Tuesday, December 1, 2015

The Old Has Passed Away



I think Monday should be changed to Rainday. Since I spend several hours outside every Monday on the sidewalks of the abortion center, I am acutely aware that it has rained most Mondays for several months. I wore my  umbrella hat as usual, but didn't have time to take a picture to delight and amuse you all. I was busy almost immediately.

A couple went into the mill, then came out right away. They heard one of our sweet young counselors (Anna) on the microphone urging them to trust God who longs to protect them and bless them in keeping their child. They asked me if they could go on our pro-life mobile ultrasound unit on the RV parked curbside.

I LOVE counseling couples on the RV. Especially on cold, rainy Mondays, since the RV is climate controlled.

This couple sat far apart on the RV couch, clearly at odds. The woman wanted the baby. The man did not. The woman wiped away tears. The man held his face in his hands, and tugged at his hair. Both glared at each other; anger, despair, and fear etched across their young faces.

It was clear that they needed Jesus before anything else. We talked about God, then Heaven, whether they were going there, the nature of sin, the need for a savior, repentance, and faith. The woman silently looked at her hands. The man leaned forward, listening, and asked many questions. I had prepared handouts of verses about God's love, protection, and refuge to those who trust in him. I read a few of those verses. Every now and then, the woman looked up, hopeful, glancing at the man.

Since they had agreed with every point I made, I asked, "Would you like to ask Jesus into your heart right now, to be Lord and Savior of your life?"

They both nodded. I started the prayer, but then each of them prayed out loud. Simply, quietly, each spoke aloud to God, repenting of their sins, and asking Jesus to be Lord of their new lives. The man also asked for strength to do what he knew he must do.


When we finished, we knew NOW they would have the right eyes to see their baby on the ultrasound. Their entire demeanor changed as we all gazed at the baby's miraculous heartbeat on the ultrasound screen.

The woman's face was an ear to ear grin. As the little heart pulsated on the screen, the mama lifted her hand and silently reached out to the image. 
"What do you think now?" I asked the man.
"It is good," he said. The anguish in his expression was gone.

"What have you decided?" I asked them.
There was no wavering. Immediately, they both said they would keep the baby. When they returned to the couch, they sat close together. The woman was beaming, and could not contain her excitement. The young man eagerly agreed to have me text him, as well as the mama, daily Bible verses to encourage them.

"How do you feel?" I asked them, as we handed them their discharge instructions, and gifts.
"Relieved," the man said.
"So excited," the woman said.

The new father thanked and hugged us, all the anger and despair gone. They were going to go out and celebrate, and plan how they would tell their families. The couple who walked off the RV was not the same couple who had walked on.

I love Mondays, even rainy ones. Sometimes God's blessings fall like rain.

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2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ...

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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