Unlimited Abortion in NYS

Below is an article that is not new news, but summarizes both what Spitzer (before his fall) was trying to accomplish here in NYS, and what the two Democratic presidential candidates are doing in the Senate regarding abortion. As I’ve said before, there should be limits on abortion just as there are controls and limits on such rights as free speech and freedom of assembly. Abortion clinics should be regulated and inspected by the state, for example, to protect women’s health. Even rights specifically mentioned in the Constitution have limits placed on them. Why should abortion, an invented right not mentioned in the Constitution, be exempt? Note that this article was written before Spitzer had to quit. Write to the new Governor and ask him not to continue Spitzer’s policies in this matter.

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer (D) is pushing a bill in his state’s legislature that seeks to declare abortion a fundamental right for all women. The bill would make abortions virtually immune to state regulation, end conscience protections and, most likely, force the numerous Christian-run hospitals in the state to close rather than be forced to violate their faith by carrying out abortions or referring women to abortuaries. The bill also would expand the field of people who can perform abortions while eliminating the possibility of passing restrictions that have wide public support, such as parental notification, informed consent laws and waiting periods.

Governor Spitzer rose to power in New York State with tremendous support from NARAL and Planned Parenthood, mainly due to his adamant support of abortion and his unbridled hostility towards pregnancy care centers. Coincidentally, the two leading Democratic nominees for president, Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barak Obama (R-Ill.) are cosponsors of a similar bill in the U.S. Senate introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) that, if enacted, would effectively overturn most state laws on abortion. States, like Georgia, that are currently trying to reflect the pro-life majority among their population would be left with little choice but to subsidize abortions with taxpayer dollars if this legislation is passed and signed into national law.

(by Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C. Quoted from “The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing”, an e-newsletter published by Focus on the Family, Feb. 29, 2008. Copyright © 2008, Focus on the Family. All rights reserved.)

The Religious Left

The media and leftist politicians write and speak often of the “Religious Right” and Hillary Clinton once spoke of a “vast right-wing conspiracy,” which included, I would assume, this notorious Religious Right.

With the flap about Obama’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, we are getting a rude awakening – there is a Religious Left! We don’t think about it, but the former Bishop Shelby Spong, a Bishop in the Episcopal Church (now retired) who could only be described as a heretic; the Rev. Jesse Jackson; Hillary Clinton; the whole so-called Jesus Seminar; most seminary professors; and others in academia, the media, and in politics are members of the Religious Left.

With Rev. Wright, there are overtones of racism in addition to his leftist leanings. I say there are racist overtones because he doesn’t appear to care very much for white people. He claimed “the government” developed HIV/AIDS to kill black people. I would presume “the government” in this case must mean white people, unless blacks in government wanted to kill off their brothers and sisters in the African-American community.

We’ve gotten a glimpse into the mind of the Religious Left, and it isn’t always a pretty picture.

Invitation to Men of the Hudson Valley

For those of you in the Hudson Valley, we are inviting men from through out the Valley to come together, unified in prayer, on Friday, March 28th from 7-10 PM. Let’s break down the walls that divide us and unite under the banner of Jesus! This event is being sponsored by The Hudson Valley Men of God, who would like to bring men from all Christian denominations together for a night of prayer. The program will be held at a public High School, Roy C. Ketcham, in Wappingers Falls.

We will be praying through on Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper and will be led by 8 Prayer Warriors from various churches from the area:

1. A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit (Pastor Jesse Bottoms Beulah Baptist – Poughkeepsie).

2. A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises. Captain James Brennan (Salvation Army Worship Center – Newburgh)

3. Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity. Pastor Tony Beck (Christ Church, United Methodist Church – Beacon)

4. A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values. Pastor Ronald O Perry (Springfield Baptist Church – Beacon)

5. A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources. Rev. Tom Michaels Zahradnik (Sound of Life Radio – Lake Katrine)

6. A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity. Deacon Michael Sanchez (Mission Church AG – Holmes)

7. A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (see Mark 12:30-31) Pastor Mike Gerhardt (New Beginnings CMA – Poughkeepsie)

8. Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:19-20). Pastor Bobby Hargraves (Calvary Chapel of The Hudson Valley – La Grange)

Our vision is to fill all of the seats with men from all races and denominations, and to reach out to the Lord and make a statement to the rest of Hudson Valley. The program will begin and end in musical worship and will have a fellowship break in the middle with beverages and snacks. Their will be no suggested donation for this program.

Meanings of the Resurrection

With Easter just past, I would like to explore with you the several layers of meanings to the Resurrection, and how they are relevant to our faith walk today.

1. Messiah and Son of God

The first meaning is obvious: Jesus’ Resurrection proved that he was the promised Messiah. But it goes beyond being the Messiah, because the people misunderstood what the Messiah was to be all about. Jesus was the Messiah, but so much more. He is also the Son of God – God in the flesh – who came to earth to accomplish God’s plan to save the human race from the results of its sinful condition. We have all fallen short of God’s standard, but Jesus took care of that dilemma on the Cross, which leads into the second meaning of the Resurrection.

2. Good Triumphs over Evil

The second message for us in the Resurrection is the triumph of Good over Evil. The struggle between good and evil are recurring themes in the Bible. These forces are in constant conflict, which we see every day – just look at the news. What we see on the news, and often in our own lives, is a spiritual struggle that has spread to the physical realm with the fall of Adam and Eve. Let us be agents of good, triumphing over evil, as described in Romans 12:20-21, NRSV:

“If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

When we consider the events of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we see that God has Good triumphing over Evil in at least three ways.

a. Jesus Triumphs over Death

The first way God triumphed over evil is that Jesus triumphed over death. Can you imagine how Jesus felt to be free of the grip of death, to be out of that cold tomb! The angels must have been singing and praising God, just as they did on that first Christmas morning 33 years earlier.

b. Jesus Triumphs over Worldly Evil

The second way Jesus triumphed over evil is that he triumphed over the plots of evil men, who wanted him gone for good. The Resurrection points to the eventual complete defeat of all evil – Christ’s Resurrection is the beginning of the end for the forces of Evil.

Despite the temptations, pain, suffering and grief that we have to endure in this life, remember that you and I are on the winning side. Halleluiah! So don’t let the trials of this life get you down – continue to look to Jesus, as we read in Hebrews 12:3:

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. NIV

c. Jesus Conquered Death

The third way Jesus triumphed over evil is that he conquered death for all of us by his Crucifixion and Resurrection. What does “conquered death” mean? It means we no longer have to fear death, because we now know with certainty we are going to a much better place when we check out of here. Yes, we still have physical death, as Jesus acknowledged in John 11:25-26, but we live on spiritually:

Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” NRSV

Jesus conquered death, so that we, who choose to believe, can be assured that physical death is a doorway to another, much better, life. We read in Romans 8:1-2:

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. NRSV

3. God’s Sign of Approval

The Third meaning of the Resurrection, in addition to proving Jesus is the Son of God and the triumph of Good over Evil, is that it is a sign of God’s approval. God’s approval of what? By the Resurrection, God demonstrated his approved of what Jesus did on Friday. Although in human terms it would appear that Jesus was a complete failure, the Resurrection tells us otherwise. The Resurrection is solid proof that Jesus didn’t fail by allowing himself to be arrested and executed. Instead, he was being obedient to God’s plan, as we see in his prayer to the Father just prior to his arrest (Matthew 26:39b):

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” NRSV

Furthermore, we read in Philippians 2:8 about Jesus’ obedience to God:

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. NRSV

Let me summarize what I understand this season to be all about. Our hope as Christians is grounded in the gift of eternal life which we receive the day we believe. This Resurrection hope is our way out of the valley of darkness and despair through which all of us walk at one time or another. The Resurrection illustrates that hope, plus points to our own resurrections in the last days.

This gift of eternal life begins right now for all who worship the risen Christ, and trust him as their Savior. By God’s grace and thru our faith in Christ, we will spend eternity with the Father who made us and the Son who saved us. This is the hope and the promise which Christians see expressed on Easter Day.

Further Thoughts on the Cross

Christianity has been misunderstood since the beginning, and continues to be misunderstood today, often by Christians themselves. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself was misunderstood, as the Bible points out. To many, it is a complete mystery how one man’s death on a crude Roman cross can have such an impact on the world. This is not a new problem, as the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:21-23 (New Living Translation paraphrased version):

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Despite the “foolishness” of the Cross it stands at the pinnacle of history: it’s that important.

Telling the Story

The Bible describes the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, the agony in the Garden, and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus. We know about the various trials of Jesus as he is shuttled back and forth between the high priest, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, and back to Pilate again. We read about the crowd demanding his crucifixion, about his terrible scourging, and the agonizing walk to Calvary, carrying the heavy wooden cross-beam. The Gospels tell the story almost minute by minute, but they don’t go into much descriptive detail about some of the events.

We may wonder why, but in reality, they didn’t have to. The people of that day, reading these accounts, knew exactly what had happened. For example, it says in John 19:1: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. Nothing more had to be said. Anybody reading this in the first or second centuries knew exactly what this entailed: 39 lashes with a whip that ripped the skin and flesh off the body. Often prisoners died from the flogging.

There is no lengthy description of the crucifixion either, because, again, there was no need for it. Most people in those days had witnessed crucifixions and knew what it involved – no need for gory details. However, the lack of detail doesn’t diminish the significance of the Cross. The significance isn’t in the details, but in the event itself: who it was who died, and why he came to die as part of God’s plan.

Significance of the Cross

The significance of these events lies not in the fact that some innocent man was the victim of a terrible injustice. Many people have suffered terrible injustices throughout history. It isn’t in the fact that some poor guy, trying to do some good, is rewarded by being executed by corrupt authorities who felt threatened by him. Many people have been caught up in power struggles, and have ended up dead. It isn’t in the fact that this was an excruciating death, because many people have suffered agonizing deaths. As a matter of fact, thousands of Jews were crucified after the insurrections of 68-70 and 133-135 against the Romans.

As I said before, the significance of the death of Jesus is not in the method, or who did it, or in any of the details. What makes the death of Jesus so important is that he is the Son of God, and he went voluntarily to his death in fulfillment of God’s plan. How do we know? We read in Philippians 2:8 that Jesus was obedient to God:

He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. NRSV

We also see his yielding to God the Father’s will in his prayer during his agony in the garden (Matthew 26:39b):

“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” NRSV

Old Testament Prophecies

The New Testament explains why Jesus needed to suffer and die – it was God’s way of redeeming the human race. While we look to the New Testament for understanding of the death of Jesus, the Old Testament also clearly explains why the Messiah had to suffer and die. The Old Testament sacrificial system, with the shedding of animal’s blood, points to Jesus and his death (which is needed to get us back into right relationship with God). Isaiah chapter 53 lays out very clearly God’s new plan for the human race 500 years before the Cross.

This concept of a sacrificial death can be difficult to grasp, but we have to take on faith what Jesus accomplished by his suffering and death:

· It was to free us from the penalty of our own transgressions (“was crushed for our iniquities” and “pierced for our transgressions”),

· It was to reconcile us to God (“the punishment that brought us peace”), and it

· It was to give us victory over sin and death (“by his wounds we are healed”).

Therefore, when we put our faith in Christ and what he did on the Cross, it:
· brings us into a right relationship with God (for which we were created),
· transforms us into new creations in Christ, and
· guarantees us a place in heaven despite how rotten we’ve been.

That’s why the Cross and the shed blood of Jesus are so important, offensive as they might seem to those who don’t understand. Apparently there was no other way to effectively – once for all – free the human race from the penalty of our sins and restore us to what we were created to be. One of the best explanations of the death of Jesus is found in Hebrews 9:11-22. This passage links the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus with the Israelite sacrifices of animals, and tells why Jesus’ sacrifice is superior. I’ll read it from The Message, a highly paraphrased version, but one that is easy to follow and explains this in modern terms:

But when the Messiah arrived as high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old [tabernacle] and its trappings in this created world, and went straight into heaven’s “[tabernacle]” — the true Holy Place — once and for all.

He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way.

Even the first plan required a death to set it in motion. After Moses had read out all the terms of the plan of the law — God’s “will” — he took the blood of sacrificed animals and, in a solemn ritual, sprinkled the document and the people who were its beneficiaries.

And then he attested its validity with the words, “This is the blood of the covenant commanded by God.” He did the same thing with the place of worship and its furniture. Moses said to the people, “This is the blood of the covenant God has established with you.” Practically everything in a will hinges on a death. That’s why blood, the evidence of death, is used so much in our tradition, especially regarding forgiveness of sins.

More on Exports from China

In some recent posts, I wrote about the disadvantages of exporting jobs overseas, and importing goods from China. In the Sunday, 3/23/08, edition of the Poughkeepsie Journal, there was an article about electronics imported from that country. As it turns out, viruses have been found in various electronics devices manufactured in China. We’ve had toys with lead paint, contaminated toothpaste and pet food, and now we have to contend with viruses! When are we going to wise up and realize the penalty we are paying for getting goods a few bucks cheaper?

Concluding Thoughts on Temptation (Part 3)

As we saw in the earlier posts about Jesus’ temptation (in Matthew 4:1-11), the devil offered the whole world to Jesus if he would only kneel down and worship him. Today the devil offers us the world by enticing us with materialism, power, sex, money – whatever our weakness is. The Apostle John writes about following the ways of the world in 1 John 2:15-16:

Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; for all that is in the world — the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches — comes not from the Father, but from the world. NRSV

When you find yourself being tempted by something that the world offers, quote to yourself Jesus’ words to the devil: “You must worship the LORD your God, and serve only him.”

That should put things into better perspective, and give you the strength to resist. Also remember what the Apostle John tells us in 1 John 4:4: “Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” NRSV

So let us resist the temptations of this world by getting our priorities straight, building up our faith by Bible study and other spiritual disciplines, remembering whom we serve and to whom we belong, and realizing we have the Holy Spirit within us to protect us from the devil. And always remember: “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

The closer you are to God, the better able you are to resist temptation.