Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him (Peter), and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31
This is one of my favorite Bible stories. Peter and the apostles are in a boat. They see Jesus walking on the stormy sea and, in awe, Peter calls out, “If it’s really you, tell me to come out on the water too.” And indeed Jesus does call out, “Come!” How often are we like Peter saying to God, “If you’re really there, God, then show me!” How many times in our lives do we feel Jesus calling out to us to come walk with Him in faith? We yearn for a sign of God’s presence in our lives, and yet sometimes when he does call us “out of the boat,” we are reluctant to go. We fear the storm.Like Peter, we take our eyes off of our Lord.We worry about what could happen to us if we give ourselves completely over to God’s will. What will people say if you tell them of your pro-life stance? What will happen if you go pray at an abortion mill?The “winds” of fear can whip us into staying inside the boat like the other apostles did. Decide to “get out of the boat” today. And if things get tough, cry out with Peter, “Lord, save me!” Let Jesus reach out to you in whatever challenges face you today. Allow Him to take a firm hold of your hand.Be filled with the strength of the Holy Spirit, and be brave enough to “get out of the boat.” You’ll be amazed at what you and God can do. Then you’ll wonder why you ever doubted! SPECIAL NOTICE:Parking at Forest View We can no longer park in front of the 2720 S. River Rd. building.Instead park around the back of the building or in the lot of the 2700 building to the north with gold windows.Thank you! News from last three Thursdays’ Forest View vigils: ** On August 25th, FOUR babies were murdered at Forest View Medical Center. ** We approached one man as he sat in his car waiting for his girlfriend.The man said he had “500 problems” and he was taking care of one, gesturing to the clinic.What this man failed to acknowledge is that instead of “taking care of one,” he would only be adding countless more problems to his life. **On Sept. 1st, we estimate THREE women chose to have the infants in their womb killed. ** A young Indian couple was there with their beautiful 9 month old daughter.I was able to speak to the husband who told me that his wife had miscarried and was at Forest View to endure a painful D & C (read more about D & C here http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/dandc.html ).D & C is no longer commonly used for abortions as suction aspiration is the most common.I asked if we could pray for them and he responded, “Please do!”Include his wife Toni and the whole family in your prayers. ** On Sept. 8th, SIX couples refused the gift of LIFE extended to them by God.However, ONE couple accepted LIFE! ** Stephanie and Sal, a married couple in their early thirties, arrived around 9:30.They did not want to talk to us. As we continued to pray outside, they came out before the doctor arrived and got into their car. I approached the car and asked what happened.They told me they had been seeking an abortion because their two daughters were older and they didn’t want to “start over again.” I showed them pictures of couples from a website desperate to adopt, and Stephanie blurted out, “Oh, no, I’m keeping my baby!”I gave them a Women’s Center brochure and some blue baby booties, because Stephanie said she would love to have a boy! Please pray for them, that they will have the faith in God to trust in His plan for their family. Special Request: Are you a knitter? We are almost out of baby booties to give to mothers entering or leaving the clinic. These small tokens of love are a powerful physical symbol of the life inside which they cannot yet see. Would you be willing to knit some pink or blue booties? Please let us know. Your handiwork could make the difference between life and death. ** The culture of death forced one young mother into abortion that day. Trina was unsure about the abortion after we showed her the malpractice suits, fetal development pictures, the list of prices for post-abortive baby parts, and explained the abortion process to her.She kept going back and forth to her boyfriend’s car to show him the information.A nurse was sent out of the clinic to get her.She came in and out three times, until finally the powers of death prevailed.5 hours after Trina arrived, she left without her precious baby. The change in her expression was devastating. Before the abortion, you could have powered the sun with her smile .Afterward it was as if her heart was broken. I hugged her and gave her a Project Rachel brochure.She thanked me and left. God can heal all. Pray that Trina will seek His forgiveness. News about your spiritually adopted baby: ** Your spiritually adopted baby is 28 weeks old (30 weeks LMP).It’s hard to believe but this little angel is already 3 pounds heavy and 16 inches long.Eyebrows and eyelashes are filling in, along with a bit of a hairdo! Fingernails are forming. Please continue to pray every day for your spiritually adopted baby.For more information on Spiritual Adoption see www.spiritualadoption.org. - Would your parish, prayer group, Bible study, youth group, etc. consider a group spiritual adoption during Respect Life month this October? Bob Paige will send you everything you need (and more!) to get started.You can email him at [email protected] or check out the website above.
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