embryonic stem cell research

What do you really think?

What do you know about it?

What are your thoughts about it?

Good?

Bad?

How do your own values or morals play a role?

Even if you don't know a whole lot about it, what are some are your first thoughts?

Curious....

the fight for justice: eugenics

Racism.

Birth Control.

Feminist Movement.

Planned Parenthood.

Abortion.

How did it all start?

How did it all start? And though some of you probably don't think it about it all, most of you would probably even care less to hear the facts. In fact, a part from the rest of the world, a vast majority of Christians are using birth control and, many I've met, unwilling to hear anything beyond what they already know. If you would like to read my blog on birth control please click HERE.

But how did it all get started? As my husband and I continue to serve the LIFE movement, we keep coming back to this very thing.....EUGENICS. Eugenics is "the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating)". Simply put: It's the idea of an ideal race, which ultimately makes it an elite race, because you must fit into a specific inherited characteristics of both physical and mental class. Those who honor the eugenics movement talk of both bad and good eugenics. "Eugenics is good when it is based on a realistic understanding of our limited knowledge of biological inheritance, and when it is guided by a moral sympathy for the weaker members of society. Eugenics is bad when it is motivated by a utopian vision of human perfectibility through the breeding of superior races, and when it is unchecked by humanitarian sympathy." Darwinists would consider them to believe in good eugenics. Although, I'm not sure about that because Darwins belief is that we evolved from apes, and many eugenicists use that as leverage to say that Africans, those who look ape-like, are not evolved completely. This is why eugenics was huge during the slave trade. Africans were considered to be ignorant, illiterate and treated as animals - why? Because of the link between Darwinism and eugenics.

In fact, guess who helped fund Margaret Sanger's, founder of Planned Parenthood, move toward women's rights to birth control? Yep, you got it. Eugenics. Sanger needed funding for her belief for contraceptives so she turned to eugenics for the help. If she could convince Eugenicists that they could use birth control as a way of controlling birth rate of those who were not ideally fitting the class they preferred, it would help them serve their greater purpose. And this is the beginning of what we now see as modern racism. 98% of all Planned Parenthood's are placed in minority neighborhoods. Since 1973, legal abortion has killed more African Americans than AIDS, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and violent crime combined. Every week, more blacks die in American abortion clinics than were killed in the entire Vietnam war. Don't believe anything I'm saying? I encourage you to watch this documentary and know the facts:

Maafa 21

When will the fight for justice end? When will people seek to know the truth? When will we be willing to change what we want to do and ask God what he thinks about all of this?

Eugenics - you call it revolutionary....I call it evil.

For Justice sake

THEY CAME FOR THE COMMUNISTS,

AND I DIDN'T SPEAK UP BECAUSE I WASN'T COMMUNIST.

THEN THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS,

AND I DIDN'T SPEAK UP BECAUSE I WASN'T A JEW.

THEN THEY CAME FOE THE TRADE UNIONISTS,

AND I DIDN'T SPEAK UP BECAUSE I WASN'T A TRADE UNIONIST.

THEN THEY CAME FOR THE CATHOLICS,

AND I DIDN'T SPEAK UP BECAUSE I WAS PROTESTANT.

THEN THEY CAME FOR ME,

AND BY THAT TIME NO ONE WAS LEFT TO SPEAK UP.

~ Poem attributed to Martin Niemoeller

Niemoeller was an influential Lutheran pastor from WWII Germany who was initially complicit with Hitler's political agenda and pledged him the support of the Protestant Churches he represented. When Niemoeller finally recognized Hitler's true intentions and realized he was not going to honor any of the allegiances he had made to the Church, he with-drew his support form the Nazi party. He was subsequently arrested and spent the remainder of the war in the Nazi prison and eventually the Dachau concentration camp as one of Hitler's personal prisoners.

What a challenging poem! The word of God says, "RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE are the foundation of Your throne! Lovingkindness and truth go before you" (Psalm 89:14). Can I be really honest about something I have observed over the years of being a part of Bound4LIFE? A lot of people don't take serious their call to justice on behalf of those things which are right in the eyes of God. Abortion is just one issue among many that needs justice to be served; I understand that. But even among the many, how many of us can actually say we've taken on one of them and are the front-lines to see resolution? Would we lose face, as Niemoeller did, and forfeit any amount of comfortable living for the sake of justice and righteousness? What about abortion? What about human trafficking? What about the nation of Israel and the Jewish people? What will it take before we stand and be bold in what we know is right before God?

Maybe it will take us being the ones served unjustly. But then....will it be too late?

My food for thought today. God bless!

Love,

Crystal

Evoking God's Heart

Have you ever read about the persistent widow in Luke 18? I probably read it or meditate on it several times during the week. It's because I am so undone by this women's persistence to fight for justice on her behalf. She wanted legal protection, and even though the judge was not a God-fearing man, he grew weary in her prevail. Right after this story, a promise is given to us. If an unrighteous judge will bring justice to one who persists in asking, how much more will God bring justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night! Then the passage goes on saying, "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly." Sometimes I think one of the reasons we see so much injustice in the world today is because God is waiting on us. Are we really so undone and broken that we would cry out to God day and night until we see justice? Are we really sold out to God in a such a way that we would lose face, forfeit our reputation and be criticized for being super-spiritual because we authentically desire to see justice and righteousness in our own hearts? We say with our mouths we want God, but do our hearts really count that cost?

I was reading this week from Matthew and as I came upon chapter 6 is goes on and on about looking to earthly things for fulfillment. It's the "treasures" verse. We all know it. But as I was reading it this time, God began to quicken my heart. After everything is said and done He ends this way, "But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (vs. 33) It was like God was sending a reality check my way :) "Don't you see Crystal, that you will only have these things if you seek my Kingdom first!" It was like God was, once again, reminding me that I live for Him, he doesn't live for me. So many times our prayer life consists of complaints or requests, maybe even anxious thoughts. But I was beginning to see the bigger picture. Seek first the Kingdom and then those things will be of no value to you. I thought about the last time I came before God where I had no requests or anxieties. The last time I just sat with God and appreciated Him, just thanked Him and enjoyed His presence. To be quite honest, it had been awhile. Our miracles and destiny come out of relationship with God. Who wants to see their family or their husbands only on the weekend? Not me, I enjoy spending time with my husband everyday. It's the same way with God. God wants all of us, not just moments.

It's like the persistent widow. She was teaching us something about prayer. Her story is in the Bible so that we could learn how to pray. God wants us to pursue Him. He wants us to get down-right dirty in prayer. He wants us to cry out to Him day and night. I personally believe that if the Church would commit themselves to prayer, we would see an out-pouring of God's Spirit like never before. We would see justice come to unborn babies, the sanctity of marriage upheld, the ending of embryonic stem-cell research and broken homes and broken families to know the love of God. That's what prayer does, it brings access to Heaven. Persistent prayer evokes the heart of God!

If you would like to begin praying more often and want to be involved with others who do as well, I encourage you to come to the Rochester's Prayer Center all-night gathering. Their third all night prayer is March 19th @ 7PM @ Bethel Christian Fellowship and you can check it out on Facebook. RPC's vision is to begin praying together, in hope that one day there will be 24-7 prayer in the city of Rochester. This WILL only be possible if the Church of Rochester embraces it. It won't take one man, it will take the people of God. It's time we become like the persistent widow and evoke the heart of God.

Eat your spinach and embrace His heart

God has specifically placed some things on my heart over some time. Both Brandon and I have had a lot of thought to the things we have embraced as our "call". Now I know in my last blog I said calling has everything to do with who we are and not what we do, but as I use the word calling in this blog, I am referring to those things which God has told us to embrace for a lifetime. There are three giants God continues to powerful speak to us about and the more I seek God, the more God puts these injustices at the forefront of my mind. Here they are:

1. Innocent Blood-shed

This specifically dealing with abortion. there are other things it can entail, but we believe God has called us to stand on behalf of the unborn until the scurge of abortion has come to an end. (Visit us sometime at myspace.com/bound4liferochester OR citytocity.webs.com)

2. Sexual Perversity

This specifically, but not limited to, dealing with homosexuality. I don't feel the need to go into deal on how God has put this on our heart, but one thing is true: this is a giant that has evolved so large that we need the Church to work together and pray together to see this giant shut-up.

3. Idolatry

This specifically with radical Islam. I say radical because I'm not talking about your friend who claims to be Muslim but doesn't necessarily believe all the ins and outs of her Islamic traditions. Whether you know a lot about Islam or not, between time and fate, I believe this war may come down to the battle of Christianity and Islam.

Now I tell you all that only to open up my own heart and reveal some of the things God has personally spoken to myself and to Brandon. We have embraced a 'life calling' to fight for the injustice in these areas. Whether we see change in our lifetime or not, we have embraced the cause for the glory of God....and we will not stop at any cost.

Isaiah 42 talks about the Servant, who is Christ. But we are also His servant. Because Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to God, we now are in Christ's position. He lives in us and us in Him. In verse 4 it says, "He will faithfully bring forth justice. he will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law." (Is. 42:4) This is important. Whatever you feel God has called you to, it's important to embrace it to the point of death. Meaning - whether what He calls you to comes to pass or not, you remain faithful, steadfast and undiscouraged by what you see. you do not become disheartened or crushed, but you follow through until the end. Do you have a cause as such? has God given you vision for something? Has God set your heart so on fire to see something come to pass in your lifetime? That's where I'm at. What is it that God has given you to embrace? What is your cause?

I remember a preacher once reminding me of the story of Popeye. Did you ever watch that as a kid? I loved it. My dad and I would always wrestle when I was little and when I was losing I would always pretend to eat a can of spinach in the middle of the match. After I did that, I dramatically acted out my instantaneous growing body and began to be fierce in the face. Then my dad would let me win. (i wonder if it was his way of getting me to eat the real thing.) do remember how Popeye and Bluto use to fight over Olive?Bluto was this big bully who always seem to get the eye of Olive first. But Olive's heart belonged to Popeye. And even though she would temporarily give her time to Bluto, she would always wait on Popeye to come and pursue her. But what did it take? It wasn't until Bluto began to be unjust with Olive. When he began to mis-use her and take advantage and then Popeye would say, "i can't stanz it...I can't stanz it no moe!" Then Popeye would eat his spinach and kick the crap out of Bluto. See, God says His heart belongs to us. There is so much injustice in this world, but he waits until we'll pursue Him for Him to actually give His heart over. Is there anything in your heart toward something that says "I can't stanz it...I can't stanz it no moe!" Than I encourage you to seek God concerning it! I can't stand innocent blood-shed. I can't stand sexual perversity. And i can't stand idolatry! I believe we can also make a spiritual parallel with the spinach being the Holy Spirit. Popeye would try to fight Bluto in his own strength first, but he would always fail. But God promises that if we allow Him to be our strength, nothing is impossible. Now in whatever you believe God has called you to, allow the Holy Spirit to do it in and through you.

I am the Lord. I have called you to righteousness, i will hold you by the hand and watch over you. And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations. (Is. 42:6)

The Lord will go forth like a warrior. he will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry. he will prevail against His enemies (Is. 42:13)

This is a war. BUT GOD fights on our behalf. HE FIGHTS on OUR behalf. I think we forget that when God calls us to something (especially something that is injust) we think we fight on His behalf. I so easily forget that He does it for me and through me. If God is for you, who can be against you? I know we've heard it many times, but I think the reason we so easily forget it is because we want our justice now. We give ourselves over to the cause of Christ for a moment, but if the moment doesn't bear fruit we can see, then we give up. Remember friends, that many hearts will grow cold as this age continues. Why do they grow cold?...Because of wickedness in the earth. that tells me that God is gonna call us to things that we may never see change. But thats ok.... Be encouraged - Because God is for YOU! Embrace your call. Embrace His heart.