Discerning the Times by Jerry Crawford
reprinted from Rescue Rochester's Winter 2012 Newsletter
“FAILURE”
Webster’s definition (#2) …Omission to perform.
Most Biblical references are also about some thing failing (crops, money, promises, etc..), but
noticeably…not people. In God’s kingdom the only way to fail is to not try. All believers are gifted with, and responsible for, the application of some gifting. Failure comes from hiding it under a bushel! The heroes of the faith (Hebrews chapter 11), are listed by name and some activity they undertook by faith, but all died not having attained their earthly goals. Paul was not a failure even though he was imprisoned, beaten and eventually killed.
The apostles were not failures even though they too were killed.
Failure is the result of fear or the lack of faith. I think they are the same, and both are relevant.
Note: II Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Faith is trusting God whatever the circumstances. If the original plan goes off track, whether by design or mistake, God will use all circumstances to His glory, for those who are His own.
Is your light hid under a bushel? Did you bury your talent in the field?
Have you experienced persecution for living godly?
We can help! Join us in proclaiming truth, and offering help and hope at the local killing clinics. While we can’t promise persecution; there will be times of discomfort (cold and/or hot) you will be reviled and (possibly, but rarely) assaulted; you may get the opportunity for some light jail ministry; and most importantly you will experience the anointing of God! You may even have the opportunity to some day hold a child that wouldn’t otherwise be here in this world.
"Dangerous Lambs"
by Rev. Mike Warren
Reprinted from Rescue Rochester's Winter 2012 Newsletter
I was thinking of a cartoon that used to hang in Jerry and Terry Crawford’s home. A herd of sheep, are they herds?-, ok, a flock of sheep is stampeding off a cliff. They are running pell-mell to their own destruction; following each other blindly off a steep cliff. But in their midst is one lone lamb. Yes, in the midst of the flock is one lone sheep, facing the other way pushing against the tide and endeavoring to run away from the cliff and sure destruction. This little lamb struggles against the crush of sheepdom, calling out to the crush, swimming upstream against the tide of annihilation, moving away from the brink and trying to warn and bring some sheeply souls with it.
In some ways, I think of our pro-life ministry, Rescue Rochester, in that context. I know that’s really not expressing much faith, one little lone lamb? But, Rescue Rochester is a gospel centered pro-life ministry. Like the lamb pushing against the tide, trying to swim against the rising and rushing current, we see our formerly Christian nation hurtling toward the brink. We are a wee tiny minority that sees the battle for the lives of little baby boys and girls through eyes that actually comprehend the cause of this holocaust. The murder of nearly 60 million children since 1973 and the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision is not just a social issue or even a woman’s rights issue. It encompasses more than an individual woman’s right to do what she wants with her own body. It is definitely not a reproductive health issue. In fact, the liberalizing of abortion laws and contraception laws has altered the demographics of Western Civilization. The very existence of nation states and ethnic groups are now threatened by laws that lift the needed protection from the most defenseless and choice less among us. The countries of the west, the national powers that once were the center of Christian thought and expression are now rushing blindly toward the brink of doom. Pretty bleak don’t you think? Sorry that’s just what I see.
The conflict that surrounds the Sanctity of Human Life it is at its core a spiritual battle. Satan and his minions are arrayed to defile and destroy God’s prime creation, man. Man, who The Bible says, is made in the very image of God. The sly one uses to his advantage his age old ploy. The devil questions the legitimacy of Gods laws and God’s word placing any limits on human behavior. That snake casts God as the cosmic killjoy, who never smiles and just enjoys controlling people’s lives. As the serpent put it to Eve in Eden; so he does today to America’s citizens, churched and unchurched. “Yea Has God really said that?” His lies claim the defense of life, the moral limits on sexuality, and the desire to have a lot of children, now-a-days that is more than two, was for another age and a simpler time and people. Any statesman that dares to invoke the absolutes of God’s word and who argues with facts supporting the consequences of forsaking God’s commandments is labeled a whacko; a dunce who could not be possibly taken seriously. Ditto that for ministers or priests, who labor in many a Protestant denominations and for that matter Catholic parishes and speak on the absolutes of God’s truth. And if you’re employed in higher education or public education at any level, and you hold to traditional Christian beliefs, silence is the only thing that will protect your position.
Our adversaries are well funded and embraced as champions of progressive thought that promote principles that defend their twisted definition of liberty; the right to do whatever I want. They hold much sway in the political debate. Candidates hold pro-life believers at arms length lest they acquire the “narrow minded religious bigot” label that true Christians carry. Conservative politicians talk a good pro-life game to woo Christians at election time, but as soon as they feel that language or action would cost them the political capital of votes or power, guess who gets voted off the island?
Lest I paint with too dark and dismal a color, and I receive e-mails stating I really need to take some more vitamin D or get some sunlight; let me say this. We have one thing going for us, the nature of the battle, which assures us of eventual victory. There is but one organism that truly threatens the abortion industry. There is one being that can cave in the gates of hell that protects child murder as a supposed right in our land. There is one implement that will undo all the arguments that seemingly protect every abominable practice embraced by those that distain or ignore Gods law.
That is us, those little lambs that make up the body of Christ, standing against the tide; seeking to push against the flow, raising the alarm. We are the one entity that actually has the arsenal, the call and the track record to see the lies that cover the abortion holocaust exposed. Lambs, we the church of the living God, have seen child sacrifice on the infanticide walls of pagan Rome defeated. Lambs, we the church of the living God, have seen the scourge of temple prostitution defeated in India. Lambs, we the church of the living God, have seen the oppression of women and the exploitation of children in the sweat house factories of the Industrial Revolution end. Lambs, we the church of the living God, have seen the bondage of slavery end in the west and America. We have a track record of winning against oppression and sin. But we must remember and put into practice those truths that the Master has modeled. Christianity is a belief filled with paradox; in weakness you gain strength, one becomes poor to gain true riches; the lowly and humble are lifted up. And those that are willing to die to self and their personal agenda and recognition are given new and overcoming life. Finally, Lambs are actually men and women of war called and anointed by their Captain for victory.
Let’s end, better yet let’s begin, with this. Revelation 12:10-12 “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. 11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. 12Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them…” Saints keep swimming upstream; just keep swimming, for victory is assured as we persevere.
