One Every 24 Seconds!

"The most merciful thing a large family can do for one of its infant members is to kill it." -- Margaret Sanger, Founder of Planned Parenthood.

Psalm 139:13-16, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.”

I wrote on this topic before and basically gave you links to some great articles on the subject. As I just spent two weeks on this topic, I am going to just give some information and deal with one argument that I really had not heard before, nor read about anywhere.

During my research and study of the topic I discovered some interesting tid bits of information. Did you know that Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was very much into Nazi eugenics? She admitted to conning black pastors in America to help her cause of reducing or eliminating this “inferior race” step by step. She did this by convincing the black population to control their births by contraception, sterilization and abortion, but her real motives were to wipe the race off the planet. No different then Hitler trying to wipe the Jewish nation off the planet, except America condemned the one and accepts the other.

Did you know that the company that makes the RU-486, better known as the abortion pill, was made by a spin off company that made the Zyklon-B gas that killed the Jews in Auschwitz? This is at least a little interesting to say the least, at to me. Fits though with Ms. Sanger’s beliefs and I am sure she would be proud to know that her heroes, the Nazi’s, had a part in her killing spree that continues on today.

Pro-Abortionists should be proud that one of their founders and the RU-486 pill all have ties to Hitler’s death camps and his philosophy. I wonder if it is mandatory prior to working at a Planned Parenthood location if you have to read ‘Mien Kampf?’

What really gets me is when Christians fall into this trap. I cannot for the life of me understand with the science we have today how anyone does not see that the zygote is a human. The baby has all of her DNA she will ever have. The hair color, height, temperament, and eye color are all there, and all the baby needs to grow is time and food. Same things a baby outside the womb need to grow, not to mention everyone else on the planet. There is no doubt that the little fetus is human.

Do you find it interesting that it is unlawful to even handle an American Eagle egg, whether fertilized or not, because it is an eagle, but we can kill a baby until he takes his first breath?

One argument I heard was that there is no blood in the zygote human until 18 days and since life is in the blood, as Leviticus 17:11 says, then it is not a human and okay to abort. This does not even make sense to me a number of levels. This is not the context of the verse, and not what is meant when talking about the blood being life for us. Read any commentary and you will find the meaning of this verse.

My first question is how do we know there is no blood yet? We only know it is not moving. Where does it come from? Not the mother, as the blood can be a different type then the mother. It has to already be there. What if I took your brain and left all your blood, or I took your heart and left all your blood? Do you think you would still be alive? Maybe then we should say that life is in the heart or brain. Or maybe just maybe that is a bad platform for anyone, especially Christians, to use as a reason to abort.

Argument also does not logically fit. As we can trace it backwards. Is she a baby when the mother holds her in her arms right after birth? Yes. Is she a baby two minutes prior to birth during labor? There is no difference, except the mother is holding the baby, so it is still a baby in a different environment. Do you see where I am going? We can do this all the way back to conception. Does not matter the days, just as we know the egg of an American Eagle is an eagle; we know that the zygote is a human baby no matter how young.

As Christians we are to support life, not destroy it, nor give anyone else a rationalization to kill their baby. Adoption is always an option, as there are plenty of parents out there wanting children because they cannot have them. Do you not think that 45,000,000 deaths are enough? Did you know that a baby is aborted every 24 seconds? By the time you read this blog there were probably between 4 and 6 babies aborted. What happened to the Golden Rule? Good thing we do not follow that one to the extreme. What are you going to do when you get older and they rationalize killing you because you are just a burden in some fashion, just as you helped women rationalize killing their babies is alright because of the burden they would cause? They would be just utilizing the Golden Rule with you. Will you just allow it?

I think we should go with Scripture on this one and protect life that God created, remembering it is not us that create. He has a reason, and who are you or I to say one life gets to live and the other die? Are you God? Does the clay get to say to the Potter how to behave or how to form? No, so why are we doing it with babies lives? I would not want to stand before God knowing I gave someone a reason to kill one of His creations.

Exodus 21:22-25, ““If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly as the woman’s husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. 23But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”

Romans 9:20, “But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

Gal. 1:15, “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace,”

Want to see the development of the baby: http://www.paternityangel.com/PicsAndPhotos/FoetalDevelop/1stTrimester.htm.

Takes Me Back to my times at Faith, Hope & Love

This video takes me back to the times I was working at Faith, Hope & Love in Charlotte, NC. This is a cute video. Pay attention to the words.

Don't be a Pharisee

John 8:48, “Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?”

This is a retort by the Jews after Jesus just got done telling them that the way they are reacting to who He is, is from the devil. Instead of giving some argument or evidence that what Jesus is saying is false they move into an ad hominem argument, which basically means that started name calling.

They try to defeat Him by disgracing Him in front of everyone. What worse insult for a Jew then to be called a Samaritan, as they were seen as dirty people. Then they attributed Christ’s works to Satan. Upon reading this and seeing what Jesus said first then how the Jews respond it is almost like a first grader responding. Jesus says, “What you are saying is of the devil.” They basically respond, “No it isn’t, you stink and you are of the devil.” I would expect more then the ‘I’m rubber your glue’ argument from the Pharisees.

Anyone that has been in a debate or witnessing with someone can understand this situation and learn from what Christ does. I can think of times where I was debating or witnessing and people would call me names and it would cause me to lose my cool and train of thought, and at least once leaving me silent and embarrassed. Who wants to be insulted in front of many people, including your friends and family.

John 8:54-55, “54Jesus answered, “If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. 55Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, ‘I do not know Him,’ I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word.”

Jesus keeps His cool and responds back, and He does so in almost a callous fashion. In “Alanese” Jesus is saying, “I tell the truth, prove that I am not, and in the end you will be shone the liars that you are.” He does not give them a hug or tell them they have the right to their opinion. He does not just ignore it, or change His tone because it offends them. He goes right at them with truth.

Though we always need to witness with love, it does not excuse us from being truthful as Christ was truthful, even if it hurts us or them. There are times when that is exactly what needs to be done in certain situations, as seen in this dialogue in John. He did not allow people to get away with telling lies about God, and nor should we.

Isn’t that exactly why some martyrs gave their lives? All they would have to do in some situations is deny who God is and allow the people torturing them to feel they won. Wouldn’t God forgive them for lying in order to allow someone else to feel good, or in order for them to feel better, as the beatings and torment would stop? Maybe if we just told white lies by watering down the message? Just make it easier to swallow. Maybe rationalize some so we do not lose people from the church, as it would hurt our pocket books? Come on, aren’t we told to love people? Does it really hurt to bend the truth a little to attract more people to Christ? The answer is an astounding NO! No No No No!

We are to proclaim truth, which is Christ no matter how it plays out in our lives or in the lives of others. There are times when it will hurt you and/or them, but there are also times when it will come as love and beautifully emotional for both you and the receiver. Ours is not the outcome, but the telling. The truth will set you and them free, as it is found in Christ. We are not to bend, trick, tell white lies, or conform to make believing easier. We are to tell the truth about Christ and what He demands, and then let the truth judge and speak. If we take a few lumps for Christ then awesome. If we are given a great big hug and thanked then awesome. But either way we proclaim Christ and His truth.

Proverbs 8:7, “For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.”

Romans 1:8, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,”

John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

1 John 1:6, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

Seek truth, tell truth, and walk in truth all the days of your lives.

Interesting Read

Click on the link below and read the post. I found it very compelling, well written and I agree with it completely. Pray for this brother as he fights for the faith.

http://www.seriousblogger.com/brentriggs/applications/WebBlogManager/inc_webblogmanager.asp?ItemID=15&CategoryID=132

Love in Christ . . . . Alan

Midnight Mission/Both Sides of the Fence

Revelation 3:15-16, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

This past weekend Ransomed, the campus ministry I oversee, handed out hotdogs to drunk college students during homecoming. The goal is to get food in their stomachs so if and more likely when they get sick there is something to keep them from dry heaving, which can cause many problems. This is more of a service ministry then an evangelical ministry, as anyone figures out if they have tried talking about salvation with an intoxicated person. Typically does not work out so well. Not to mention they usually do not remember talking to you in the morning.

What got me thinking was the rationalization the college kids were using when we gave them hotdogs. The first question out of the mouths a lot of the time was, “Did you do anything to these?” but then we tell them we are from a church and they grab them. What they say next is always interesting to me. Some will say this, “Just because I am drunk does not mean I do not love Jesus or I am not a Christian,” or they will ramble about how they are believers in the midst of their apparent sinful behavior, wanting us to accept them. We made no indication we did not accept them, just the fact we were from a church and sober made them try to attain our approval.

Have you ever been around Christians who will say something like this, “I drink because I do not want people to think I am a ‘goody two shoes,’” or laugh at a distasteful joke, or go along with a sinful action because they are worried about what the other people will think about them. How many of us have given up our convictions because we wanted the other side of the fence to accept us? We do this even when the people in the sinful behavior give us no indication of not accepting us, though it does happen.

When we are sinning we want to rationalize why we are still believers and when we are following the righteous path we rationalize the sinful path, or rationalize why sinners should still accept us. It boggles my mind. If this is not the lukewarm that Jesus was talking about in Revelation 3, then I am not sure what is. We need to pick a side! Walk with Christ or don’t, but do not try to play both sides of the fence, because Christ tells us that He will spit us out of His mouth if we do. Actually, to not pick a side is picking a side and it is not Christ’s.

Choose this day who you will serve. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). You cannot play both sides of the fence. You are not fooling anyone when you choose to do so, and you are especially not fooling God.

Where is the Excitement?

Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.”

What was the last great movie you have seen or the last great book you have read? What did you do after watching it or reading it? If you are like most of us, you told all your friends and anyone else that showed interest to watch the movie or read the book. Word of mouth is still the number one form of advertising.

Think about it. How did you hear about Youtube? Someone probably told you through sending you an email, a video or verbally communicated that this is a cool site. Think about the movie Napoleon Dynamite, and how much success that movie has had. The movie was made for just a couple hundred thousand dollars, and it netted millions. They barely did any advertising on television or radio. It was all word of mouth. I only heard about it because my brother-in-law told my wife about it, who then told me.

With that in mind, let me ask you this: When was the last time you told someone about your Savior? Do you tell everyone like it is the best thing you ever heard? We should be, as salvation is far better then any movie or book. Unfortunately, we do not, because otherwise our churches would be filled and our communities would be different. How would it affect your life and those around you? How would it affect the ministry you are involved with? How would if affect your life in general if you lived like Jesus is the best thing that happened to you?

All Because of a Cartoon!

Friday, October 5, 2007

http://wnd.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=58015

GLOBAL JIHADAgain! 10 Christians slaughtered over alleged Muhammad cartoon61 injured, 9 churches burned, hundreds displaced after rumored 'insult' to Islam

Posted: October 5, 20077:53 p.m. Eastern
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com-->© 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Remains of burned Baptist church (Courtesy Compass Direct)

Rampaging Muslims have killed 10 Christians, injured 61 others, destroyed nine churches and displaced more than 500 people in northern Nigeria, according to eyewitnesses – all because Muslim high school students claimed a Christian student had drawn a cartoon of Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, on the wall of the school’s mosque.

The rampage occurred Sept. 28 in the town of Tudun Wada Dankadai, in Nigeria's northern state of Kano.

According to Compass Direct News, which specializes in reporting on Christian persecution worldwide, there are 1,500 students at the high school, called Government College-Tudun Wada Dankadai, of which only 14 are Christians, and only seven of those actually live on campus. The Christian students at the school insist no one ever saw the alleged cartoon, and furthermore that no one in the tiny minority group of Christians would have dared such a feat, especially during Ramadan.

"How can we take such a risk when we know that we are a minority and cannot stand [against] them?" Christian student Shehu Bawa told Compass. "This is a lie created to have a reason to attack us."

Eighteen-year-old student Iliya Adamu told Compass he was getting ready to go to class when a group of Muslim students stormed into his dorm and began to beat him.

"I was surprised that they were beating me without telling what I did," Adamu said. "I asked to know what was happening, and they claimed that one Christian student had gone to their mosque to draw a cartoon of Muhammad. In spite of my denying the act, they kept beating me."
Seeing the Muslim mob beating a Christian classmate named Sule La’azaru, Adamu ran to the principal's office for refuge, soon to be joined by the remaining Christian students there, according to the report.

Despite the attempts by the Muslim teachers to stop the rampage, Muslim students began throwing stones at the Christian students through the window of the principal's office, wounding student Ayuba Wada in the head.

"I was inside the office of our principal, with the others, when suddenly the Muslim students began throwing stones at us," Wada told Compass. "It was through this way that my head was broken. I was bleeding, and no help came as the situation became more riotous."
Eventually, the rampaging Muslim students broke into the principal's office, but the principal's arrival saved Wada's life, while the other Christians holed up there managed to escape the mob.
One of the Christian students, Shehu Bawa, told Compass his arrival on campus that morning was punctuated by shouts of "Allahu Akbar" (Allah is Great) "all over the school." In fact, he said, "The Muslim students were now attacking every Christian student on sight. Four of us ran into the office of the vice principal, but when it was finally broken into by the Muslim students, we ran out and escaped."

What about the alleged cartoon of Muhammad, rumors of which instigated the attacks?
"We suspect that either one of the Muslim students in the school did this to create an excuse for us to be attacked, or that a Muslim fanatic from the town might have done this to spark off a fight among Muslims and Christians," said Bawa. "How could we have done this when Muslim students are always around the mosque day and night because of the Ramadan?"

The rampage spreads far and wide

After attacking the few Christian students in their school, the rampaging Muslim students poured into the streets of Tudun Wada, joined now by other Muslims. For the next four hours, reports Compass, the growing mob burned down Christian churches, vandalized Christian property and murdered innocents.

Among the churches burned were: St. Mary’s Catholic Church; St. George’s Anglican Church; Evangelical Church of West Africa; Assemblies of God Church; First Baptist Church; a Pentecostal church called the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Church; an African independent church, the Cherubim and Seraphim Church; and two other Pentecostal churches, The Chosen Bible Church and Deeper Life Bible Church.

Children of murdered Christian (Courtesy Compass Direct)

The 10 Christians murdered included: Augustine Odoh and his younger brother Cosmos Odoh, both members of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Another Catholic, Joseph Eze, was also killed. When Compass filed its initial report, the corpses of the three Catholics were lying at the City Hospital in Kano city. Seven other Christians murdered were buried in a common grave Wednesday, but government workers did not allow relatives or church leaders to identify the corpses.

The dozens of injured are being treated at the Assumpta Clinic, Nomansland in Sabon Gari area of Kano city.

According to Musa Ahmadu Haruna, the priest of St. George’s Anglican Church, Tudun Wada Dankadai, whose church was burned, no Christian student in the school could have drawn an image of Muhammad.

"None of these students is capable of drawing a cartoon on a mosque," he told Compass Direct. "That is a frame-up to find a reason to attack us."

Another pastor, Rabiu Danbawa of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, said that upon hearing of the waves of attacks on Christians, he moved toward the town's center to see for himself what was transpiring.

"I stood as they set fire on our churches one by one," he told Compas Direct. "There was nothing I could do," he said, adding, "I did not know the fate of my wife and my children." When he went to the local police station for help, Danbawa found the police turning away Christians who had run there to escape the attack. "We were told to leave, as our safety could not be guaranteed," he said, in tears, according to Compass Direct. "Women and children all scampered to the bush, only to be attacked by the Muslims who had already hid themselves in the bush awaiting their Christian prey."

It wasn't until several days later that Danbawa found his wife and children safe.
Accoroding to reports from Compass, Danbawa and his family are now refugees in Dogon Kawo village, along with other Christian victims. None have food or shelter, he said.
Even Christian policemen were not immune, with about 30 officers and their families being attacked and their homes looted and set on fire.

Last week's massacre comes in respose to a call in July by the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar III, to Muslims in northern Nigeria to rise against Christianity. Kano's state government has led the way in northern Nigeria for the implementation of sharia Islamic law.

Mark Lipdo, director of the Stefanos Foundation, which ministers to persecuted Christians in Nigeria, told Compass he's shocked that the Nigerian government has done nothing to help the injured and displaced.

"It is surprising that an overwhelming thing like this that has displaced thousands of Christians is not known to the Nigerian government," he said, noting that the government initially downplayed the mass rampage. "The government must act to check such unprovoked attacks against Christians."

And Haruna of St. George’s Anglican Church said, "We are living under persecution in Kano state, and yet, we are being told that we are under a democratic government. Do Muslims really want us to co-exist together as a nation? I doubt so."

As WND reported in May, Christians in Nigeria, who make up about half the population, fears the imposition of Islamic law throughout that nation.

Indeed, as WND has reported, Muslim rioters in Nigeria in 2006 were incensed over cartoons of Muhammad published in Denmark, and more than 130 Christians in the Nigerian cities of Maiduguri and Onitsha were slaughtered.

The reports documented six children burned to ashes in front of their father, according to Voice of the Martyrs.

WND also has reported nearly 1,000 homes of Christians and many churches have been destroyed in these regions.

"If you go around villages, you will see people missing one hand or one foot," explained Rev. Obiora Ike. "Do you think that's the result of an illness? That is the result of sharia law."
More than 10,000 Christians have been martyred in the region since the Islamic law was imposed in the region in 1999, and Voice of the Martyrs has helped surviving family members through its Families of Martyrs Fund with Care Packs, Village Outreach packs and words of encouragement to believers who stand for their faith "amidst volatile, uncertain conditions."

Abby's Story -- A Journey of Faith

(Abby & her brother Aaron)

This past Friday at Ransomed Abby gave her testimony. She talked about the unexpected death of her older brother and how she walked through it as a Christian. I think it is well worth the read and will impact you as it did me and many people that were able to hear it.

I am so thankful for Abby and her willingness to open her life in such a way that demonstrates her love of Christ and her willingness to follow Him in all circumstances, even when it could not be harder to do so. This is an amazing young woman and I pray that others would be willing to open their lives as Abby has.


Abby’s Story

I don’t even know where to begin. I could start back to freshman year at IUP when I had a roommate whose brother died in a car accident July before she came to school. I had two friends who died in a car accident that June, so I thought that I could somewhat relate to what she was going through-I was not even close. When my brother died everything that I didn’t understand about Kelly clicked.

Since freshman year I have been sporadically searching for God’s truths and trying to build my understanding and faith in Him. I slowly but surely began to turn away from worldy things. I have many examples of the sins that I have turned and am still working on turning away from if you ever want to hear them. But that is not why I am here tonight.

During the 2005-2006 school year, I felt burdened in my heart to pray that Aaron (my brother) would open his heart to the Lord and accept Jesus as his savior. I faithfully prayed this prayer almost everyday for over a year. Then right before last summer in 2006, I felt God telling me to speak to Aaron about the Lord, and to protect him from driving drunk. Also during this time I had just freed myself from an abusive relationship, and until my brother died on December 2, 2006 that was the hardest thing I had to endure. As I look back on that situation now, it seems like a piece of cake. When I went home that summer, I went to church on Sundays and that was about it. I ignored God’s call to speak to Aaron more about Jesus and was too selfish to go out with him at night and drive him home. I made excuses…I didn’t want to stay out that late, I hated seeing Aaron drunk, I wanted to help him but on my terms.

I do remember one conversation I had with him that summer about Jesus. I asked Aaron if he believed in Jesus and he said yes with no hesitation. I pushed further and said that you need to accept him into her heart that there is more to it than just believing. I asked him if he had accepted in his heart that Jesus died for our sins and saved us. He said yes but didn’t want to discuss it further. He also told me that he did want to start going to church again, but he was so tired from working all week that he didn’t feel like getting up in the morning on Sunday. He did start reading the book A Purpose Driven Life which I gave him as a Christmas present. Those are the things that I have to hold on to.

As you can probably tell from what I have already said, Aaron liked to party. He liked to get drunk, and for about the last year of his life he liked to take pills. Another thing I felt pushed to pursue that summer was the fact that I knew he was doing drugs. I caught him buying pills from someone and I even found what he had bought. I confronted one of his friends about it and he reassured me that it was just a phase. I confronted Aaron about it and he told me that he was just taking the pills to help him go to sleep-which he was having difficulty falling asleep. So I encouraged him to go to the Doctor to get those pills, and I just believed what he told me. I did not push the issue any further. I look back on that now and wish I could have gotten him help-told my parents-figured out that he did have a serious drug problem. But I didn’t and I now have to live the rest of my life knowing that I could have done more that maybe would have saved his life.

I don’t want to leave you with the impression that my brother was all drugs and alcohol because he was much much more than that. He was so funny that he could make anyone laugh. He was a hard worker and very smart-he worked in the hospital with my mom as a nurses aid but knew how to do everything the nurses did. He hated gossip. And he knew how to put me in my place when I was freaking out about something that didn’t matter-like getting an A on a test or getting upset because someone didn’t like me. He was my big brother; my protector. I always felt safe when I was with him. I knew he would never let anything bad happen to me. He was the person I learned from and who accepted me into his group of friends. He was my socializor when I came home from college. He was the one person I thought would be with me for the rest of my life. He was so important and normal to my being that I didn’t realize how much he was a part of me until he was gone. I now have a piece of me missing.

Aaron died December 2, 2006 in his bed from heart disease. He had 2 clogged arteries and an enlarged heart that doctors never knew about. The one thing that I never thought would happen to me did and I am still here. You see death all around you and you see the families and wonder how do they do it? I remember thinking about my roommate freshman year and saying that I don’t know what I would ever do it I didn’t have Aaron. Well unfortunately that day did come for me and the only thing that has gotten me through his death is knowing God will never leave me no matter what. He also sent me some awesome friends to care for me during this time. When you lose someone that close to you this overwhelming cloud of loneliness fills your entire body.

I know that people deal with death differently, but I needed people around all the time. I needed to feel that love and support and I hated being by myself.

I have written down verses that I read over and over to help comfort me:

“Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. 10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen” (1 Peter 5:9-11).

“I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. 19 When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer” (Psalm 94:18-19).

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me” (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:26-28).

“For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow” (Lamentations 3:31-33).

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“Let him have al your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you” (1 Peter 5:7).

“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth” (Colossians 3:2).

“Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. . . ” (John 11:25-26)

Right after Aaron died all I wanted was to know that he was still with me and to know that he was definitely in heaven. I began looking into mediums and reading books about people who have contact with spirits. I couldn’t accept that Aaron was gone. I just wanted to have contact with him. I tried to wish him back to life. I would look for signs that he was still around. And I have to look further into this, but some spots in the bible say that if you are looking to see things that aren’t of God he will provide them for you. A verse that supports this is:

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 NIV).

To me this is saying that if you are searching things of Satan, God will allow you to believe this lie and even give you signs affirming this lie.

So I will just give you a small explanation of what happened to me concerning mediums. I believed that Aaron was still around, and I searched for signs all the time. My mom also got into this same belief, and unfortunately she is still there. I have been praying that she has a bad experience so she is not deceived any longer. But for her thinking Aaron is here is comforting and she is not ready to let go yet.

My mom pursued a medium, and found out that spirits can connect with you through electrical things…so like the tv and lights etc. Well we found our satellite dish got messed up an extremely abnormal amount of times, and our cat get real goofy so we thought that was Aaron saying hi. Then one night it was late and my friend just left. I was upstairs talking on a phone and I heard a man’s voice yell something from downstairs. I immediately froze and got scared. Then another night I woke up and heard a child screaming 3 times. I was being counseled by Alan at this time and told him about it. He told me that since my mom went to the medium she had opened the door to all these evil spirits so he told me to ask God to protect me and my room and the family room where I spend most of the time in the house. So I did, and nothing weird has happened to me since. The hardest part for me to stop believing in the medium was to accept that Aaron is not here.

After Aaron passed away I questioned God up and down. Why did you take him away from me? Why didn’t the doctors know about his condition? Did he take drugs that night? Why me? Why did you allow this to happen? A lot of “why” questions. I was angry with God and I let him know it. I still get angry, but I also know deep down that God is all good and that he loves me and he loves Aaron.

I think about Aaron every day multiple times during the day. When I talked to a friend who lost her brother 4 years ago, she told me that she still thinks of her brother everyday throughout the day. I thought wow…that’s a lot I don’t think I will be like that. It has only been 10 months since Aaron died, but I still think of him just as much as I did when he first passed away. I have realized that I will think of him everyday multiple times during the day for the rest of my life. Loss doesn’t go away for family members.

One thing I would like you to take away from my speaking is to have a better understanding of what family members of someone who has died go through. It doesn’t matter if it has been 3 months, 5 years, 10 years or more. We are still in pain, and we will never get over it. There are times when it hurts more than others, like right now as I am writing this I had that feeling of sickness pass through me.

The other thing I want you to take away from this is DON’T WAIT! First of all please don’t wait to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Don’t wait to let him lead your life. Don’t wait to follow his word or take that step of faith and carry out something that he is telling you to do. Don’t wait to share your faith with the people you love. I don’t want any of you living the rest of your life hanging on to the hope that your brother chose Jesus. It would be much better to know. And if you have shared your faith and planted that seed, then pray and believe that God will answer your prayer.
The Bible says:

“And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither away so soon?” 21 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done. 22 And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive” (Matthew 21:20-22).

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5-8).

A few God coincidences that happened before Aaron died:

-I had a few people coming to me and asking me about my beliefs so I was challenged to dig deeper and look things up about Jesus.

-There was a point where Karen Salser-my bible study leader-told me that God was preparing me for something. I told my roommate Audra this and she said what if something bad happens. We both got totally silent and felt this huge burden come upon us. I immediately thought that I was going to die. That night I called Aaron and told him that some weird things were happening and I just wanted him to know that I love him very much.

-November 19th and 26th church spoke about who bad things happen to good people. I wrote down key points on how to deal with grief.

-Around November 26 I actually prepared a bible study on Ecclesiastes 8:8-17, “No man has power over the wind to contain it; so no one has power over the day of his death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. All this I saw, as I applied my mind to everything done under the sun. There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt. 10 Then too, I saw the wicked buried—those who used to come and go from the holy place and receive praise in the city where they did this. This too is meaningless. 11 When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. 12 Although a wicked man commits a hundred crimes and still lives a long time, I know that it will go better with God-fearing men, who are reverent before God. 13 Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow. 14 There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun. 16 When I applied my mind to know wisdom and to observe man's labor on earth—his eyes not seeing sleep day or night- 17 then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it.”

I read those words at the end of November and came to the conclusion that “some questions in life just can’t be answered. Its times like these where we must hold on the Jesus. When problems come I find myself closer to God because I need him more than ever to get through the hard times. We must choose to be better rather than bitter.”

I also wrote this: “Further on in the chapter 8 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon who wrote it, tells us what to do about life’s unanswered questions: He says to enjoy life, enjoy what God has given us. Not even the combined wisdom of all the people in the world would be able to fully comprehend God and what he has done and plans to do. There will always be unanswered questions but we cannot let these questions lessen our faith or the joy that He has given us. We must be comforted by the trust that we have in Jesus-that he is in control.”
That was the last entry I had in my journal before Aaron died.

I know that I am blessed by God giving me the time to become closer to Him before Aaron died. It is very easy to turn away from God when something terrible like that happens. If he would have died before I went to college, I would have turned from him. I am not okay with his death and I hurt everyday. But I do live with a desire to follow Jesus and continue to grow in my faith.

A few things that I have noticed changed significantly after Aaron died:
I used to have bad anxiety about school. That was nonexistent after he died. I mean really, does getting good grades really matter that much? They definitely should not get in the way of you forming and keeping good relationships with friends and family.