Devotional for Day 7, March 11, 2014
Carmen Pate, Alliance Ministries
Intention: Pray that the abortionists and all workers in abortion facilities would be troubled in their souls regarding their work and would seek truth.
Scripture: Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ s sake has forgiven you. — Ephesians 4:31-32
Reflection: We see the evil and oppression in the world, the arrogance of those who mock God, the millions of innocent lives destroyed because of the greed of a few. Our flesh tells us that we should take justice in our own hands, but in- stead of vengeance, the Lord calls us to love our enemy, to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
God loves the abortionist and the Planned Parenthood advocate just as much as He loves you.
It breaks His heart to see them in bondage to sin and He is giving you this opportunity to introduce them to the Savior who sets the captive free.
Though you may not experience direct interaction with these souls, your pres-
ence will not go unnoticed. Your non- verbal communications speak volumes about the God you serve.
Forgiveness is an act of obedience to God (Colossians 3:13). Forgiveness is not condoning or overlooking the wrong behavior of others, but rather it is freeing ourselves so that
God can work mightily through us to touch their hearts for Him. Let’s join our hearts with His in recognizing that those in the abortion industry are not the enemy, but rather they are blinded by the enemy.
God desires that we bring them the message of truth and hope found in Christ, but the messengers He will use are those willing to forgive.
Prayer: Dearest God, You tell us in Proverbs that the foolish and the wicked lack wisdom and understanding. I pray you will trouble the souls of those in the abortion industry so that they hunger for truth and cry out for freedom.
I pray that my life would reflect my re- demption so others may see it and trust in You. In obedience to You, and by your grace, I choose to forgive oth- ers as you have forgiven me. In the name of Christ I pray, amen.
Little did we know that God would ever take 40 Days for Life international! Now, under the leadership and courage of Robert Colquhoun, this campaign is breaking language barriers and, through God's grace, saving lives.
Here’s a report from Robert, who is based in London and serves as our international outreach director. He recently got a first-hand look at the first-ever 40 Days for Life campaign in Croatia.
Zagreb, Croatia
I was really blessed to visit Zagreb for Thursday and Friday last week, and was amazed by their campaign. The following video shows the determination and courage of many individuals in their community who are committed to their campaign.
In four minutes, the video shows the power of 40 Days for Life. The majority is in Croatian, of course (with the exception of a brief portion around the one minute mark where they interviewed me), but you don’t need to speak the language to see the faith and the passion of the people who came to pray.
Click on the image below to watch the video:
Or you may go to:
http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=5400
Ante, the local coordinator who is featured in the video, is an impressive leader. He is assisted by a large and well-organised main committee.
Croatia, which was formerly part of Yugoslavia, has a population of 4 million. There is a big opportunity for growth for pro-life groups in the country.
Birmingham, England
Birmingham is a well-established campaign, in its sixth incarnation this time — and they are doing great work.
Archbishop Bernard Longley came to the first day of the 40 Days for Life campaign in Birmingham to lead an hour of prayer. He had prayed at the vigil last year as well – and in fact there was a turnaround while he was there.
As the archbishop left, a car drew up with a woman and her child. The woman asked Isabel, the local leader, what was going on. “So I spent a long time explaining why we were there and how we helped women who were suffering after abortions to find healing,” Isabel said
The woman listened intently, and tears welled up in her eyes as she said, “I just wish you'd been here four years ago. Things would be different then.” Fortunately, the volunteers were able to direct her to post-abortion care.
Thanks again to Robert Colquhoun for today’s report!