I have been greatly encouraged to see how wide-spread the 180 Movie has become so quickly! At the time of writing this blog, the online version of the film on YouTube had just over 1.5 million views! Incredible!
I am thankful for all those who have viewed the film in its entirety. Even those who have rejected the messages contained within it. Abortion is an epidemic in this country. It is an epidemic in this world. For some reason we turn a blind eye to the intentional genocide of the human race through the practice of abortion.
Of course it is likely that most ignore it because they just don't want to think about the horrors of it. It's the same reason we turn away from the television commercials about starving and homeless children. We just don't want to admit to the reality of the horror we allow to go on in our own backyard known as abortion. Maybe we figure if it is out of sight it is out of mind.
It is no secret how I feel about it. There have been several posts prior to this one about this issue.
You may feel that you can't do anything on your own to chance things. But that's not entirely true. God often works through those the world considers nobodies to accomplish His purpose. That fact is evidenced by the 1.5 million views and the thousands more than have viewed it as a result of having been handed a DVD copy or shown the movie at a church.
Abortion is murder. Let me say that again clearly. Abortion is murder. It is a vile practice and it is a sad indictment against any community who places such a low value on the sanctity of human life.
Please, my Christian brethren, I'm calling on you to give a voice to the thousands of humans murdered every day in this country in the name of "choice". Speak out about abortion. The 180 Movie is a fantastic resource. Compelling, honest, and easy to spread to others. Ray and his team don't seek to force anyone to change their mind about abortion, but they do set out to accomplish two things. 1.) Educate people on the reality of abortion by factual evidence and a sobering comparison 2.) to spread the eternal life giving Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Both purposes are overwhelmingly accomplished in this film.
Please, spread the word... please view this important documentary. And do it now!
Last night I showed the 180 Movie to our church. I will be posting some video responses below of people who volunteered to share their reaction after viewing. There were times when jaws were wide open watching the film, there were tears as the pictures of the Holocaust were shown. Nearly all of them admitted that they had never correlated the two events together.
Our prayer is that this will serve to help our church be more vocal about the Gospel primarily so that those who are in favor of abortion will come to know Christ (if they are in fact not born again) and see abortion as the vile sin that it is.
What strikes me about the two atrocities, that being the Holocaust of the Jews and Abortion, is that it was people who were already born who were being murdered in Germany. So they had a voice, you could see pictures of them emaciated and starving. With abortion, the children can't make a sound, no one cares to watch the sonogram in 3D that shows their face grimace with pain as the process begins.
I once wrote that abortion is nothing more than modern day Molech worship. How true... how true... the only difference is that we don't worship the false god of Molech when we murder a child, we are worshiping the god of self.
Next week we will be showing this video to our students and praying for their reaction. Many of them who will view it are unconverted. My pastoral prayer is that God use this video next week to finally break their hearts over their sin and draw them unto Himself. At the same time, I pray that as the future voters of this country this would help them to discern between a good political candidate and a bad one.
Sometimes the liberal left accuses evangelicals of being "single issue voters" because we discount a candidate who is pro-choice. That is a bit of a straw man argument because most of us certainly consider more than simply their abortion stance, however, life and the protection of it is more important to me than tax structure or foreign and domestic policy for sure. How can you expect ANY candidate to make wise decisions that affect the protection of the American people when they have already showed a lack of concern for the sanctity of human life to begin with? If they see an unborn child as disposable, imagine how they view other life... just a thought...
Now, having said all that, I want to be clear. If you are reading this and you have had an abortion. I am not condemning you. There is forgiveness available to you from God even for that sin. If you are feeling guilt over having had an abortion, I know that you likely feel like you can't be forgiven for something so awful. But you can. God will forgive you. If you will ask Him to forgive you He will. Here's the thing though, you (and everyone else in this world) need forgiveness for more than just the singular sin of abortion. Oh no, we need forgiveness from God for ALL our sin.
I do not want to isolate the sin of abortion as if it is unforgivable and everything else is forgivable. That's not true. There is forgiveness for you not just for abortion, but for the lies you've told, the things you've stolen, the hate in your heart towards others, the lust in your heart that you've acted on... He is a good and kind God and even now He bids you come to Christ that you might be saved!
Without forgiveness of sins you will spend eternity in Hell, not because you failed to trust in Christ, but because you died in your sins and therefore are accountable to pay for your own sin. God so loved this world that He sent Jesus Christ, His only Son, to live a perfect life free from sin even though He was tempted, then He died on a cruel Roman cross where He endured the physical pain and scorn of the cross and death but He also took the full wrath of God for the sins of all those who would repent and trust in His Name.
So that you do not have to spend eternity in Hell. So that you CAN have eternal life! Christ paid the fine! Turn from your sin (repent) and trust in Jesus Christ today and God will forgive you and grant you eternal life!
I post a great deal of videos and other links and such to pro-life materials. Trying to educate people and get the word out to them that God creates life and that abortion is most definitely murder. As a result of course I receive, as many of you do who've taken up this mantle as well, many angry criticisms to my inbox complaining that I have no right to say such and that I am anti-women's rights and a bunch of other non-sense.
Well, as many of you know, there are times when you just feel like you absolutely want to just give up. You feel like nothing you are doing is accomplishing anything and you are just spinning your wheels.
I've been there, then one day about 2 years ago I received an email from a young lady I had known several years prior but had since lost contact. To give you some background, she was a teenager when I had last been around her, some of her friends attended youth group at the church where I was youth pastor and she didn't come there regularly (she had a different church home) but she had come to a few of the discipleship events we had done. So I knew her as an acquaintance.
Here is the email.
"I wanted to share something with you that really touched me. I recently found out i was pregnant and am only 19. I was not planning on having a baby or even making that a part of my life. I had college and to much fun on my hands or so i thought to be bringing a baby into the world. My parents have raised me in church and I know abortion is wrong but i also knew it was my choice. I thought very hard and actually considered abortion and cried many nights over what to do. Ive been noticing you publishing things on facebook about abortion here lately and watched the video you published today, i really believe that was meant for me from God..to show me what i need to do and follow him. God works wonders and i wanted to share what you and God have helped me with without you even knowing."
I haven't heard much from her in the last year or so, but I do know that she DID give birth to a happy, healthy baby boy and they are doing very well.
So the encouragement to you brethren is to keep fighting the good fight. Keep proclaiming truth, keep proclaiming the Gospel, and keep doing so in love.
Every time I think about that child I can't help but be humbled at how God used what I thought was not accomplishing anything at all to save a life. By God's grace, that child is alive and that mother avoided that sin and I am humbled and honored that God would use me and allow me to have any part of that at all.
If you are feeling that what you are doing is pointless... don't give up... press deeper into the grace of Christ and lean more upon His understanding. His grace is sufficient. His Word, His truth, will NOT return void without accomplishing what He sends it to do.
If you have a similar story, I'd love to hear it. Feel free to post it in the comments section below!
