March 25: One Day of Life

Since antiquity, Christians have observed a trinity of occasions on March 25:

    the Creation of Adam, the Annunciation, and the Crucifixion.

    1) Adam was formed from the dust to be the crown of all creation (Genesis 1:26).
    2) the Son of God was planted in the womb of the Virgin to assume the dust that formed Adam.
    3) Jesus was planted in the earth itself to restore the entire creation. (Romans 8:22).


All of this is God's answer to Ash Wednesday's solemn reminder: "Remember, O man, that Thou art dust." God made this dust His very own in order to redeem it from the curse of Abel's blood.

All this stands in stark contrast to the neo-paganism of our day.

• It preaches that man is the scourge of the earth, not the crown that makes it "very good."
• It seeks to hinder and destroy any further instances of conception and motherhood.
• Its program of salvation is to minimize man's footprint on the planet.

Make no mistake. Today's clash between good and evil, is about the True Lord, and Giver of Life.

• We honor human life,
• Thank God for the Virgin Mother,
• And proclaim the One who willingly gives Himself for the salvation of the planet.

Day 40: The Children Sang - Palm Sunday

All glory, laud and honor

to you, redeemer King

to whom the lips of children

with sweet hosannas ring.

(Lutheran Service Book, 442)

The glory and peace sung by the angels on Christmas
    is echoed by the multitudes on Palm Sunday.

Moreover, just as the children were slaughtered at His coming to Bethlehem (Mt. 2),
    so it is precisely the children who sing "save us, now" at His coming to Jerusalem (Mt. 21).

On further reflection, danger to mother and child regularly attend the delivering acts of God.
In Exodus, the slaughter of the Hebrew children preceded the coming of their deliverer.

In Matthew, the slaughter of Bethlehem's children announced the coming of Jesus.
        On Olivet, Jesus cries:
        "Alas for women who are pregnant and for those nursing infants in those days."

Today, we see a slaughter of innocents greater than the world has ever seen.

Although, the day or the hour remain hidden, this much is certain:
    It is high time to "look up and lift up your heads, for your salvation is drawing near."

Day 39: Fetal Cell Lines

"This is My body which is given for you." (Luke 22:19)

In May of 2012, when South Korean customs agents found 17,500 capsules of ground fetuses, America recoiled in disgust.

Western pharmaceuticals make medicines of aborted babies in a more refined way. Since the early 1960s numerous fetal cells lines have been cultivated. Two cell lines stand out. MRC-5 was developed in 1966 from the lung of an aborted boy at 14 weeks gestation; WI-38, in 1962 from the lung of an aborted girl. (read more)

Currently, six vaccinations are made of these aborted children: Polio, M-M-R, Chickenpox, Hepatitis-A, Rabies and Shingles.

Surreal as it is, this information is available to the public, but it is buried in the fine print that comes in the packaging. Ask your physician for it and it will resemble this M-M-R insert from MERCK: “…and (3) MERUVAX*II (Rubella Virus Vaccine Live), the Wistar RA 27/3 strain of live attenuated rubella virus propagated in WI-38 human diploid lung fibroblasts… (10).”

What to do?

• Awareness is step one.
• Looking for alternatives is step two.
• Public pressure on the companies has proven effective.

Further thought and deeper reflection is a must. An example of which is found here.

Day 38: Stature and Sacrifice

"Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared;

we know that when he appears we shall be like Him." (1 John 3:2)

No matter how grown up you may think yourself to be, you do not even remotely resemble how you will appear in the resurrection. Therefore, it should be no surprise that embryonic human beings look radically different than adults.

But these appearances are indifferent to Jesus, He knows that your identity does not come from your stature, but from your begetting. "That which is begotten of the flesh is flesh, that which is begotten of the Spirit is Spirit" (John 3:6). One day, you will "mature to manhood...the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13). But already now, you are who you will be eternally.

On Good Friday, our Elder Brother showed us this full stature: The most mature willingly die for the least.

The kingdom of Satan is otherwise. There, the least are unwillingly sacrificed for the greater. This is the world of fetal tissue harvesting and fetal stem cell research. These businesses are not the same thing. Fetal organs are harvested in abortion clinics from children aged 10 to 39 weeks. Fetal stem cells are harvested at fertility clinics from 1 week old children, begotten in vitro. In both cases, the young are sacrificed to rejuvinate the old.

Day 37: Emergency Contraception

"Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers,

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
(Hebrews 13:2)

To call Ella (Ulipristal) "contraception" is deliberately misleading. "Contra-implantation" would be more accurate. Life is already conceived. A unique and distinct human being is already present. But he is still journeying to the womb.

Like, RU-486, this treatment is designed to render the womb inhospitable. When the child arrives, seeking a home, there is no place for him "in the inn" (cf. Luke 2:7). RU-486 evicts an implanted child from the womb. Ella refuses him entry.

For this reason the LCMS has taken a public stand against the HHS which mandates providing these drugs.

Don't be fooled by the claim that they "cannot terminate an established pregnancy." This only means that the pregnancy is not yet implanted.

Through the challenge of "emergency contraception," we have learned to navigate complicated and convoluted ethical matters with childlike faith in Jesus' simple words: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." (Matthew 25:35)

Day 36: Medicinal Abortions

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, (Matthew 25:35)

The promise of a panacea to simply make a person unpregnant has long been an elusive dream. So, in 1982, when Roussel-Uclaf pharmaceuticals synthesized their 38,486th compound many thought the dream had been realized. It was dubbed RU-486 and approved by the F.D.A. in September, 2000.

When given to a pregnant woman, it stops the natural pregnancy hormone, progesterone, from working to make the womb hospitable for the implanted embryo. Thus, the growing child stops receiving the nutrients required for life and growth.

Effectively starved to death, the child is then expelled by the administration of a second hormone to induce contractions. (World Magazine: Death By Webcam, Daniel James Devine)

This is not a pill to make one unpregnant, but a pill to induce a miscarriage.

Consider the trauma of being forced, over the course of a week or more, to experience severe physical symptoms and to see the passing of the child deliberately miscarried.

The actual realities of RU-486 are not so much a fulfilled dream as they are a living nightmare. But this will never be read in the promotional press releases. It will only be experienced by one isolated and solitary woman at a time.

Abortion Pill Reversal:
Drs. George Delgado and Matthew Harrison have since discovered a protocol to treat women who have changed their mind after taking RU-486. Abortion Pill Reversal has documented success rates of more than 60% with no birth defects up to 72 hours after taking the pill.

 

Abortion Pill Reversal: the Science of Hope

Work with your local hospital or crisis pregnancy center to bring this new hope to your area.

Day 35: In Vitro Fertilization

"Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; Break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!" (Galatians 4:27)

Human fertility is a great blessing and a deep mystery that is an icon of a higher reality: God’s conceiving a new family by Holy Baptism. Without an understanding of this joyful reality, the barren are left without hope.

Just as hopelessness can override motherly instincts, leading to abortion, so also the hopelessness of the barren can lead to desperate measures.

The technology of in vitro fertilization and/or surrogacy may seem an enticing remedy. But conception outside of the womb and marriage bed separates what God has joined together, resulting in a host of ethical problems. (See: In Vitro Fertilization: Moral or Immoral? at LCMS’s Life Library.)

Still, the pain of barrenness is deep and real. Can we say anything more than no? Does God speak a yes to these grieving people?

Yes. God remembers the barren in such a way that holds marriage, life and family in sanctity. Katie Schuermann, a Lutheran pastor's wife, has converted her own sorrow into the joy of helping others. She has created a website called: He Remembers the Barren; and has authored a book by the same name.

Day 34: The Giver

In a dystopian world driven by fear, technology has been developed to keep everybody happy and conflict free. The hidden costs, slowly revealed by the "Giver," are that emotions have been chemically vitiated, love is impossible, and murder has been renamed: "release to elsewhere," and is administered by kindly nurses.

It culminates in a final poignant scene that weighs the horrors of human weakness and sin against the glories of God-given life and love.

"If you could only see the possibility of love! With love comes faith, comes hope... We've lost, the pain, music, joy, the raw, the impossible, beautiful feeling of love. You are living a life of shadows, of echoes, of faint distant whispers of what once made us real."

Never denying the dark reality of human depravity, the Giver points us to a world of faith and hope and love which is beyond all imagining, and available even now through participation in God's life of love.

Day 33: Hold in Sanctity - Judica

Dear Christians never cease to pray
For faith and love these latter days,
For marriage, life, and family,
That all be held in sanctity.

Original Hymn from Rev. Matthew Richardt

 

In these latter days, the steely tools of science and social engineering
        invade and tamper with everything
        -- all in the promise of improving and extending life.

- The most sacred spaces, the womb and the egg, are invaded.
- The most holy institution of marriage is denigrated, redefined.

We are simply awash in a sea of materialism
        where nothing is sacred, nothing holy.

But this tampering does not enhance life, as the serpent promised;
        it only brings death.

This week we explore a few of the monstrous ethical issues which arise when marriage, life and family are not held in sanctity. Though overpowered and surrounded, we do not lose hope.
Rather, we begin with ceaseless prayer and confidently expect our Savior’s coming.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon Thy people: that by Thy great goodness; they may be governed and preserved evermore both in body and soul, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. (Judica).

Day 32: Post-Abortive Fathers

There are as many men who have experienced abortion as women.

This fact is as obvious as it is overlooked.

As you are looking for people in need of healing, do not overlook the fathers. Since abortion laws strip fathers of parental rights, they experience abortion in a wide range of scenarios, from active encouragement and manipulation of the mother to procure one, all the way through total helplessness to prevent the mother from doing so.

Each scenario damages the spirit in a profound, yet unique, way. Such men can benefit greatly from a seelsorger who can listen with understanding. Here are some resources to help.

Website: Reclaiming Fatherhood: A Multifaceted Examination of Men Dealing with Abortion
Books: Fatherhood Aborted: The Profound Effects of Abortion on Men, Guy Condon and David Hazard
            Men and Abortion: A Path to Healing, C. T. Coyle

Day 31: Post-Abortive Mothers

"Only the mother can nurture her unborn child.

All that the rest of us can do is to nurture and protect the mother."

 

 

"Saving the unborn is a natural byproduct of helping women.

Conversely, we can never hope to succeed in our efforts to protect the unborn

without first and foremost protecting women."

Over 70% of women undergoing abortion already believe it is morally wrong. You may serve such a woman. Do you know how to help her?

She is already convicted. She needs to be free to confess her guilt and hear the absolution. This means an atmosphere of love, respect, and understanding. Understand the oppressive despair that overwhelmed her own conscience. Respect her enough not to dismiss her guilt. Love the one who is too ashamed to face herself.

"While it takes the blood of Jesus to deliver us from guilt,

it takes the acceptance of others to deliver us from shame."

 

If you have had an abortion and need to talk to a compassionate and experienced counselor, please call Word of Hope Hotline at 888-217-8679.

Pastors will benefit by reading chapter one of The Jericho Plan, by Dr. David Reardon.