The journal of a pilgrim who sought the truth about liberty's future, only to find the Author of Truth, Liberty, and Future.
Tim McCully
Sunday, Oct 26th, 2008
Justice for All? Pray for Mercy.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
they are faultless to those who have knowledge.
I hate pride and arrogance,
evil behavior and perverse speech.
17 I love those who love me,
and those who seek me find me.
22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, [b] , [c]
before his deeds of old;
23 I was appointed [d] from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.
24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;
25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26 before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.
27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.
34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.
36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death."
JUSTICE FOR ALL AT RISK
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the republic for which it stands; one nation, under God,
with liberty and justice for all."
Today there seems to be a rising tide of voters and politicians favoring special privileges for themselves and for political power, at the expense of justice for all Americans. This is despite what virtually all of us have pledged to provide other Americans "under God". Because of that willingness to oppress other Americans, we all need to pray for Mercy toward those who may face greater oppression, and for those who choose to join in oppression of their neighbors.
The Fifth Amendment* to the United States Constitution says: no person shall "be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law". That usually means a hearing or trial before an impartial judge, with the right of the accused to know the charges, to be present, to be represented, and to cross examine witness.
* http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am5
Especially dear to the heart of God is the issue of abortions, but first I must say we cannot begin to imagine the Compassion, the Healing God has for anyone who has been involved with an abortion, regardless of how they might be involved. Come earnestly to Jesus and repent of what you have done, you will discover His compassion is very Great and the healing very Real indeed ! More about how I know God's feeling later. [for counselling with the incredible burden of abortions, look at www.FocusOnTheFamily.com]
ROE v WADE and INJUSTICE
Our current laws about "choice" have no protection as "persons" for unborn babies, even after they become fully viable during the second trimester, with faces, fingers, and toes easily seen in scanner pictures . This is entirely the responsibility of the Federal Legislature because "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."*
* Article I, Section 1. http://usconstitution.net/const.html#Article1
How then would I revise the effect of the Roe v Wade decision? Provide justice for the child, meaning an impartial medical supervision which receives the same compensation regardless of what becomes of the unborn child. As Roe v Wade now works, the supervising doctors are paid only for the death half of the mother's choices when the child dies, which is only half the choices Roe v Wade was about and INJUSTICE at its worst. That impartial supervision should also review whether the mother receives acceptable quality care. Roe v Wade was demanded partly to ensure there was no need for unsupervised amateur abortions, which pose considerable threat to the mother. The shame and irony of Roe v Wade as implemented is that it tends to shield the doctors from impartial medical review that virtually all other doctors undergo to keep their license to practice. Besides Roe v Wade only providing half the choices a mother should have, she often has no way to be sure the doctor is choosing a good procedure for her own life and fertility.
Partial birth abortion was legal until recently. There are legislators now running for higher office who voted to continue the practice despite the following advice about it published by the American Medical Association in 1997, when a ban was passed by both houses of the legislature but vetoed. The AMA refers to the same procedure with the term "intact dilation and extraction" and below recommends several related steps which have not yet been implemented in the eleven years since then. The AMA said as follows:
- (1)Intact D&E refers "to a specific procedure comprised of the following elements: deliberate dilatation of the cervix, usually over a sequence of days; instrumental or manual conversion of the fetus to a footling breech (usually considered a high risk situation for the mother); breech extraction of the body excepting the head; and partial evacuation of the intracranial (rear of the head) contents of the fetus to effect vaginal delivery of a dead but otherwise intact fetus. This procedure is distinct from dilatation and evacuation (D&E) procedures more commonly used to induce abortion after the first trimester."
- (2)According to the scientific literature, there does not appear to be any identified situation in which intact D&X is the only appropriate procedure to induce abortion, and ethical concerns have been raised about intact D&X. The AMA recommends that the procedure not be used unless alternative procedures pose materially greater risk to the woman. The physician must, however, retain the discretion to make that judgment, acting within standards of good medical practice and in the best interest of the patient.
- (3) The viability of the fetus and the time when viability is achieved may vary with each pregnancy. In the second-trimester when viability may be in question, it is the physician who should determine the viability of a specific fetus, using the latest available diagnostic technology.
- (4) In recognition of the constitutional principles regarding the right to an abortion articulated by the Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade, and in keeping with the science and values of medicine, the AMA recommends that abortions not be performed in the third trimester except in cases of serious fetal anomalies incompatible with life. Although third-trimester abortions can be performed to preserve the life or health of the mother, they are, in fact, generally not necessary for those purposes. Except in extraordinary circumstances, maternal health factors which demand termination of the pregnancy can be accommodated without sacrifice of the fetus, and the near certainty of the independent viability of the fetus argues for ending the pregnancy by appropriate delivery.
- (5) The AMA urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as state health department officials to develop expanded, ongoing data surveillance systems of induced abortion. This would include but not be limited to: a more detailed breakdown of the prevalence of abortion by gestational age as well as the type of procedure used to induce abortion at each gestational age, and maternal and fetal indications for the procedure. Abortion-related maternal morbidity and mortality statistics should include reports on the type and severity of both short- and long-term complications, type of procedure, gestational age, maternal age, and type of facility. Data collection procedures should ensure the anonymity of the physician, the facility, and the patient.
- (6) The AMA will work with appropriate medical specialty societies, government agencies, private foundations, and other interested groups to educate the public regarding pregnancy prevention strategies, with special attention to at-risk populations, which would minimize or preclude the need for abortions. The demand for abortions, with the exception of those indicated by serious fetal anomalies or conditions which threaten the life or health of the pregnant woman, represent failures in the social environment, education, and contraceptive methods.
When you vote or discuss how one should vote, or what to ask your representatives to do, remember many officials now running for high office voted to continue intact D&X (partial birth abortion) "to protect Roe v Wade".
Why is this an issue of top priority? This country was founded to secure the equal unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness of all men and women here. It was less than successful for many until after the Civil War but regardless of that, we as voters and officials have all pledged allegiance to "justice for all". Why should we trust any official who openly votes for such injustice toward in some cases what can scientifically and practically only be a viable human baby? If they do such things openly, what might they do in secret? If they so easily dismiss the Constitutional requirement for due process before punishment, what other part of the Constitution do they hold secret mental reservations about, in apparent violation of their oath of office?
HOW COULD I KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS?
God put this call for prayers of mercy on my heart beginning with how He has made Himself known to me. Many times despite my sins, procrastination, hardened heart, and worship of unholy things to do, He has given me hints from the Bible in unexplainable ways: by radio, by sermons, by what someone says, by verses found "accidentally" or deliberately that have supernatural precision about my concerns or lack of action. That doesn't necessarily make my case unusual, I think He does or tries to do that with many people who are not listening for it.
The clearest example happened near 1997 (three years after these things started) about a friend at work named Sam. He was a Vietnamese speaker who asked me for a Bible in Vietnamese. When I had it alone in my car, I wondered what verse I should give him. If you EARNESTLY seek messages from God in the Bible, and look for His hints around you, you MAY become sensitive to when He is ready to give you one, and bold about looking for them. He gave me the boldness then to put my finger blindly in that new 2,000 page Bible where I couldn't read one word. It was on the left page most of the way down on the left column. All I could read were the chapter and verse numbers, but the table of contents matched my own Bible. The verse for Sam was:
"He who forms the mountains,
creates the wind,
and reveals His thoughts to man,
He who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads the high places of the earth—
the LORD God Almighty is his name.
(Amos 4:13, NIV)
ALL CREATION IS ABOUT LIFE
When you read Genesis One literally, the first four days each end with the consequence of increasingly clearer physical light, and the last two days end with increasingly clearer vision of God's purpose for all creation - it all hinges on Life itself. That Life is to thrive and enjoy this creation with each life lived in abundance and joy, with men and women being stewards of all other life.
When you read Genesis, do not be discouraged by many who assume God means time itself began the "first day". God created miraculously the heavens and the earth from nothing in the beginning (Gen 1:1); the seas were made sometime after that with natural appearing bursting forth of the waters, which ended with a thick cloud covering the earth (Job 38 and Proverbs 8); when God commanded the light to appear through that darkness at the surface of the waters therefore is the best time to assume the first day begins - at God's command about it of course. No where in the Bible does it ever say something was "created" during the first day for the purpose of instructing mankind. God clearly says the heavens and the earth were completed during the six days (Exodus 20:11).
There are human translation assumptions about "evening" and "morning" which should be examined carefully, because on the third and sixth "days" God says He commanded the earth to produce fruit trees and produce land animals, in exactly the way a contemporary of Moses would have understood took years to accomplish. Perhaps the root meanings of those two words is closer to what God actually had Moses record ("darkened" and "clarified" are perhaps more accurate). It helps also to realize God is defining "earth" as "dry land" in Genesis 1:10. The word translated as "earth" in most Bibles means "the land" in the old English sense, not the planet earth. There are also human assumptions in the translation of "father" and "son" in the generations before and after Noah. The actual Hebrew words in the original Genesis account may mean "ancestor" and "heir" also. Because there was no concept of planets in Biblical Hebrew it is a serious error to assume any part of Genesis is about the whole planet, including the flood. It is best like as an eye-witness account of one who makes no mistakes but has limitations on what he can communicate to peers.
More important is the understanding that the seventh day is all about the Creator's incredibly Holy character, that we are to seek Him with all our hearts, and thinking one might ever do anything to become worthy of God is worshiping oneself. When the stewards of all life disobeyed, the consequence was turning over that stewardship to the Prideful Father of Lies in the body of a serpent. That one remains the god of this world to this day, but only temporarily. The seventh day's ending is not given clearly, because until the Creator's Holiness and His work establishing that He would publicly choose to let a whole city witness Him be tortured and to suffocate visibly to death on a cross to pay for Our Pride of self worship. The message of the seventh day could not be completed there and then. Read Proverbs 8 to remind yourself Who it was on that cross, saying "it is finished". Read Zecariah ???
GOD IS FOR BABIES and MERCY
I claimed above that abortions are an issue dear to the heart of God. Some may doubt that. When the President issued that veto in 1997 is about the time I found what the AMA had to say above.
Mercy for the least of us - the unborn who have no legal right to life. We need to give that Mercy, we the voters and officials we vote for; but pray that the Creator of the universe will give it also. The rest of us need Mercy as well because all of us, beginning with me, have tried not to know about and turned away from the plight of the unborn. Beyond the unborn and we who vote for this government, remember also the mothers and other family harmed physically or emotionally because of abortions. Please pray that all of us find the Mercy of the Creator.
Around that same time the Federal Government made an important decision to continue legally allowing and funding an awful medical procedure called intact dilation and extraction (intact D&X), or partial birth abortion. After I read what the American Medical Association published about it, and my heart was heavy for America. This country was founded to preserve that
"all men are created equal ... endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".
We lost over 500,000 lives in a Civil War to fully preserve the equal right of even slaves to share that life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. How could America choose to do such an awful thing to even one baby?
That is when I came to my Bible and wondered what God had to say about abortion. In the back of my mind I also wondered if there was something unsuitable about the New Testament, because all the answers up to then were from the original Scriptures. He again gave me the boldness to expect an answer, but this time my finger felt right on a verse I had already read more than once - with a new meaning. It is from Mary's song when she learns she will soon be the humanly unwed mother of the Messiah, God come as a man, Who would be the perfect sacrifice, Lord and Priest for all who want Him, Who will teach all the mysteries to be answered beyond the original Scriptures.
"He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers."
Luke 1:54 (NIV)
One of the things God led me to do for this message was study all of
Luke 1
about both babies and mercy - finally doing as He no doubt wanted before. The book of Luke was written by a Greek Doctor, a companion of apostles who took care to record medical details about the miracles and the death of Christ, as well as His birth. Much of the below comes courtesy of the
http://www.BibleGateway.com New International Version via the passage lookup. Luke 1 is partly about a godly couple named Zechariah and Elisabeth, to whom John the Baptist was miraculously born, as well as about Mary and Jesus.
Luke 1 says:
Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years." Luke 1:6. Children are a blessing from God we should hope for, though often something else has replaced God in our hopes.
But the angel said to him: "Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John." Luke 1:13. Children are meant to be an answer to prayer.
"he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from birth." Luke 1:16. Even newborn babies can serve God.
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:17. Children are meant for God's purposes (several cites in Luke 1), and the hearts of fathers are to be toward their children, as the hearts of children are to be toward their parents.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" Luke 1:41-45. Babies can serve God even at six months gestation. Believe God and you will be blessed because of it, as I certainly have been with His truth.
"His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation." Luke 1:50. God's mercy is very much bound up with new generations of mankind.
He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers." Luke 1:54. God's mercy to all of us, comes by way of an unborn child of a humanly unwed mother, a gift meant for all generations of Abraham which has begun coming to all mankind. Since God has deliberately made clear to me how important this particular verse is, for myself this confirms without question the reality of Jesus the Messiah and the New Testament He caused to be written.
In Luke 1:67-79, Zecariah prophesies more about God's purpose for both John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ, mentioning mercy, salvation, redemption, forgiveness, or rescue nine times.
I will never vote for anyone who obviously does not give his or her allegiance to justice for ALL. And where such people are in office I will be very careful to protest to legislators and warn my neighbors when there are hints of threat to their life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness.
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink..., They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Matthew 25:41-46
If you truly want to know Who voted to keep partial birth abortion AND voted that babies who survived abortion by accident should NOT be protected by law, read on. Gianna Justin was a two pound baby that survived a saline abortion (intended to chemically burn her to death), and Jill Stanek as nurse discovered baby survivors of abortions were being abandoned to die. They have lived with INJUSTICE about babies and even testified before Congress to help establish the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. (google for ""born alive infant protection act" site:loc.gov) They have also published about Who opposed them all here: www.BornAliveTruth.org
Or you can google for "born alive infant protection" and find other opinion regarding that official.
