Dear Deacon John,
As we near the end of the fourth week of this 40 Days for Life campaign, we know of ...
... 265 babies whose mothers decided at the last moment to choose life!
Abortions can often be pursued for financial reasons. If times are tough, another mouth to feed may seem like an impossible challenge ... and abortion is sold as an easy way out.
Kim, the local 40 Days for Life leader in Modesto, California offered this account of a woman who was in this position ... but eventually realized that abortion was not the solution to her problems.
... 265 babies whose mothers decided at the last moment to choose life!
Abortions can often be pursued for financial reasons. If times are tough, another mouth to feed may seem like an impossible challenge ... and abortion is sold as an easy way out.
Kim, the local 40 Days for Life leader in Modesto, California offered this account of a woman who was in this position ... but eventually realized that abortion was not the solution to her problems.
Modesto, California
A woman slotted for an abortion walked past a group of our 40 Days for Life volunteers who were outside the clinic, keeping silent and prayerful vigil. She went into the clinic, checked in, and sat in the waiting room to be called.
She was eight weeks pregnant with her fifth child, and she and her family were homeless, living in shelters and the occasional motel room. Her husband, fifteen years her senior, was disabled several years ago, but had not been approved for disability, so he received no income. The family was destitute, with nowhere to turn.
Inside the clinic, the woman fidgeted and nervously tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. On her way to her appointment she had prayed to God to give her a sign. She couldn’t get the picture of those prayerful volunteers out of her mind. Why were they there? Why did they care so much? Was this the sign from God she was looking for?
Her heart started beating faster and her conscience was pricked. She knew that the baby she was carrying was just that – a baby – not a lump of cells, as she had been told. She began getting more and more nervous.
Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She knew she couldn’t go through with the abortion and she walked out of the clinic.
She stood on the street corner for a moment, trying to compose herself, when she noticed a kind woman smiling at her. She approached the woman, a member of our 40 Days for Life prayer team, and she was given a loving ear, along with a list of resources and referral to the Modesto Pregnancy Center, a local pro-life, Christian resource in our town.
Our community is coming together to help her with temporary housing and to meet some of her other needs.
God is truly working miracles in Modesto, California ... and our 40 Days for Life team feels blessed to be a part of it, however small. Praise God, for He is good; His mercy endures forever!
Thanks again to Kim in Modesto for this update!
Today’s devotional is from Rev. Ben Sheldon, president emeritus of Presbyterians for Life.
Day 27 intention
We pray for the gift of openness to children.
Scripture
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.
And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
— Genesis 1:27-28
Reflection by Rev. Ben Sheldon
God’s intention is that we multiply and fill the earth. One of the most perni-cious lies that sociologists have foisted off on the public is that the earth is be-coming overpopulated.
What kind of a sadistic god would cre-ate the earth and human creatures on it, only to have them literally repro-duce themselves into oblivion?
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our divine Creator, has commanded us to multiply and fill the earth and far from letting the popula-tion get out of control, He has, in fact given his human creatures a dominical role over all the lesser creatures.
The “birth control” movement, which had its beginnings with Margaret Sang-er in the early years of the last century, has led, in many parts of the world, to a birthrate that is drastically below the normal replacement rate.
God’s Word assures us that children are a blessing, that they are a reward of faithfully trusting and serving God and that they are the crown of their parents’ old age.
The spread of the contraception men-tality that has so permeated our cul-ture is, undoubtedly, a factor in the ready acceptance of abortion. God’s commandment to multiply and fill the earth has never been withdrawn. May
He help us to accept the gift of children and give him thanks for every baby who is born into the world.
Prayer
Father of mercy and grace, we thank you for the gift of our children. Grant that every fiber of our being may re-joice when a new baby, our own or any else’s, is born into the world. Help us to welcome them as we would welcome you, for whenever a new baby is conceived, another life to bear your image and another voice to praise and worship you, is beginning. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
Printable devotional
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For life,
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SHAWN CARNEY
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
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