Leah Is With God

Twenty days ago I wrote a blog post about baby Leah.

Baby Leah went to live with God this morning as she was sleeping in her father's arms. She lived for 99 days. "Leah is eternally healed!"

Read her story at Caring Bridge -Leah Grace Jarmer

Doctor recommends parents kill their two month old baby.

She's Two Months Old - Let Her Die

Leah Grace was born on March 20, 2009. On Friday (two days ago) her doctor told Leah's parents to bring her to the hospital where she would be given a lethal medication to kill her. From the shocked look on the parent's faces the doctor assumed the hospital was not an option, so the doctor recommended they bring Leah home, but stop feeding her so she would die.

Leah does have medical problems. She will probably not live long. So the doctor says you might as well just kill her now. Murder is the better option.

Read Leah's story on Caring Bridge: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/leahgracejarmer

I really wonder if this is a foreshadow of what we'll see if we have government run health care. When health care is limited, then why care for those who appear to be dying anyway? What options will the government give you?

Here's the answer:

Oregon has a state run plan called the Oregon Health Plan. Barbara Wagner had lung cancer that was diagnosed as fatal. There are drugs that would prolong her life and improve the quality of her life. But the Oregon Health Plan said, "Sorry not covered, but we will pay for the drugs needed for your suicide." (Assisted suicide is legal in Oregon.)

Why? Because it is the official policy of the Oregon Health Plan that if you have advanced cancer, they will not provide treatment. The government will provide everything need for suicide, however. It is best that you die and get out of the way so people who are not as sick can be treated.

Welcome to government health care.

Continuing with the response to the commenter who claims that God is described as killing babies in the Bible. (See the "Jews Kill Children" post.)

The claim is that Psalm 137:9 says that God kills babies. So let's look at Psalm 137 verse 8 and 9:

"O Daughter of Babylon, you devastated one, how blessed will be the one who repays you with the recompense with which you have repaid us. How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones [infants] against the rock."

The question is, do these verses indicate that God kills babies?

This Psalm was written after Israel’s return from Babylon. It is describing what happened when Babylon was conquered by the Medes. This was predicted in a prophecy is Isaiah 13:16:

"Their little children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished."

This prophecy is repeated in Isaiah 13:18 where it states that the conquerors of Babylon "will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb."

The prophecy talks more about the destruction of Babylon than just the killing of infants, but the question about these verses has to do with whether or not they say that God kills babies. That is why I’ve just quoted the parts of scripture that mention this.

No, this scripture does not say that God kills babies. It says that the Medes killed Babylonian infants. It is describing what actually happened… the brutality of the Medes as they conquered Babylon. There is nothing more brutal than the killing of infants, and that is mentioned here to show how merciless the Medes were.

Why does the Psalmist say the Medes are blessed? Is it because they kill babies? No. It is because they are the destroyers of Babylon. That is the context for these verses, and that is what these verses are all about. There is nothing here that says God kills babies or approves of the killing of babies. It is purely descriptive of the depravity of mankind.

Inclusiveness Excludes The Most Helpless

We've been talking about the doctrine of inclusiveness, which has become the foundational doctrine of some United Methodist Churches. With this post I am getting back to discussions I had with a pastor of a specific UM Church. Although she started each of the services I attended by stating that everyone was included, in a discussion we had following one of the services it was plain that one group of people are intentionally excluded.

Imagine what it will be like when you grow old. As you become older you lose both your physical and mental abilities. How old do you have to be before you become an inconvenience to your family? An inconvenience for them to be driving you to the doctor or helping you around the house? Or an inconvenience just to spend time with you when they have more important things to do? How old do you have to be before you become a financial liability for your family?

Or is it a matter of your loss of physical and mental ability, not your actual age, that makes it inconvenient for your family to have you around? For this United Methodist pastor it was age. If you would be an inconvenience for your family, and you were of a certain age, she believes it is okay for your family to arrange to have you killed.

What is that age?

Zero. Here is what that Sunday.

The opening prayer for the service was:

"Great God, you have brought your word to us today. Before the womb's wonders were our home, you knew us as unique individuals, sacred parts of your creation. In the mystery of the womb you protected us. Out of the womb you have brought us. Empower us to ministry and mission, with the confidence of your divine touch. Amen."

Then there was a confession an assurance that was said by the entire congregation in unison:

"Eternal God, you knew us before we were conceived in our mother's womb. Forgive our efforts to hide our struggles from you. Forgive our excuses for failing to act in accordance with your holy will. Forgive our failure to trust that you are with us and will sustain us. We ask this in the name of the One who calls us and equips us for ministry. Amen."

These were based on the scripture reading for that morning, which included Jeremiah 1:4,5

"The word of the Lord came to me saying, 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."

After the service I approached the pastor. In an excited voice I exclaimed my joy that here was a church that understood God created and knew us in the womb and that we were sacred parts of God's creation. A church that understood abortion was wrong... that abortion was taking the life of a human child, who was created by God and who was special and sacred to God. Her reply was, "I never thought of these verses that way." Then she proceeded to support abortion as being good and right.

But we didn't have much time, she had a meeting to go to. She said it was complicated, in particular for a 13 year old girl who was pregnant. And that was that.

Complicated?

Science has known for for a long time that from the moment of conception a baby is a unique human being. The Bible says we are infants sacred to God from the moment of conception. We know that murder is wrong. So what is so complicated?

A 13 year old girl who is pregnant.

Let's start with some facts:

3% of abortions are done because the mother's health is an issue
3% of abortions are are done because the baby's health is an issue
1% of abortions are done because of rape or incest
93% of abortions are done for convenience.

For a 13 year old having a baby could very well be a medical problem. That is a decision for a doctor, the young girl, the young man and their parents to make. If there are no medical problems, let's ask this question: A 13 year old has made a serious mistake. Is that mistake so serious that it requires the death penalty? Not only that, the death penalty is applied to a totally innocent person. The baby did nothing wrong, but the baby gets the death penalty.

There may be many other problems a pregnant 13 year old can have. My question to the pastor would have been: where are the Christians and your church? Where is your Christian love? Love the young girl and the baby. When is the last time you or your church helped a young girl or woman who was pregnant? They are both God's creation. God knows them as unique individuals, sacred parts of His creation. How can you kill (violating God's command not to murder) sacred parts of God creation?

I recommend reading Why Pro-Life by Randy Alcorn. It is a good book for people on both sides of the issue. This book is so good that we have been featuring it as our monthly book recommendation for the last 10 or 12 months. It has a list price of $10.99. You can get it for just $1.99!

Should A Pastor Mislead Small Children Concerning Salvation?

I've just returned from a ten day trip to Massachusetts. One of the greatest difficulties in evangelizing in Massachusetts is that this region is heavily Catholic.

For example, I spent time evangelizing at the Three County Fair in Northampton. People, were very friendly and open to receiving gospel tracts, but not open to talking about the gospel. A common response was, "I'm okay. I'm Catholic."

When I have been able to talk with New England Catholics I've found this means they feel they are saved because they are Catholic, not because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

They have been inoculated against the gospel.

In other words they a belief that because they go to confession, attend mass, participate in the sacraments, etc., they will be saved. Since they feel they are saved, they have no interest in hearing about salvation... they just want to get on with living enjoying their lives. Their trust in a false gospel prevents them from hearing the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Catholic Church isn't the only church that does this.

I had the opportunity to attend services at a "progressive" (a word that means liberal) United Methodist Church for two Sundays. What broke my heart was the way the pastor spoke to the small children during the children's part of the service on the first Sunday. Her lesson for the children was that they are "children of God."

To be a child of God means you have been adopted by God. What does the Bible say about children of God?

"Now if we are [God's] children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ..."- Romans 8:17

A child of God is heir to the kingdom God. The pastor was telling the children they were saved! None of them knew Jesus. None of them knew what sin was. None believed that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin. But they were being told they were saved, and thus they were being inoculated against hearing the gospel that will truly save them.

Before we look at who the Bible says are children of God, I should make something clear. I do not believe children are condemned to hell. The Bible makes it clear that infants and children, those who do not have the capability to understand their fallen condition and the good news of the gospel, are not held accountable by God. Also, I do not believe we should be telling little children they are sinners headed for hell, until they can also understand they are saved through Jesus Christ. However, we are without love for children if we teach them things that are not Biblically true and which will be a stumbling block to their receiving the gospel when they are older.

So who are the children of God?

Galatians 3:26 -- "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."

Romans 8:13-14 -- "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

Romans 9:8 -- "In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring."

Believers are the children of God.

What condition are natural children in? Psalm 51:5 makes it very clear: "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

We are sinners even before we are born. We are sinners from conception! Before we are believers we are children of wrath.

"All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath." -- Ephesians 2:3

As cute as they are, little children are still living in sin and are children of wrath. It is only when they accept Jesus Christ as saving them from the consequences of sin that they become children of God. To lie to them, telling them they are children of God, while it may make them feel good, it moves them further away from heaven. How can anyone who claims to love children do that?