A Baby is a Baby

The other night Bill O'Reilly ("The O'Reilly Factor") was talking to a guest, a young, very earnest and very liberal woman. The topic was a demonstration by a Christian group and counter-demonstration that had taken place in San Francisco. The woman was very anti-Christian, and when Mr. O'Reilly asked her why, her response included the Christians' views against gays and abortions, yada, yada, yada and the support of the killing of all those innocent Afghanis and Iraqis. Well, at some point Mr. O'Reilly asked her how she could condone the killing of all those babies. Her response? "They're not babies. They're fetuses. Science has proven that they are fetuses and not babies." I'm afraid I said a bad word to the TV set when I heard that. Well, OK, it was toward her. What kind of specious argument is that? Science hasn't proven anything of the sort. They have only given a label to that particular stage of human development. What science has proven is that by the time most women know they are pregnant and are considering an abortion, that child is fully formed - two arms, two legs, 10 fingers, 10 toes, ears, eyes, mouth and nose - not a baby?! Somewhere I read that humans cannot long live with a dichotomy between what they believe and how they act. If they are unwilling to change how they act, they will need to change what they believe. It's the only explanation I can find for this insanity. If killing babies is wrong, then those babies need to become something other than babies in order to justify the act. This woman, and many others like her, has swallowed Satan's lies - hook, line and sinker. It is sad, and probably more appropriately prayed for than sworn at.

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

Cultivating Faithfulness and Delight

"Trust in the Lord and do good,
Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness
Delight yourself in the Lord
And He will give you the desires of your heart
Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
And He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgement as the noonday."
Psalm 37:3-6 (NASB)

After reading this today, I looked up few of the words in the dictionary:
Delight - To take great plesure; to give keen enjoyment; to give joy or satisfaction.
Cultivate - To foster the growth of; to improve by labor, care or study; to encourage; to seek the society of or make friends with.
Faithfulness - Steadfastness in affection; firmness in adherence to promises or in observance of duty; conscientiousness.

I may be taking too many liberties with this, but I have paraphrased it in the following way:
So, as I live in the circumstances that God has given me, I am to actively foster the growth (by care and study) of my affection and allegiance to God. I am to take great pleasure in the Lord - getting joy and satisfaction from His presence. Further, I am to seek His society and make friends with Him. Trust Him - He will keep His promises, and will give me my heart's desires.

Not just commands to me, but also a promise from Him! I suspect as I grow closer to Him, a few of those desires will change to be more in line with His, also! :-)

Divine Appointment

Was struck by something from last week's Bible study. We are just starting a study in 1st Timothy, and in 1st Tim1:12, Paul speaks of the Lord appointing him to His service. Ephesians 2:8-10 states "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NIV) Not only has he saved us, but he has also given us work to do; a divine appointment, if you will. Webster defines appoint as "to fix or set officially; to name officially." An appointment is "the designation by virtue of a vested power of a person to enjoy an estate." Here in Washington, power capital of the world, an appointment is a coveted thing - usually seen as an honor for work well done. Do I see my appointment from God in a similar way? As an awesome honor, a blessing bestowed on me for no other reason than that He loves me and I am His through the work of His Son?! Whatever the work God has given me to do, I do need to see it that way - with joy that God has so honored me as to give me a job in His service.

"Don't Hit Him!"

Truly enjoyed the "Hannity & Colmes" circus tonight. Hannity & his guest were so in each others' faces, pointing fingers and shouting over each other. I don't think either one was actually listening to what the other was saying. Colmes was at the side, flapping his hands uselessly - "Don't hit him, don't hit him." Sometimes I wonder if his sole purpose on the show is to keep Hannity and guest from killing each other! :-)

Strange Priorities

The other day, we had an off-site office function. The function was held at a location about one-quarter to one-half mile from the office. The day was balmy, sunny, with the promise of spring. Nearly everyone got in their cars, & fought the traffic and parking for that quarter mile or so, instead of walking for 15 minutes. Now the question is, how many of those folks are paying several hundred dollars a year for gym memberships, and how many drove themselves to the gym later that afternoon to spend their 30 minutes on a treadmill to nowhere?

A while back I heard a story about a mother who was preparing her young son for a move. He wanted to know if he could take his toys to the new home. The response was "Yes." Then he asked if he could take his Sunday School teacher. The response to that question was "No." My immediate response to this little story was, "oh yeah." You can take all of the things but none of the people. That's when it hit me - that perhaps I relied more on things than friends when I was growing up. Not necessarily all that surprising for someone who grew up in a military family, and never lived in the same place or had the same friends for more than a couple of years at a time.

I have some dear friends in my life now whom I have known and loved for more than 6 years. Not very long, in a lifetime, but our lives have become so entertwined over the years that I can hardly remember what life was like before them. These girlfriends - sisters, really - have taught me more about life and relationships than I ever thought possible. More than I knew I needed to know! If I am ever blessed with a husband, any success in that relationship will be in no small part because of the lessons my friends have taught me, as they loved me and taught me how to love them through all the ups and downs that life has to offer.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose confidence is in him.
He will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (NIV)