And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23: 42 - 43
The story of the repentant criminal is included in only one of the four Gospels, and yet it is one of my favorite Scripture passages. Why did Luke include it when none of the others did? What is the message to be learned? Truly, it is a message of hope, of forgiveness, of salvation. It is at the very heart of the mystery of Easter. It explains why Jesus died for our sins. He longs for each one of us to turn from sin and ask Jesus to remember us, to take us with Him to paradise, to save us. No one is beyond his loving reach. Each person who participates in abortion, the doctor, the nurses the employees, the clients, can be forgiven as surely as we can. And it is my deepest longing that they will seek Jesus and indeed He will say, “You shall be with Me in Paradise.” This is the message of Easter. This is the message that we must carry with us to every person we meet, especially at the clinics. This message of joy needs to be spread to every dark corner of the earth. Jesus came to save you! We wish you and your family a Blessed and Joyous Easter! **If you didn’t get a chance yet to fill out the NWFL survey about our updates, we would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you to all of you who have given us such great feedback and kind words! To fill out the brief, 3-question survey, just click on the link below. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SBCF5ZG Update on recent saves: · Rebecca and Ernesto are getting married this weekend! Their baby BOY is due August 7th. · Veronica and her husband are doing well. He has really stepped up for her, their two born children and baby GIRL due July 16. · We are going to try to organize a baby shower for some of our recent saves. Would you be interested in helping with the planning? Let us know! News from the last two Thursdays’ Forest View vigils: ** On Thursday, March 22, we estimate TEN babies were murdered at Forest View. ** One 20 year old small blonde girl, Anna, came to Forest View alone. When I approached her saying, “They’re doing abortions in there today,” she said, “I know.” I immediately assumed she had had an abortion last week and was there for a post-abortive check up. She quickly dissolved into tears when I asked if she had already had an abortion admitting that, yes, she had had one 4 years ago and was now being told by everyone in her life that she needed to abort the child she was currently carrying. Anna eagerly came with me to the Women’s Center and Laura then took her to the Chicago Women’s Center for an ultrasound (See her handsome 14 week baby boy in pictures attached!). - We have been in contact with Anna and she is trying to leave an abusive relationship behind, but will need many prayers. She is also in need of housing. Heather’s House in Des Plaines (http://www.helpaidforwomen.org/services/heathershouse)would be a good match but they’re full! The Well of Mercy (http://www.thewellofmercy.com/) may be an option, but Anna is reluctant to move so far from her work and college (Harper). Please pray! ** There was a young man at Forest View that day who had brought in a friend for an abortion. I was able to speak to him when he came out for a cigarette. He told me that the woman had been raped. I tried to explain all of the negative impacts from abortion, especially when a woman has been raped. Because now instead of being the victim, the woman becomes the perpetrator of a new crime against a helpless child. I tried to help him see that no one deserves to die because of something their parent did. Sadly, he was not able to really hear what I was saying. Please pray for Jacob and his friend. If you would like to hear some very persuasive arguments against the “rape exception” which many people make, check out Rebecca Kiessling’s site. She was conceived in rape and is a passionate speaker on the subject: (http://www.rebeccakiessling.com/index.html) ** On Thursday, March 29, we estimate again that TEN children lost their lives. ** However, we believe there was a save! A young couple listened to one of our counselors, Terry, and took his helpful literature. They went into the clinic anyway, but left long before the doctor showed up. The man seemed especially relieved and waved happily as they drove off! Thanks be to God! ** Good news from the Illinois Legislature from Carol Wright: Late on Thursday afternoon (3/29), Democratic leader and sponsor of the Ultrasound bill [HB 4085] State Representative Joe Lyons (Chicago) took on the pro-aborts' efforts to put five hostile amendments to HB 4085 in an attempt to kill the bill. The reverse happened, as Rep. Lyons spoke brilliantly against each amendment as each was presented. ALL hostile amendments failed to be adopted by the Illinois House on roll call votes. In the process, Rep. Lyons and others [Republicans Jim Sacia, Jim Watson, Mike Bost] educated the House members on the merits of the Ultrasound bill and the pettiness of the pro-abort opponents. Unfortunately, SIX of our pro-life votes were not at the Capitol for various reasons. However Rep. Lyons told the House that he has asked the Speaker for a deadline extension for when the House comes back on April 17th and the missing votes are back. HB 4117 (Tom Morrison) the abortion clinic health and safety standards bill could not be called for a vote either because of the six missing legislators. The fate of this bill is not known when the House comes back in April after a two week Easter break. If you have already called your state reps regarding a YES vote on these bills, thank you. If not, please contact them by going to www.ilga.gov and typing in your nine digit zip code. Or you may want to visit in person while they are home in the district. News about your spiritually adopted baby: ** 18 weeks from conception (20 weeks LMP), your spiritually adopted baby is about 7 inches long from head to toe and weighs about 10 ounces, almost as much as a can of pop! The baby is beginning to absorb small amounts of sugar from swallowing amniotic fluid. In this way, he is preparing to eat when he lives in a world with wonderful tastes to enjoy and savor. Please pray every day that he will be allowed to live to sample this world’s “flavor.” To spiritually adopt a baby, pick up a prayer card in the vigil kit or go online at www.spiritualadoption.org.
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