my pay grade” was not very cute to God. Of that I am 100% sure. If Obama had seriously asked God, God would have told him. God wants everyone to know. Life begins at conception. Again, there are no gray areas.
Pope Benedict knew that President Obama, in his first few days in office, had done more evil than all the good the Catholic Church could do in the rest of Pope Benedict’s lifetime. With a stroke of a pen Obama had taken out contracts for more babies to be murdered worldwide than all of the people who died in all of the wars in the past century. And Nancy Pelosi was so happy about it you would have thought that they had singlehandedly wiped out all cancer, aids, and heart disease.
This past Wednesday Pope Benedict let Nancy Pelosi know that in order to be a Catholic she would have to change her course and back God’s side instead of Satan’s. The same is true of anyone who claims Jesus as Lord. Baby killing and serving Jesus are not mutually exclusive. If Jesus is Lord, the slaughter of infants is not acceptable.
So what about the millions of Americans who say they are Christians who voted for Obama. There was no deceit. Obama had told everyone exactly where he stood and what he was going to do. Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:22 and 5:28 that for us to even mentally approve of abortion is as bad in His eyes as if we actually pulled a late term baby halfway out of its mother’s womb and plunged the knife ourselves into the innocent child’s spine.
Fortunately, with our Savior there is a second chance, but it requires repentance. The first sermon Jesus ever gave, and every one to follow, said the same thing, “repent.” That means not only asking for forgiveness, but turning away from the thing that is being repented. Even an abortionist can be forgiven, but he must repent and turn away from doing it. He must do as Jesus told the woman to do in John 8 after her accusers left her, “Go, and sin no more.”
Many voted for Obama. And maybe they thought they had good reasons. OK. But now the deed has been done. Obama has opened the flood gates for massive worldwide infanticide like has never been seen before. God destroyed many nations in the past for killing babies on an infinitely smaller scale.
The Pope told Nancy Pelosi that she must repent, and actually begin to follow Jesus. If she does, she will be forgiven. But will she? Will anyone? Was the meeting last Wednesday in vain? We all need to ask ourselves that question. We are all sitting in that same meeting right this moment as we read these words on this computer screen; but instead of the Pope, Jesus is the One who is meeting with us. Each of us must respond. No one can sneak out the door. Not you. Not me. Jesus is carefully listening to the thoughts in our minds this very instant.
Let’s be realistic. Is this blog posting really going to change things? Not at all. Pope Benedict may have some influence on Nancy Pelosi. I hope so. But my writing these words is like a small cough in a gigantic hurricane when it comes to national policy. I fully understand that. But that is not why I am sitting here typing. These blog pieces are for two people, you and me. The effort to write them is only in the hope that something that is said will help both of us to get a little closer to God. What we say, what we do, and yes, even what we think, will positively or adversely effect our eternal future.
Obviously I hope that our nation wakes up and turns to God, but quite honestly, that may not happen. If we are realistic, neither of us can control that. What we can control is our relationship with our Lord. Our individual thoughts, as well as what we say and do about the abortion issue is probably of far greater importance with regard to that relationship than you or I could ever imagine. So let’s have that meeting with Jesus about it right now.
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:04 pm
those are some very powerful words
February 24th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Nice work, as always, Bob. I want to believe that a typo made its way into your blog when you said that, “Killing babies and serving Jesus are not mutually exclusive.” In the next sentence you make a statement that indicates what is, I expect, your intended point: That one can not condone nor participate in the killing of the innocent, regardless of age, and serve Jesus. Indeed, killing babies and serving Jesus are mutually exclusive.
February 26th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
As Christians we are supposed to hate this world. Our polititians are making it real easy for us to do so.
March 15th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I love the message and Tony’s response.
What I can’t understand it is the ability of the world to just have their eyes totally shut.’
You would think some of them would begin to wonder?? but apparently not.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Re “What I can’t understand is the ability of the world to just have their eyes totally shut.’”
Shari, maybe this will help explain.
Alot of our discussions of those of non-believers lately have been on the topic of how blind can people be. We believers wonder how so-called Christians cannot see the signs of the end, and non-believers wonder how is it that nobody seems to see that Obama, our government representatives, the media, and so many others are clearly doing everything in their power to topple this country intentionally. I’ve never heard so many people make comments like this as they are now, with the exception of those who are spiritually blinded, which brings me to the topic of my post.
I vaguely recall verses in the bible in which I thought God said he would effectively blind the unrepentent in the last days and I wonder if he means blind them to what we watchers clearly see is happening. So far, all I can find on the subject is this comment posted on the internet by someone else who I thought addressed it extremely well…
Does God use Truth to Blind People?
I have a hypothesis that I am working through that I haven’t fully come to terms with. I’m not sold on this hypothesis, but it makes sense of a lot of Scripture in my mind and the character of God. But, I thought I’d bounce the idea here to see what you all thought.
Perhaps there are two kinds of spiritual blindness, not one.
One form of blindness is exactly what you find from Satan where he tries to keep them in spiritual darkness. If there is no light then you are completely blind. Those who do not know Christ as their Savior walk in spiritual darkness and are thus blind and are “blinded” by the god of this world who desires to shield them from ever seeing the light or desiring light.
But, on the flipside, I think I am coming to terms that God also blinds people’s eyes in a different way. What happens when you have been in darkness and then suddenly someone shines a light in your eyes? We are blinded. What happens when you stare at the sun? You are blinded. Many people who are confronted with the truth and do not receive it are blinded by the truth. It is staring them right in the face and they cannot see because they have been made blind by the intense light. For those who accept Christ, Christ is the illuminator who makes them see. Those who reject Him, the truth of God blinds them because they cannot handle the light and reject the light. They are like bats who hate the light and love the darkness of their sin.
God did not keep them in darkness or blind them so they couldn’t see the light, He shined the truth of His Son in their eyes. God gives His truth to all, but when someone loves their darkness, God will still shine the light on them, but He does so knowing that it will blind them and they will turn from Him and the effects of the light will cause them to shut their eyes. However, people are without excuse because the light is given to all! Here is the John 12:40 quote of Isaiah 6:10,
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
their eyes,Lest they should see with
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.”
From this passage as well as Romans 9-11, it seems to indicate that God deliberately blinded their eyes with light (He knew that they would hate the light because they loved their sin) so that He could go to the cross and pay for our sins. If they had received the Light then He would have set up His kingdom, but they hated the Light, He knew it, but it shone in their eyes anyway, and Christ went to the cross.
Mark 4:11,12, “And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables, That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.”
When you are coming from something dark and then look into lighted room, your eyes cannot perceive, even if you see. They could not perceive because they were heavenly parables so because they were spiritually in darkness, they could not understand the light.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
The first sentence should have read…
Alot of our discussions “and” those of non-believers lately have been on the topic of how blind can people be.