Definition of Personhood

 

January 23 was the 48^th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Since that day in 1973, when nine men in black robes forced abortion upon the nation; a staggering 62 million preborn babies have been killed. The struggle for the unborn is worth fighting, and now that Biden is the president, that battle just got tougher.

 

On many fronts, the battle for life is advancing. Technology has vividly revealed that abortion does not remove a blob of cells but a living person. The improved ultrasound allows women to see their babies. When they look at those living images on that screen, this is what they see: At four weeks, the baby’s heart is beating. By week eight, the baby begins moving and is about the size of a thumb; every organ is now present. When the baby is three months old, he is about 3 inches long and can swallow and respond to skin stimulation. At four months, nostrils and toenails become visible. The baby may suck her thumb, turn somersaults, and has a firm grip. She is now able to experience pain. Around six months, the baby can hear. The child sleeps and wakes, sleeping in his favorite positions, and stretches upon waking up. At eight months, her skin becomes pink and smooth. The pupils of her eyes respond to light. Fingernails reach to the tip of the finger. By now, she is getting cramped.

How shocking that with all this new insight gained from technology, the pro-choice movement doubles down and still fights to end the baby’s life even up to birth. The mother’s choice is what matters, they say, but what about the choice of the child. What about the rights of the baby? Do they not matter? Almost everyone now admits this is a living creature but is it really a person, they ask? What constitutes personhood? Shouldn’t the baby be wanted? Some consider the baby to be a leech unless there is a mother who welcomes the child. What a subjective measure for life? All of us who are alive should be glad that our mothers wanted us.

The definition of personhood should not hinge on whether we offer value or not. This utilitarian view can be arbitrarily assigned to anyone at any age. A biblical description of personhood is that all life belongs to God. The Psalmist David eloquently wrote about the wonder of a baby in the womb:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (Psalms 139:13-18)

 

 (Parenting with a Long View)  https://boydbrooks.com/

Beyond the Math

 

 

The prophet Malachi records a promise that God makes to those who are willing to put him first:

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty (Mal 3:10-12).

Learning to give our money and resources to God is one of the most important things we will ever understand. It helps us to put God first in our lives because with each offering, we recognize that God is the owner of everything, and we are his stewards. It helps to let go of material things and see the value in eternal things. As we do this, God promises to bless us with material blessings and stop the devouring process and loss.

Accepting the challenge of giving your tithe and offerings without fear of running short is a challenge that God answers with “Test me in this!” God has a way of opening doors and pouring out blessings we could never have expected.

During the 1980s, when we were planting a church in Corrientes, Argentina, God made this real to a lady named Nélida Dominguez. She came to know Jesus genuinely. Soon Nélida was ready to put God first in every way. She gave her tithes and made a monthly commitment to missions, and then she added up how much that would be on an added machine that sat on her store counter. Then she added it up again and again. She doubted for a moment as she realized that she had overcommitted. She would never be able to give that much. Then God spoke to her and said, “Nélida, you can’t add my blessings up on an adding machine.” At the end of that year, she gave a testimony of God’s faithfulness—she had paid all her expenses and met all her commitments to God. Giving to God goes beyond the math.

 

 

(Parenting with a Long View)  https://boydbrooks.com/

Stand Tall

 

Standing tall is not easy, especially when it can cost you something. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he urges him to stand tall and be courageous in the face of opposition. Timothy was pastoring in Ephesus; it was a tough assignment. There were strong personalities there that opposed his leadership. He was not Paul with an iron will and lion personality. Timothy was timid and reserved but loved God. Paul never belittled Timothy, nor did he try to convince him to change his personality. He accepted him as he was. However, the apostle encouraged Timothy not to be fearful, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Tim 1:7).

 Paul’s example of standing tall is seen in his description of himself as “his prisoner” - that is, the Lord’s prisoner!’ He was in Rome in Caesar’s dungeon, but he saw himself as Christ’s prisoner. So when he told Timothy to stand tall, Timothy did it.

There are many places we need to stand tall and be unashamed of our faith in Christ regardless of what people think of us. Consider how powerful your testimony is at work when you give your employer an honest day’s work and refuse to be lazy or dishonest. Consider how much your light shines when you share your own story of Christ’s transformative power to change your life with others. You stand tall when you refuse to walk on by the person who needs your help. Still yet, standing tall in our home with the people who know us best may be the most difficult of all.

I believe the area that gives us the greatest credibility is our authenticity in our home. Does our attitude reflect a servant’s heart? Are we growing and maturing? How do we treat those we love? Are we willing to acknowledge our own inadequacies? If we are not—then we are only fooling ourselves. If we are God’s servants, he will help us, and those who love us will respect us. The Gospel has the greatest impact when it is lived out. He who stands tall in the world first stands tall in his own home!

If you really want to grow and mature as a faithful follower of Christ, then examine your life. What faults and weaknesses do you refuse to acknowledge? What outrageous behavior do you justify with flimsy excuses? Once you have signaled out your areas that need the most work—own them without deflecting blame to anyone else. Then ask God to give you the insight to deal with your faults. Having done this is only the beginning, but it is a step in the right direction. No matter how great your testimony outside your home is, it is empty and invalid if it does not have your family’s endorsement.

 

  https://boydbrooks.com/

Stay Faithful

 

 

Luke records in chapter 21, Jesus’ last discourse before his death. In this address, Jesus made some predictions that came true, such as the destruction of the temple by the Romans and Antiochus IV’s desecration. Jesus said there would be wars, natural disasters, cosmic signs in the heavens, and false teachers claiming to be Christ, but we should not let any of these things hinder us from being faithful to God.

Jesus told us to guard our hearts and not become indulgent and indifferent about what really matters in life (Luke 21:34-36). Although the sermon is complicated, it’s clear that his words’ main point is that his followers must remain faithful. There have been and will be many distractions, but we should always stay the course.

We must not be numbed by all the voices that try to define what is essential and what is not—no matter who says what, we must remain faithful to Christ. Most of us will never be famous or occupy positions of power, but we all can be faithful where we are. We can be faithful in our work and reliable in our ministries. We can be faithful husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, friends, and most of all, servants of Christ. The following story, written by Joe Allen, illustrates the point:

 

During World War II, England needed to increase its production of coal. So Churchill called together the labor leaders to enlist their support. He told them to picture in their minds a parade that he knew would be held in Piccadilly Circus after the war. First, he said, would come the sailors who had kept the vital sea lanes open. Then, would come the soldiers who had come home from Dunkirk and had gone on to defeat Rommel in Africa. Then, would come the pilots who had driven the Luftwaffe from the sky.

 

Last of all, he said, would come a long line of sweat-stained, soot streaked men in miner’s caps. And someone would cry from the crowd, “Where were you during the critical days of our struggle?” And from ten thousand throats would come the answer, “We were deep in the earth with our faces to the coal.”

 Our focus has to be on Jesus, the one we love. He and he alone is the prize worth receiving. He is worth keeping our faces toward the coal. No matter what happens, we want to be found faithful to one who gave everything for us.

 (Parenting with a Long View)  https://boydbrooks.com/