May 2015 Newsletter

Posted By on June 23, 2015

 

Life Affirming News

 

Stopping a Story

Dr. James L. Lamb, Executive Director of Lutherans For Life /  Lifedate Summer 2015

I know some who do not like the phrase “Bible stories.” I understand that. It may imply the Word of God is a fairy tale. Still, the Bible is a story, a true story, the “greatest story ever told” as we say. It’s a story without a beginning for it is from eternity. Yet, “once upon a time,” at just the right time (Galatians 4:4), the story takes on human flesh.

At the beginning of the story—Jesus’ conception—Gabriel gives a preview of the story. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33). This would be the story of God in the flesh from His conception to His resurrection and ascension and continuing on into eternity. It would be the story of God becoming great in weakness and suffering, the story of a King who would establish an eternal kingdom and reign over it forever with grace and truth.

Satan did not want this story to unfold. He tried to cut it short with Herod’s dread decree (Matthew 2:16). He tried to sidetrack the story through his temptations of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11). He tried to stop the story by challenging the Son of God to come down from the cross (Matthew 27:39-43). Satan failed. But he didn’t go away. He now does his best with his lies and deceit to keep us from telling the story.

Satan did not win. It is as a defeated enemy that he strives to malign the story. But the “gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The resurrection that we observed this month and continue to celebrate is our ongoing victory party!

Every life is a story to be told. Every life is a parchment crafted by God and purchased by the blood of Jesus upon which He desires to write a story to glorify His name.

Let me tell you a story, a true story. Once upon a time a man who had been adopted went on a journey to find his birth mother. He succeeded. As a young, unmarried schoolteacher, she had become pregnant. She went to another part of the country, gave birth, and placed her son for adoption. She never married or had other children. But because she chose not to cut a story short and let it be told, she met her son, his wife, and her grandchildren. One of her grandchildren was a Lutheran schoolteacher, and two others were studying to do so. Because she let the story be told, she had a family; she was part of the story.

Abortion does more than destroy a human life. It stops a story. Assisted suicide and euthanasia do more than bring a life to an end. They stop a story. These are stories God wants told, stories through whom He desires to work to touch the lives of others and to extend His rule of truth and grace. These are stories that will accomplish His purpose and bring glory to His name. The love of Christ compels us to do all we can so these stories will be heard. And remember, because of our resurrected Savior, we are assured our story will never end. Put another way, we will live happily ever after!

Kate and William Announce the Name of Their Newborn Baby Girl and It Will Make You Smile

Steven Ertelt / LifeNews May 4, 2015

Prince William and Kate Middleton have announced the name of their newborn baby girl and it’s a good one – befitting a little girl who is one of the most anticipated babies not only in Britain but around the world.

Royal officials say Britain’s newborn princess has been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Little Charlotte is the second child of Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge and her official title will be Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.

The princess is the fifth great-grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and she will be fourth in line to the throne, after her grandfather Charles, her father William and her older brother George. Charlotte was born on Saturday night and weighed in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces.

Why does the birth of the Royal Baby matter in pro-life circles?

Beyond the celebration of life that accompanies the birth of a baby and the completion of 9 months growing and developing in her mother’s womb, the birth is an interesting phenomenon because it has billions of people acknowledging the simple fact that a baby is a baby both before and after birth.

As Christian writer Eric Metaxas pointed out during Middleton’s previous pregnancy, the world finally, for once, settled on the fact that a baby before birth is a human baby. While abortion activists normally call a child in the womb anything but a baby or a child, this was one rare occasion where “Royal Baby” won out over “Royal Fetus.”

Terminally Ill

Professor Joseph Lau / from “The Lutheran Spokesman,” Jan 2015 / Lifedate Summer 2015

Just as we hear much about a woman’s right to end a pregnancy, we have also heard much about an individual’s right to die. Some feel that if the quality of one’s life is no longer sufficient, he should have the right to end his life on his own terms. This opinion is often voiced in connection with those who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness. God clearly states in Deuteronomy 32:39, “Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive.” It is God who determines the time of grace for each soul. May we confess with the psalmist David, “My times are in Your hand” (Psalm 31:15). From the time we are conceived until the time God stops our beating hearts, He has a purpose for our lives. “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). We have been called according to His purpose. May we redeem the time in His service. Be Pro-Life just as He is.

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