The Silent are Killed

More than one-third of the people in America are killed legally before they are even born. This means that every single person in this nation right know, had about a 37% chance of being aborted in their mother's womb. Abortion kills 2-3 children per minute in the United States alone. Every day babies are stabbed and snatched out of their mothers' wombs.

Back when the Declaration of Independence was written, it was said that a person is "endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights... Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Now that first one really caught my eye. Life. Where has the value of life gone?

Where is God in all this?

Psalm 139:13-14a
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Sadly, our government does not believe that an unborn baby has rights at all. So, at the expense of millions of lives, abortion doctors will continue to perform abortions and women will continue to choose abortion over life. The ending of abortion will not come from you and me. We need help from the Creator of all. First of all, we need to pray for our government and our leaders because nothing we can do will change anything. God changed things. Secondly, we need to tell others about the harm of abortion and open others' eyes to what is legal in America. We can change our friends' minds about abortion.

Now, I am not writing all this to say how terrible America is or to condemn abortion doctors. I am saying this because we need to spread awareness about abortion. Through help from God, we can start opening others' eyes to the value of life.

"I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born." -Ronald Reagan

A fail of a title.

Sometimes it seems like everyone wants a good relationship. Sadly, I think we look in all the wrong places. Seems like many people from school want a boyfriend/girlfriend, or just friends period. You see it everywhere you look--teenagers talking about how much they love their significant other and then the next month they are talking about how he or she broke their heart. They get all goo goo and lovey dovey just to be let down. So immature and SO typical.

Often I wonder how much precious time is put into an empty relationship. Now, don't get me wrong, time should be put into relationships, but people spend too much time fretting over acceptance from someone they "love". The most valuable time that could be spent in our teen years would be to strengthen our relationship with Christ. If our earthly relationships are not God-honoring, then why are we even bothering with them?

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

If we seek God's will, everything will fall into place, though not exactly how we planned! His righteousness should be what we strive after every single day. Seeking acceptance from a boy or girl is silly and can be dishonorable to God. Just love God and he will do the rest!

My Thoughts on Winter Camp 2010

Each year, my church's youth group goes on a winter youth retreat (as many of you know) and this year we had a blast! There's usually some very exciting activities such as tubing, tobogganing, broomball, horseback riding, and, quite possibly my favorite of all, chapel. During chapel we worship and learn about, well, God of course. This year, one thing that the speaker addressed really hit me--Christ is not concerned with religion, he wants a relationship. I have heard this phrase before, but it seems like I hadn't really thought about it as deeply as I did this weekend.

First of all, let's define "religion". According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "religion" is defined as, "a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices." Now for me, that doesn't sound like my faith. Nowhere in that definition does it mention a relationship with Christ; however, it mentions practices. Religion is an "institutionalized system". Religion is focused on good deeds, rules, and standards. If we are genuine Christians, we should not be focused on laws. Christ died so that we wouldn't have to live by rules, but by grace.

C o l o s s i a n s 2 : 1 3
And you, who were dead in your trespasses...God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Jesus canceled our "legal demands". Jesus lived perfectly so we would not have to be religious, he wants a real relationship with each and every one of us. So we don't have to worry about doing, doing, doing. What an amazing God we serve who wants to know us!

My last post was about how Jesus was hated by the Pharisees-- the religious group of people. I just find it interesting how the Pharisees were very prideful in their good works. This can relate to the religions of today and how they can cause people to be prideful in themselves because they teach that you can get to Heaven by your good works. If we live by grace, in a relationship with Christ, we don't point to ourselves for glory, but to Jesus.

Jesus was Hated

Everyone wants to be loved. Sometimes the temptation to be a people-pleaser is almost overbearing. But the Bible says that we will be hated for not being like the world. It's almost inevitable. Jesus was despised and rejected by the world. They nailed him on the cross for goodness sake! So who better to look to, than Jesus, the One who was hated the most?

John 15:18-19
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it has hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Now, I don't think that Jesus was the most popular person in his day. I think that he was misunderstood and hated. The Pharisees hated Jesus. Jesus spoke with the authority that was from God and He was not like them. Jesus wasn't rich nor did he hang out with the Pharisees. Jesus spent his time with the lowly sinners. People in general hated Jesus; they thought he was a hypocrite. Jesus died because people hated him, not to mention that we hated him as well at some point.

If we are not of the world, we will be hated. If we don't do the things that our peers do, we will be hated. If we don't conform, we will be hated.

So, is it worth it? Is God worth being hated and teased? Is He worth losing our popularity and acceptance from others? Wasn't Jesus hated for us? The path that Jesus took was uncomfortable. We have to choose whether we are willing to be uncomfortable in order to give God all the glory that he rightly deserves. It all comes down to what is more important: Christ or acceptance.