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DAY 27 INTENTION ------------------------------------------------------
We pray for the gift of openness to children.
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SCRIPTUREM
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God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.
And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."
-- Genesis 1:27-28
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REFLECTION by Rev. Ben Sheldon, Presbyterians Pro-Life
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God's intention is that we multiply and fill the earth.
One of the most pernicious lies that sociologists have foisted off on the public is that the earth is becoming overpopulated.
What kind of a sadistic god would create the earth and human creatures on it, only to have them literally reproduce themselves into oblivion?
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our divine Creator, has commanded us to multiply and fill the earth and far from letting the population get out of control, He has, in fact given his human creatures a dominical role over all the lesser creatures.
The "birth control" movement, which had its beginnings with Margaret Sanger in the early years of the last century, has led, in many parts of the world, to a birthrate that is drastically below the normal replacement rate.
God's Word assures us that children are a blessing, that they are a reward of faithfully trusting and serving God and that they are the crown of their parents' old age.
The spread of the contraception mentality that has so permeated our culture is, undoubtedly, a factor in the ready acceptance of abortion.
God's commandment to multiply and fill the earth has never been withdrawn. May He help us to accept the gift of children and give him thanks for every baby who is born into the world.
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PRAYER
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Father of mercy and grace, we thank you for the gift of our children.
Grant that every fiber of our being may rejoice when a new baby, our own or any else's, is born into the world.
Help us to welcome them as we would welcome you, for whenever a new baby is conceived, another life to bear your image and another voice to praise and worship you, is beginning.
In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Lord God, Author of Life and Source of Eternal Life,