The Danakil Plain in Ethiopia is the hottest place on earth and is filled with salt. Matthew 5:13 Amplified Bible says about creyentes (believers), "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its saltness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by men."
One of the definitions for salt in Webster's New World Dictionary is "any person or persons regarded as the finest." Creyentes, God's finest, are called to live vigorously in relationships filled with love. Love starts with God and flows to self and to family. Love doesn't stop there. Love flows to strangers.
Why should God's finest get involved in stopping China's one-child policy with forced abortion and forced sterilization? Why should creyentes get involved in closing the business of abortionists Douglas Karpen and LeRoy Carhart who have killed babies and women? Why should creyentes push for religious freedom in Nigeria, Iran and other places globally? Why should creyentes help people to receive a relationship with God and to improve relationships like marriage, parenting, friendships, etc? God says to do these types of things. We serve a God who does way more than the minimum and expects from creyentes way more than the minimum. Matthew 22:36-40 Amplified Bible says, "Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?] And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets."
We cannot say that we love God without also loving a lot of people in a large way. 1 John 5:3 Amplified Bible says, "For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous)."
We can love large because God makes creyentes to be hot and salty living love stories. God lives inside of creyentes constantly cultivating us to make our love story even better. Please share your love story. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nigeria. Show all posts
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Imagine Opening Our Arms To Immigrants And The Disabled
Kaldi and the Dancing Goats is a story from Ethiopia. Kaldi was a goatherd, who one day was grazing his goats on a mountain side, but by the end of the day he could not find them.
Kaldi searched, and he searched, and he searched. Finally, he found them dancing around a bush whose red berries they had been feasting on. Kaldi decided to try the berries and found himself inspired to dance.
Kaldi took the red-berry treasure to some monks in a nearby monastery. One monk felt the red berries were a work of the devil and flung them into the fire. The fire brought out such an exquisite aroma from the red berries that the monks rescued the berries, ground them and made the hot, black drink we know as coffee. What they at first thought was a work of the devil, they later decided was a gift from God because coffee kept people awake during their prayers.
Some people feel that allowing a short, easy path to citizenship without economic burden for immigrants is a work of the devil. However, many immigrants are Christians fleeing from places of persecution and/or poverty to places that treasure things like freedom, equality and economic opportunity.
Religious freedom is not a reality in northern Nigeria. Also other parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, have absorbed about as many people fleeing from northern Nigeria as they can help. Nigeria is about 50 percent Islam, 40 percent Christian and 10 percent other faiths.
One tradition says that the reason Abraham of the Bible had to immigrate from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan is because he was being persecuted. God will use persecution and other situations to move us from one place to another for a good purpose. Genesis 12 records that Abraham coming to Canaan would be a part of his family being a global blessing to people.
The Brazos River flows through the middle of the American state of Texas. This river was originally named Los Brazos de Dios (In the Arms of God). Creyentes (believers) serve a big God whose arms are so big that they could never be too many people for Him to hug. Creyentes are God's physical arms on earth. Hugging immigrants is a blessing to us and to them.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., says, "[People] often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they do not know each other; they do not know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated." Demonic fear is designed to divide and to destroy people.
An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come." If we stay in fear, we cannot unify and do the great works God said we are to do.
Demonic fear produces irrational thinking. Imagine the extensive psychiatric problems in China due to China's one child policy with forced abortion and forced sterilization. Inflicting psychiatric problems reduces productivity. Productivity is essential for people to survive and thrive.
The idea of killing people and/or disfiguring them for social advancement is ancient and modern. In America and in other countries abortionists kill unborn baby girls and baby boys. Sometimes abortionists also kill babies born alive after botched abortions, adolescents and women. Abortionist LeRoy Carhart killed Christin Gilbert, a 19-year-old who had Down syndrome, and her baby. Gilbert is not the only woman killed by Carhart, who does late-term abortions. People with disabilities are discriminated against in the womb and out of the womb. Robert Ethan Saylor, was a young man killed in a movie theater because people didn't understand someone with Down syndrome.
We must learn to distinguish among foreign invaders/enemies and the potential friends of immigrants and people with disabilities.
Share some stories of immigrants and persons with disabilities overcoming discrimination. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30. Recommend this article on Google.
Enjoy Memorial Day on Monday.
Kaldi searched, and he searched, and he searched. Finally, he found them dancing around a bush whose red berries they had been feasting on. Kaldi decided to try the berries and found himself inspired to dance.
Kaldi took the red-berry treasure to some monks in a nearby monastery. One monk felt the red berries were a work of the devil and flung them into the fire. The fire brought out such an exquisite aroma from the red berries that the monks rescued the berries, ground them and made the hot, black drink we know as coffee. What they at first thought was a work of the devil, they later decided was a gift from God because coffee kept people awake during their prayers.
Some people feel that allowing a short, easy path to citizenship without economic burden for immigrants is a work of the devil. However, many immigrants are Christians fleeing from places of persecution and/or poverty to places that treasure things like freedom, equality and economic opportunity.
Religious freedom is not a reality in northern Nigeria. Also other parts of Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, have absorbed about as many people fleeing from northern Nigeria as they can help. Nigeria is about 50 percent Islam, 40 percent Christian and 10 percent other faiths.
One tradition says that the reason Abraham of the Bible had to immigrate from Ur of the Chaldees to Canaan is because he was being persecuted. God will use persecution and other situations to move us from one place to another for a good purpose. Genesis 12 records that Abraham coming to Canaan would be a part of his family being a global blessing to people.
The Brazos River flows through the middle of the American state of Texas. This river was originally named Los Brazos de Dios (In the Arms of God). Creyentes (believers) serve a big God whose arms are so big that they could never be too many people for Him to hug. Creyentes are God's physical arms on earth. Hugging immigrants is a blessing to us and to them.
Christian Minister and Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King, Jr., says, "[People] often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they do not know each other; they do not know each other because they cannot communicate; they cannot communicate because they are separated." Demonic fear is designed to divide and to destroy people.
An East African proverb says, "When minds are the same, that which is far off will come." If we stay in fear, we cannot unify and do the great works God said we are to do.
Demonic fear produces irrational thinking. Imagine the extensive psychiatric problems in China due to China's one child policy with forced abortion and forced sterilization. Inflicting psychiatric problems reduces productivity. Productivity is essential for people to survive and thrive.
The idea of killing people and/or disfiguring them for social advancement is ancient and modern. In America and in other countries abortionists kill unborn baby girls and baby boys. Sometimes abortionists also kill babies born alive after botched abortions, adolescents and women. Abortionist LeRoy Carhart killed Christin Gilbert, a 19-year-old who had Down syndrome, and her baby. Gilbert is not the only woman killed by Carhart, who does late-term abortions. People with disabilities are discriminated against in the womb and out of the womb. Robert Ethan Saylor, was a young man killed in a movie theater because people didn't understand someone with Down syndrome.
We must learn to distinguish among foreign invaders/enemies and the potential friends of immigrants and people with disabilities.
Share some stories of immigrants and persons with disabilities overcoming discrimination. Write to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, VA 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30. Recommend this article on Google.
Enjoy Memorial Day on Monday.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Who Is A True Advocate for Diversity and Equality?
God loves diversity and equality. Both Abraham and Daniel are mighty men of God. Abraham is a prophet and the patriarch of creyentes (believers). He had eight children. Daniel is a prophet. He had no children. Jesus Christ asked John the apostle to take care of Mary. The book of Luke chapter eight reveals that women took care of many of Jesus' ministry needs.
Some use prenatal genetic testing to seek out the disabled and kill them. Others use their disabilities to glorify God and do good works for people. Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. While it would be wonderful to have arms and legs, he uses what God has given him to be an evangelist, motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org) and to live life to the fullest. Vujicic is also marred to Kanae Miyahara, and the couple have a son named Kiyoshi James Vujicic.
Some sickness and disabilities are acquired after birth. International Bible Teacher Joyce Meyer had breast cancer. Due to early detection, the cancer was caught when it was tiny. Today she is cancer free. Chen Guangcheng became blind due to a childhood illness. He is a self-taught lawyer who helped disabled people in China gain public benefits. He also filed a 2005 class action lawsuit against local authorities practicing forced abortions and forced sterilizations as part of China's one child policy. Guangcheng is active in multiple issues. Currently he is involved in the Defending Freedom Project, a coalition of governmental leaders and human rights groups working to free prisoners of conscience across the globe.
Has anyone seen any coverage of Pastor and US citizen Saeed Abedini in the major secular media? Pastor Abedini is in Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, being persecuted for his Christian faith. Write to him and sign a petition at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Some people think it's a waste of time to study foreign languages. Former South African President Nelson Mandela doesn't think so. Speaking someone's language can open up relationships.
Sunday is Pentecost which celebrates the birth of the Christian church. In Acts 2 the beginning of the church was multilingual and multicultural. God is not just concerned with one group of people. He is concerned about everyone. God has creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) in all parts of the globe. God wants us to have a relationship with Him and people. He is not for erasing culture and language.
God is not only interested in us, He is also interested in everything around us. While everyone will not be rich, having an abundance of resources can be used for good. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to live well on 10 percent of your income and give away 90 percent? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Complete Jewish Bible says, "As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life." Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa. Nigeria has the world's 10th-largest oil reserves and 7th-largest natural gas reserves. One good use of wealth is to ensure religious freedom for people. What are some good works coming out of Nigeria?
Another good use of wealth is to produce educational materials to overcome evil with good. The following LifeNews.com link shows that Kermit Gosnell is not the only abortionists killing late-term unborn babies, babies born live after botched abortions and women: http://www.lifenews.com/2013/05/15/another-gosnell-report-shows-texas-abortion-doc-kills-babies-born-alive/.
How many abortionists are like Kermit Gosnell and Douglas Karpen? Where is the extensive media coverage of what goes on inside abortion clinics? Abortion affects everyone. Some hot spot coverage exists in China and America. What about regular stories about the survivors of abortion? Gospel Singer and US Citizen Fred Hammond was almost aborted, but he survived it and is still living. There is an endless potential supply of stories about China's one child policy with forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Have you seen major secular media reports about Guo Yanling and Du Yiliang? A ChinaAid March 24, 2013, "With ChinaAid's Help, Two Victims of China's One-Child Policy Granted UNHCR Refugee Status" article reports that in 1995, when Guo Yanling was eight months pregnant, she was forced to have an abortion. In 1999, she was forcibly sterilized. In 2006, she was imprisoned for not being able to pay a fine for having more than one child. The Chinese government also refused to issue household registrations to her and to her husband, Du Yiliang's, three children without which they are unable to attend school or receive government benefits. Guo Yanling's and Du Yiliang's abortion, sterilization, educational and economic terror experience is typical in China. What isn't nearly as typical is that with ChinaAid’s help, Guo Yanling and Du Yiliang have been granted refugee status by the UN High Commission on Refugees. Notes of encouragement to Du Yiliang and Guo Yanling, requests for interviews and financial contributions to ChinaAid's Emergency Relief Fund can all be submitted to ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu at http://www.chinaaid.org.
Some use prenatal genetic testing to seek out the disabled and kill them. Others use their disabilities to glorify God and do good works for people. Nick Vujicic was born without arms and legs. While it would be wonderful to have arms and legs, he uses what God has given him to be an evangelist, motivational speaker, author, entrepreneur (http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org) and to live life to the fullest. Vujicic is also marred to Kanae Miyahara, and the couple have a son named Kiyoshi James Vujicic.
Some sickness and disabilities are acquired after birth. International Bible Teacher Joyce Meyer had breast cancer. Due to early detection, the cancer was caught when it was tiny. Today she is cancer free. Chen Guangcheng became blind due to a childhood illness. He is a self-taught lawyer who helped disabled people in China gain public benefits. He also filed a 2005 class action lawsuit against local authorities practicing forced abortions and forced sterilizations as part of China's one child policy. Guangcheng is active in multiple issues. Currently he is involved in the Defending Freedom Project, a coalition of governmental leaders and human rights groups working to free prisoners of conscience across the globe.
Has anyone seen any coverage of Pastor and US citizen Saeed Abedini in the major secular media? Pastor Abedini is in Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, being persecuted for his Christian faith. Write to him and sign a petition at http://www.savesaeed.org.
Some people think it's a waste of time to study foreign languages. Former South African President Nelson Mandela doesn't think so. Speaking someone's language can open up relationships.
Sunday is Pentecost which celebrates the birth of the Christian church. In Acts 2 the beginning of the church was multilingual and multicultural. God is not just concerned with one group of people. He is concerned about everyone. God has creyentes (believers) who are reinas y reyes (queens and kings) in all parts of the globe. God wants us to have a relationship with Him and people. He is not for erasing culture and language.
God is not only interested in us, He is also interested in everything around us. While everyone will not be rich, having an abundance of resources can be used for good. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to live well on 10 percent of your income and give away 90 percent? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Complete Jewish Bible says, "As for those who do have riches in this present world, charge them not to be proud and not to let their hopes rest on the uncertainties of riches but to rest their hopes on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Charge them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous and ready to share. In this way they will treasure up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may lay hold of the real life." Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa. Nigeria has the world's 10th-largest oil reserves and 7th-largest natural gas reserves. One good use of wealth is to ensure religious freedom for people. What are some good works coming out of Nigeria?
Another good use of wealth is to produce educational materials to overcome evil with good. The following LifeNews.com link shows that Kermit Gosnell is not the only abortionists killing late-term unborn babies, babies born live after botched abortions and women: http://www.lifenews.com/2013/05/15/another-gosnell-report-shows-texas-abortion-doc-kills-babies-born-alive/.
How many abortionists are like Kermit Gosnell and Douglas Karpen? Where is the extensive media coverage of what goes on inside abortion clinics? Abortion affects everyone. Some hot spot coverage exists in China and America. What about regular stories about the survivors of abortion? Gospel Singer and US Citizen Fred Hammond was almost aborted, but he survived it and is still living. There is an endless potential supply of stories about China's one child policy with forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
Have you seen major secular media reports about Guo Yanling and Du Yiliang? A ChinaAid March 24, 2013, "With ChinaAid's Help, Two Victims of China's One-Child Policy Granted UNHCR Refugee Status" article reports that in 1995, when Guo Yanling was eight months pregnant, she was forced to have an abortion. In 1999, she was forcibly sterilized. In 2006, she was imprisoned for not being able to pay a fine for having more than one child. The Chinese government also refused to issue household registrations to her and to her husband, Du Yiliang's, three children without which they are unable to attend school or receive government benefits. Guo Yanling's and Du Yiliang's abortion, sterilization, educational and economic terror experience is typical in China. What isn't nearly as typical is that with ChinaAid’s help, Guo Yanling and Du Yiliang have been granted refugee status by the UN High Commission on Refugees. Notes of encouragement to Du Yiliang and Guo Yanling, requests for interviews and financial contributions to ChinaAid's Emergency Relief Fund can all be submitted to ChinaAid founder and president Bob Fu at http://www.chinaaid.org.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Rich, In The Middle Or Poor Family Planning Persecutes All
Just because God loves us does not mean that He does not get mad at our behavior. Some ancient Jews practiced abortion, infanticide and other forms of child killing. Psalm 106:37-40 Complete Jewish Bible says, "They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons. Yes, they shed innocent blood, the blood of their own sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to Kena‘an’s false gods, polluting the land with blood. Thus they were defiled by their deeds; they prostituted themselves by their actions, For this Adonai’s fury blazed up against his people, and he detested his heritage."
The reasons for abortion, infanticide and other forms of child killing may change with the times, but sadly the practices are still common today globally. God didn't like these practices in the past, and He hasn't changed His mind in the present. Hebrews 13:8 Amplified Bible says, "Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages)."
God created us as sexual beings. Sexuality has multiple beautiful, balanced, Biblical expressions. One expression of sexuality that pleases God is when a married couple enjoys sexual relations and in addition to the closeness of the couple, a new life is created. While sex is the means through which new life may be created at certain times of the month, God is the one determining if new life will be created. The author of human life is God and not the government or any other human being.
But in China and other places, human beings are trying to take the place of God. China has a one-child policy which includes forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
The New York Times "Chinese Filmmaker Is Investigated by Family Planning Officials" May 10, 2013, article by Edward Wong says, "China's most celebrated film director, Zhang Yimou, is being investigated for a potential violation of family planning laws, an official said Thursday, confirming reports in the state news media.
Family planning officials are examining discussions on the Internet that say Mr. Zhang has fathered up to seven children with four women. If he is found to have violated the laws, he could be fined nearly $27 million because the fines are based on the offender's income, according to a report in the online edition of People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party."
Chinese authorities do not just use fines to enforce China's one-child policy. In October 2012 Actor and Activist Christian Bale presented Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer and human rights activist, with an award at the annual gala of Human Rights First. Bale said, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
In 2005 Chen Guangcheng filed a class-action lawsuit against a local Chinese government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Last spring He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing, so that he could escape house arrest in Shandong, China. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
After Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy, the US and China worked out a deal, and Guangcheng escaped to the United States.
Guangcheng and his nuclear family got out of China, but his extended family is being intensely persecuted. Freedom Now, a human rights group, has written an April 29, 2013, letter to the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on Torture seeking to get Chen Kegui, Guangcheng's nephew, to a hospital for urgently needed medical treatment and out of jail for a sentence that appears to be retaliation for Guangcheng's outspokenness on Chinese forced abortions and forced sterilizations and other Chinese human rights violations. Also yesterday morning, Guangcheng's brother, Chen Guangfu, was beat up by unidentified men who stopped him while he was riding his electric bike.
Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin. The April 2013 Freedom Now letter says in part:
"Chen Kegui is currently suffering from appendicitis, and although prison authorities may have administered intravenous antibiotics, he is in severe pain, has been denied access to a doctor, and has not been taken to a hospital despite reports that his appendix has begun to rupture.
Chen Kegui, 33, was detained by Chinese authorities shortly after his uncle, a prominent human rights advocate, escaped from illegal house arrest and sought refuge at the United States Embassy in Beijing. On April 27, 2012, police, local party officials, and government thugs stormed the family's home and arrested Chen Kegui's father, Chen Guangfu, beating and interrogating him about Chen Guangcheng's whereabouts. Authorities returned to the home and savagely beat Chen Kegui and his mother, Ren Zongju. When Chen Kegui attempted to defend himself from the intruders, a local party official was injured. After disappearing Chen Kegui for a number of days, the government formally arrested him in early May and ultimately sentenced him to three years and three months in prison on November 30, 2012, after a trial that failed to meet international standards for due process."
Families are being torn apart by China's one-child policy. Kegui and his son, Chen Fubin, are just one family that has been separated. Families are also being torn apart due to our American immigration policies.
Samuel Rodriguez, president of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, America’s largest Hispanic Christian Organization with more than 40,000 member churches, writes in a "Trust Act Seeks to End Trivial Immigrant Arrests" editorial for the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Finally, as a pastor in the Hispanic community, I am constantly confronted with families that have been torn apart when a parent is deported, often times after minor contact with police. The long-term consequences for the children are devastating."
Let's stop China's one-child policy, anti-family immigration policies and abortion/involuntary sterilization everywhere.
A Yoruba Nigerian love poem called "The fulfilment of this earth's law is love" says:
"The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
With love two can live happily in the smallest of rooms
Without love even in a palace two cannot live in peace.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
Love is above the law, and it is the law completely,
Without love there'll be no help of one another.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
Love comes before marriage of a man and a woman,
Without love cause for separation is not hard to find.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
With love two may enter the closest friendship,
Without love even twins may be irreconcilable.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!"
Please share Nigerian and other people's love songs, poems and prose by writing to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on the social media Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
The greatest love of all is the love of God because it is effective for people in the past, present and forever. God loves people, and He desires from His creyentes (believers) to act like las reinas y los reyes (the queens and kings) He made us to be. God's royalty helps the oppressed. Proverbs 31:8-9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice."
The reasons for abortion, infanticide and other forms of child killing may change with the times, but sadly the practices are still common today globally. God didn't like these practices in the past, and He hasn't changed His mind in the present. Hebrews 13:8 Amplified Bible says, "Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages)."
God created us as sexual beings. Sexuality has multiple beautiful, balanced, Biblical expressions. One expression of sexuality that pleases God is when a married couple enjoys sexual relations and in addition to the closeness of the couple, a new life is created. While sex is the means through which new life may be created at certain times of the month, God is the one determining if new life will be created. The author of human life is God and not the government or any other human being.
But in China and other places, human beings are trying to take the place of God. China has a one-child policy which includes forced abortions and forced sterilizations.
The New York Times "Chinese Filmmaker Is Investigated by Family Planning Officials" May 10, 2013, article by Edward Wong says, "China's most celebrated film director, Zhang Yimou, is being investigated for a potential violation of family planning laws, an official said Thursday, confirming reports in the state news media.
Family planning officials are examining discussions on the Internet that say Mr. Zhang has fathered up to seven children with four women. If he is found to have violated the laws, he could be fined nearly $27 million because the fines are based on the offender's income, according to a report in the online edition of People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Communist Party."
Chinese authorities do not just use fines to enforce China's one-child policy. In October 2012 Actor and Activist Christian Bale presented Chen Guangcheng, a blind, self-taught lawyer and human rights activist, with an award at the annual gala of Human Rights First. Bale said, "He [Chen] had exposed a program of forced abortion and sterilization in Shandong. A program of forced abortion means that women are being dragged from their homes against their will. They are being forced to have abortions, sometimes late-term -- imagine that -- with some women reportedly dying in the process. Now this is true horror. And in this insane world, this man, Chen, who was helping these women -- who was living by some of the most simple, brave and universally admired values -- values that we teach our children every day, and helping our fellow man -- for this, this man was imprisoned and beaten for over four years."
In 2005 Chen Guangcheng filed a class-action lawsuit against a local Chinese government for forced abortions and forced sterilizations practiced as part of China’s one-child policy. Guangcheng's lawsuit was rejected, and he was placed under house arrest in Shandong, China, with guards surrounding his house, his cell phone service cut off, access to the Internet blocked and bright lights shinning on his house at night. His wife, Yuan Weijing, and daughter were living with him under house arrest. This family was prevented from meeting their wider family, including Chen Guangcheng's and Yuan Weijing's son, who lived elsewhere with an aunt.
Last spring He Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy in Beijing, so that he could escape house arrest in Shandong, China. Were they traveling in a Corolla, the best-selling car of all time produced by the Japanese company Toyota?
After Peirong drove Guangcheng to the US embassy, the US and China worked out a deal, and Guangcheng escaped to the United States.
Guangcheng and his nuclear family got out of China, but his extended family is being intensely persecuted. Freedom Now, a human rights group, has written an April 29, 2013, letter to the United Nation's Special Rapporteur on Torture seeking to get Chen Kegui, Guangcheng's nephew, to a hospital for urgently needed medical treatment and out of jail for a sentence that appears to be retaliation for Guangcheng's outspokenness on Chinese forced abortions and forced sterilizations and other Chinese human rights violations. Also yesterday morning, Guangcheng's brother, Chen Guangfu, was beat up by unidentified men who stopped him while he was riding his electric bike.
Kegui is married to Liu Fang. The couple have a young son, Chen Fubin. The April 2013 Freedom Now letter says in part:
"Chen Kegui is currently suffering from appendicitis, and although prison authorities may have administered intravenous antibiotics, he is in severe pain, has been denied access to a doctor, and has not been taken to a hospital despite reports that his appendix has begun to rupture.
Chen Kegui, 33, was detained by Chinese authorities shortly after his uncle, a prominent human rights advocate, escaped from illegal house arrest and sought refuge at the United States Embassy in Beijing. On April 27, 2012, police, local party officials, and government thugs stormed the family's home and arrested Chen Kegui's father, Chen Guangfu, beating and interrogating him about Chen Guangcheng's whereabouts. Authorities returned to the home and savagely beat Chen Kegui and his mother, Ren Zongju. When Chen Kegui attempted to defend himself from the intruders, a local party official was injured. After disappearing Chen Kegui for a number of days, the government formally arrested him in early May and ultimately sentenced him to three years and three months in prison on November 30, 2012, after a trial that failed to meet international standards for due process."
Families are being torn apart by China's one-child policy. Kegui and his son, Chen Fubin, are just one family that has been separated. Families are also being torn apart due to our American immigration policies.
Samuel Rodriguez, president of The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, America’s largest Hispanic Christian Organization with more than 40,000 member churches, writes in a "Trust Act Seeks to End Trivial Immigrant Arrests" editorial for the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Finally, as a pastor in the Hispanic community, I am constantly confronted with families that have been torn apart when a parent is deported, often times after minor contact with police. The long-term consequences for the children are devastating."
Let's stop China's one-child policy, anti-family immigration policies and abortion/involuntary sterilization everywhere.
A Yoruba Nigerian love poem called "The fulfilment of this earth's law is love" says:
"The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
With love two can live happily in the smallest of rooms
Without love even in a palace two cannot live in peace.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
Love is above the law, and it is the law completely,
Without love there'll be no help of one another.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practice love!
Love comes before marriage of a man and a woman,
Without love cause for separation is not hard to find.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
The fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!
With love two may enter the closest friendship,
Without love even twins may be irreconcilable.
O, the fulfilment of this earth's law is love,
So, brothers and sisters, let us practise love!"
Please share Nigerian and other people's love songs, poems and prose by writing to:
Michele F. Jackson
P. O. Box 2106
Woodbridge, Virginia 22195
Follow Michele F. Jackson on the social media Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/michelelove30.
The greatest love of all is the love of God because it is effective for people in the past, present and forever. God loves people, and He desires from His creyentes (believers) to act like las reinas y los reyes (the queens and kings) He made us to be. God's royalty helps the oppressed. Proverbs 31:8-9 New Living Translation Bible says, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice."
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