Thoughts on the 44th anniversary of Roe v. Wade

It was 44 years ago today that the Supreme Court threw out laws against abortion in all 50 states, trampling state sovereignty and the Tenth Amendment. But much worse than that, the court opened the floodgates to 58,000,000 babies being brutally slaughtered in the name of "reproductive choice" and "personal autonomy." This is the great moral stain on our nation, far worse than slavery, Jim Crow, the genocide of the American Indians or any other wicked thing our nation has done.

What must a holy and righteous God think when he looks upon this slaughter? We can discern what He thinks from His holy Word:

• And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. -- 2 Kings 17:17-18

• Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto Me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter, That thou hast slain My children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them? -- Ezekiel 16:20-21

• And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. -- Jeremiah 32:35

I have been accused of using "inflammatory rhetoric" when speaking of abortion. But when over a million babies are being murdered by dismemberment every single year, is there any language that can be used to describe it that is too inflammatory? No, there is not. The reason people object to "inflammatory" terms like slaughter and murder is because it exposes their shame and the reality of what they support. I refuse to use language that covers for and gives euphemisms for murder.

I have been told that my "inflammatory rhetoric" will not convince anyone why abortion is wrong, but the reality is that I do not need to convince anyone. We all know what is going on here, no matter how fervently we deny the truth in front of our eyes. Most of us have seen the pictures of bloody aborted babies. Instead, I am calling on this nation and this city to repent of the bloodshed we have allowed and supported. While I certainly support efforts to inform people about abortion, the need we have is not education. We need repentance.

We have heard much in the last year about how we need to "make America great again," but America will never be great so long as we are exterminating millions of unborn babies with the full protection and blessing of our state, federal and local governments. No nation that embraces such wickedness and denies basic human rights to the most defenseless among us is or ever will be great.

There are things to be encouraged about. We have seen a lot of pro-life legislation, and it is very encouraging to see young people motivated to oppose abortion. But what we really need is God's mercy on us. We need to pray that God sends His Spirit to us to convict us of sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:7-11) and being us back to the Cross. Without a spiritual reformation, we cannot and will never win this war and protect God's little ones. We will instead be in line for God's judgment. Won't you pray for repentance on this bloody, horrible day?

40 Days for Life – Fall 2016

The following was written by CCFL Board member Kathy Penrod.

I want to state first of all that I am not a person who likes to be out front in the spotlight. Give me something to do behind the scenes and I am a happy person. I don’t like crowds and I don’t like being in groups of people I don’t know. That being said, is it any wonder it has taken me several years to really get involved with the 40 days for life? When I first started going to PP to stand in protest for the lives lost right here in our town, I had to go with a friend.

When I did finally sign up for a time that no one else was able to cover, I drove around the block a few times trying to get up the courage to actually park and get out of the car. I would leave if there were others who showed up that I didn’t know. Sounds extremely paranoid right? Even after all this, I still felt God calling me to go and stand silently praying. So in 2016 both in the spring and fall 40 days for life events, I signed up. At the spring event, I didn’t sign up for a lot of time but at the fall event which just ended, I signed up for multiple times.

So, what have I learned by my time spent there in front of PP? Well, first I learned that I don’t have a life, that I am unemployed, and there is one guy in Bloomington who thinks he can have a baby since he yelled from his car “my body, my choice.” And there were some interesting suggestions made by passers-by about how I could better spend my time.

Seriously though, the most important thing about spending so much time alone was that I prayed and read the scriptures as I stood. I memorized one Psalm and started on a second one. I spent almost 16 hours of quality time with God. I met some new friends and spent time with some old friends. I learned how not to be angry at those who responded negatively to my presence there.

Instead I learned to pray for God to reveal Himself to them and that they would come to accept His mercy. I learned that you don’t have to say a word to be a witness. I learned that I am stronger and have more courage than I thought. And I learned that I have not spent enough time on my knees before God praying for an end to abortion in our city, in our country, and in our world.

I never thought that standing in front of the abortion clinic would help deepen my relationship with God but it has, or that I would be strengthened in my faith but I have. I gained so much more than I gave. Time spent there was truly no sacrifice, in fact that plot of grass in front of PP became my altar. I have been so blessed to be a part of this ministry. I hope others have found the same to be true for them.