Utah Becomes First State to Have 72-Hour Waiting Period for Abortion By Michael Gryboski

Utah has become the first state to enact a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking an abortion. The new law took effect on Tuesday.

Sponsored by Republican Representative Steve Eliason, HB 461 expands the previous 24-hour waiting period for an abortion by two days, making it the longest waiting period in the country.

Introduced in February, HB 461 was passed by the Utah House in early March with 59 yeas, 11 nays, and 5 abstentions. A few days later, it was passed by the Utah Senate in a vote of 22 yeas, 6 nays, and 1 abstention. Republican State Senator Curtis Bramble was the sponsor for the Senate version.

“I think it’s a positive change for women and children … At the end of the day, it’s a consumer-protection law,” said Eliason in an interview with the Salt Lake City Tribune.

The bill was not without its opponents, as Planned Parenthood Association of Utah testified against HB 461 and argued that the previous waiting period statute was sufficient.

Karrie Galloway, president and CEO of PPAU, told The Christian Post that the “former waiting period allowed a woman to take all the time she needed to make a decision.”

“With a time sensitive medical procedure, increasing the waiting time was an intrusive, arbitrary hoop for women to navigate,” said Galloway.

“Throughout the process we tried to work with the sponsor to mitigate the intrusiveness of his legislation but he was unwilling.”

Eliason and his supporters believed, however, that the one-day period was not long enough, with Eliason comparing HB 461 to the waiting periods established for cancer treatments and gun purchases.

“The focus of this bill is women having time to consider all of the information that is given to them when facing a life-altering decision that somebody else is making money off of,” said Eliason to the Tribune.

Eliason did not return a request for comment by press time.

According to Deseret News, Utah’s waiting period statute was one of 311 new statutes passed by the 2012 legislature that went into effect on Tuesday.

Neither Planned Parenthood nor the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah have expressed an intention to presently file a lawsuit. However, both organizations have expressed an intention to closely monitor the implementation of the law.

Before Utah’s statute took effect, South Dakota had passed a bill that would have made it the first state to have a 72-hour waiting period. However, a court blocked the measure from taking effect.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/utah-becomes-first-state-to-have-72-hour-waiting-period-for-abortion-74614/

North Carolina Voters Ban Gay Marriage Despite Objections From Obama, Clinton By Paul Stanley

Voters in North Carolina overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that bans gay marriage in the Tar Heel state. Even President Obama and former President Bill Clinton’s opposition to the measure could not convince enough people to vote against the amendment.

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  (Photo: Vote FOR Marriage NC staff)
  A rally by Vote FOR Marriage NC, an organization supporting the North Carolina Marriage Amendment, which would amend the state constitution to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.

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  (Photo: Vote For Marriage NC)
  People rally for traditional marriage in Wilson, N.C., April 4, 2012.

With most all of the precincts reporting, unofficial results showed the amendment passing with approximately 61 percent of voters favoring the amendment. Polls taken prior to the vote indicated it would pass with at least 58 percent.

“Now, the people have spoken,” said Ron Baity, pastor of Berean Baptist Church in south Winston-Salem. He worked for years to get the amendment on the state ballot but wasn’t successful until after Republicans won a majority in the General Assembly in 2010.

“They have spoken clearly,” Baity told a crowd of about 70 at his church Tuesday, according to the Winston-Salem Journal. “They have spoken explicitly that marriage in North Carolina is between one man and one woman.”

North Carolina now becomes the 29th state and the last one in the South to ban same-sex marriage. Supporters of traditional marriage have won 32 of the last 32 votes on the issue of civil unions; an astounding 100 percent record.

Only six states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage and all but Iowa are located in the more liberal Northeastern states.

The campaign in support of the amendment had some help from one of the state’s most influential and religious families; the Grahams. The Rev. Billy Graham lent his support to the effort last week, as did his son and daughter, Franklin Graham and Anne Graham Lotz.

But opponents of the measure in part relied on statements opposing the measure from President Obama and former President Bill Clinton, who recorded a phone message encouraging voters to defeat the amendment.

“While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the record is clear that the president has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same-sex couples,” Obama’s North Carolina spokesperson, Cameron French, said in mid-March.

However, Obama thus far has refused to publicly endorse same-sex marriage, saying only that his views on the issue are “evolving.” The president also released a statement Tuesday saying he was “disappointed” in the vote.

Earlier this year, gay activists began waging strategies to defeat amendments in North Carolina and Minnesota and raising substantial funds was one of the major priorities. For example, Coalition to Protect North Carolina, the group organized to oppose the amendment, raised about $2.2 million compared to Vote For Marriage NC which raised half that amount by bringing in $1.1 million.

Joe Easterling, a Christian from Wake Forest, said he voted for the amendment because the intent of the bill lined up with what the Bible says about marriage.

“I know some people may argue that the Bible may not necessarily be applicable, or it should not be applicable, on such policy matters,” he told WSOC-TV. “But even looking at nature itself, procreation is impossible without a man and a woman. And because of those things, I think it is important that the state of North Carolina’s laws are compatible with the laws of nature but, more importantly, the laws of God.”

But not everyone was excited about the amendment passing. Christine Regan, a local field organizer for Protect ALL NC Families, the main organization that worked against the amendment, was expecting a different outcome and was upset that voters did not see the issue from their group’s perspective.

“The other side has no facts,” Regan told the Winston-Salem Journal. “They have a Bible. A Bible and hate.”

Passage of the amendment could make for an interesting Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C., later this summer. Gay rights activists have been placing increasing pressure on top Democratic leaders to include support for same-sex marriage in the party’s platform.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/north-carolina-voters-ban-gay-marriage-despite-objections-from-obama-clinton-74619/

North Carolina votes for biblical marriage (OneNewsNow.com)

North Carolina votes for biblical marriage (OneNewsNow.com).

Reborn Identity

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

One of my favorite movies is The Bourne Identity. The main character, Jason Bourne, suffers from a severe amnesia that leaves him haunted, frustrated, and confused.

A lot of us live like Jason Bourne. Our stories are not as dramatic but the issues are the same: Who am I, and does anyone care? We run from relationship to relationship, social event to social event, job to job, or even church to church, trying to “find ourselves.” And if we seek our sense of identity in our career, who will we be when we retire?

But there’s good news for “identity seekers.” We can have a significant and secure identity in a relationship with Jesus.

Although God made us in His image (Gen. 1:27), sin ravaged our souls and denied us the joy of a relationship with our Creator. Our identity as His prized and precious creation was damaged—until Jesus Christ came on the scene to rescue us and reclaim His created ones for His own (see Rom. 5:12-19). When we trust Christ for salvation, we gain the privileged status of being “in Him.” He takes all that is old and makes it new.

Once you realize that you are a new creation, your identity crisis will be over.

When we’re reborn—made new in Christ— It should be plain for all to see That God has changed us from within And placed us in His family. —Sper

To resolve our identity crisis we must be identified with Christ.

http://getmorestrength.org/daily/reborn-identity/

Reaching Beyond Our Grasp

Reaching Beyond Our Grasp.

What about the wives, daughters, mothers of men in Secret Service scandal?

We have been angered,  disgusted and saddened by the news that came out of Columbia regarding the Secret Service agents, some military men and their acts involving prostitution

And unfaithfulness to their wives and their country. I am providing you a link below for a commentary by Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for America.

Please take time to read the complete article thoughtfully as it raises vitally important questions and concerns.

 

Here is an excerpt of this powerful commentary:

 

“What about the women? In April some of the men serving in the Secret Service and our military committed a crime against way too many women for someone not to speak up about it. Women at home. Women at work. Women who found out their husbands and sons had failed to protect their integrity.  …

 

Beyond the American women, there are 20 Colombian women the men paid for sex who are left scarred. I refuse to call these women “prostitutes,” because they are quite possibly victims of sex trafficking. Consider that Watch List reports that between 20,000 and 35,000 of Colombia’s children are coerced into the commercialized sex industry. Sadly, 2,000 of these children work in the city of Cartagena where the Secret Service sex scandal unraveled. According to FoxNews.com, a Colombian state agency has already launched an investigation to determine whether or not the 20 “prostitutes” are, in fact, sex-trafficked children or women.  …”

 

Click here to read the full article by Penny Nance.

 

We all need to know that sex trafficking is very real throughout the world and in our country.

Friends, what is happening is terrible and sickening.

On May 1, a DVD was released to the public called “Nefarious – Merchant of Souls” which exposes the proliferation of sex trafficking.  I give you warning; it is not of the faint of heart.  Yet, we cannot stick our heads in the sand.  We need to oppose such evil, but we can’t do so if we close a blind eye to it.

To order a copy go online to:  http://nefariousdocumentary.com/

Read the entire article written by Penny Nance.

http://www.americandecency.org/archives/what-about-the-wives-daughters-mothers-of-men-in-secret-service-scandal/#more-6648

The Hezekiah Response

“Then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the terraces of the City of David. He also made large numbers of weapons and shields.” — 2 Chronicles 32:5

Over 2,000 years ago, King Hezekiah made a puzzling decision. He hid the “Book of Remedies.” Until then, when someone was sick, they would simply consult that book and do what it said. Their illness was always cured.  And that was Hezekiah’s concern.  No one was reaching out to God anymore! He hid the cures away for the rest of time, hoping that the difficulty in healing would lead people to God. Instead of placing their faith in remedies, they would learn to have faith in their Father above.

So you would think that when the neighboring Assyrians threatened war, Hezekiah would follow his own counsel and pray and have faith. After all, he was all about trusting God! However, as we read Chapter 32 in the book of 2 Chronicles, it appears that Hezekiah was ignoring his own counsel. Rather than praying, Hezekiah was taking every physical precaution possible in order to ensure victory. He built walls, diverted the water supply, and made swords!

A popular joke about a man with faith goes like this:  A flood has swept through his land and the man has climbed up to his roof. A rowboat comes by, and the rower tells him to get in. The man says, “No, I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me.” The waters rise and soon a speedboat comes to the man’s rescue. “Climb in,” the driver says. “No, I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me,” the man on the roof says. The speedboat speeds away. The waters rise even higher and a helicopter comes towards the man and offers to drop a rope. The man says, “No, I have faith in the Lord; the Lord will save me.”

The waters continue to rise, and the man is swept away and drowns. When he gets to heaven he marches right over to God and says, “How come you didn’t save me?” The Heavenly Father says to him “I sent you two boats and a helicopter! What more did you want?”

Having faith does not preclude doing your part. While most people err on the side of relying too much on their effort, it is also possible to do too little. Having faith means doing what you can and then trusting in God. That’s why Hezekiah takes all of the physical precautions that he can before going to war. But he doesn’t stop there. He also turns to God in heartfelt prayer and inspires his people to trust in the Lord.

Every life challenge – be it health, sustenance, war, and so on – requires the same response — the “Hezekiah response.” First, take action and do your part. Take the medicine, look for a job, and secure your country. But then pray and trust that God will do His. One step without the other is incomplete. Together they can get you through anything.

http://trinityspeaks.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post

Why She Was Treated So

But the woman fearing and trembling…came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace–Mar 5:33-34

Why Didn’t the Lord Let Her Go Unnoticed?

One is ready to think it would have been kindlier treatment if our Lord had let this woman slip away. It would have been more consistent with His gentleness. Probably she was a stranger in the place; all the traditions point to that. She was a modest and retiring woman, not in the least eager for publicity. And the hidden cross that she had borne for years had been of a kind that made her haunt the shadows, as one burdened with a thing of shame. Was it not a little unlike our blessed Lord to insist on an overt avowal–to make her, sore against her will, the observed of all observers? Would it not have been kinder to let her go quietly home, rejoicing in the fact that she was healed, though nobody knew anything about it? Our Lord Himself had often felt that deep imperious craving for retirement. Thronged by the crowd, He had often stolen away to where beyond the voices there was peace. And yet He refused to let this woman go; He summoned her forth, and made her tell her story. He brought her in confession to His feet. One perhaps wonders why He acted so; it seems so different from His usual tenderness. Let us try to find the loving reasons for it.

She Would Have Thought She Was Cured by Magic

First, then, had He let her steal away she would have carried wrong conceptions to her grave. She would have thought she had been healed by magic, and would never have known the loving will of Christ. That her faith was a strong and conquering faith is written so that he who runs may read. She did not expect to be made a little better. She believed that at a touch she would be whole. And this, though she had never seen the Lord, and had no parallel to rest her faith upon, for all this happened early in Christ’s ministry. It was a very strong and splendid faith, yet intellectually it was a faith of ignorance. She evidently thought there was some magic power resident in the garments of the Master. She believed that without the consciousness of Christ, and the loving cooperation of His will, wonderful things could be wrought upon her body. Now cannot you see what would have happened if the Lord had let her quietly slip away? She would never have known the loving will of Christ; she would have thought her cure was automatic. And our Lord summoned her forth, and made her tell her story, that she might be lifted out of the realm of magic and brought into living relationship with Him. It seemed cruel, but it was really kind. It sent her home with loftier thoughts of Him. She would never talk of the wonder of the tassel; she would always talk of the wonder of the Lord. Permitted to steal away without confession, she would have said exultantly, “I’ve found a cure.” Now the woman cried, “I’ve found a friend.”

She Would Have Never Been Sure of Jesus

Then had she been allowed to steal away she never would have been quite sure of Jesus. She would have been haunted, to the last hour she lived, by the suspicion that she had done something wrong. You will notice that when the Savior summoned her she came to His blessed feet with fear and trembling. It was not her dread of the crowd that made her tremble; it was something deeper in her woman’s breast. It was her fear that she had stolen something; that she had filched a cure and acted surreptitiously; that she was going to hear the accents of rebuke. Now suppose she had gone home again, without the swift compulsion of confession, cannot you see at a glance that all her life she would have been haunted by that chilling fear? Healed, she would have been unhappy; her conscience would have continually pricked her; she would never have heard that Christ was in her neighborhood, but she would have fallen to fear and trembling once again. It was impossible for Christ to let her go like that, however great the pain of her avowal. He was not content that the woman should be healed; He wanted always to think of her as happy. That was why He insisted on confession; she must tell Him all and see His look of love; she must hear Him saying to her, “Daughter.” She was the only woman to whom He ever gave that title. He never called anybody else His daughter. She would have missed all that if she had got her way. To learn it, she had to take the way of Christ. And always, if we want to learn His love, and to have done forever with our fear and trembling, like her we have to take the way of Christ.

She Would Have Been Powerless for Service

Lastly, if He had let her have her way this woman would have been powerless for service. And nobody is healed just to be happy; we are saved that we may save. In a brief space of time He would be dead, and dead, where were His garments now? What Roman soldier had them in his chest, to be carried home to his family in Britain? The garments were gone, their wearer had been crucified, and what testimony had she to bear for Christ to the children of disappointment and disease? She would have had no power for witness-bearing; she could never have spoken of the love of Jesus; she never could have cried to weary, broken people, “The Master looked on me, and called me daughter.” And Christ was so eager she should be a witness-bearer, in places where His foot had never trod, that He imperiously insisted on confession. Now she would never talk of magic; she would talk of the wonderful welcome she had got; she would talk of the love that streamed on her poor heart, which was better than the healing of her body. Had she stolen away she would have had her gift, but she never would have known the Giver. For that she had to stand forth and confess.

http://devotionals.ochristian.com/george-h-morrison-devotional-sermons-devotional.shtml

 

Learning Contentment at the Foot of the Cross

Learning Contentment at the Foot of the Cross.

Do You Want to Be Completely Clean? by Mark D. Roberts

Ezekiel 36:23-38

I will take you from the nations, I will gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your own fertile land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed of all your pollution. I will cleanse you of all your idols. (CEB)

Ezekiel 36:24-25

In Ezekiel 36:24, the Lord utters words through Ezekiel that the Israelites were dying to hear: “I will take you from the nations, I will gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your own fertile land.” Those who were scattered throughout the Middle East after the Babylonian invasion, including those who were taken into exile in Babylon, would one day return to their homeland by the gracious work of God.

Yet, what about all that the people had done to dishonor God? In particular, what about their spiritual adultery, their love affair with idols? How could their lives ever be blessed with such a stained history of rejecting the Lord?

The good news is that God has plans for his people beyond leading them back to Israel. He says to them: “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be cleansed of all your pollution. I will cleanse you of all your idols” (36:25). Sprinkling with water was the traditional symbol of cleansing for religious purposes. But, in this verse, the Lord uses a phrase that is not otherwise found in Scripture: “clean water” (mayim tehorim). It’s as if God wants to underscore that fact that when he washes his people, they will become completely clean. He will wash away “all” of their pollution and “all” of their idolatry.

Throughout my twenty-seven years of pastoral ministry, I have known many Christians who struggle to believe that God has made them completely clean. Even though they have put their trust in Christ as their Savior, they still have nagging doubts about how God sees them. They feel that their sins are such that they remained stained, even after being forgiven through Christ. Thus, they try to earn a bit more of God’s favor by being good. Or, they might keep a safe distance from God because they feel unworthy to be in his presence.

The good news of the Gospel is that just as God promised to do for the Israelites, so he has done with us through Christ. We have been forgiven and cleansed of all of our sins. Our Heavenly Father looks upon us as he looks upon his Son. We have the privilege of relationship with the triune God as if we had never sinned. This is the miracle of God’s grace in Christ.

All of us yearn to be completely clean, to be fully set free from our sin and and its ravages. The truth of the Gospel is that, in Christ, you are forgiven. You are made new. As we read in 2 Corinthians, “So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived! All of these new things are from God…God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:17-18, 21).

Do you want to be completely clean? Through Christ, you are!

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Do you ever feel as if your sin has stained you in a way that cannot be washed away? If you feel this way, how does it impact your relationship with God? How might you live if you truly believed that you were completely clean through Christ?

PRAYER: Gracious God, as you once promised to do with your sinful people, so you have done with me. Through Christ, you have sprinkled me with clean water, water that washes away all of my sin. Thus, when I come before you, I don’t need to enhance my worthiness, as if I could. Nor do I have to fear that you will condemn me. Rather, you have cleansed me so thoroughly that I stand before you in the righteousness of Christ. What a wonder! What a gift!

O Lord, help me to believe this! Help me to live as if it is really true! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/do-you-want-be-completely-clean?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29