UNITED STATES

Number of abortions per year: 1.21 Million (2005)
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,315

Who’s having abortions (age)?
52% of women obtaining abortions in the U.S. are younger than 25: Women aged 20-24 obtain 32% of all abortions; Teenagers obtain 20% and girls under 15 account for 1.2%.

Who’s having abortions (race)?
While white women obtain 60% of all abortions, their abortion rate is well below that of minority women. Black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are roughly 2 times as likely.

Who’s having abortions (marital status)?
64.4% of all abortions are performed on never-married women; Married women account for 18.4% of all abortions and divorced women obtain 9.4%.

Who’s having abortions (religion)?
Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as “Born-again/Evangelical”.

Commentary by Patrick:  Interesting info. regarding who’s having abortions by religion isn’t it?  More people who claim faith are having abortions at a higher % than those that don’t claim a faith.   Look at only 18% for “Born-Again/Evangelical” and determine how many that number truly represents.  That little % equals A LOT of aborted children each year doesn’t it?  No wonder people call Christians hypocritical, ineffective and don’t want what we’re sharing with this world.

Who’s having abortions (income)?
Women with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions; Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%; Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%; Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%.

Why women have abortions
1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient).

At what gestational ages are abortions performed:
52% of all abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the 16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions (16,450/yr.) happen after the 20th week of pregnancy.

Likelihood of abortion:
An estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion.

Abortion coverage:
48% of all abortion facilities provide services after the 12th week of pregnancy. 9 in 10 managed care plans routinely cover abortion or provide limited coverage. About 14% of all abortions in the United States are paid for with public funds, virtually all of which are state funds. 16 states (CA, CT, HI, ED, IL, MA , MD, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA and WV) pay for abortions for some poor women.

Statistics provided by The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (www.agi-usa.org), and Family Planning Perspectives.

To learn more about abortion – facts, statistics, procedure, how to join the fight against abortion, please go to www.abortionno.org.

 

A story that’s gotten a lot of attention lately (no, not Michael Jackson) is the desecration of more than 300 graves at an African-American cemetary known as the final resting place for many well-known African-Americans.  Not only were the bodies dug up and the plots resold but many of the bodies were dismembered and buried in mass graves at the back of the property.  They’ve arrested four persons in connection with this crime, charging them with Dismemberment of a Human Body.  Each person could face up to 30 years in prison for digging up dead bodies and dismembering them.  Yes, I agree that this is a deplorable crime and there should be punishment but 30 years for dismembering a dead, lifeless body.  Really?  Are you serious?

Now, tell me how many years someone is sentenced for having an abortion or more specifically, for killing or dismembering an unborn, LIVING  fetus/child?  Come on….tick-tock, tick-tock, time’s running out?  Any guesses?  Yep, once again you’re right….NOTHING!  No penalty, no consequences, no legal action whatsoever!!!

So, still clinging to the notion that we are a Christian nation???

Driving home on Highway 80 yesterday, I observed a large, white road sign that warned passersby that the penalty for throwing trash on the highway  was $1,000.  I agree there should be some type of punitive consequence for littering but $1,000 seems a little steep to me.

Then I wondered what the penalty is for killing an unborn life in our country?  Any guesses?  The answer is obvious isn’t it…..NOTHING.  No penalty, no consequences, no legal action whatsoever!!!

Do you still think we are a Christian nation???

Last night, we watched a Joyce Meyer episode in which she spoke on “Religious Attitudes” (which could be a whole post series) but she gave this staggering statistic (at least on the surface):

“Only 13% of all “Christians” believe that the Word of God is absolute truth.”

Now, go back and re-read this statistic, this statement.  It’s not 100%, 75% or even 50%….but 13%!  It’s not that only 13% atheists, sinners or non-believers don’t believe that the Word of God is the absolute truth but Christians.  Does it surprise you, shock you, anger you or sadden you?  Personally, it doesn’t surprise me or shock me, it saddens me and it angers me.  We have been given God Himself through His Word, and yet we treat it like it’s a children’s fable.  We put more faith in the worldly magazines we read, and the words of “wisdom” found on talk shows like Oprah than we do the living, divinely-inspired and written Word of God. 

There can be no half-truths or selective belief when it comes to God and His Word, His Truth:  you either believe it completely, fully, totally and unconditionally or you don’t believe it at all.  God isn’t going to force us to believe but He is  going to force us to commit to our belief.  So, what do you believe as a “christian” and if you do believe, are you willing to place it at the center of your life and live by it, in all its glory, power, authority, mercy, grace and love?

Personally, I believe 100% that the Bible is the absolute, living, divinely-inspired and inerrant Word and Truth of God.  My little mind may have a hard time comprehending it all but that doesn’t change whether it’s true or not.  Now, the difficult part….living like I believe it is the absolute truth of God.  How dangerous would I be if I actually acted as if I believe it?  How dangerous will you be?  How dangerous as a church will we be?  I don’t think we can truly fathom how dangerous we would be but satan does and it causes him to shiver.

“Too many churches and not enough Truth. Too many people and not enough eyes to see.” Undone by Guess Who

 

While listening to a song today on the radio, these verses stood out to me, and got me to thinking about the American church’s obsession with quantity.   We boast about how many congregants attend our services, and how many members we have on the roll.  We brag about how many acres the church owns, and how much money we spent on our land and buildings or audio and video equipment.  We love to flaunt how many Sunday School classes or Life Groups we offer.  The more, the better!   I guess that’s why we can drive through town and find 10 different churches by 10 different denominations every mile or two. 

But as we all know, more isn’t always better.  Many times it’s worse because our obsession with quantity slowly begins to choke the quality out of our churches until there is no substance or truth left.   Once that happens, it’s extremely difficult to resucitate a church that is built on quantity and not quality.  It may go on for decades more but it’s basically comprised of a congregation of the spiritually walking dead. 

You see, it’s in the truth of God’s Word that you will find the quality.  Think about it!  How many did God send to earth as Messiah to pay the penalty for our sins?  Two?  Five?  Ten?  Nope……ONE, Jesus!  Because Jesus was perfect and Holy (full of quality so to speak), He was all that was needed.  How many disciples did Jesus personally mentor?  Twenty?  Fifty?  A hundred?  A thousand?  Ahhhh, no!  Twelve!  Jesus knew that twelve (eleven really) truth filled disciples willing to follow Him in faith and obedience was better than 5,000 that wanted to talk about Jesus and be seen with Him more than follow Him.  Jesus gets it, we don’t. 

It’s about the quality of our witnessing and ministering that is going to reach lost souls and build up disciples, and that quality is found through Jesus.  It’s not about how many members we have, have many church worship services, Life Groups, youth groups or senior programs we can offer but how we are giving Jesus to the world.  Are we offering the real Jesus or the fictive Jesus?  Is it a Jesus that runs away singing and dancing to the tune of “I love you, you love me, we’re a great big happy family.”  That may work for purple dinosaurs (debatable though) but not for Jesus. 

Yes, Jesus is Love but He’s also the Messiah that holds the power and authority over all things and beings, including satan and his dominions.  Jesus loves us unconditionally but He demands complete obedience and faithfulness.  He expects us to live lives that are full of truth, without compromise and based on all of His Word, not the parts that we like or are comfortable with or choose to hang onto too because we’re looking for justification for our sin-filled lives.  Jesus could really care less how many christian programs we offer or how large our church congregations are.  He knows many are filled with hypocrites anyway.  He cares only about one number:  how many souls have we reached right now, this second for the Kingdom of God.  Each second that passed without a soul being won for God is a complete waste; void of meaning, truth and quality. 

Personally, I believe we need to discard our denominational affliations, level our buildings and start from scratch with nothing but a meeting tent and our Bibles.  Trust me, you hold a worship service in a tent in the middle of the summer in Savannah, and you’ll find out real quick how dedicated to following Christ and being built into disciples people are.  Strip away the quantifiable waste in our churches and American Christianity, and you’ll find the true army of servants that are willing to do whatever it takes to reach lost souls.  We’ll find those that aren’t concerned with comfort or the things of this world but have a single-minded, Holy Spirit-driven passion for running after God and grabbing the lost souls along the way so they can run after Him with us. 

“Our Words have the power to influence; God’s words have the power to save.” Our Daily Bread – June 23rd

 

Today’s devotional told the story of a man that came to know Christ because a girlfriend referred  him to three passages of scripture, and told him to read them (Romans 3:23, 5:8 and 10:13).  He did and God convicted him of his sin, and he accepted Christ as Savvior.  He stated he “wept and believed.” 

When his son was seven years old, he used those same verses on him.  He son was saved, and went on to become a pastor.

We, as American Christians talk too much!  Talk, talk, talk, talk.  Reminds me of the Far Side cartoon depicting the owner of a dog talking to his BFF.  The caption, paraphrased, states “What a owner says to his dog and what a dog really hears.”  In one scene, the owner is talking and the words are clear but in the other scene, the dog is sitting there listening but the words he’s hearing are, “Blah, blah, blah, blah.” 

Makes me wonder if Gary Larson had Christians in mind when he drew this one.  It does kinda reflect more accurately how our “witnessing”  conversations go with someone that is lost and without Christ.  We quote scripture after scripture, telling them how much Jesus loves them, and how they are destined to spend eternity in hell if they don’t accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Granted, if you are geniunely allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through you and direct the conversation, then fine.  But how often does this really happen?  Conservatively, probably as often as not.  I know I’ve been guilty of this without even realizing it.

God’s Word is anointed, living, powerful, full of love, mercy and grace.  It has the power to save!  Patrick’s don’t!  Christy’s don’t!  Your’s don’t!  So, the next time we have a witnessing opportunity, shut up, give them God’s Word, and get out of the way.

“In Acts 4, when the church was still new, Peter and John also boldly addressed the people of their generation….

….That boldness was not the fruit of ministerial training but of much time spent in the presence of the Master.  As a result, they had become passionate about what concerned Christ – the eternal destiny of men and women.“  Our Daily Bread – June 18th

Am I, or we as the American Church, passionate about what concerns Christ?  Do we even know what concerns Christ?  Do we even care? 

Reading this devotional a couple days ago caused me to ask myself these questions.  I know I talk about Christ passionately but am I passionately sharing  Christ with this lost and dark world?  Am I passionately seeking Him and allowing Him to work in my life, and through my life so others will know how passionate Christ is about their salvation and eternal abode? 

Are we as His Church passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission or are we more passionate about our worship programs, our church buildings, our state-of-the-art audio and video equipment, our offerings of extra-curricular christian activities, our church road trips to Amish country or christian cruises to exotic locations.

I believe, as a whole, we have forgotten that reaching lost souls is what concerns Jesus above all things.  When Jesus died on the cross, the eternal destiny of men and women was His sole motivation.  He knew and understood the role God needed Him to play – Sacrificial Lamb for mankind.  He was, and is, the Bridge in which we use to reach God. 

Now, it’s time for us to re-evaluate what role we are to play in God’s plan.  It’s not as “good Baptists”, “devout Catholics”, “fired-up Pentacostals”, “loyal Presbyterians” or “enlightened Calvinists” but as a unified, single-minded, obedient, purpose-driven, Great Commission fulfilling, hell-busting servant warriors of God that are concerned about the one true passion of Christ, “the eternal destiny of men and women.”  Once we put “our passions” aside, and get back to Jesus’ passion for reaching lost souls, we’ll become the bold and courageous leaders that this world desperately needs, just like Peter and John.

“(15) Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not!  (16) Don’t you realize that you become a slave of whatever you choose to obey?  You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death or  you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.  (17) Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.  (18) Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

(19) Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this.  Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin.  Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.  (20)When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. (21)  And what was the result?  You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.  (22)  But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God.  Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.  (23)  For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6: 15-23 (NLT)

“Slavery” is an ugly word that illicits deep emotions within peope and vivid images in our minds of anger, hatred, bitterness, sadness, misery, hopelessness, pain, torture, oppression and death.  Slavery is not unique to the black community here in America.  It has destroyed millions of lives throughout history, here and afar, leaving its ghosts to wander through the generations, hauntingly reminding us of the deals mankind has made with satan himself.  Every step forward made is accompanied by these ghosts of slavery.  They influence our politics, our jargon, our idealogies, our attitudes, our minds and our emotions.  They are constantly pulling us back into the past, hoping to keep our souls and spirits bitter, angry and hate-filled with fingers pointed.  Sadly, they do a good job.  Satan undertands this fully….that’s why he is continually feeding these ghosts, keeping them alive.

I understand that this is a sensitive subject, and I am not down-playing the tremendous hurts that anyone has suffered because of physical slavery.  They are real.  Any present day slavery that a person or ethnic group is experiencing should be addressed and remedied promptly.  It cannot, nor should not be allowed to continue. 

Whether we admit it or not though, we are all slaves to something or someone.  There hasn’t been a person born, regardless of race, ethnicity or gender that hasn’t played the role of slave.  We still do!  We will for the remainder of this life and the next.  Failure to understand this puts your spiritual state in peril.

You see, the danger isn’t that you or I will become a physical slave to someone but to whom we will  become a spiritual slave – God or satan?  Being a physical slave to someone is temporary.  It lasts until we are set free or die.  Straight-forward and simple to understand.  However, spiritual slavery is eternal.  It doesn’t end when we die, and we are never set free.  If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, you are currently a spiritual slave to sin and your worldly, carnal desires.  Your master is satan.  He dictates the terms of your enslavement, whether that’s a wasted life spent addicted to drugs, alcohol or sex, a life spent in a homosexual lifestyle or a life spent denying the existence of God.  There have been billions of people that spent their lives enslaved to satan, and never realized it until they stood before Christ Jesus in Judgment.  It was too late at that point.  Their fate was sealed.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.  We have a choice!  We can choose to become enslaved to the one true Master – Christ Jesus.  He is a Master that surrounds us with His unconditional, unlimited and undying mercy, grace and love.  He adopts us into His family to become His royal heirs, with all the power and authority in the heavenlies.  He grants us access to all that is His, and all that He is.  We are never left lacking.  We are never left alone.  We are never left hungry.  We are never left homeless and orphaned.  We are never left to despair, oppression, hopelessness and unforgiveness. 

When we choose to become the eternal bondslaves to Christ himself, we open our souls and spirits to healing, to deliverance, to love, to hope, to mercy, to grace, to forgiveness, to victory.  He takes the chains that satan had bound us in for so long, and shatters them, replacing them with splendid crowns of righteousness that reveal us to be God’s own children.  

If the American Church wants to break out of our spiritual slump, then we have to humble ourselves before God, and offer ourselves as faithful, obedient bondslaves, willing to serve our Master however He desires.  We have to give up the illusion we hold that we are able to live as we please and still honor and glorify God.  He sent His Son, Jesus to pay the debt that we owed God for living in sin, separated from Him.  Once we choose to follow Christ, we become new creations that are indebted to God for the sacrifice He made to adopt us into His family.  It’s not a requirement for salvation but necessary in order for us to grow to become the servants that Christ needs us to be in order to fulfill the Great Commission, and reach lost souls. 

So instead of us being slaves to our religions, our money, our worldly toys, our status, our ambitions, our thirst for power and acceptance, our pride, our prejudice, our hatred, our unforgiveness, our addictions, our lust and our selves, let’s bow before God, dying to ourselves, humbly offering Him our lives to Lord over as He desires.   Not only will He raise up a powerfully anointed and blessed church that is perfectly equipped to harvest lost souls, He will bring us into His Holy Mysteries so we can live in the spiritual heavenlies.

Please view my Seed of Hope site page to see how you can get started sharing Jesus with these extremely impoverished children while we cater to their physical, medical and educational needs.

There was a time when Christy and I owned a condo at Carolina Beach.  It wasn’t beachfront nor luxurious but from our living room we had a open view of the ocean and from our bedroom we could lay in bed and watch the sailboats gliding by on the Sound.   For a young, childless, fiancially broke married couple, it was a dream. 

One of our favorite spots was the large, covered deck where we would often find ourselves on – eating, watching the dolphins play or just being.  Even now, I can still feel the thick, salty summer breeze blowing in off of the ocean while sitting on the deck deep into the early hours of the morning, watching storms dance offshore. 

The breeze was like an old friend that had come to sit with us awhile as we attempted to quiet our souls from a day of constant static.  The storms were beautiful and awe-inspiring.  As the storms danced, I would imagine the dark sky as God’s canvas in which he would paint splashes of color that knew no earthly origins.  It was as if we had won a Grand Prize Offshore Storm Watching package that allowed us to watch the Master Artist paint a supernatural masterpiece.  Watching these storms affirmed the presence and existence of our God, and often left me contemplating how anyone could witness such beauty and still not believe.

However, the blessing wasn’t the storm itself.  It was the reality that I was a spectator of the storm, not a participant.  It wasn’t raining,  thundering or lightening on me.  I got to watch God’s show from the comfort and safety of a covered deck where it was warm and breezy.  I bet those that were in the midst of the storm would have a different perspective though.  They were at the mercy of the rain, thunder, lightening and rough seas.  They weren’t camped out on deck in a lounge chair admiring the beauty of the storm.  They were doing their best to survive the storm.  Same storm but two completely different experiences.  I sat and praised the storm, while the ones in the midst of the storm probably cursed it.  I wouldn’t have changed places with them for any reason, and I’m sure they would have taken my place without hesitation.

Such it is in life.  We love to watch the storms of life that others battle, whether literally or figuratively as long as we aren’t affected.  We watch them and praise them for their beauty but once that first rain drop falls on us or the lightening comes a little too close, then our first choice, reaction is retreat to the safety of our shelters, leaving the person to survive on their own.   We want to be the spectators but not the participants.   But there are times when the storm unleashes destruction on everyone close to that person regardless of how fast we run to seek shelter.   The beauty then becomes the beast, and leaves a wake of destruction and tragedy on the guilty and the innocent.  No one is left the same.

Now, six years later, we have moved, and our days of watching those beautiful, awe-inspiring offshore storms are gone but I find myself on a “spiritual” deck, watching a storm surrounding someone so dear to me.  This one isn’t beautiful though.  Satan is behind the proverbial curtain, conjuring up an ominous and supernaturally powerful storm that is going to destroy marriages, tear apart families and shatter the innocence of children.   

It’s hard to watch people we care deeply about at the mercy of a spiritual storm.  You feel helpless….I feel helpless.  I’ve done my best to “rescue” my dear friend from the oncoming storm but to no avail.  I’ve prayed that satan would be bound, that God would dissipate this storm but I know that it’s in His hands now.  I know there’s no out-running this one.  So, I’m doing the only thing I can;  I’m putting on my spiritual “rain gear”, anticipating the oncoming deluge. 

I am asking that all my brothers and sisters in Christ lift up my dear friend in prayer to our Lord and Savior.  That He will convict my friend of his sinful choices, and bring him into a relationship with Christ.  That spiritual and emotional healing will be found, marriages saved and innocence kept through the grace of God.  Also pray that the Holy Spirit will use me as an example of Christ-like love, grace and forgiveness.  Finally, let’s pray that once the storm subsides, that all affected that did not know Christ as Savior will have been rescued from the gates of hell.