Solution to the Problem

 

 

Disclaimer:

Before proceeding forward to reading this understand that the intent of this written work is targeted to motivate the singular Church of Christ on the earth to move into a place of compassion to take actions to seeing abortion end become a reality. If you are not yet a Christ follower some of what is written here won’t necessarily connect the dots for you or might not make sense to you, and that is OK. We do welcome questions, and comments on our Facebook page.

 

You are the solution:

You might be asking the question, “How am I the solution?” It really is as simple as that it is God’s desire to use you to help bring this issue to an end. What if you are the missing link for your friend who maybe considering abortion? What if you represented the Kingdom of God so well that it would disarm all the power of the enemy trying to convince her to kill her baby? What if you representing the Kingdom of God well would change the course of entire generations? It can happen!

The content on this page is lengthy however is worth reading to gain knowledge, insight, and strategies to representing King Jesus well every where you go. In this page you will learn more about who you are in Christ, ways that God wants to break through in lives, genuine strategies to combat abortion, as well as ideas that your church maybe able to implement to help bring abortion to an end. You are also invited to join the conversation with us on Facebook.

 

Contents:

Christ In Us

Hearing the Voice of God

Statistics

Current Status

Strategies

Strategy for Churches

Church History

 

Col 1:27 – tells us that Christ in us is the Hope of Glory. Christ in us is the answer to the toughest problems that exist in this world whether it be world hunger, human trafficking, or even this specific issue of abortion. “It is our responsibility to lean on the direction of the Holy Spirit to gain strategies to end today’s tragedies.” We were never meant to solely go to church to sit down in pews once a week to then leave the world around us not impacted the rest of the 6 days of the week. “To do nothing about the problem is to become part of the problem.” Passivity is not the answer.

It is crucial for the church to love everyone inside and outside of the church with the love of Christ. The issue of abortion doesn’t involve just unborn babies so it needs to treated it as such. This issue has left a lot of men and women tore up in their hearts with shame, guilt, and condemnation. God’s love needs to invade into all these areas.

After Roe vs. Wade, babies lives began to fade
From the tune of romance came this song of mourning
The wrong has brought unrest
Behold, there are lovers who have failed this test

The sounds of silent cries
It is time to recognize
It is not too late to win the prize
Today is the day for you to rise.

“Be free!” He has spoken
Eyes be opened!
Shackles be broken!

Let His peace surround you like never before
On your heart he knocks, will you open the door?

-Ricardo Cardona; Be Free

 

Many Christians quote Revelation 3:20 just in attempts to win the lost to the Kingdom of God, but there is much more to this scripture than just winning the lost. Many Christians don’t apply this scripture to other parts of their lives in which Jesus is speaking and knocking to be let in. It is God’s desire for the Kingdom to advance in and through you and for there to be no limits to you reaching your full potential and call in life. He is calling you to be a bright and shining light to the world.

Matthew 5
¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Are you listening for His voice? Do you recognize His voice?

It is God’s desire to be involved in every part of our lives. What loving Father wouldn’t want to spend time with their kids, or even talk to their kids?
Right now you might be asking, “What does God’s voice sound like and how can I hear Him?” The answer is that God can speak in what ever way that he wants to. That is probably not the answer you were looking, but keep in mind that God isn’t in a box. He can not be contained. I will however clue you into some of the ways that I know God is speaking to people today.

1 Corinthians 2

¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness,and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

We have the mind of Christ. So how do we know what God is thinking? Could it be possibly be as simple as having a thought?

Exercise:
Say your first middle and last name in your head.

I know for most people, that is exactly how God’s voice sounds to them. So you may be asking how do I distinguish if the thought came from myself, or from God? Have you ever had a thought that seemed like it came out of no where? A passing thought is one of the infinite ways that God is able to speak to us. Sometimes God may give you a picture in your minds eye, also known as visions. Sometimes God may give you a feeling in your body. Sometimes God may speak in an audible voice. Sometimes God will speak through people in your life. God is limitless in all the ways that He is able to speak, but it is important for us to be listening as He speaks. A great way to practice hearing God’s voice is by asking God questions. God is not intimidated by your questions.

Exercise:
Ask God, “What is your favorite memory of me?” What is the first thing that came to you when you asked the question?

It is important to hear God’s voice for others as well.

1 Corinthians 14:3 – the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.

1 Corinthians 14:24 –if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, ²⁵ the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

The Bible speaks of prophesy as a gift of the Spirit which purpose is to encourage, edify, and comfort those who the word is for. Prophesy does not call out people’s dirt, but rather that gold that is there amidst of the dirt. Prophesy also has the nature to call out the future as well. Prophesy is always to be submitted to an individual. It is possible to get a word wrong, and is important to own up to it when you do get a word wrong. All prophesy is to be judged. To learn more about the topic of prophesy I recommend purchasing and reading this book Basic Training for the Prophetic Ministry Expanded Edition

 

There are roughly 1.4 million abortions that take place nationally every year in the United States. Below are some more statistics.

• Eighteen percent of U.S. women obtaining abortions are teenagers; those aged 15–17 obtain 6% of all abortions, teens aged 18–19 obtain 11%, and teens younger than age 15 obtain 0.4%.

• Women in their 20s account for more than half of all abortions; women aged 20–24 obtain 33% of all abortions, and women aged 25–29 obtain 24%.

• Non-Hispanic white women account for 36% of abortions, non-Hispanic black women for 30%, Hispanic women for 25% and women of other races for 9%.

• Thirty-seven percent of women obtaining abortions identify as Protestant and 28% as Catholic.

• Women who have never married and are not cohabiting account for 45% of all abortions

• About 61% of abortions are obtained by women who have one or more children.

• Forty-two percent of women obtaining abortions have incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level ($10,830 for a single woman with no children).

• Twenty-seven percent of women obtaining abortions have incomes between 100–199% of the federal poverty level.

• The reasons women give for having an abortion underscore their understanding of the responsibilities of parenthood and family life. Three-fourths of women cite concern for or responsibility to other individuals; three-fourths say they cannot afford a child; three-fourths say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or the ability to care for dependents; and half say they do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner.

You can find more statistics and information at https://www.guttmacher.org/united-states/abortion/demographics.

According to the Leader University website, the majority of aborting women disapproved of abortion, they resorted to abortion because they felt forced by their parents, boyfriends or husbands. Sometimes circumstances were such that there just did not seem to be a better alternative. David Reardon (one of the leading experts of the after effects of abortion) states that 83% of the women he surveyed who had had abortions said that they definitely would not have chosen abortion if they had been encouraged differently by the people who played a role in the abortion decision. (http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/tul/pap5.html)

It is safe to say that this problem exists just as much inside of the church as outside of the church.

We as the church need to regain our place of influence in this area to see any true change take place. I recommend checking out this video below to gain an understanding how God desires to use you to infiltrate the 7 mountains of influence for the Kingdom of God. Abortion specifically is a demonic attack against the family mountain that will come to an end as Christ followers move away from passivity to activity to release the Kingdom through every sphere of influence that they have.

For too long the church has had a victim mentality rather than a victor mentality and have made decisions on this matter based on a spirit of fear. Christ won the victory and we have the opportunity to walk in that reality if we choose to in all areas of life. Christ already has won the victory over abortion, and all we need to do to see it become manifest is to partner with His desires and will for that change to take place.

The framework of the battle isn’t only just for the unborn children, (even though that is one of the primary issues at hand) but also for the women (as well as men) and everyone that is involved with the clinics. If we make the unborn children the only focus it will serve as condemnation to those who have been involved in abortion, which can and will shut people down from receiving the message of salvation. Jesus said to make disciples of all nations. (Matt 28:18-20)

John 20

²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Preventative measures will always be better and more healthy that emergency ones. For example as having a good diet is a good preventative measure from people getting sick, and much more cost effective than doctor bills. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. A person knowing or not knowing Jesus can be the factor that determines whether a woman gets pregnant or possibly gets an abortion. As we release the good news it is meant to create an appetite for more of God. If the gospel that you are preaching isn’t creating an appetite in others for more of God maybe you are not preaching the true gospel.

The main preventative measures that have been taught to date has been sex education in schools. Sex education has been ineffective in abortion prevention because the main message is abstinence. Sex education has suggested to kids what not to do, and it has been nothing more than a perversion of purity. God is calling our generation into a movement of purity. Purity looks like becoming the one for the one that you marry, and not indulging in any sexual conduct prior to marriage or outside of the covenant of marriage.

 

The solution to abortion is the church being who Christ has called it to be. Corporately much of the church needs to repent (change their mind) with the way they have handled the matter of abortion. As long as the church keeps condemning individuals for the sins they have committed the more the church will continue to get shut down to seeing true transformation take place with in the world, and specifically with the issue of abortion. This isn’t making light of sin, dealing with abortion but coming to the understanding that it was all paid for completely on the cross and that Christ forgives even the worst of individuals in the world. (2 Cor 5:19) Every sin including murder was nailed to the cross, and we have the opportunity to reconcile the world to Christ by not counting individuals trespasses against them by extending grace as Christ has done for us.

Below is a list of practical things you as an individual can be doing to help facilitate change.

• Pray, come into agreement with God’s heart for the matter and His plan of action. Ask God for strategies to see abortion come to an end. (Don’t pray for God to take care of the problem for you, because God has given you authority to take care of it.)

• Evangelism (it literally means the Good News Message) is a crucial part to seeing abortion vanish, and most important part to seeing people come to Jesus. (Matt 28:18-20) We are interested in disciples, not just converts. It is irresponsible to not disciple an individual that comes to Christ. Be a father or mother in that persons life. Age doesn’t matter. Sometimes it can be appropriate for younger people to disciple older people if they are more mature in the faith.

• Gain a presence in areas surrounding abortion centers by hosting events in nearby areas such as outdoor worship services, free food events, or anything else that God may lead you to do to reach out. (don’t protests, rather manifest the Kingdom)

• Consider Adoption (lets remove all the excuses of why an individual decides on an abortion.)

• Attempt to build relationships with individuals in your community. (especially around where you live) About 28% of U.S. women ages 15-64 have had at least 1 abortion, (http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/uslifetimeab.html) The goal of the relationships aren’t to talk to people about abortion but rather to reveal Jesus to the people through manifesting God’s Kingdom.

• Be willing to take people out to lunch whether you know them or not. Include people in your life to some extent. Show individuals what Kingdom family is like. Sometimes people feel the need to belong which sometimes happens before they believe.

• Communicate love, not condemnation

• Call local abortion centers to attempt to meet with individuals who have positions there, and love them well. Only attempt this if God gives you the green light to go for it, because if you go about this incorrectly it can land you a trip to jail. This is one of the avenues that women would have better access of doing since a majority of abortion centers services are to women. Good way to go about it is to ask if you can meet with one of their counselors to talk about the services that they offer. (Some centers that provide abortions offer other services as well) This can provide a good instance to deliver a prophetic word (encourage, edify, or comfort) to the individual in such a way that doesn’t necessarily reveal that you are against their practices, or even that you are even Christian. Be covert rather than overt. Know the laws going into it. I recommend reading the history section of this page as well to gain knowledge of the bad and ugly things that have taken place in the past which is why certain laws are in affect around abortion centers.

• Discover ways in which you can meet and talk with influential business people or politicians who are in support of abortion from companies. (not to pass an agenda but to reveal Jesus to them through miracles, signs, and wonders accompanied by the declaration of the Gospel) There are a lot of businesses that support abortion. (this page has a list of companies that does http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/21/meet-the-41-companies-that-donate-directly-to-planned-parenthood) Keep in mind legislation isn’t the answer to this problem but Jesus is the answer.

• Share this website with others!

 

Churches sometimes have the financial means to help in ways that individuals wouldn’t be able to accomplish themselves. One great way to reach out to women in crisis is to create a resource for women that are considering abortion. The way this can look is supporting the mom up to 6 months after child birth and then providing a child care solution so the mom can start working. What if your church was able to start a non profit daycare where the at crisis mother is able to place her child during the day at no cost till either she was in a better financial position or that the child was ready to attend public school? What if you could offset her costs of daycare with payment for other people’s children? This is an idea that can create jobs for individuals at your church as well as be a ministry to impact children’s lives when they are young. I don’t have all the pieces to this puzzle but I would love to begin dialogue with Pastors or leaders that are interested. Feel free to start a dialogue on the Facebook Page.

This part intentionally has been left last due to the nature of the history. You also don’t have to have a thorough knowledge of the history to have an affect on ending abortion.

After Roe vs. Wade took place which made abortion legal many abortion clinics started having problems with individuals doing violent acts including murder, arson, bombings and other violent acts against the women and the staff to try to bring abortion to an end, but much of these things that have taken place not only didn’t work but has actually made it more difficult to reach those women because there are now additional laws that have been put into place to protect the women, and to protect their facilities. Many of these different acts of violence were cause by individuals part of anti-abortion organizations that profess Christian values. Below are some of the instances which included individuals that professed Christianity.

December 25, 1984: An abortion clinic and two physicians’ offices in Pensacola, Florida were bombed in the early morning of Christmas Day by a quartet of young people (Matt Goldsby, Jimmy Simmons, Kathy Simmons, Kaye Wiggins) who later called the bombings “a gift to Jesus on his birthday. The clinic, the Ladies Center, would later be the site of the murder of Dr. John Britton and James Barrett in 1994 and a firebombing in 2012. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abortion_violence)

September 30, 2000: John Earl, a Catholic priest, drove his car into the Northern Illinois Health Clinic after learning that the FDA had approved the drug RU-486. He pulled out an ax before being forced to the ground by the owner of the building, who fired two warning shots from a shotgun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abortion_violence)

 

Other Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_F._Griffin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jennings_Hill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Robert_Rudolph
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Charles_Kopp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelley_Shannon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Waagner
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Roeder#Arrest_of_murder_suspect
 

Violence has never been nor will ever be the best way to fix problems.

2 Cor 10:3-4 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Needless to say, these different violent things that took place doesn’t give a good name to the rest of the Christian’s that desires to see change in regards to abortion. With these violent things that have taken place clinics now have placed buffer zones and restrictions to protect the clinic and those who go to them.