Just When We Have Sunk As Low As a Society Can Go, We Manage to Dig Our Pit of Depravity Even Deeper!

A breaking news headline (Jan 24, 2013) has informed us with the exciting revelation that the Pentagon is lifting the ban on women being directly involved in combat operations. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in releasing the information stated that it was “the responsibility of every citizen to protect the nation.” And the present resident of the White House had to say something too – in his words the decision to involve females in direct combat circumstances would “be another step toward fulfilling our nation’s founding ideals of fairness and equality.”

We have dug a pit of depravity for ourselves that is about as deep as it can possibly be with our lack of respect for human life – that is, the intentional destruction of thousands of unborn children every week. A recent poll has indicated that most United States citizens want this carnage to continue and to preserve the ruling of Roe v. Wade intact, which is what the nation’s top elected “leader” wants also! But we have managed to make the pit a bit deeper in the bizarre announcement that now women will be able to have direct participation in military combat operations. You have already read the insane comments of two persons who are supposed to be in positions of leadership.

In older times when wisdom, common sense, and deep God-fearing moral convictions dominated the mindset of those elected to lead our republic, it was believed that men did the fighting in military conflict when that became a very nasty necessity. While women served in the military, it was always out of harm’s way as much as possible. It was a commonly held belief that a nation did everything it could to protect the women and the children in the event of armed conflict. And who was to do the protecting? The answer was simple – the men!

Having been trained a long, long time ago on how to use weapons against an enemy and how to tear an enemy up with a bayonet in the ugly “hand to hand” stuff, it is impossible for me to try to visualize what it would be like to be alongside a female while trading bullets with an enemy a few yards away. Personally, I am afraid I would be greatly distracted by worrying about her well being and protection in the midst of all the action. Yeah, that’s the male chauvinist coming out of me! I still believe in trying to be a gentleman and treat a lady like a lady – I still open doors in public places for a lady entering or leaving a building.

But the very worst thing in this "grand opportunity" of sending women into full combat operations is something that our “leaders” have not seriously thought about or they are so hopelessly brainwashed into the delusion that a “woman can do anything a man can do and probably do it better.” Want to think for a moment what will happen to those females if they happen to be captured by the enemy? Sit down and write some of the details as to what will transpire. Oh, make sure you warn the reader that what they are about to read carries a XXX rating!

However, that really doesn’t matter now, does it? We have taken “another step toward fulfilling our nation’s founding ideals of fairness and equality.”

Oh, by the way - on that matter of a woman being able to do anything a man can do, and probably do it better anyway -- I have yet to see a female on the starting lineup and playing the position of nose tackle on even one of the NFL teams - have you?

Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord...But as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it...Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself…. --- Ephesians 5:22, 24, 25, 28

Memories of Dad!

Picture of Russell F. Harriger with daughter, Connie, and son, Clayton, about the year, 1940, on a rented farm in Monroe Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania.

Russell F. Harriger was of German and Dutch ancestry. I have always been thankful that the last name was "Americanized" because, having seen the original, I know I probably would not be able to pronounce it and would certainly struggle to spell it.

My dad had those qualities that are too often sadly missing in today's world and the quality of life in our culture often reflects the reality of that in these very unsettled times.

From my earliest memory of dad I learned quickly that he was a hard worker at anything he ever did. His dream was to own his own farm and the hard work eventually paid off. The picture above was taken on the farm that he and my mother rented for a time. Then they entered into an agreement with a cousin of dad to live on the cousin's farm. This happened during the WW II years. The rented farm had no electricity. Our lights were gas with what was called a mantle attached over the fixture. They created a kind of eerie glow while ignited. We did not have a radio. There was no indoor plumbing. When we moved into the house on the cousin's farm we had electricity, a radio, and a hand pump at the sink for drawing water.

During this time my dad was working on the section gang of the New York Central Railroad. His dream was still to buy and own his own farm. Finally early in 1946 it happened -- my folks had managed to save enough money to make a down payment and get the farm. It was the one they originally had rented. The price paid for that farm was $4,600.00. We moved back into a house that now had electricity and a water pump system. But there was no bathroom. The bath was still taken in a galvanized tub and the little "outhouse" was where you went for "relief." Out of date Sears & Roebuck catalogs provided our toilet paper in abundance. Montgomery & Ward also assisted in maintaining this important inventory!

My dad was a man of honesty and deep conviction when it came to issues of right and wrong. He was definitely a "black and white" person -- there was no hazy gray area when it came to issues with him -- it was clearly right or clearly wrong and he would never compromise on his convictions.

He was also quite clear as to his stand on political issues. He believed that every citizen should vote and he did so in every election he could.

Dad was a man of faith and believed in prayer. He always said the prayer before we ate our meals. He and my mother were deeply involved in our church in a variety of ways. Dad did confess that he could never teach a Sunday School class, but when it came to manual work that needed done in some form around the church, he would be there and always ready to go to work.

He had a sense of humor and it was the kind that could be shared in mixed company without embarrassment. He had no time for the off color brand and was never amused when someone may dredge something up out of the gutter. He also never used foul language of any kind. In fact I never heard him use expressions that have their roots in profanity such as "dang," "darn," "gosh, "gee," "gee whiz," etc. His language was simple and you had no trouble understanding what he was talking about.

My dad dropped out of school in the sixth grade. And at that young age began working on his dad's farm as well as helping neighbors. He told me once of earning 50 cents a day -- a day that involved long hours. This rate of pay from an uncle involved plowing fields with a team of horses and walking behind a plow! If I recall correctly, he was 13 years of age when he did such work.

About the time I was born my father became a member of the school board for Monroe Township in spite of never having completed even grade school. He continued in that position for some time after I had graduated from high school. A major change took place during those years with the closure of the one room schools in Monroe Township and merger with the Clarion school district. A picture in my high school yearbook shows the school board for that year and my dad was one of the members of that board!

He was a disciplinarian and made clear to my sister and me what was expected of us in terms of behavior. Get out of line and we were punished. Sometimes I learned the hard way -- that when my dad had said how it was to be and I did not listen, I then paid a high price. But I never violated his word again in that area in which I had experienced his "judgment!"

To save money, he bought hair clippers and would cut my hair. He and a cousin would "trade haircuts" as they called it. Each would cut the other's hair on a regular basis. All this went rather well until the time came when the clippers got a bit worn and dull -- then instead of cutting all the hair, some didn't get cut and when he pulled the clippers away, those few hairs got pulled out by the roots! You can understand why I did not look forward to those times when my dad said it was time for a haircut. By that time he was going to a regular barber in Clarion.

His love for us was also demonstrated in many ways time after time. An early memory was when he and mom had gotten me a pair of rubber boots. I was about 4 years old at the time. It was in early spring of the year and our barnyard was really a quagmire. I had to try out the boots -- I waded into the barnyard a few steps and began to sink -- the more I tried to get a foot out, the other went deeper into the mud. In desperation, I cried out and my dad was near enough that he heard that frantic call for help. He came and lifted me out of that mud. What a relief! I have used this from time to time as an illustration as to how Jesus Christ came into this world to rescue us from the quagmire of sin, setting us free and making possible forgiveness and assurance of eternal life with Him forever.

Dad was just a few weeks past the age of 84 when he went to be with the Lord. We felt our loss was Heaven's gain and look forward to the moment when we shall be reunited in the presence of our Lord Jesus forever.

Thanks, dad, for the many ways you were a blessing and an inspiration to my sister and me over the years -- even though there were some of those times we did not recognize you to be the example and teacher you really were. It was only later in time that I recognized you were far more intelligent than I gave you credit for when I was in my rebel teen years.

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. --- Ephesians 6:4

A Desperate Prayer of Last Resort!

'Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.' --- Jeremiah 33:3

A majority of people claim to believe in the experience of prayer. Attempts have been made to determine whether there are differences in circumstances where prayer has been exercised versus similar situations where prayer has not been uttered.

In the Christian faith there is a strongly held conviction that prayer is an experience of communicating with God and that God does respond to the prayers of those identified as His people.

The Scriptures speak much about prayer, relates the experiences of many people who prayed, and establishes clearly the fact that God indeed is One Who does great things in response to the pleas of those who give Him praise and thanksgiving as well as sharing the burdens of the heart.

Over many years I have seen and experienced in a variety of ways answers to prayer. The concerns for which prayer has been uttered are likewise widely varied. It is a demonstration that God is far more concerned about us and our circumstances than we can begin to imagine.

Recently a new burden was laid upon my heart unlike one I never experienced before. It involves the president of the United States. I have always prayed for our leaders and for those holding the office of the presidency. I will not detail here how I pray for those persons, but I do remember to pray for them on a regular basis. I will say that such prayers are not a generic "God, bless the president -- the members of the Congress...the members of the Supreme Court..."

But due to the policies advocated by President Obama, especially his very low view of human life in its formation stages, I have been praying in a specific area. The substance of that prayer is that God will raise up a prophet with the anointing of His Spirit upon that person. Further that such a prophet will confront the president face to face concerning the grievous error of his ways and call him to repent in order that the will of God will become a priority in his daily life!

Such confrontations have happened in the past. Elijah confronting Ahab, Micaiah confronting Ahab and Jehoshaphat, Nathan confronting David, and John the Baptist confronting Herod, to name just a few. These were personal and direct face to face encounters.

You have the names and you can look up the details as to how each encounter turned out. The important thing is that God had expectations of those leaders and He arranged for a prophet to be His instrument/messenger in each instance.

So, will you pray that God will raise up such a person to come face to face with the president and relay clearly what God expects of Mr. Obama as he holds what some consider to be the most powerful position in the entire world? This is not to suggest some big name TV preacher or the distinguished pastor of a large and famous “mega-church” out there somewhere, or a world renowned “pastor” who has a “make people feel good” ministry.

Rather, an Elijah or John the Baptist type of prophet is more appropriate – one who comes thundering out of some little known place in the wilderness – one whose message begins with a note of authority – “Thus says the Lord God……!”

The main uncertainty is just how that prophet in such a moment will be treated by the president, if it actually happens. As you review the many prophets God raised up over centuries of time, they were not treated very well in a majority of those confrontations! Again, I leave it to you to more fully investigate the circumstances.

How many will rally to the challenge to pray, “Almighty God, may it please you to raise up a prophet to confront the president and make plain to him what You expect of him, our elected officials at all levels, our nation, and…”

The destiny of our republic may well hinge on how many pray in faith that God will raise up a prophet to directly and personally confront the president about the issue of God's will for this nation, its leaders (political and church) and its citizens!

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." --- Matthew 21:21, 22

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive,….--- Ephesians 4:11-14

Obama Has the Hammer and Is Driving a Nail!

A top advisor to President Barack Obama confirmed again that the president will soon be issuing an executive order to lift the limits President Bush put in place on embryonic stem cell research. Bush protected taxpayers from being forced to fund research involving the destruction of human life. Top Obama aide David Axelrod said on "Fox News Sunday" that Obama is preparing to issue an executive order that will pave the way for more federal funding. That's despite the fact that embryonic stem cells have never helped a single human patient and the kind Bush favored have already helped patients with dozens of diseases, illnesses, or medical conditions. "We're going to be doing something on that soon, I think. The president is considering that right now," said Axelrod. Obama himself guaranteed earlier this month during a meeting with leading Congressional Democrats that he will sign an executive order forcing taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research. "I guarantee you that we will sign an executive order for stem cells," he said during the meeting, according to a Washington Times article. --- News release from LifeNews.com

First, take a good hard look at the person who is pictured above for a few seconds at least. You are looking at a human being who is about 56 days old!

President Obama has declared open season on the unborn – he did it by overturning what was known as the Mexico City policy, which prohibited U. S. tax dollars to help “family” planning groups in foreign nations which are involved in performing abortions and provide abortion counseling -- we are now supporting these groups. He was a co-sponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act while in the Senate and has vowed to sign it into law. Now the president has indicated that it will also be open season on human embryos – no more restrictions on stem cell research which involves these very young human beings!

The title of this piece is “Obama Has the Hammer and Is Driving a Nail!” This will be explained at the conclusion.

We can become very insensitive and even quite calloused by using rather impersonal terms when referring to unborn children. The terms, “embryo” and “fetus,” make it much easier to dispose of them for a wide variety of reasons. It’s when the reality of being human sets in that it becomes not quite so easy to do a disposal thing relative to that human.

Embryo is the term applied to the unborn child from the moment of its conception until the 56th day, which is a period of 8 weeks. From that moment on the unborn one is referred to as a fetus until the time of birth.

Without further ado, let’s attempt to shift gears if our transmission is in working order and attempt to see this from God’s perspective. He has given us enough information so that we can know how He views humans. Then we have to determine whether we are in agreement as to our view of humans.

Here’s how it is:

God claims He forms a human in the womb and has known that human before conception took place as indicated quite clearly to Jeremiah: Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:4, 5).

God has a plan for each human as witnessed by the Psalmist: I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. (Psalm 139:14-16).

Divine plan and purpose for human life is further reinforced in a mind boggling statement revealed in Ephesians 1:3-6: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.

Notice that in the Ephesians reference we see God’s identifying humans before the creation took place – this thing of God’s foreknowledge is indeed a very mysterious matter, but it also reminds us of the high value He places on human life since we were known and identified before the universe was brought into existence. It is underscored further when we focus on the fact that God Himself chose to become human in the Person of Jesus Christ and ultimately satisfy the demands of divine justice against human sin on behalf of each of us so that we could experience forgiveness on condition of repentance.

Had all those unborn children who have been or will be destroyed been permitted to be born and live for a few years, the penalty for their sins which they would have committed was paid in full through Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, as was the case for us who were privileged to be born.

The prevailing sentiment, however, in our republic at present is that the unborn, whether in the early stages or in later stages of development are just things – an embryo or a fetus. And we humans can decide what to do with them by choice – experiment with them and then throw the remains into the garbage can, or terminate the life of the fetus – what’s the difference, really? This attitude is shared by large numbers of elected officials, beginning with the president, within church circles and a majority of the public at large.

So, who listens to what God has to say about human life and His view of the same? Most are much more concerned with what the president has to say about anything than what God has clearly revealed about His purpose for human life from the very beginning and the responsibilities that fall upon each human being. But the day will come when there will be a confrontation over this and many other issues as well and God will have the last word on the subject. But there will be a lot of very unpleasant and shocking things to be experienced by this nation before that event takes place.

Now, about the president and his hammer – he is driving another nail in the nation's coffin by this latest decision to declare open season on embryos – see Driving the Final Nails! -- but he’s not alone, there are a lot of citizens who have picked up hammers and are joining him in driving the final nails! Use reverse feature on your web browser to come back here.

Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin with which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD. --- 2 Kings 21:16

Father's Day 2008 Among W. PA United Methodists -- A Real Touch of Irony!

Grace Clayton, a Methodist in Fairmont WV, inspired the first known church oberservance of the holiday 100 yeas ago this summer – long before it became a nationwide tradition. --- from information released by United Methodist Reporter, June 13, 2008

For the third time in four years the W. PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will conclude with a lengthy ordination service later this morning, Father’s Day, at Grove City College in Grove City PA!

Bishop Thomas Bickerton did not merely suggest that the few hundred pastors of the conference be present at this morning's service adorned in robes and stoles, but has demanded they be present with duplicate demands coming down as well from the superintendents. Under these conditions it is likely that even the death of a pastor would not excuse the pastor from required attendance at the ordination – arrangements by the widow would have to be made to have the deceased pastor pushed down the aisle in his casket in the pastoral procession by the mortician in charge! OK! OK! So this last one is said with a bit of tongue in cheek! But unless you are exposed to the goings-on in the conference, you have no idea how radical the bishop and the cabinet members are when it comes to "laying down the law" to pastors about attending the ordination service, even on Father’s Day! Pastors were told in at least one district that if they had a wedding on June 14th, they were to make sure they got back to the conference in time for the ordination service on Sunday morning!

I had written to the bishop the first year about this grave error on his part and then the second year I included the members of the cabinet as well.

Such a disregard for Father’s Day is totally incomprehensible. But this bishop is not to be ever questioned or remotely challenged in any way by either pastors or laity. His attitude on such an issue can be compared to that fellow who sits on an important seat in a place called the Vatican!

Now here’s the kicker on this – a lady from Bickerton’s home state of West Virginia is credited with initiating the first observance of Father’s Day 100 years ago on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont WV. She was Grace Golden Clayton, a Methodist. Her father was a Methodist minister.

Details about Mrs. Clayton and the roots of observance of Father’s Day are found at the web site of Central United Methodist Church in Fairmont WV. Go to Father's Day -- use reverse feature on your browser to return to this place.

Most would agree that the observance of Father’s Day ranks in terms of importance on an equal level with Mother’s Day – that is all except Bishop Thomas Bickerton and his loyal supporters. Sometimes there is such a thing as blind loyalty – e.g. if a leader says he is going to the top of the Empire State Building in New York City and jump off and all must follow him, they will do it because he simply said to do so – no questioning is permitted – no entertaining of the disturbing thought that just maybe the leader is wrong for once. You know, a Jim Jones type of thing applied in a variety of ways and in different circumstances!

In one letter I asked the bishop if he would pull a stunt like that on Mother’s Day? Realizing I would not get a response, I concluded with, “We both know the answer to that one don’t we?”

So this morning a few hundred pastors of United Methodist churches in western Pennsylvania will be absent for the third time in four years from their pulpits on Father’s Day. Can anyone cite a similar folly today so lacking in respect which involves hundreds of pastors anywhere else within the boundaries of our republic as the debacle which will take place at Grove City College -- any other United Methodist annual conference or any other denomination?

There may be those who in defense of Bishop Bickerton would say that the only week available to hold the conference was the week which ends on Father’s Day, so there was no choice. But there is enough flexibility in scheduling that the whole thing could have been done and wrapped up by Saturday, June 14th! Trying to defend the trashing of Father’s Day by the scheduling of an annual conference session requiring pastors to be absent from their churches flies as well as a Canada goose with both wings broken!

Again, I go on record – I am willing to retract all statements made and issue an apology on my web site and at the blog IF a simple question survey is taken in every United Methodist congregation in W. PA and without any suggestions made by the pastor as to how the bishop and the cabinet want the members to answer. The question is this – “Would you prefer your pastor to be in the pulpit of your church or at annual conference on Father’s Day?”

If 51 percent or more say they want their pastor to be at conference with the bishop, then the apology will be quickly issued. As an aside -- personally I have a lot of confidence in the laity and that they often exhibit more respect for things that count than do those in high positions of authority within church structures – check comparisons on respect and reverence for the holy Scriptures, if you want a good example of contrasts!

The procedure can be done very easily and quickly. All the pastor has to do is ask for a show of hands in each congregation with a couple of ushers doing the count. Then simply send the results (x number want pastor with them on Father’s Day and x number want their pastor to spend Father’s Day with the bishop at annual conference) by email to the W. PA Conference Center located in Cranberry Twp. PA. In fact, that would be a good job to help break in the bishop’s new FULL TIME assistant as of July 1st – let him tally the results!

See how easy it can be done? In the meantime I shall be anxiously waiting to learn of the results of the survey -- remember now, no tampering or putting on the pressure by saying, "This is what the bishop wants!"

In all seriousness, at the very least an apology to every congregation in the W. PA Annual Conference should be issued by the bishop and the cabinet for forcing the pastors to be in attendance at the conference session on Father's Day for three years out of four! But don't hold your breath on this one!

If anything, I'm the bad guy for making a prolonged issue of this due to my marching to the beat of a different Drummer! By the way, I, an ordained elder in the W. PA Annual Conference, will be in the pulpit of my church later this morning and stressing the responsibilities of fatherhood from a Biblical perspective. Why? Because that is where Almighty God wants me to be and about! And then later in the day I shall be sharing the blessings of family members. The details of that family are given in the post just below this one, dated June 13, 2008!

And a PS -- I have probably conducted more Father's Day services than just about any other pastor in the W PA Annual Conference, including the bishop and cabinet members -- in the last 30 years of my ministry before retirement, I served 4 churches in 6 of those years and 3 churches in 24 of those years. I am down now to 1 church during these last 9 years of retirement! And I never missed one Father's Day worship service during those years!

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. --- Ephesians 6:4

Chosen Before the Universe Existed and Time Began!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth; in Him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. --- Ephesians 1:3-12

Intense debate has focused on the issue of when human life begins. The position a person takes on this matter will be reflected when it comes to one’s support of OR opposition to the intentional mutilation and murder of children while they are still in their mothers’ wombs.

However to attempt to debate the issue of when human life begins is really an exercise in futility for the following reasons:

• The fundamental fact that God gives to all life, breath, and all things. Further, it is in God that we live, move and have our being. (Acts 17:24-28).
  
  
• God’s claim to ownership of this world and all that is within it, including its human population! (Psalm 24:1).
  
  
• God’s explicit claim to being involved in the process of the formation of each human being. (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-17).
  

All this is confirmed by the most mind boggling truth we will ever encounter during this lifetime in the statement, “…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”

Before this universe existed or time began, we were known and fully identified by our Creator! But there is more than identity and “personhood” involved here – being “chosen” means God has a purpose for each human being.

It is God’s passionate desire that we:

• Be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
  
  
• Totally repent of our sins – in fact, this is a specific commandment (Acts 17:30, 31: 2 Peter 3:9)
  
  
• Believe on His Son as Savior and Lord of our lives (1 John 3:23)
  
  
• Be His channels through which He works out His purposes (Philippians 2:12, 13)
  
  
• Do all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and for His glory alone (Colossians 3:17; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)
  
  
• Serve Him in the glory of our resurrection throughout the countless eons of eternity (Revelation 22:3, 4)
  

So then, in light of what God has revealed about the significance of human life and the fact that He knew us and identified us before the universe existed or time began, what is your position – standing with the vast majority (including a number who profess to be “Christian”) which views human life as a commodity of little significant value and to be dispatched efficiently on numerous occasions because it is the “convenient” thing to do when pregnancy brings “distress” to the potential “mother” (term used very loosely) OR with a rather small minority which finds itself in full agreement with our Creator’s statements about human life and its inestimable value in His sight?

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." --- Jeremiah 1:5

Way to Go, George, But There's Just One More Thing!

"Congress has sent me a bill that would overturn this policy. If this legislation became law, it would compel American taxpayers -- for the first time in our history -- to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos. I made it clear to Congress and to the American people that I will not allow our nation to cross this moral line. Last year, Congress passed a similar bill -- I kept my promise by vetoing it. And today I'm keeping my word again: I am vetoing the bill that Congress has sent."
-- George W. Bush, White House, Washington DC - June 20, 2007

President Bush has stirred up a hornet's nest by vetoing a bill which would have compelled us taxpayers to financially support the deliberate destruction of human embryos, as he described it at a special photo op on June 20th.

Those few of us who still hold to fact that when a female egg cell is united with a male sperm cell then a miracle takes place and a human being is in the process of formation for a nine month period before being born into the world.

The president has claimed to be pro-life in his position and it would seem so, in light of the his veto of a bill which, if it had been signed by him, would have resulted in mass destruction of human embryos in stem cell research.

BUT at the same time he has shown absolutely no real concern over the fact that about 100,000 unborn children (also very human) are destroyed every month of the year in this republic.

You remember, do you not, how aggressive he was in telling us that Saddam Hussein just had to go and a preemptive strike was necessary in order to bring this about -- it was a 24/7 campaign waged through the mass media and you remember what happened back in March of 2003?

Now compare how aggressive he has been in reminding us that the brutal mutilation and murders of unborn children has to be stopped at once -- how often have you heard him devote a news conference to this moral crisis? How often has his administration initiated legislation to halt the slaughter? Sure, it may get shot down by the many legislators who couldn't care less that mutilated remains of unborn children are thrown into a garbage can as casually as they throw a soda can into the garbage after swilling down its contents! But at least the guy could make an effort to give some credibility to his claim of being "pro-life!"

Sadly, it seems that the number of those who are really disturbed about the destruction of the unborn is shrinking -- there just aren't that many who are speaking up and protesting the slaughter, or sounding the warning of what will happen if it isn't stopped!

And that's where Almighty God comes into the picture -- review again some statements which indicate clearly that the unborn are known and fully identified by Him before conception in the womb:

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; and I ordained you a prophet to the nations." --- Jeremiah 1:5

My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139:15,16

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love... --- Ephesians 1:3,4

To those who have a sensitivity to this revelation, it becomes crystal clear that God not only knows and identifies us before we have been conceived in our mother's wombs, but He also has a specific purpose for us as we live our lives on earth!

Unfortunately, most political leadership as well large numbers of church leaders have struck out on this fundamental fact of life in the United States -- the daily destruction of unborn children in a republic that has a historic document which stresses the "unalienable rights" which each human is to be granted, including "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," isn't really that important! And so they keep their mouths shut on this one -- they may spout off on a lot of other issues, but destruction of unborn children? Why that's a complex issue, didn't you know?

Guess what? It's not going to be very complex when God makes His response to the United States' "Holocaust!"

If you haven't checked lately, see some of the tally figures involving the greatest massacre in United States' history. The numbers are from different dates which involve special happenings. Go to A Quick Look At the United States' Massacre Tally!

But they mingled with the Gentiles and learned their works; they served their idols, which became a snare to them. They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons, and shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they were defiled by their own works, and played the harlot by their own deeds. Therefore the wrath of the LORD was kindled against His people, so that He abhorred His own inheritance. And He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand. --- Psalm 106:35-42