Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we have much to celebrate and give thanks for. Our God has been good to us. We have received grace upon grace from the fullness of Christ (John 1:16). On Friday, June 24 a majority of the sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices struck down a previous ruling, known as Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court rightly recognized the U.S. Constitution does not grant U.S. citizens the right to abort one’s unborn child. Dr. Robert Gagnon astutely writes, “As Robert George (Princeton) and John Finnis (Oxford) have shown, the Fourteenth Amendment, properly applied, rather supports granting due process to the unborn child’s right to life as a ‘person.’” Gagnon goes on to say, “The Court did not decide the question of the morality of abortion… They merely decided whether the Constitution contained a manifest right to abortion, specifically in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.” As a result of this righting of a tragic and horrific wrong, the issue of legislating abortion and the sanctity of human life will be decided by individual states. As of last night, 22 states either have or will attempt to ban abortion in the days ahead. Governor Eric Holcomb has stated, “We have an opportunity to make progress in protecting the sanctity of life, and that’s exactly what we will do.” Let us pray for our representatives and the governor of the state of Indiana that they will have the courage and the conviction to protect the unborn.

News of the ruling was leaked weeks ago. Against federal law, citizens were permitted to protest outside of Justices’ homes (it is illegal to protest outside the homes of federal judges – the reason being, it is not legal to attempt to intimidate or sway the decision-making of a judge through fear or retribution) There are many people angry, some who are calling for the death of sitting Supreme Court Justices. There have been 48 instances of vandalism (ranging from defacing of property with offensive and even demonic symbols and messaging to four instances of firebombing) of pro-life institutions (crisis pregnancy centers and churches). We need to pray for these groups who are helping women to choose life.

I also want to let you know that there are evangelical Christian leaders saying, “Our work now is just starting.” Such statements betray an ignorance of the work of Christians that has been going on since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. As though all Christians have been sitting on their hands since 1973. Did you know that pro-life crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion clinics 3 to 1 in the U.S.? The Washington Post ran a story last week describing an 18-year-old woman in Texas who was prevented from aborting her twin daughters because of Texas’ legal protections for the unborn who are older than six weeks (i.e. the heartbeat law). The Post lamented that this young woman’s dreams were dashed because she is now a mother and cannot travel to Hawaii to swim with the dolphins. There was no concern for the two babies spared from death. So, for those so-called evangelical thought leaders who would say, “Well, what are pro-lifers doing for this young woman”? Pro-life conservatives read her story and donated over $66,000 to a GoFundMe page for the woman, her two daughters, and her husband (now in boot camp). We need to pray for believers to rejoice in the preservation of life and to see the sacredness of human life as God does, according to his Word.

Christians, the tragic circumstances that have led to over 60 million children being aborted in the U.S. alone, should grieve our hearts. As Christians, we are to view all things as the Lord does. We are to choose life (Deut. 30:19). The many factors that have led to this atrocity are: the breakdown of the family (absentee fathers, wicked fathers, lazy fathers, or even emasculated men – men have a divinely bestowed responsibility to provide for their wives and children); the sexually promiscuous and immoral culture in which we live says that sex should involve no restraint or responsibility of outcome (sex between a husband and wife was designed to have the potential to create children). God told humanity to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). Satan and sin desire to redefine and rebel against what the Lord God says is good and right. The same is true for the sacred nature of human life. The Lord commanded us to be fruitful and multiply (Gen. 1:28). Satan and sin instigated humanity to end the lives of unborn children. Every single human life, which begins at conception, is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27). As Christians, followers of the King of kings, we should choose what is right in the eyes of God, not what is right in the eyes man. Children are a blessing from the Lord. Psalm 127:3-5 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.” We should view children as a heritage and reward from God (Ps. 127:3). As Christians we need to model, teach, and pray for Christian marriages. We need to pray that God will bring about a spiritual transformation in our society through the prayers, teaching, and example of Christians that will restore the father as responsible for his wife and children – protecting and providing for, and leading his family. We need to pray for people to be convicted of their sexual promiscuity, selfishness, and lack of willingness to accept responsibility for their actions – all of this can be accomplished through repentance and faith in Christ.

We can see how depraved as a society we have become when we look at children as a burden, an inconvenience, or as the end of our freedom, dreams, and career. Some might say, “How can we expect non-Christians to live like Christians?” You cannot expect a non-Christian to have a new heart or mind spiritually. But, a society will face the judgment of God for doing things he finds offensive, wicked, and an abomination. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for their wickedness. As Christians, we should desire that people repent and receive Christ as Lord. We should pray for it. We should also pray that God would restrain evil in the world. We should pray that God would help our leaders to govern righteously. They have been appointed by God to restrain evil in the world. They are supposed to reward those who do good and punish those who do evil (Rom. 13:1-5; 1 Peter 2:13-16). This is the government’s responsibility and they are accountable to God to do so. We need to pray that the Lord will help our government to govern righteously – rewarding those who do good and punishing those who do evil.