Tag Archives: Biblical worldview

Grace for the Broken Places

A Quiet Exile—and An American Genocide

ex·ile

ˈeɡˌzīl,ˈekˌsīl/

noun

The state of being barred from one’s native country, typically for political or punitive reasons.

Have you noticed that Christians have been relegated to the “little kids” table where most issues today are concerned? It’s like it’s Thanksgiving and we’re sitting at card tables in the spare bedroom while the grown-up, more “enlightened” people sit around the big table—casually deciding the future of our nation. Yes, Christians see what is happening, but many are afraid to say who we are and what we believe.

After all, who wants to end up at the little kids table?

The church is struggling with the fear of being exiled. Many pastors avoid “divisive” topics like abortion when they preach. For goodness sake, we definitely don’t want to talk about gay marriage. (That’s so yesterday.) Moving on.

Christians know what’s up. Speak the truth you’ll end up at the little kids table with someone’s leftover meatloaf. No more conversation for you, buddy. Come back to the table when you have something meaningful to contribute.

Take the case of Cecil, the beloved African Lion who was allegedly, “accidentally” illegally hunted and killed a few days ago. It’s trending big-time on social media, to the point where the hunter has had to go into hiding due to death threats. Yes, the lion was beloved and beautiful—but can I just say this out loud? “Cecil was a lion. An animal.” We’re enraged over the death of an animal while millions of our unborn are brutally killed every day in this country.

Cecil is getting a whole lot more attention on the news than the victims of abortion. Listen. I’m no fan of big game hunting like this—but it seems like a distraction from a much bigger issue: the murder of our unborn.

“#JusticeforCecil?” Really?

Where is the public outcry over the atrocious way unborn babies are torn from their mother’s wombs? I’ll admit it. It’s hard to have outcry against something you’ve casually been a part of. We legalized it. We’re part of the problem. Since 1973, abortion has destroyed the lives of more than 57,762,169 unborn children. That’s over fifty-seven million.

But we want justice for the lion.

We live here. We know what’s going on in abortion “clinics” across this nation. So yes. We’re all culpable for allowing such an atrocity to continue all these years. Our silence has allowed a genocide to happen right in our own back yard. I praise God for the brave men and women who made the videos that are exposing what all knew in our hearts was happening at Planned Parenthood.

Don’t look the other way. We’ve got a lot to atone for.

I have worked alongside many pro-life groups over the years, but I’ll be honest: it’s discouraging to feel like there’s no hope of ever seeing the tide turn our way in the fight for life. However today, as I write this from my little corner of the United States, I have a hunch we might be seeing the tide turn in favor of life. If you care about this issue, now is the time to speak. Now is the time to let your voice be heard.

“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 22:16

This is part of what it means to know the Lord. I’ve been re-reading Bonhoeffer this summer. What stunning similarities there are between then and now! Hitler’s Third Reich “Church” rose while simultaneously silencing true Christians in Europe! The Reich told Believers that their ways were best for Germany—but deep down, Christians knew otherwise. Bonhoeffer witnessed the slow but steady silencing of church leaders in his time, and finally, the almost complete capitulation of the Church to the Reich. It was exile. Many of God’s people turned away from public discourse in an effort to escape the scrutiny of the SS and avoid being publicly ridiculed or even arrested. Slowly, evil men were able to take full control of Germany as good men kept silent.

What a price was paid for the silence purchased through intimidation and fear. What began as a quiet exile of good men and women ended in a genocide.

I know that some people will be offended at the comparison between then and now—but it is what it is. Read for yourself.

As an author, I have been privileged to speak to tens of thousands of people over the past ten years. In the past year, I’ve noticed a dramatic change in the demeanor of many Christians in the public arena. Many are afraid. Afraid of being hated because of their beliefs. Afraid of being misunderstood. Afraid of being made to look foolish because of their faith. And while it’s understandable to want to stay quiet, our silence is speaking for us. As Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is evil itself. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”

We may have begun to see Christians exiled, but it should not deter nor surprise us. Jesus said in John 5:15, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”

As a Christian woman, I am compelled to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I am compelled by my faith to do what God says is right, no matter what other people will say. The Bible teaches us that the war we are in is an epic battle between good and evil. The temptation is for us to yield the floor to our emotions—but we cannot argue from our emotions alone. Our argument is not emotional. It is spiritual. It’s God’s argument.

This means that our reason for being pro-life is NOT because we “feel bad” about the gruesome practice of harvesting organs from new babies is commonplace for Planned Parenthood (though we certainly should). Yes, we should be outraged by these things, but outrage is not our reason for opposing PP. We oppose abortion for the same reason we oppose all things God calls sin.

We oppose abortion because God opposes it. End of story. God knows the preborn child. “You knit me in my mother’s womb . . . nor was my frame unknown to you when I was made in secret” (Psalm 139:13,15)

It’s time that we stopped using the world’s reasoning and started coming back to Scripture as our first line of defense. Any other kind of reasoning falls short of carrying with it the victory that is ultimately found in Christ alone.

Let’s not make the same mistake that many Christians made when they turned a blind eye to the evil that Hitler was committing against the Jews. We serve the living God. Let’s act like it. No matter the SCOTUS rulings, Planned Parenthood atrocities or “pro-choice” arguments, we must not be silent.

Pray. Ask the Lord how you can get involved and what He would have you do. We do not have to be exiled from the conversations that our culture is engaged in today. God’s Word is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

Your seat at the table was reserved at Calvary. Take your seat and speak on behalf of the One who gave His life for you.

Click here to sign the petition to demand a Congressional investigation into Planned Parenthood and immediate defunding of the abortion provider.

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Listen on the blog: http://heidistjohn.com/blog//?p=22727

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Can There Be “Pro-Choice” Christians?

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All life is precious to God.

I wrote the following post on September 10, 2012.

Given the disturbing and heartbreaking recent videos which expose Planned Parenthood for the evil that it is committing, I urge you to contact your state representative and ask them to join the movement to defund this murderous organization. In the United States, a half a billion tax dollars go to fund this genocide each year.

We must speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Sign the petition to remove your tax dollars from supporting Planned Parenthood here.

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

___

September 2012
This may not be a very popular post, but I feel the need to write about this as I am hearing so many Christians are unwilling to stand for life. It breaks my heart, and I KNOW it breaks God’s heart.

A gal emailed me today about the abortion thread on my wall. The familiar argument of the church being passionate about the unborn but failing to care for the BORN is a poor excuse for murder.

You know, I have heard this argument before and honestly it rings very hollow to me, because for as imperfect as the church is, it does a good job of reaching out to the “already born”. There are gazillions of programs available through the church and other Christian ministries that reach everyone from the homeless to the prostitute to drug addicted … every.single.day. We DO stand up for the already born. Many Christians would take a child that is not their own… I can think of many off the top of my head and I bet you could, too.

Update: Below is the third video released that shows the horror that is happening to unborn Americans.

The only reason we kill our unborn is because we are selfish. We kill the unborn because they cannot speak for themselves. It’s easier to make the baby “go away” in the culture we live in than it is to bring it into the world and give it up for adoption. What’s REALLY sad about that is that this society does not look down on unwed mothers like it used to and we still persist in killing our unborn!

We have the most pro-abortion president in American history right now … one that would allow me to partially give birth to my child before killing it. As a Christian, I cannot stand by in silence when God has made it ABUNDANTLY clear how He feels on the issue of life.

Even in the case of rape/incest, how does KILLING one of the innocent party make anything better? Surely we would not kill a living mother in favor of her unborn child .. and why? Because we can SEE, HEAR, and FEEL the mother. It makes it harder to murder someone once they’re born. Surely we would cry out in defense of an innocent being murdered on the streets in front of our eyes! How “sterile” we have made the whole process of abortion, right down to washing our hands of the whole messy discussion. Christians! Stand for righteousness! Do not be afraid!

I’m reading Deitrich Bonhoeffer right now — the evil that he witnessed is not much unlike the evil we are allowing right now in this nation. We will be judged for turning a blind eye to the murder of innocent. Like Noah, I want to be found righteous in God’s eyes. No matter what the culture says, we know the truth. We will be held accountable.

Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Defund Planned Parenthood. Every life matters.

Having a Creator Changes Everything

Dare to be a Daniel: Talking to Your Kids About Standing for the Lord

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Jimmy Kimmel hit a new low in my book last week when he had children interviewed about their thoughts on gay marriage outside his LA studio. He wanted them to explain it. At first, my husband and I just sat there puzzling (a friend sent us the link) over why he thought it was appropriate to pull kids into the USA’s gay celebration—but then—we realized that this really is the new normal. Jimmy’s just going with the flow.

Over the past week, I’ve received several posts and emails from mothers asking how to talk to their kids about what is happening in the culture. After all, this is startlingly new territory for parents: explaining why a man is being celebrated as a woman on the cover of a magazine is not something we’re used to talking about. Here’s the thing: If we don’t set a place for the truth of Scripture at the table of our children’s hearts, the world will set out a feast all it’s own.

Talk we must.

So what do we tell our children? How do we talk to them as Christian parents? If you’re searching for your footing, here’s some ideas and direction:

Talk age-appropriately.
Clearly, you’ve got to talk about age-appropriate things. There’s no need to take your four year old out to dinner and explain things she’s not ready to hear. You’ve got to know your children. When you sense they’re ready, or if they start asking questions about things they shouldn’t be burdened with, it’s time.When the time is right, tell them the truth. Most of our kids are old enough, and so we have been having honest, and sometimes painful discussions with our children in the months leading up to the SCOTUS ruling. This generation of children are being forced to think about things that never even entered my mind as a child: from racists to the brutal beheadings of Coptic Christians in Syria to Bruce Jenner and the removal of the Ten Commandments from public grounds.
Take them to God’s Word
The Bible should be the authority in the life of every person who claims to be a follower of Jesus. Read about God’s standard, His mercy, and His holiness.
Tell them we’re all in a war.
In the Bible, we see everywhere that we are in a very real war. Talk to your kids about the spiritual war that is waging around them—the Bible says they are part of it, too.

Ephesians 6:12
“For we do not wrestle with 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 heavenly places.”

Consider the word Paul uses here to describe what’s happening around you every day. He says we are “wrestling,” but not against flesh and blood. Wrestling is a very personal fight. Every day, we wake up on a spiritual battle field. The place where the devil wages war against individual believers is in the mind. Our goal is to first steal back any thoughts that the devil places in our minds and give those thoughts over, “taking them captive” to the mind of Christ. Even Paul’s use of the word “captive” reminds us that there are captives in this war.

Do your kids know about putting on the armor of God? Read what the Bible says here.

Pray with them.
There is power in the prayers of God’s people!Pray humbly, because we are all sinners.
Pray reverently, because God is holy, set apart and worthy of our praise
Pray with hope, because the Bible says that our hope is not in this world; it’s in the Lord!
Teach them how to talk to other’s about what God says is sin, and the remedy for it: Jesus!

Start here:
- We are all sinners, by birth and by choice. God says that our sinful, fallen hearts are bent towards sin, not away from it.The culture is telling gays that Christians are against them—but true followers of Christ point the finger first at themselves, because they know their heterosexual sin is no better than their gay friend’s sin.
- When my fallen heart tells me to lust after anyone who is not my husband, I am in sin.
- When our fallen hearts tell us to lust after someone of the same sex, we are in sin.God calls us to turn away from all our sin—by placing our faith in Jesus and then daily (daily, daily, daily) surrendering our fallen desires to Him so that we can walk in the ways He has told us are good and right.
Dare your kids (and yourself!) to be like DanielDo you remember the story of Daniel?In the ancient Middle East, one empire was being replaced by another. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians conquered Israel, taking many of its promising young men into captivity in Babylon. One of those men was Daniel.When the story takes place, Daniel was in his 80s. (See? You’re never too young or too old to stand for God!)Through a life of hard work and obedience to God, Daniel made his way up through the political ranks and eventually, became administrator of this pagan kingdom.It turned out that Daniel was so honest and hardworking, his co-workers, other government officials, became jealous of him. This was a problem, since they could find nothing he had done that warranted his removal from office.
Finally, they decied to use Daniel’s faith in God against him. They tricked King Darius into passing a decree that during a 30-day period, anyone who prayed to another god or man besides the king would be thrown into the lions’ den. Can you imagine?

Daniel learned of the decree but did not change his habit of praying to God. Just as he had done all his life, he went home, knelt down, faced Jerusalem, and prayed to God. The wicked administrators caught him and told the king. King Darius, who loved Daniel. He tried to save him, but the decree could not be revoked.

At sundown, they threw Daniel into the den of lions. The king was so worried and upset, he could not eat or sleep all night. At dawn he ran to the lions’ den and asked Daniel if his God had protected him. Daniel replied,

“My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong

Scripture says the king was overjoyed. Daniel was brought out, unharmed, “…because he had trusted in his God.” (Daniel 6:23, NIV)

God’s Word is true and He can be trusted! The culture may change, but God does not change. His standard is right—and as Christians, we are called to follow Him—no matter what. God takes good care of His people. We do not need to be afraid.

The Bible teaches that we are to be ready to give a defense for the Scripture “in season and out of season.”

We either believe God’s Word or we don’t—and we demonstrate that by the way we live our lives.

Will you be set apart? Dare to be a Daniel!

A Spiritual Crisis and a Crossroad: How Should Christians Respond?

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Last week, in a stunning departure from the rule of law, the Supreme Court decided that it has the right to speak for God. Five judges voted to defy God and ignore the will of millions of Americans as they declared that marriage is not what God, the Creator of marriage, says it is. Yes, the Supreme Court has made it official: the United States of America has declared that it doesn’t give a hoot about it’s Judeo-Christian foundations. We have gone from teaching our people about the dangers of what God calls sin to celebrating it. God have mercy.

A couple of days ago in Oklahoma, the Supreme Court ruled that the Ten Commandments should no longer be displayed on government property. You know, because God’s words “Thou Shall Not Kill” seem pretty judgmental. We can’t have that. The culture cries, “Don’t judge!” After all, we kill our unborn every day without so much as a second thought. We don’t have a leg to stand on where murder is concerned. Adultery? Who cares? We love that stuff in the good ol’ USA. It’s the theme of most of our favorite TV shows! Coveting? No big deal. We deserve what that other guy has, right?

Yeah. Take them down. Those dated, old-fashioned Ten Commandments need to go, right along with prayer in school and this notion that marriage is a sacred institution given to us by our Creator. To quote former pastor Rob Bell, we Christians wised up and stopped using “letters from two-thousand years ago as our best defense.”

Looking around, it’s clear that many Christians have unbuckled the belt of truth under enormous pressure from the culture. Many pastors have begun exchanging the truth of God’s Word for the easy “truth” of the world in an effort to be “loving,” except that denying the truth of God is never loving. I have to wonder if those pastors who will not stand on the authority of Scripture care more about winning a popularity contest than they do about speaking the truth.

And so, we find ourselves in a full-blown spiritual crisis. So where do we go from here? What do we do?

Christians need to do two things as we find ourselves at this crossroad:

Repent.
Not a popular word, I know. Sort of a crowd-shrinker, really. But we cannot expect God to hear our prayers if they are being hindered by our sin. We need to do business with God.I’m including myself here. I watch things that I know in my heart grieve my Lord. I’ve committed to living more completely for Him than I have been. I have asked God for forgiveness in my own life more in the past year than I have ever—because I realize that I need to do a better job of living the way God says I need to.Our healing must starts with personal repentance. So let me ask you: What are you allowing yourself to watch? To listen to? Are you saying one thing and living another? If so, the Bible says your prayers are being hindered!We must not be hypocrites. It’s time to clean house. Repentance needs to happen within the Church.”Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:10
Cry out for wisdom. The Bible teaches that the Lord grants wisdom. Not the culture, not judges, not the courts. We cannot possibly navigate the complex issues of our generation correctly unless we ask the Lord to give us wisdom.3Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
Proverbs 2:3-5
Be resolutely committed to reading and “rightly dividing” the Word of Truth.This means that each of us needs to take responsibility for our own walk with God. Your pastor should not, and in fact, cannot replace your personal time with the Lord.We are living in a biblically illiterate generation of Christians who do not know the Word of God and therefore cannot stand upon it. This is a terrible weakness. Christians who do not know the God they claim to serve are sacrificing truth on the altar of compassion. If we are not in the Bible, we will operate on our own thoughts and motives. We must be in the Word!

I have been thinking a lot about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and their decision not to bow to the gold statue that their king ordered them to bow to. Despite threat of death, they honored God. We are at a “gold statue” moment in the United States. This is our time to choose whom we will serve.

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, “Your Majesty, we will not try to defend ourselves. 17 If the God whom we serve is able to save us from the blazing furnace and from your power, then he will. 18 But even if he doesn’t, Your Majesty may be sure that we will not worship your god, and we will not bow down to the gold statue that you have set up.” Daniel 3:16-18

Today, we are being given an opportunity to be exactly who God says we are: SET APART. Be set apart, Christian! Be different!

Will you be persecuted? Yes. Criticized? Absolutely. But I’ve decided to follow Jesus. If Jesus was willing to bear the cross for me, then I am willing to bear the criticism of this world.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
(Romans 12:2)

The New Face of “Hate”—and the Message of Grace

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My heart hurts a little today. Not gonna lie. Turns out that God’s word is unpopular. I have gay friends. I love them. I’ve never said an unkind word to them. I’ve never been rude, disrespectful or the least bit “hateful.”

However, apparently my stance that God created marriage and that His word is authoritative and inerrant on all matters pertaining to life and death has made me hateful. As such, I have become the target for some truly hateful comments. People have said they wished I would die, called me a bigot, said that their god is “disgusted” with me. Several posters questioned whether or not I should be allowed to keep my “indoctrinating” my own children. “I hate you!” one woman yelled in a Facebook post, “You should not be allowed to live in this country!” Shortly after that, another woman said I was the “most ignorant, hateful person she had ever encountered.”

Really? Does she not get out much? If I’m the meanest person she has ever encountered she should meet some of my social media “followers.”

In a breath-taking departure from the rule of law, the Supreme Court has mandated a new moral code for you. So how do we…

Posted by The Busy Mom on Monday, 29 June 2015

A few days ago, when our president colored the White House with God’s rainbow in celebration of what God calls sin, my heart broke. Like many of you reading this, I felt I could barely breathe. It was an affront to the millions of people in this nation whose very souls ached at the sight—but more importantly, it was an affront to God.

As I was being publicly mocked for “sheltering” my kids via homeschooling them, the US Department of Education changed their Facebook profile to celebrate what God calls sin. As I have said before, education is never, ever neutral. In Luke 6:40, the Bible teaches us that when a “student is fully trained, he will be like his teacher.” And now, if you dare to disagree with the state teaching your children their version of morality—get ready—you’ll be called hateful. I can almost guarantee it. This is the new “tolerance.”

Listen. Can I just say again that I stand on the word of God? Shoot the messenger if you must, but one day, I’ll stand before the Lord and give an account of my life. I’m clinging to the only thing in this life that is true: the gospel. I have my own sin. I myself am in need of a savior; of His grace. It is ungrace to deny His power and saving grace in my own life. For me to not love other people would be an affront to the One who gave His life for me. Lord! Help me to love like Jesus loves!

In my grief, I wonder: could it be that these attacks toward anyone who dares to hold to the authority of Scripture betray a deep longing for grace? I believe many who post such things live just beneath a thinly veiled search for grace, a desperate longing to be truly loved. We were created by God and for God … and love is here. Love won at the cross.

Because of the cross, grace is here. The message of the cross is grace; and in the same way I have felt personally wounded, it occurs to me that grace is just that—deeply personal. God’s grace abounds, even now. He rejoices when even one of his lost ones comes home.

Grace baffles those who have never experienced it. The world us the opposite of grace. The world, and unfortunately, the church is known for it’s lack of grace, not for grace. In this context, I understand why one man said I was “just like the Taliban.” He’s never experienced grace. It’s hard to comprehend why or even how God could extend outstretched arms to us even in our sin. And yet, that’s what He does. He freely offers grace, mercy and forgiveness. He says, “I love you—and you’re wrong.” This is a dichotomy that is almost impossible to comprehend in our world. Grace, God’s grace, is only free because God has paid the cost.

We cannot stop saying that grace is for everyone anymore than we can stop speaking the truth about sin.

This is the message of the cross: the hope and change this nation is looking for will never be found apart from faith in Jesus. This is where I stand, battle weary and bruised, wearing humbly the criticism that really is aimed at the cross of Jesus Christ. He gave His very life for me. I can do no less than proclaim His love and mercy until He brings me Home.

Heidi St. John

Speaking the Truth in Love