Is abortion murder in God’s eyes?

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

What God Says about Killing a Baby

God cares about a baby before he is born.  God takes credit for making the baby develop, and the baby’s life is preciously planned.

13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand;
When I awake, I am still with You.

Psalm 139:13-18

God demands justice for a baby injured or killed in the mother’s womb.

22 “If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Exodus 21:22-25

We have a responsibility to rescue the defenseless

10 If you faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength is small.

11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

Proverbs 24:10-12

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Do we need to study evil?

Posted on April 15, 2011 by Chaplain Dan

The short answer is “Yes.”  Evil is a real part of life, and we need to know how to respond to attacks from the Evil One and his schemes.

We do not study evil to become evil.  There is a difference between sharing the history about Hitler, and teaching kids how to be like Hitler.  We don’t study Hitler to become tyrants.  We study Hitler’s schemes to try and prevent someone like him from bringing similar death and destruction.

I study evil to know how to better defend my community from evil and how to advance righteousness instead. I don’t want my children or neighbor’s children to be recruited to be witches, sodomites, atheists, sexually active outside of marriage or overcome by other types of evil.  So, I must be on guard against evil and have strategies to repel it.  But, the majority of my time is focused on learning to live a healthy, productive life that pleases God and brings blessing to my family and community.

First, an encouragement to focus on what is good. The following sections from the Holy Bible explain how God wants us to know a lot about how to be good and very little about how to be bad.

For your obedience has become known to all.  Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning what is evil. Romans 16:19

Observe and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.     Deuteronomy 12:28

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as you have spoken. Amos 5:14

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.  Romans 12:9

Second, agree that we are in a battle with evil, until the time God chooses to destroy it.

Almost any evil and disgusting thing imaginable is mentioned in the Bible.  There is rape, incest, ripping pregnant women’s wombs open and all kinds of torture and torment.  There are many examples of demonic battles and demon possessed people doing terrible things and causing pain and grief.

Why did God allow so many depictions of evil to be recorded in His Word?  Because spiritual warfare and evil are a real part of the world we live in.  We may want to skip those parts of the Bible or become angry at the person who makes us aware of demonic activity.  We may want to hide in a fantasy where everything is safe and encouraging.  But, that does not change the fact that we are in a spiritual battle, whether we like it or not.

  • Satan, God’s enemy, brought sin and death into the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3)
  • Satan has devices and schemes against us. (II Corinthians 2:10-11)
  • Satan and his demons are at war with God’s children. (Ephesians 6:10-20)
  • Those who are not following Christ Jesus are sons of disobedience and following Satan. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
  • Satan wants to steal kill and destroy. (John 10:10)

Don’t get scared, God is bigger than Satan.  God destroys death with eternal life and puts an end to Satan’s power.

Then comes the end, when Christ delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. (I Corinthians 15:24-26)

Third, know the right reason to study evil … to bring healing and set people free.

A doctor has no desire to get sick personally, but he spends years studying diseases, so he can be God’s hands to bring healing to those who are sick.  In the same way, we are God’s servants to bring freedom to those who are oppressed by the Evil One.

After Jesus rose from the dead, He gave these instructions to His followers:

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  (Mark 16:15-18)

In conclusion, we study evil in the Bible to understand how God wants to be glorified in evil’s defeat, how to stand against the Evil One, and how to bring healing and freedom to our community.  The battle plan is to preach the gospel and teach people to live in obedience to Jesus Christ.  As a result, life, healing and freedom will follow.  Once the gospel is established in a community, we are to stand faithfully and continually proclaim God’s salvation and His righteousness. (Ephesians 6:10-20 & Matthew 6:33)

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Testimony – MajorGeneral John Grinalds USMC (Ret)

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Chaplain Dan

P E R S O N A L TESTIMONY

“Where did the American Indians come from?” That simple question posed to me by my fifth grade teacher caused me to set the pattern for my life goals for years to come.  My family had moved to Georgia just weeks before and it was immediately apparent that I was “different.” My answer to the question brought a new respect to the eyes of my classmates. Right then I decided to excel in my studies. More than that, I determined to be the best at everything expected of me by my parents, teachers, and peers.  I wanted their approval.  My report cards showed all A’s through high school. I was captain of the football team, and colonel of our high school JROTC regiment. Continuing my education at West Point I graduated 13th in my class, and received a Marine Corps commission. After studying in England as a Rhodes Scholar I returned to the Second Marine Division.

In 1966 I was assigned as an advisor to a Vietnamese Marine battalion. During the first few months our battalion of 800 Marines took heavy casualties.  Men were killed and injured all around me and for the first time in my life I couldn’t control the situation.  Death could come at any moment.  My wife Norwood had given me a Bible to take to Vietnam.  She had written in the front “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3: 5-6.  With death apparently closing in, I would consider those verses and then turn to Psalm 23, read it, and pray “God, what is going to happen to me if I die?”  One day waiting to go into battle I went through the reading and Psalm 23: 6 jumped off the page “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” It was a revelation, and I understood three facts. His goodness and mercy would follow me all my life.  Regardless of when or where I died I would go to be with Him in His house forever.  Most importantly, He was not some remote mythical character but rather a warm, loving God who would come into our lives as we asked.  I knew so because He had answered my prayer.

God kept me safely through my tour of duty and I returned to my family and stateside duty. I knew what God had done for me but I slipped back into depending on myself to meet the personal and professional challenges I faced each day. As long as things were going my way I did not call on Him. But that didn’t last long!  My next desperate plea to God came when my son fell from a high diving board and hit his head on the side of the pool. The sound of his head hitting the concrete sickened me.  At the hospital we learned that his skull was fractured from ear to ear.  That night I prayed “God, please save Drummond’s life.” The accident happened on Sunday. On Tuesday he seemed to be thriving and on Friday the doctors told us to take him home.  A miracle! There were no side affects whatsoever from the trauma; even the skull fracture scar disappeared.

On the other hand, in quiet moments during the months that followed I would relive that scene and hear the horrible sound of my son’s head hitting the concrete. Nausea would grip my gut and I would say “God, thank you for saving his life.”  After one of those “daymares” God spoke to my heart “John, I have given you your son’s life. Now you must give me yours.” I snapped to attention fully expecting another word telling me what He wanted me to do. Nothing!  For a year I prayed about what action I should take. Somehow the issue was “Should I leave the Marine Corps?” One day as I was reading the Bible I was led to 1 Corinthians 7: 20 “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.” Just as God had revealed Psalm 23: 6’s meaning earlier He showed me in this verse that I was to stay in the Corps because that was where He first called me. But I still didn’t know what He meant in “giving my life to Him.”

In 1972 we moved to Boston where I was going to graduate school. I became involved in a Bible study that was looking deeply into Paul’s letter to the Romans. Despite the fact that God had revealed Himself to me in wonderful ways I did not have a great love for Him or sense of gratitude in my heart. That worried me.  I wanted that empty spot in my heart filled as I sensed it should be. As we considered the scripture I became aware that I was a deeply sinful person and in need of God’s righteousness, not to be “goody-goody” but to be in a right relationship with God.  My daily prayer became Matthew 5: 6 “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.” I prayed fervently to be filled with that righteousness.  Soon, another verse became operative, John 16: 8 “And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” For six months the Holy Spirit took me back to the beginning of my quest for approval through achievement.  He showed me that in everything I still held in pride there was an element of impurity that kept me out of relationship with Almighty God. The reproving came to an end on June 30, 1974 as I was attending morning worship at Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts. The pastor, Gordon MacDonald, was preaching on the parable about the sower who cast seeds among thorns that choked off the seed. Jesus explained to His disciples “And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the Word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.” Mark 4: 18-19. Pride and ambition of life… that was what kept me separated from God. As I sat there in the pew I knew that if I were called into God’s presence and He asked me, “John, by what right should you enter into eternal life?” I had no good answer.  “How about a Rhodes Scholarship?” What about a Silver Star Medal?” “All A’s on my report cards?” As I finished my account of those accomplishments that meant something to me, I knew that God would just shake His head. Each one of them was impure in some way that kept them from measuring up. In one horrible moment I realized that He and His standards were perfect and there was nothing I could do that would make up the difference. In the next moment I knew how desperately I needed what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross. It was all I could offer to God. And I prayed “God, it is only by the blood of Jesus Christ that I can claim eternal life in Your kingdom. I accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord.” In an instant that empty spot in my heart was filled with a love of gratitude.

I had “given my life to Him” and He had given me new life in Jesus Christ.

To God be the glory!

Semper Fidelis,

John Grinalds

MajGen USMC (Ret)

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