LIFE AND "THE MORNING AFTER"

When President Barack Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ announced employers, including religious organizations, must provide women’s reproductive services through insurance, the national debate quickly shifted from the morning-after and abortion pills, to traditional contraception.

 In media terms, that’s “spin” and the truth about the morning-after pill vanished.

 Obama is trying to make us think businesses and religions can opt out of the requirement. Regulators now solicit public input on how to implement the mandate—an appearance of openness while doing nothing.

I visited Planned Parenthood as a reporter, probably in 1994 or 1995, when I first heard of the “morning-after” pill being used in the United States.

The way I understand it, when the Food and Drug Administration wouldn’t approve the abortion pill RU-486 for use in the United States, Dr. Carl Djerassi, who helped develop the first oral contraceptive pill and founder of Planned Parenthood, decided a large dose of birth control pills would keep a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb, and thus he invented the “morning after pill.” Planned Parenthood began offering the treatment for women within 72 hours of unprotected sex, although the medication hadn’t been approved for that use and women sometimes had significant side effects.

 The morning-after medication causes the uterus to shed its lining, preventing a fertilized egg from attaching to the womb. The dosage also might cause a woman not to ovulate.

Planned Parenthood claimed until the fertilized egg attaches to the womb, the woman is not pregnant, and that’s true. But invitro fertilization shows a fertilized egg is pregnant with life before implantation in the womb.

Certainly not everyone who takes morning-after pills has a fertilized egg bursting to life and searching for a safe place in the womb. But some do—and that’s the reason for the pill—to prevent another person from entering this world.

Christians, among them Evangelicals, Catholics and many others believe “Thou Shalt Not Kill” in the Sixth Commandment includes the unborn. People are speaking out against the requirement, even after Obama transferred responsibility to insurance companies.

 The U.S. Catholic bishops noted the full range of contraceptives approved by the FDA that would be available without any co-pay under Obama Care included “drugs which can attack a developing unborn child before and after implantation in the mother’s womb.

Yet, because of the world’s exploding population, population control is a goal of many in government. The number of people on earth who need food is worrisome, but it’s not a reason to kill—or to force people, especially those whose conscience or religion forbids it, to assist with the killing.

 If killing were the answer to earth’s problems why do we worry about genocide in Syria, Ruwanda, and other places? We know in our gut it is wrong and horrific.

I suggest our citizens learn self control where sexuality is concerned, not population control.

                              

God created you with a soul--and loved you

Man with all his knowledge has never created anything that compares with the machinery in the body. Think about all the neat things about your flesh and bones--how the fingers bend in all the right places, and even though they are different lengths, they fold together into your hand so you can grasp things and make a fist to really get a grip.

 Think about all the organs and machinery inside your body. Evaluate the wonder of your seeing eyes, your hearing ears, and other senses. You have electrical circuits in your brain to help you think, learn and make decisions.

 As David said, we are beautifully and wonderfully made! But we also have a spiritual side.

 When God created Adam, the Bible says he became a living soul. The person you are, that God made you, is not flesh and blood. Watchman Nee, a Chinaman who did one of the most profound studies on the soul, wrote his evaluations  in his book, “The Spiritual Man.”

 The Bible says in Genesis as soon as God breathed life into Adam's nostrils and this life poured through the body, Adam became a living soul. Nee believed the soul is the combination of man’s body and spirit.  The breath of life became man’s spirit; that is the principle of life within him. The Lord Jesus tell us,, “It is the Spirit that gives life” (John 6:63).

 This breath of life comes from the Lord of Creation, Nee continues.. Before they sinned, Adam and Eve had the capacity to live forever. But they sinned and became mortal, meaning that they would be subject to sickness and death.

 God warned Adam and Eve that if they disobeyed him, they would be punished. Satan told Eve not to believe it. But God is a just God and in spite of his love for Adam and Eve, He took away their immortality (he'd warned them they would die if they ate of the forbidden tree) and caused them to be mere mortals who had to work, sweat and get sick and die.

 God wanted Adam and Eve and everyone who lives thereafter to know there are consequences for evil and rebellion. That’s still true today. We reap what we sow. God had made Adam and Eve in His own image, and the book of Genesis says God blessed them in spite of their sin. He gave man dominion and authority to care  over the every beast and bird

 The Lord made all sorts of things for humankind to enjoy. He gave us water to drink and swim in. Flowers to smell and look at. Furry animals to touch and love. Birds to sing and flap their wings above us in blue skies. The sun to warm us in the day and make things grow. The moon to light our way at night so we do things such as play Kick the Can.

 Every good thing comes from God. Love also comes from God, because God is love (1 John 4:16) And he loves you! God said his creation was very good, but when sin came into his wonderful world, there was a need for man to have a way back to holiness and purity -- and eternal life. God promised a Redeemer, Jesus Christ, way back in Genesis when He told Adam and Eve, in a prophecy that foretold Jesus would come and crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15).

 For nearly 4,000 years prophets wrote and preached about the coming Messiah, and one day H, Jesus,  was born in a stable in Bethlehem, fulfilling every one of those prophesies. According to both of the Apostle John’s books in the Bible (John 1:1 and 1 John 1:1) Jesus, the Word, God’s Son, was there at creation. Jesus is God, just like God the Father and God the Holy Ghost. And God’s love was shown for us in something that can never be changed when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead so that we could live forever.

 “What manner of love is this!” one scripture says. “Another verse says, “Greater love hath no man that to lay down his life for a friend.” That’s what Jesus did, and it shows God’s love for us better than anything. God loves you, just as you are and will always love you, even if you don’t serve Him. But He longs for you to give your life to Him, to accept Jesus as your Savior, and turn from sin. That’s the love story of the Bible, and it has a happy ending -- living forever with Jesus in joy and bliss.

©Ada Brownell

Swallowed by Life, the book, free for Kindle May18-20

The Kindle version of SWALLOWED BY LIFE: Mysteries of Death, Resurrection and the Eternal will be free on Amazon in the United States May 18-20.

Skating on the River

By Ada Brownell My father always told me not to go near the river. I didn’t until one winter when I was about 12 years old, my friends suggested we go ice-skating there. I declined at first, but soon grabbed my skates.

 The river was probably a mile or so from my home, but I didn’t mind the walk in the near zero temperature. These girls didn’t usually hang out with me, but they knew I could skate and invited me.

 Tranquil water had frozen in a little tributary of the mighty Colorado, and we skated and skated. Suddenly we noticed it was about dark. Quickly we put on our shoes and started toward home.

 My feet were beginning to feel numb and soon they felt like they weren’t even part of my body – only heavy bricks. My friends lived closer and soon they were home. I had to keep walking.

 As soon as I reached the house, I ran to the bathroom, took off my shoes and placed my feet in very warm water. My feet turned black and began to swell. With tears on my cheeks I had to confess I had disobeyed.

 I learned I had frozen my feet, but thank the Lord, they didn’t require amputation. For days, though, I couldn’t wear my own shoes because my feet were too swollen. No, I didn’t fall through the ice as I could have if I’d ventured out on the river, but I learned a hard lesson. Parents do their children a favor when they care enough to tell them to avoid risky activities and teach them to obey

. My Heavenly Father had me in mind when He said, “Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right” (Ephesians 6:11). ©Ada Brownell 2012

FAITH: A FORCE THAT MUST BE FED

 Faith is a force that must be fed. Every day, we either nourish our faith or unbelief. It’s like depositing funds in the bank. Every day we use a little of our cash, but most of us know we need some put away for emergencies.

 Life, especially in these times of media saturation, challenges our faith from many sides. Sometimes getting up in the morning is like stepping out into a shooting range between the guns and the target. We duck and wonder why we’re not carrying a shield to get through this mess. Then we notice the enemy of our soul lurks on the edges of the hillside. He roars like a lion and we realize this is no game.

 “Where is my sword?” we ask ourselves.

 Ephesians 6 tells us a little about preparing for the battle and what our enemy is like: “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

                                                           Be Prepared

The ultimate attack comes against faith in life and death issues. God warned Adam and Eve if they disobeyed him, they would die.

 Most everyone is subject to the ultimate lie Satan, that slimy snake, told Eve in the beginning. Satan opened his fangy face and guffawed. “You won’t die!”

 His bony fingers grabbed a peach from the forbidden tree and thrust it toward Eve. “Eat it. It’s delicious.”

 Eve ran to Adam and offered him a bite. Soon the couple chewed the sugary fruit, juice dripping from the edges of their mouths as they watched one another change from immortal to mortal beings.  They knew they now their flesh was subject to sickness and death..

 Satan’s venom fills every earthly body and grave since that time. Read about it in Genesis 3.  But God's because of His compassion, promised a Redeemer who would bruise Satan’s head, although the Redeemer’s heel would be bruised by the serpent when the Savior came to redeem every man who wanted to be saved. We know the Messiah was crucified. The amazing thing is death could not hold him! Yet, although we know the story, when Satan whispers, “Don’t even think about it. You won’t die,” we avoid putting that faith deposit in the bank

When someone we know has a troubling diagnosis or dies, we’re deceived into thinking he or she is the only one going. We think like the leaders of our nation that plunged us into owing $15 trillion in debt and the bank account is empty! But the problem doesn't go away because we don't want to think about it.

Perhaps that’s why it took me 15 years to see Swallowed by LIFE published. When I showed a proposal to editors, I suspected they thought the market for this category of books was limited, and it should be left to ministers with a long list of credentials and a huge following. Yet, I knew my book is unique because it has exciting news about life and how we are made, urging you to take time to see the evidence we are more than a body . To encourage you  to view the powerful hope everyone has in Christ as we look at all the aspects of John 3:16. The book asks you to look at heaven; to contemplate the joys of knowing God walks with us every day here.

 Whether we live until He comes and we’re caught away to meet Him in the air, or if we walk through the valley, He will walk with us and hold our hand.

 In short, the book reveals exciting things scripture, medicine and witnesses tell us about life and the eternal. "While we live in thee earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying boies will be swallowed up by life" 2 Corinthians 5:4NLT).

 John 3:16 ties it all up: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life."