The story was a common one. J had all the typical dreams of a happy life, marriage to a great guy, wonderful kids...but along the way, met a man who basically used her. And when she discovered she was pregnant, he magnanimously gave her money...and orders...to abort.
She went to the abortion clinic, but really didn't want to abort. However, what else could she do? Still in school, no savings, minimum wage job, and a boyfriend who would leave if she didn't kill her baby. She prayed and prayed, asking God, "What should I do?"
"But He wouldn't answer," she told me, "I prayed over and over, what should I do??? Tell me God. All I could hear Him say in my heart was, 'You know what to do.' Why wouldn't He tell me??"
"He did answer," I said, "He did tell you. He told you to do what you knew you should do."
"But how would I know? How can we tell what God wants us to do?"
"He wrote it for you," I said. "Thou shalt not murder. He also said to protect the defenseless, speak for the voiceless. Do not harm the innocent. All humans are made in the image of God and thus valued by God. He said woe to those who would cause any of His little ones to perish. He did tell you."
This led to a discussion of God. J had rebelled against God after several beloved family members died. She grew bitter, and depressed. God became a source of fear. What else would she lose? She didn't know if she would go to heaven or not, and as a little girl struggled with overwhelming fear that she would never know when she had crossed the line from good enough to not good enough for God to love her. Then the boyfriend left. She was alone, pregnant, and hopeless.
An abortion worker saw her despair, and told her maybe abortion was not the answer. She put her in touch with the woman who I had been helping, telling her maybe that lady will help you too. That's what led her to call me.
First, we talked more about God. I assured her that she did not need to ever fear if she was good enough for God to love her again. God loves her immeasurably, in fact died for her while she was still an unrepentant sinner...as He did for all of us. He longs that no one should perish but that all should come to Him. And yes, her sin and all our sin separates us from God. As a perfect judge, He must punish sin and the penalty for sin is death, eternal separation from God. But since He is also perfectly merciful and loving, He provided a substitute to pay the penalty on our behalf. That substitute is Jesus.
Jesus had to be sinless, or He would have to pay His own penalty and thus be unable to pay ours. Though He never sinned, He took the penalty of the sin of the world upon Himself, and willingly died to restore us to a righteous relationship with God. When He rose from the dead, He defeated Satan and death once and for all. Our sin, all of it, present, past, and future, was paid in full. We did not have to earn our way to heaven, nor could we. God made an incredible offer to redeem us: we could accept Christ' sacrifice for us, or we could reject it. If we accepted it, we need no longer fear that it could be taken from us. We were saved by Jesus blood on our behalf, and we would be in heaven when we died. Perfect Justice and Mercy and Love were simultaneously satisfied.
We talked two hours, but that is the management summary. She said she wanted to pray to ask Jesus to be Lord of her life. So we did. And then I told her all the things we could do to help her.
"Do you feel better?" I asked her.
"Yes, but I don't know what to say. I don't believe total strangers would help me."
"Join a good church and you will be surprised how much people will want to help you," I urged her.
I had her write her needs for me, and I posted them on Facebook. I quickly got offers from folks who would send donations for gift cards. Within minutes, I got a call from an amazing woman who wants to run her baby shower and get her everything she will need for the first two years of the baby's life. She begged me to let her do this!!!
And then three women responded within minutes to my plea to find a mentor and a church in her area that would guide, befriend, and love her. Within minutes I had a church, a pastor contact, and a family willing to embrace this young lady and help her know she was not alone on this journey.
Folks, THAT is the love of God. That is His abundant, lavish provision working through those that love Him. That is what the church is supposed to be. That is Jesus in the lives of His saints. THAT is God's answer to the evil in this world. YOU. ME. ALL of us serving others in the name of Christ and being obedient to His call.
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Isaiah 55:6-7
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Praise God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for loving us so much, even the smallest in the womb, that His divine love works through the Body of Christ to meet every need. Thank you, Ms. Kaseorg and others who help, for being the hands, voice, and heart of God!
ReplyDeletethank you for your prayers and encouragement
ReplyDeleteI believe evereything this article says,and more than that i believe everything that God says through his word,The Holy Bible,but one has to be careful when looking for a church to join and look for the fruit from a church,it's members,and even it's pastor,esp.its pastor nowadays.Whereas no one can know the heart of another person nor should we judge others,Jesus did say we shall know them by their fruits,and he doesn't want us involved with or financially supporting a church who is not helping the community or its members when they are in need.When I say need I mean food,shelter,clothes,utilities,and of course spreading the gospel in their own community and town,for this is man's greatest need.I say be careful for there are wolves in sheep's clothing,such as pastors who are in it for the money,yes,the salary their church is paying them,which is considerably more than most of us make,esp.if it is a large church.They tell the members what their itching ears want to hear in exchange for a paycheck,lavish lifestyle,and job security.Some of these pastors are not called by God but some believe they are.They get a diploma from seminary and off they go with no calling or guidance from God himself.With lack of guidance the churches look God,feel like they are doing good when the members put there 10% or more in the plate every week,and build bigger churches,and support missions,but what are they doing on the home front.I was going to a church like this when I lost my job and I kept going,never asked for any money,but they come to me with $100.00 and said they felt like they should help us.See us is me,my wife,and three kids.And at that time the money did come in handy,to buy household items,washing powders,toilet paper,etc.,cause I had been out of work for about a month.But they done it to justify themselves,so they can feel like they helped a member of their church in a time of need.I was looking for work,but had not found a job yet.Then a few weeks later I did,for the 1st time,ask the pastor if they could have a singing or just take up a collection to help us pay the bills.He said,to my surprise:"We've already gave you some money to help you one time we can't keep on helping you like that."I was shocked,to say the least.What did they think $100.00 was going to do?You can't get much food at the store for that these days,and we still had an electric and water bill had to be paid,and he knew that the electric company we have will not work with you.The cut off date is 10 days past the due date and they will wack it,no exceptions.Needless to say,I don't go to this Baptist Church any longer.The Lord did provide,as always,and I got another job not long after that.I moved homes,and churches,and the pastor,or members never came to check on my family after this,except one.Regardless of ppl.,the Lord has always took care of my family,even when it looked hopeless at times,Thank you Jesus.
ReplyDeleteYou inspire these women with hope, friendship, fellowship and love. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you Wendy- it is Christ in me!
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