Tag Archives: abortion healing

Not Captive to Sin or Fear

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There is … no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
(Romans 8:1-2)

Alienation from God began when the first man and woman doubted their Creator. How could this happen? Satan, who opposes God and despises the humans so dear to God’s heart, tempted Eve.

Satan knew the order of God’s creation. He knew that to man were given the instructions to resist evil, do good, and defend life. But a sly and cunning Satan ignored the man and approached the woman. He asked, “Did God actually say ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'”? (Genesis 3:1) In that moment, the woman doubted God and trusted her own reasoning. Instead of turning her back on Satan, she engaged him in conversation. Not only did she speak for God, she added words of her own, answering, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” (Genesis 3:2-3) Eve sinned when she failed to trust God and added to His Word (compare Genesis 3:2-3 with Genesis 2:16-17).

This is how temptation works. After we doubt God’s Word, we more easily reject it and then attempt to establish our own standard of right and wrong. We put ourselves in God’s place.

Was the woman alone in her sin? As the head and steward of God’s creation, Adam was responsible for what happened even though the woman was the first to disobey. The man failed to trust God’s Word for life and use it to resist evil. The eyes of man and woman were both opened when Adam at the forbidden fruit. “God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?'” (Genesis 3:9)

Alienation from God was felt immediately. For the first time, the man and the woman experienced self-consciousness in their nakedness. Sin and a new emotion of shame separated them from one another and from God. Adam and Eve attempted to cover themselves and hide.

There are always bitter consequences for sin. But even though Adam and Eve were sent away from the perfect garden into a sin-tainted world, God promised a Savior who is Christ Jesus the Lord.

Satan continues to deceive us today. When a woman is pregnant with a child she didn’t plan, Satan asks, “Did God actually say that He creates each child in his or her mother’s womb?” ( Yes! He does say this in Psalm 139:13-16.) “Did God actually say that He knows us before we are born?” (Yes! He does say this in Jeremiah 1:5.) “Did God actually say that taking your child’s life is murder?” (Yes! He does say this in Proverbs 6:16-17.) “Did God actually say that a woman’s body is not her own?” (Yes! He does say this in 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.) “Did God actually say that He will care for both mother and child?” (Yes! He does say this in Isaiah 40:11.)

Satan alone is not responsible for our sins. He may actively try to seduce and persuade us, but we are responsible every time we doubt God and want to become our own gods. It is a daily struggle: our will against God’s will. Too often, fear is the driving force in our lives. We are tempted to make wrong choices when we fear being unloved, rejected, or out of control. After wrong choices are made, fear rises again. In shame, we fear that God will stop loving us.

But there is hope! Because of what Jesus has done for us, we are not captive to sin or fear. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!'” (Romans 8:15)

There is hope! Even after the shame of abortion, hope comes anew in the Father’s love. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

God does not want us to remain alienated from Him. We alienate ourselves by rationalizing or refusing to confess the sin of abortion. But, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Dear Abba Father, with You nothing is impossible. Your only Son, Jesus Christ, paid the price for my abortion sin. Believing this, I do not have to fear separation from You. I am forgiven and set free to live a new life as Your child. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Devotion One in No More Weeping by Linda Bartlett
Lutherans For Life.org #LFL408

His Word Over Deception

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Deception came early… and stayed long.  Sandy felt unloved by her father.   She went to church with friends, but always wondered: Is God really here for me?  In college, it was easier to turn away from faith toward alcohol and drugs.   Once out of college, she believed sexual intimacy would fill her emptiness.

Sandy moved further away from God and the father of lies settled in.  The floodgate of emotions burst when she heard the words, “Your test is positive.”  For perhaps the first time, Sandy knew real fear, shame, and loneliness.  Her father would be so angry!  He’d never been there for her before, so why would he be there now?

Before the door of the abortion clinic, Sandy paused only long enough to name her baby.  I’m sorry, but I can’t be your mother.  There is nothing else I can do.  Now the deceiver sang his own praise.

Sandy moved back home, but did not confide in her parents.   The whole experience, Sandy believed, was finished.  But, the difficult relationship with her father had not changed.  Sandy spent as much time out of the house as possible… and met her husband.

Satan continued to play his game of deception with the goal of stealing all confidence from Sandy.  The first years of her marriage to a loving man were made difficult by hissing sounds.  “You can’t be a good wife.”  In caring so little for herself, Sandy resisted the love of her husband.  She resisted the love of God.  But God, unseen yet faithful, was present and involved.

Sandy and her husband had kept their distance from church, but when their son was born, they realized their need of a church family.  Shortly after their son was baptized, Sandy finished adult instruction and was baptized as well.  A daughter was born two years later.   She, too, was carried to the baptismal font.   Something was changing in Sandy.  She wanted her children brought up in the Kingdom of God.  The deceiver moaned, but kept a talon in the door of Sandy’s life.

It was difficult for Sandy to look at her children and not be reminded of her first baby.  The hissing continued.  “You weren’t a good mother then.  You can’t be a good mother now.”  Mother’s Day was a day of mourning for Sandy.  The burden of guilt and sadness weighed heavy.   Most pressing of all was Sandy’s question, “Am I right with God?”

The question was answered by a bold, but caring pastor.  In Christ, you are a new creation.  There was prayer.  Honesty.  Trust.  A listening ear and gentle nudging with the Father’s Word.  Oh, Jesus, my Savior, I lay it all before You.  With confession, the weight was lifted  (Psalm 32:3-5).  With each day of healing, the hissing subsided.

Sandy had not been able to explain the sense of sorrow that overwhelmed her during the month of May.  Why did joy elude her during the season of new life?  God was faithful to help Sandy realize that May would have been her first child’s birth month.  With each bit of painful truth also came a bit of freedom.

There’s so much more to Sandy’s story, but here’s what she wants us to know.  God is faithful.  His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23).  With His life-changing Word, God used the mom who didn’t think she could be a good mother to mentor a Christian daughter.  Sandy was open and honest about her past.  And, when her daughter did not reject her, Sandy’s confidence grew.   Mother and daughter reminded each other of Jesus’ merciful and abiding love.  Together, they cried… and laughed.  With each laugh, satan moved farther from their door.

I am privileged to be included in the lives of both of these women.  I have witnessed the deceiver overpowered by God’s Word at work in both mother and daughter.  Today, Sandy’s daughter is a deaconess.  She is a deaconess with a deep passion to help post abortive women.  Why?  Because God is faithful.

In setting Sandy free (Isaiah 61:1), God covered both mother and daughter with a robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10).  The deceiver has no hold on them.

(First published in LifeDate, Fall 2010
Lutherans For Life)