What Is the Christian Response to the Attacks in Paris?

Another deadly terrorist attack.

Place of attack; Paris, France.

130 people murdered, over 350 injured, 99 seriously injured.

On this past weekend of this attack, Facebook blew up with posts calling for the crackdown on ISIS and the halting of the immigration of Syrian refugees in light of all this. Just as the Bible has predicted, our hearts are failing us with fear. States are already going on record as saying that, to keep their citizens safe, they refuse to accept Syrian refugees. Anger at President Obama mounts as he defends his policy to allow Syrian refugees into the U.S. even as he vows to fight terrorism and "defeat ISIS." I have been seeing more and more posts, from Facebook users who are believers, show opposition to admitting refugees, out of fear of letting in terrorists.

What is to be the response of a follower of Jesus to all of this?

At a worship service where I was vsiting this weekend, the sermon included this very topic. The pastor told us just how we need to respond, as Christians.

Recognize That God is Still in Control

It seems that right now, ISIS has control and are leaving people terrified of them and what they can do. It seems that more and more, we are headed to becoming a police state. Our civil liberties are slowly eroding, and now there is all this talk about stepping up military involvement to "stop ISIS." I can understand why people are running scared, especially those who do not know God and His power to change our sinful hearts, even the black, unfeeling, sociopathic hearts of the members of ISIS. Yet we who know God, should believe that God can concert and transform even brutal killing machines such as ISIS members. What does this mean? It means we need to pray. We certainly should pray for all the victims of the attacks, including those who were eyewitnesses of this horror. Pray for a spiritual awakening in France! It is estimated that there are many more atheists than Christians in France. France is said to be more secularized that any other country, plus they have a high abortion rate. Can this tragedy bring about a movement for Christ in France?

Pray for Not only the Victims but Our Enemies

I know that ISIS members are the most hated individuals on the face of the earth. "Bomb them all into oblivion!" and "May they all rot in hell!" and "Stop them now!" are totally understanable rallying cries especially when coming from those who do not know God. These people would just as soon kill us as look at us; they thrive on killing and bloodshed and are killing machines. But we who are believers need to try to see these ISIS members as Chris sees them. He sees them as sinful pesons who desperately need to be saved and transformed. These ISIS members are people for whom Christ died, just as we are. Every one of them was once aa baby and then a young child, and most were indoctrinated and radicalized very early in life or at other times when they were vvulnerable, as in feeling alienated or without any purpose. We Christians, as followers of Jesus, have a mandate to pray for our enemies. And ISIS members certainly ARE our enemies in every sense of the world. They hate us. But we are to pray for those who hate us, even want to kill us! Yes, that is tough. It seems unfair.

Realize That We All Have Sin

The call to pray for our enemies makes sense only when we realize one thing. We must never forget that once, in God's eyes, all of us were His enemies, criminals, and evil. He sees us all the same. Our sinful natures just express themselves in different ways but He sees us all the same. He sees us all as sinners, lost and enemies until He, by His grace, saves us. Only in this context does it make any sense to pray for people like ISIS members who thrive on shedding innocent blood especially of followers of Jesus in ISIS strongholds, who are suffering even worse than everyone else. Over and over, they testify that they pray for their persecutors, and often God transforms these persecutors.

Most of all, let us keep hope alive, because ISIS does not have the last word. Almighty does. Praise Him!

Take Minutes 2 Be a Voice 4 Moms & Babies!

Defund Planned Parenthood!

No more government funds for Planned Parenthood!

Congress must defund Planned Parenthood immediately!

Stop Planned Parenthood!

Shut down Planned Parenthood!

These calls to neutralize and even destroy this organization are indeed well meant. I don't want any of my money to go to this organization, either. I know that federal funds do not, or are not supposed to, go to Planned Parenthood. Yet the idea of government funds going to an organization that oversees over 330,000 abortions (every abortion represents a baby) does not sit well if you believe that life begins at conception.

Yet we cannot forget one thing.

Planned Parenthood, while the largest provider of abortions, is not the only abortion provider. Not by a long shot. Private doctors and private abortion clinics also do abortions. More needs to be done to end abortion, than boycotting abortion providers and trying to defeat and destroy them. As women and their significant others (parents, boyfriends, husbands, doctors), turn to abortion often because of a lack of options, how about eliminating the very MOTIVE that causes women to often go out of town to procure abortions? Desperation, ignorance, fear?

Yes, we in the prolife community are all too aware of pregnancy resource centers that provide women with free, confidential, safe, and caring services. Many women and their families do not know of these centers. If they do, what they have heard about these centers likely comes from disgruntled former pregnancy resource clients, or from a biased media. A certain news anchor refers to these centers as "phony clinics" and they have gotten much bad press as being deceptive, misleading, and failing to deliver the confidential, qualified services they promise to clients. However, there is much more evidence in favor of these centers and the lifesaving work they do in assisting women which saves many babies who would have been abortion. But girls and women have often been lied to, and so are unaware of their options.

With more funds going to life-affirming medical and services (which pregnancy resource centers often refer their clients to), these women would have even more options.

I'm talking about funds to go to the estimated 13,000 community clinics that serve women and families.

I'm talking about subsidies for single parents and low-income families.

I'm talking about increasing Medicaid reimbursements to OB/GYNS, to give them more of an incentive to serve poor low-income girls and women.

If even one of these measures was implemented, especially the first, it would be a big step in the right direction. There are almost 300 signatures on this petition, but many more are needed. If you have already added your name and even shared this, I thank you for your support. If you have not yet signed and are a follower of Jesus, know that we are called to speak out for those who are vulnerable. Who is more vulnerable than an unborn baby? Most of their moms, in crisis, are also vulnerable because of the very circumstances that culminate in their crisis pregnancies.

Let me call everyone of us, who follow Jesus and who identify as prolife, to a simple but meaningful act. I'm calling supporters of this petition to visit the webpage (it takes a few seconds to load the "share" button) to share this petition, one more, with your own social networks. If you have not yet signed this petition, I encourage you to add your name to it.

CLICK HERE TO SHARE THIS PETITION OR SIGN IT!

An Open Letter To Cecile Richards

Dear Cecile Richards: I speak as a person who believes that all life is sacred. This includes the poor, those with disabilities, women, men, those without homes, those who are unborn, those with mental illnesses, even criminals and abortion workers.

Even the lives of abortionists and directors of abortion facilities.

I know that you probably believe that you are doing women a service. Many people in this culture believe that abortion is health care, a reproductive right and a choice that should be available to women. So you are not unique in that regard; you are reflecting the worldview of many in this culture. Yes, it is legal and doctors are required to inform their patients in crisis pregnancies and high-risk pregnancies of abortion as a viable, legal option. Why, if our doctors, whom so many hold in such high esteem in our culture, so often recommend it to patients with high-risk or crisis pregnancies, it must not be bad.

I saw parts of the Planned Parenthood hearings when you were being grilled before Congress. I watched as you defended your organization, and declared that the videos exposing Planned Parenthood were doctored. People closest to me agree with you about those videos. I will not defend the videos as I have not had a chance to view them in-depth and in their entirety. I know that Live Action, run by Lila Rose, have made undercover videos of your organization. I have not been inside a Planned Parenthood facility, but I have loved ones who have used their services. Thanks to the grace of God, I have not faced the abortion issue personally. I had a high-risk pregnancy with my daughter, but I was blessed with religious faith and a good support system. I know that many of the girls and women who use your organization or other abortion providers do not have options or are not aware that they have options.

I know that many in the prolife movement condemn you and others in the abortion industry, as evil incarnate, and judge you. They forget that all of us are sinners who have fallen far short of God's holy standards. Myself, I have enough to do in keeping up with and overcoming my own sins and imperfections to ever worry about yours or anyone else's. But you are in a position of leadership and many women and Planned Parenthood employees and volunteers look to you. What if what you are passing on to them is, in fact, a lie? I mean, could it be that the notion that abortion is healthcare, a reproductive right and a choice, is a lie? If that is true, then it is a serious thing that you are guilty of.

Have you ever asked yourself what the abortions done on women (over 300,000 yearly under the watch of Planned Parenthood alone) actually do? I wonder if, in your more honest moments, you wonder if indeed that these abortions kill the babies of these moms who seek abortion services because they have been fed the lie that abortion is the way to deal with a probem pregnancy, whether due to social, economic, medical or eugenic reasons. Surely you, like so many others in favor of abortion or who don't like it but who think it should be available to others, know deep down that the fetus is in fact a baby, one who is just not born. If that is so, it must be dehumanizing, dreary, tiring, and traumatic to take lives as you justify it as a service.

This is not written to try to convert you or anyone else to the prolife movement, as a post like this is highly unlikely to do that. First, you need to be converted to the Person of Jesus Christ, Who came to this earth because of God's love for you and me, to die for our sins. You are invited to repent (change your mind about sin and the direction of your life) and then trust Jesus to take away your sins. Then He will change your worldview, your attitudes and behavior. You will find yourself working to save lives, not destroy them! If God can do it for former abortionists or abortion workers like Dr. Bernard Nathansonson and Abby Johnson, He can do it for you!

Meanwhile, when you decide that working in the abortion industry and taking lives is no longer for you and you are tired of it and want to get out, there is a resource.

Visit this website and find that there is help for you also.