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George Tillers Murder: A Tragedy Not A Triumph

Posted Monday, June 01, 2009 (159 days 12 hours ago.) Viewed 66 times.

Since the decline of my fathers health, my care-giving for him is rapidly turning full-time and I'm quickly loosing touch with "the happenings of the outside world".

Seeking a quick break, I scan old faithful (Drudge Report) and stop short at the latest headlines:

-- Abortion doc gunned down at church

-- Man in custody

-- Abortion foes fear backlash

George Tiller, the man tagged as "Tiller the Killer" has been murdered.

It is [most probably] assumed that I, along with a multitude of other devout pro-lifers, are rejoicing in this mans violent death, but I/we am not. Even though Tiller's fame was attributed to his countless late-term abortions, I am deeply saddened by this act and I mourn. I mourn for the insanity of the murderer and, most importantly, I mourn for Tiller's soul.

Murder is never a solution and Tiller's fate, as well as all who are like him, is for God to handle; not man.

Not knowing the full extent of the situation, I can only assume that the murderer is insane but, unfortunately, many who are dedicated in protecting the lives of all unborn babies will be unjustly linked with this tragedy.

I didn't know Tiller but I imagine that he became desensitized to the realities of Truth over a period of time. Is he unique? No, if we are to be honest, we all have a little 'Tiller the Killer' in us but what matters most in our lives is in the choices we choose to make.

I believe that Christianity is a choice. The dividing line to madness is within all of us and, without the anointment of the Holy Spirit, we are all capable of the most heinous acts and crimes.

Like Tiller, America has become desensitized to what is evil and has unadmittably chosen to be a God- less society. As I've written in countless articles, America has quickly transformed into "an anything goes society" with many Christians compromising on the Truth.

Man might be fickle, but God is not.

***

[Jesus said:] What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, Son, go and work in the vineyard today. He answered, I will not; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, I go, sir; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said, The first. (Matthew 21:28-31)

Most of us have, at some point in our life, made a decision to serve God. Such moments of decision and commitment made a marked difference in our lives. We felt somehow new; we became aware of a new power, a new freedom, a new joy. Problems that had been bothering us for years disappeared; we sensed the operation of grace in us. It seemed as if our previous life had been but a preparation for this moment, and that our subsequent life would be merely a living out of our new consciousness of ourselves as Christians.

We soon discovered that euphoria was not a fruit of the Spirit; that although some problems had disappeared, other problems remained, that it still took our own effort, as well as the winds of grace, to move us along the road of salvation. So we settled in for the long haul and set about living out our life as Christians. We realized that the moment of decision was only a moment, and that we could not dwell within it forever.

There is both wisdom and danger in this realization. For with it comes a turning point in which we can continue to persevere as Christians or return to our former way of life. We can become like the second son who willingly said yes to his father but did not live out his yes. Chances are that this son was sincere when he told his father that he would work in the vineyard. He may well have meant to go but somehow got sidetracked. He may even have set out for the vineyard with fervor, but for one reason or another, never arrived.

We too can set out to serve the Lord with fervor but slowly, step by step, change our direction. We can abandon everything into the hands of God, only to gradually and imperceptibly take it back into our own hands again. We can invite Jesus into our lives as Lord and Savior, but over a period of time, reassert ourselves as lord of our own lives and come once again to rely on our own strength to save us.

Such a pattern is not inevitable, but there are precedents for it in Scripture. Did not the disciples leave all to follow Jesus, only to argue about whom was going to have the highest place (surely an exercise in self-assertion)? Did not one of the chosen twelve betray Jesus and another deny knowing Him? Because of the danger of saying one thing and doing another, Jesus issued this warning,

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. (Matthew 7:21)

It is not enough to have once cried out to Jesus, 'You are my Lord': - we must choose to make this our decision and prayer every day. It is not enough to have once placed everything in the hands of God; we must again place in His hands anything we've taken back from Him.

For Catholics, yesterday was Pentecost Sunday; the day God gave us His Holy Spirit.

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled,

they were all in one place together.

And suddenly there came from the sky

a noise like a strong driving wind,

and it filled the entire house in which they were.

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire,

which parted and came to rest on each one of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit

and began to speak in different tongues,

as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews

from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem.

At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd,

but they were confusedbecause each one

heard them speaking in his own language.

They were astounded, and in amazement they asked,

"Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans?

Then how does each of us hear them in his native language?

We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites,inhabitants of Mesopotamia,

Judea and Cappadocia,Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and

Pamphylia,Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene,

as well as travelers from Rome,

both Jews and converts to Judaism,

Cretans and Arabs,yet we hear them speaking

in our own tonguesof the mighty acts of God." (Acts 2:1-11)

What does this mean for us?

Simply put, Pentecost is about how God has come to live in human hearts, making ordinary people into extraordinary saints.

If we really want to see the restoration of our America [and world], it is time to get out of God's way and allow Him to take charge. Jesus is simple yet it is man who has complicated and distorted Christianity.

The time is now. Right now. Let's stop for a moment and take a few deep breaths. In our mind, let us imagine ourselves breathing in the Spirit and breathing out our sins. Let us envision ourselves accepting the Lord and h is plans while letting go of our own plans and visions.

Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.(Psalm 104)

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The Greatest Act of Love in History: Good Friday

Posted Friday, April 10, 2009 (211 days 15 hours ago.) Viewed 81 times.

In His sinless and perfect human body prepared especially as a perfect blood sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus suffered terribly in body, soul, and spirit during the long night of His trial. That suffering began with the agony in the garden of Gethsemane and in all the humiliating events of His trial and cruel torture prior to His morning journey to Golgotha.

The worst was yet to come.

Death by crucifixion is an especially painful and terrible death. It was common in Roman times for crucified men in good health to hang dying on a cross sometimes for days, yet Scripture records that Jesus died within six hours. Even if He only suffered normal human pain in this ordeal it would have been incredibly severe.

All this pain, however, was but the prelude to His real suffering, which involved being cut off from the Father's love and presence and consigned to carry our sins out of the universe, to hell as it were, like the scapegoat sacrifice of Israel of which He, Christ, is the antitype.

The Scripture records the seven last words Jesus spoke while on the cross. It was during this time that the sins of all mankind were laid upon Him as the Father turned His face away from His beloved Son.

The Seven Last Words of Jesus

1. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

2. "Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

3. "Woman, behold thy son...Behold thy mother." (John 19:26-27)

4. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46)

5. "I thirst." (John 19:28)

6. "It is consummated." (John 19:30)

7. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." (Luke 23:46)

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

As Jesus spoke these words, h e looked down from the cross at the people who had scourged h im, beaten h im, spat upon h im, and shouted for h im to die. But Jesus knew that his Father's love included them, too. To the Father, we are all His children, created in the image of God. Did they know that Jesus on the cross was the s on of God?

Dear Lord Jesus, may we graciously forgive those who have insulted us. May we reach out to all who hate us, just as you did on the cross, when you spoke these words "Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing."

"Amen, I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise."

Here is the repentant thief, handing on the cross next to Jesus. He could have said nothing. He could have had the same thoughts that prevailed in the crowds milling about at Golgotha. But the thief knew he had sinned, and he had faith. He asked Jesus to forgive him, thusly: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Lk. 23:42)

May we have the presence of mind, when we breathe our last, to ask Jesus to forgive us, and to take us into His Kingdom.

"Woman, behold thy son ... Behold thy mother."

Jesus, realizing that the end is near, with the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, and St. John, standing at the foot of the cross, tells his mother "behold thy son..." In this instance, Jesus gives all of us a legacy, we are His heirs, and Mary is our Mother. That is why we love Mary so much. And Jesus told the Son, the disciple, in other words, you and I - that now we have a Mother, Mary. And we ask Mary, who is closest to her Son in Heaven, to intercede with Him on our behalf. Mary, Our Mother, Queen of All. So we are no longer orphans... we have a Heavenly family of which we all are a part.

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"

Jesus feels this emptiness, this loneliness, as h e is waiting to die. He feels unloved, forgotten, hated, defiled.

Dear Jesus, never allow us to be so cut off from your love that we feel forgotten. When we dishonor God through sin, we often feel forsaken, and when we continue not to love Jesus, He will feel forgotten and unloved. The Father has given us great love, indescribable love, when we were created in God's image. He knows each one of us personally. So we are never forsaken or forgotten.

"I thirst."

Jesus wasn't really thirsting for water, as much as h e was thirsting for our love. When we say "Lord, I love you," let this not be just words, but may our actions, our love for our sisters and brothers, show this love for Him who redeemed us by his Cross.

"It is consumated"

It is done. It is over. Jesus finished what h e came to the world to accomplish, to redeem us from our sins by his Crucifixion. "Jesus, the Son to whom the Father has given all things, has given himself wholly back to the Father, yet expresses Himself with a sovereign freedom by virtue of the power the Father has given him over all flesh."

"Father into thy hands I commend my spirit."

Jesus places all that he has into the Hands of God. His Body is buried, to arise from the dead three days later. His Soul ascends directly into Heaven, into the Hands of the Father. We pray that when it is our time to leave this earth, that our soul will also go to Heaven, as in our last breath, we say, Lord it is finished, I am now yours all the way.

***

Despite our outward circumstances and the downward spiral of moral, economic, political, and social conditions over the face of the earth, the "Good News" is that evil has already been dethroned and its power over mankind and nature broken. The new creation is as inevitable as springtime's greening and blossoming. The loving heart of God our Father longs for us to accept His mercy, His forgiveness and mercy. He has gone to infinite lengths to make provision for us in the cosmic sacrifice of the Son of His love.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does what is true comes to the light, that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been wrought in God." (John 3:16-21

Jesus, on this Good Friday I join with the saints in heaven to mourn what my sin did to you, but also to rejoice in what your love did for me. May this litany be in my heart today: Cross of Jesus, purify me. Blood of Jesus, cleanse me. Wounds of Jesus, heal me. Love of Jesus, free me. Mercy of Jesus, forgive me.

The following video, Lead Me to the Cross - Hillsong United (All of the Above), courtesy of You Tube .

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