Mother’s Day Blessing

As the family of God, on this Mother’s Day, we want to honor and encourage the stewardship of mothering. We acknowledge that the celebration of this day can be joyful for some and painful for others. But whatever your gains or losses have been regarding your mothering, we are confident that, today, the Lord is ready and willing to pour out His grace for healing, encouragement, and affirmation on all our ladies here today, young and old.

Let’s first acknowledge that God Himself designed the gift of motherhood. He sent His own Son into this world, born of a woman, knowing that for this child’s physical, emotional, and spiritual development he would need an earthly mother. Even from this example alone, we see how deeply Father God values a mother.

We would like to pray a mother’s blessing over every lady reading this today. Whether you have physically borne children or not, we want to honor your mothering heart and want to bless you as you mother those God brings into your life that need your mothering touch. We also want to include our single women, our young girls, and even our baby girls who will grow up to be mothers someday.

Father God, thank you for creating your daughters to possess the heart of a mother and for giving them the ability to nurture life and to care for those you put in their path that need their mothering touch. Will you bless them to be fruitful and prosperous in all the ways that they mother? Will you give them wisdom and grace as they extend their mothering touch to others? For those who have experienced loss and hope deferred, will you bring them healing and encouragement? For those who are waiting and watching for your promises to be fulfilled give them peace and perseverance. And for our young who will be mothers someday, lead them in the way of righteousness and keep their hearts tender and teachable. Lord, we need godly mothers to raise the generations to come and to bring healing to the orphan’s cry. We thank you, God, that you watch over your word to perform it and that you will do exceedingly abundantly beyond all we can ask or think. So we ask for these blessings in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen!

This blessing is an excerpt from Karen Ellison’s book Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal.

 

You Belong at Jesus’ Table

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Psalm 23:5

The warmth of summer approaching brushed our shoulders as five Jesus loving ladies gathered for lunch. On the way to meet, text messages began to come saying, “On my way”, “Me too”, “Same”, as all of us but one ran late. The one on time sent a message saying, “I got a table for us.” 

One of the friends responded, “Like Jesus.“

Yes, isn’t that so like Jesus? If you knew this friend, she indeed is so “like Jesus”. 

Jesus would get the table, and it would be the perfect table. 

Jesus not only gets the table, but He also prepares it. 

On the night Jesus was betrayed, Jesus and His disciples sat at a table. At this most famous table depicted in countless paintings throughout time, Jesus instituted communion and talked of the new covenant which we, as believers, now joyfully share. 

“Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.'” Matthew 26:26-27

All of us are faced with a choice as we see the table prepared and set before us. We can choose to receive the blessings set before us or we can choose to turn away from the table out of feelings of unworthiness to come to the table. 

When meeting with my friends, what if I would have arrived, saw the table my friend has reserved, all of them sitting there enjoying the beauty of the outside perfect Spring day, and joyfully fellowshipping, and then thought, “You know, I’m not dressed up enough” or “I don’t feel worthy to come to this table” or “All of those Jesus loving ladies probably have it all together, I can’t come to the table.” What if I just left? 

The very thought brings a dreary drizzle to the warm Spring sunshiny day. 

Not one of those thoughts entered my mind. Why didn’t they? Because I knew I belonged at that table. 

And if Jesus is our Lord, Savior, and friend, we belong at His table. But how many times do we walk away, leave the table, and all of the blessings of the table on the table as we allow the lies in our mind keep us from receiving all the blessings the Lord has prepared for us on the table in a gourmet spread. 

This weekend, Deeper Still has five retreats occurring in five different states. Those with abortion wounds often feel unworthy to come to the table to receive all the Lord has for them to receive. Will you pray with us for these women and men coming to these retreats to come to the table and receive every blessing the Lord has for them this weekend? Thank you! 

Father, we thank you that we are welcome and belong at Your table. Lord, we pray for these participants going to retreats all across this nation to find deep healing from the wounds of abortion and to be set free from the bondages of guilt and shame. Lord, may your sun (Son) shine on their shoulders and the warmth of your loving presence fill every retreat so nothing is left at the table, and may they receive every blessing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

If you need healing from an abortion, please go to www.GoDeeperStill.org for more information about our retreats. Also Karen Ellison’s book Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal is an excellent resource for healing. 

 

Unplanned Movie- To see or Not to See

The movie Unplanned debuted a couple weeks ago. Prior the movie release, the air was filled with buzz and promotion including this blog space advertising it’s arrival with eager anticipation and expectation, encouraging all to see it.

The day after the movie opened in our city, a group from the Deeper Still ministry went together to see the movie. I wasn’t able to go with my tribe that day due to a prior commitment but would have gone without hesitation.

A couple days later I received a text from a post-abortive friend asking if I had seen the movie. She asked if she should go or if it would trigger her into a tailspin of emotions. It was at this moment that I came in touch with a reality unprocessed up until that point—how real and close to home this movie might hit me.

What was once a non-negotiable determination drifted quite suddenly into a flight response.

After debating, I determined the captivity of fear had conquered long enough. Taking up my courage (along with three very loving friends), I decided to go. Together we braved the theater– my husband on one side of me, and a dear friend and her husband on the other.

To be truthful, it was hard—not the entire movie, but a few parts. There was one part in particular where I held onto my husband’s hand and my friend’s hand at the same time and sobbed.  But when it was all said and done, I can wholeheartedly say I’m glad I saw it and plan to take my sixteen-year-old son this weekend at his request.

This movie shows a truth that needs to be told. If you are post-abortive, yes, be aware this may and probably will trigger emotions in you. Possibly even bring emotions to the surface that have been buried deep for years or decades. But those emotions being felt and recognized are better than them being tucked away in a closet of your heart seeping out into your behaviors and interactions with others. It may feel safer to avoid and keep the pain inside, but long term it isn’t good or healthy. Emotional trauma has all matters of negative effects on the body (physically, emotionally, and/or mentally.) Abortion is an enormous physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma.

I believe the Holy Spirit will meet you in your place of greatest need.  If you have had an abortion, He will meet you in this movie and begin the healing journey. Or if you’d had some healing, take you deeper in healing. Deeper Still is a ministry that holds healing retreats for women who have had abortions and the men who fathered those children who were aborted. Our retreats are free of charge and if you are in need of healing from an abortion, we’d love to walk with you during this healing journey.

The Lord is full of mercy and compassion and fully wants His sons and daughters healed and set free. This movie is setting in motion an awareness of the need for healing. Sometimes the wounds of our hearts have become a thorn we have grown accustomed to living with, leaving us unaware to the devastating impact on our lives. The Holy Spirit will at the proper time allow pain to surface beyond what we had become use to enduring, as an indicator of the need for healing.

Perhaps the Holy Spirit has brought pain to the surface through seeing the movie Unplanned or even just this blogpost. Whatever the catalyst, the Lord doesn’t waste our pain, nor does He despise it. He is very much in tune to our pain and His aim and desire is always to heal.

Please go to www.GoDeeperStill.org today to find out about our healing retreats in various parts of the country in April.  Also, a good place to start finding healing until you can attend a retreat is through Karen Ellison’s book, Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, available on the Deeper Still website or Amazon.

We want you to find healing, but more importantly the Lord Jesus wants you healed and set free from the bondages of sin and captivity. May each person in need of healing find it. The Lord will meet you in your greatest need in a way greater than you could ever have expected. His love for you is beyond compare. He is calling.

“Sing O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people, and will have mercy on His afflicted.” Isaiah 49:13

Father, we thank you that you comfort your people and have mercy on the afflicted. Father, bring healing to the parts of my heart that need your loving care and give mercy in my greatest need. Bring understanding and enlighten my awareness of your love, even in the darkest places. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Abortion Fatigue

“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galations 6:9

In the news, on social media, we are constantly bombarded with messages. There is no escaping the articles, opinions, and even blog posts about abortion and choice. This message may be the single most polarizing on the planet when it comes to discussing our views with our fellow mankind.

I get it…the fatigue, the complacency, the scrolling over. In fact, there are times when I get tired. Tired of the fight. Tired of the talk. Tired of putting myself and the truth found in God’s Holy Word out there again and again and again. And I think, enough already.

Today I was discussing this very thought with my Father, not my earthly dad, but my heavenly Dad.

“Lord, people are tired of hearing about this…”

But then, that voice…,you know, the familiar still small voice that calms our hearts and centers our soul, spoke to my spirit and simply asked me a question.

“Is the Father tired of hearing about it? Is the Lord tired of talking about it?”

Immediately, I knew the answer. Oh Father, forgive me. No, you are not tired of hearing about it, you are not tired of fighting for it, you are not tired of talking about it. You do not grow weary. You do not lose heart. All this. Life. The unborn, image-bearers created in the image of God are very much on the heart of the Father. No, He will never grow weary of talking about His beloved creation, and how precious they are to Him. His beloved are worthy of our words.

Then the Lord reminded me of a picture a friend of mine posted on social media the day prior…a picture her thirteen-year-old daughter had drawn– the picture above. The Lord used the beautifully detailed artwork of a thirteen-year-old by the name of Riley Lord to affirm in that moment that not only are the unborn on the Father’s heart, they are held close to Him, and knit together by His hands.

How the Lord loves his children and uses children of all ages to speak His truth.

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

God is not tired of this topic and if He is not, then neither should we nor the church.

I would like to share with you about a much anticipated movie being released this week nationwide that every person needs to see. This movie is Unplanned. You can find out more information at https://www.unplannedfilm.com/ .  This movie will also shed more light on the truth of this topic.

Let us not grow weary in well-doing my friends. Let us stay closely in tune to what is on the heart of the Father, and ever close to what He holds dear in His hands.

Father, that is our prayer today, let us not grow weary in well-doing. Father, keep our hearts beating fast in line with your heart. Lord, may we not tire of truth. May we champion the cause of life and be a light sharing your message of truth, love, and the value of Your beloved, those You carefully and lovingly knit together in the palms of Your hands. They are indeed worthy of our words. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 Go to www.GoDeeperStill.org to learn more about the Deeper Still ministry and our healing retreats. You can also find and purchase Karen Ellison’s book Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal on our website.

 

Life in the Church

This post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that just came out called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

For the church to turn the tide on the culture of death, the theology of the sanctity of human life needs to be at the core of doctrinal orthodoxy. The sanctity of human life is not a fringe doctrine, or a specialized side issue to address once a year on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. It is a part of basic Christian discipleship and service. This means the church needs to help us develop a mindset for the sanctity of human life.

Dear pastor, we sincerely need to hear from you—but not just you—we need to hear from your elders, those gatekeepers who guard the orthodoxy and doctrines of the church. When they weigh in, it matters. Are your youth pastors and your young adult pastors openly addressing the sanctity of human life and human sexuality? Are these truths and teachings permeating every sphere of your church culture? 

A disturbing segmenting has developed in the Church over the years. You have your Christians, and then you have your pro-life Christians. This ought not to be. Some are particularly gifted for and specifically called to certain pro-life outreaches, but as far as how we identify ourselves, what we teach, our discipleship models, and the ways we serve and give our finances, we should be weaving an open and life-affirming culture within the entire fabric of our faith community.

If our spiritual leaders embrace these things, then we will begin to see women and men start to come out of the closet and trust you for help. It will start with a few, but when they gain their healing, then they will get their heart back and then their voice back, and once they get their voice, they will be able to expose the truth behind abortion and the lies that keep people bound.

Consider these verses:

I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. (Psalm 40:9–10)

But when hearts are still bound by underlying guilt, shame, and grief, then much of their service is driven by performance and the need to prove something to you, God, themselves, and others.

I am fully convinced and convicted that when abortion-wounded men and women who are Christ followers accept the Lord’s invitation to go deeper still in their journey to healing and lasting freedom, then we will see an army arise. This army will be made up of mighty warriors who can advocate for the lives of unborn children.

But at present, that segment of the Bride of Christ considers itself unfit for the end-time church adventure. She believes that the glorious end-time in-gathering of the saints yet to be saved will be the inheritance of more worthy Christians. But I am confident that this soon and coming Bridegroom is fiercely committed not only to her redemption, but He will do anything to gain her affections and trust. He is coming for a bride without spot or wrinkle, and He will rescue her from the vicious pimp that stole her away and then enslaved her.

When the Bride of Christ regains her identity and gets her voice back, she will become empowered to take up the charge for those who can’t speak for themselves. Right now, most of this army is like the living dead.

This Bride needs shepherds who will recognize that she has been taken captive and enslaved by another master. She may be sitting in the pew every Sunday morning, and he may be serving as a Sunday morning greeter, but their sense of personal destiny and contribution in the things of God and His Kingdom are superficial.

The Church in every generation has had its defining battles to fight and its causes to champion. In this 21st century, the sanctity of human life is surely one of these defining issues.

If we lock arms, together we can prepare this Bride for her Bridegroom.

– Karen A. Ellison,

Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear

Click on to learn more or to order on www.GoDeeperStill.org 

 

 

 

Living in an Abortion-Wounded World

This post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that just came out called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

The United States accounts for fewer than 2% of the world’s annual abortions. Internationally, statistics reveal anywhere from 42 to 56 million abortions occur every year. As mind-numbing as those numbers are, we can’t just ignore them as if that reality is someone else’s problem.

 If what I’ve described in this book and the testimonies I’ve shared are a microcosm of what’s going on in the hearts, minds, and lives of billions of people around the world every day of every year, then we have a huge global crisis. The truth is we live in an abortion-wounded world. It’s a deadly blight on the peoples and the nations of the earth, but this affliction is a hidden one.

Whether someone chose an abortion or an abortion was forced upon them, no one wants to go public with their inner torment. This affliction is not recognized as a crisis in our world like starvation, disease, or even sex trafficking, but it is every bit as deadly to the soul and the spirit of the nations. Deeper Still has had opportunities to minister in some international settings, and our materials have been used in many others.  We have had participants from Africa, South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. We have a lot to learn from each other, but we observed early on that we all shed the same tears over our sorrows. We all need the same Savior.

LIFE International is a wonderful ministry that has directly taken the message and theology of the sanctity of human life into 64 nations and has influence and materials in close to 90 nations, http://www.LIFEInternational.com. Praise God for this pioneering movement to reach the other 98% of the abortion-vulnerable world. In recent years, LIFE International has used a version of our Deeper Still materials as part of their abortion healing training in 29 countries. They, too, have witnessed firsthand that although people come from different cultures, traditions, and worldviews, certain things are universal and cripple people the world over. These are things like guilt, shame, grief, regret, fear, anger, and hopelessness.

The abortion-wounded heart is found in every tongue and tribe, and many of those people have no knowledge of a God who would have great compassion on them if they would just call upon His name. He wants to heal them and free them from the shackles that have them bound. But He also wants to renew their minds with the truth that their offspring are heaven sent and should be considered their most treasured resource and inheritance.

A worldview devoid of the fundamental truth of the value of life will treat its people differently. Instead of being valued intrinsically, the question is are you an asset or a liability to our society?

The testimony of so many abortion-wounded people is this: “it affected every area of my life.” If you think about all the women and men in the world who have participated in abortion, and if they, too, are living with these consequences in every area of their lives, then addressing their abortion-wounded heart could revolutionize their lives, not to mention their nation.

What if it was part of the strategic ministry plan for every missionary organization and every church planter to not only plant churches for the sake of getting the gospel into foreign lands and for getting people saved, but, in addition, as part of their core discipleship strategy, they would teach people the theology of the sanctity of human life? When people have knowledge of biblical truths, then the Holy Spirit can begin to work. When the Holy Spirit is given access to people’s hearts and begins to renew their minds, then they begin to get convicted about the spiritual strongholds and idols that have held them captive.

– Karen A. Ellison,

Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear

Click on to learn more or to order on www.GoDeeperStill.org 

Father, we live in an abortion-wounded world. We know you see every heart and every heartache. Father, we ask for your providential strategy and provision to reach across the globe to minister to those suffering from the pain of abortion. Heal their hearts. Heal the nations. In Jesus’ Mighty Name, Amen.

What’s in a Name

Today’s post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that just came out called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

The first time I visited the National Memorial for the Unborn, I was taken aback by how deeply it affected me. I knew it was going to be profound, but I think I was surprised by how strongly I felt the presence of Jesus. Even as I first stepped over the threshold before I even got to the wall of names, tears began to well up in my eyes. I knew I was on holy ground. As my husband and I walked into the room of the wall of names, it took my breath away. We spent the next hour just silently reading the names and the epitaphs and looking at the letters and gifts people had left on the granite shelf.

I think the reason I sensed Jesus’ presence so strongly that day was because He was and is so pleased that a group of people took the time, money, and effort to create a space and a place to honor those children that the world discards without a second thought. In Jesus’ eyes, these children have names and identities and are now full of eternal destiny.

These children were not war heroes. They didn’t accomplish some major feat the world would acclaim. They did not even die from a disease where family and friends spent many long hours in the hospital praying for them and loving them before they had to finally let them go. The only thing these children brought to their existence is that Father God created them and began to knit them together in the womb of their mothers here on earth. From our perspective, they were a liability, but from heaven’s perspective, they were full of destiny.

I think that’s why the affirmation of Jesus’ presence is so strong in that little plot of land in Chattanooga. It’s because some of God’s people valued these children that were heaven sent but earth rejected and saw to it that they could be honored by displaying their names.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 states, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”

Aren’t you glad you were honored enough to have been given something as simple as a name? If you have a name, you matter. Isaiah 43:1 says God calls us by name. Have you ever read the pages and pages of genealogies in the Bible? I know they have historical significance, but I wonder if the Lord had all those names recorded so that we, millennia later, would understand that these were real people that made Biblical history and the Lord knows them all by name. We are not some random existential biological composite that emerged out of nothingness. By no means!

We were created by a faithful and intentional Heavenly Father who knit us together in our mother’s womb, who breathed into us the breath of life, and who dignified us with a name.

– Karen A. Ellison,

Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear (Click on to learn more or to order on www.GoDeeperStill.org )

Father, forgive us, forgive us as a nation for not cherishing what you called treasured. Forgive us for choosing our own rights and destiny instead of trusting you with each of these precious ones you ordained for life before even the world we live in and enjoy was spoken into existence. Who are we to think we can take a life when you, oh Lord, are the giver of life.  Oh Lord, forgive us, heal the hearts of the people in our land and turn hearts to value what you value.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Three Primary Emotions of Abortion-Wounds

Today’s post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that just came out called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

People with abortion-wounded hearts who are ready to acknowledge that something is not right in their soul will easily name at least three primary emotions that haunt them: guilt, shame, and grief. I certainly would have named those three, but, to me, they felt deeper than just emotions; they became more like conditions of my heart.

Guilt: A moral condition that produces guilty feelings. When we break one of God’s moral laws, we feel guilt because we are guilty. The human soul was not created to carry the weight of moral guilt. We can’t just brush it off. It requires a recompense, an atonement, or a punishment.

Shame: It’s the companion of guilt and part of the consequence of moral guilt. Shame kind of feels like it sounds. It’s heavy, it’s slimy, it covers you, and it’s full of accusation. Shame begins to redefine you and tries to tell you who you are and who you are not. Shame is demanding, and, eventually, it intertwines with your personality and tries to convince you it’s just part of who you are, so just accept it and move on.

Grief: Unspecific grief is like a dreary day. There’s a constant drizzle to it, but it never really ends; unlike a storm that comes in with thunder, lighting, and rain. It does what storms do and then it leaves. And once it moves on, the sky clears and the sun comes out. Grieving that is not redemptive or tied to a specific loss will not go away but will turn into a lingering depression and despair.

Guilt, shame, and grief can rotate like a vicious tornadic cycle. Until this vicious triad is broken apart, it will never dissipate. For an abortion-wounded heart to be freed from this vicious triad, there first needs to be a spiritual reconciliation with God to remove the moral guilt. When this happens our hearts are cleansed, softened, and submitted to God. This is how our heart gets circumcised. And just like the Lord promised the children of Israel in Joshua 5:7–9, He said after they crossed the Jordan and were circumcised, God would roll away the reproach (or shame) of Egypt from their hearts. When you are carrying guilt and shame from an abortion, your grief can never be legitimized or validated because it is muddled in with all that guilt and shame. Therefore, you can never experience pure grief. But once your conscience has been cleared of the moral guilt and once your reproach and that stifling shame have been washed away, then you are free to acknowledge your loss. You can then recognize that your loss was not a just blob of tissue but a baby, and not just any baby, but your baby. What an amazing gift that Jesus Christ has given us through His sacrifice and suffering. He made a way to pay for our debt, change our heart, reconcile our relationships, and validate our losses. But He doesn’t just validate them— He heals them. His compassion is deep and wide and able to absorb our pain. He is the God of all comfort. He longs to comfort us in our losses.

Through Him, we can experience redemptive grieving. When our abortion-wounded grieving is redemptive, then we are empowered to give back to our children—not from a place of guilt but from a place of moral clarity and selfless honor. We can now see them from the new vantage point of a restored heart. We can give them our mother’s or father’s blessing, and we can give them their names. We can bless them with the honor and dignity of a name.

-Karen A. Ellison, Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear.

If you have had an abortion, go to www.GoDeeperStill.org to find out more about healing and retreats available.

Men Awake

Today’s post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that just came out called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

 

HE GOT TO HIS FEET during our prayer meeting, and with fresh conviction, passion, and authority, he announced, “Awake, Awake, Awake!” We were gathered to pray about men and abortion. We were seeking the Lord and asking Him to move in the hearts of men around the world. This movement needs their leadership for sure, but the most important step before they can be effective leaders is that they too must submit to the surgeon’s knife of the Great Physician and allow their hearts to be healed and set free from the ravages of abortion.

Their abortion-wounded hearts keep them from having a mindset for entering this battle in a redemptive and restorative way. Much ground has been lost, as our men and brothers have lost their sense of identity as men, fathers, protectors, providers, and leaders. We cannot turn the tide on our culture of death until our men lock arms with us women and together we begin to rebuild the ancient ruins. One of the promises God gives us when we say yes to His restoration plan is that “they shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations” (Isaiah 61:4).  

The abortion debate goes on and on, year after year, and rarely is it even considered that a man would—or should— have a legitimate voice in this debate. If a male politician, for example, speaks out to defend the life of the unborn, he is immediately jumped on, politically castrated, and accused of hating women. If men are not secure in their identity as leaders and protectors of the innocent, and if they don’t have a clear understanding that they have been commissioned by their creator to fight for our families, then they will be paralyzed into passivity. If men take their identity cues from the angry, wounded (albeit well-intentioned from their worldview perspective) feminist voice of the culture, they will conclude that not only do they not have a right to enlist in this army, but it will be a lot safer for them to stay home and mind their own business.

In his mind, he’s not sure how to separate the mission of protecting the life and well-being of women and children from the female who stands before him with claws out and insisting that he doesn’t have a dog in this fight. If she confronts or challenges his position (even if her debate tactics include barbs and sarcasm), it is generally viewed as fair game. If, on the other hand, that man confronts or challenges her position, it is viewed as an attack or worse. But the underlying assumption seems to be that men, in general, are too clueless or obtuse to understand what would be a benevolent solution for women and children in crisis—so stay out of it!

For Christ-followers, we know that the real enemy is first spiritual. We know that we fight forces that are not flesh and blood but are spiritual powers and principalities in heavenly places. We also fight sin in the heart and mind, which all amounts to enmity between the sexes. I recently heard a metaphor that sounded fresh and hopeful to me. If women are pink and men are blue, what do you get when you mix pink and blue? You get purple. Purple is one of those colors of God. It reflects His rich beauty, strength, and royalty. It also reveals the royal standing of those of us who are His sons and daughters. I think there’s great hope for a battle strategy that entails enlisting the best of the feminine heart with the best of the masculine. Then we can identify the real enemy, clarify our mission, and gain back the ground we’ve lost. Only then will the army of God be complete and equipped to defeat the spirit of child sacrifice as it manifests itself in our day and age. Together we can work to heal the ravages of those with blood on their hands, and those who have abortion-wounded hearts.

– Karen A. Ellison,

Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear (Click on to learn more or to order on www.GoDeeperStill.org)

Father, we ask for our men to awake and arise to join in fighting for life. We pray our men would step into their real identity as protectors, warriors, champions of defending the innocent, and leaders of their families. Lord, may our men awake in our country to be the husbands, sons, and fathers you’ve called them to be. And may we as women lock arms with our men, as one with them, in unity to advance the culture of life and the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

 

 

 

What the Church Needs to Know

 

Today’s post is written by the President and Founder of Deeper Still, Karen Ellison. Karen has a book that was just released called Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church They Fear.

“MAYBE YOU SHOULDN’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF.” These were the words I heard coming from the pastor I had just confessed my abortion to and to whom I had just poured out my heart. His response initially left me feeling stunned. I’m sure I had a puzzled look on my face. But within seconds, I could feel my soul shrinking back like a wave that recedes from the shore. I was expectant or hopeful that my desperate heart would receive some profound morsel that would have satisfied my hunger for relief. But what I got felt like a sip of sugar water.

It takes a lot of emotional willpower to pour out your story to a stranger. But when it’s a pastor, you have certain expectations that he will give you the words of life that your desperate soul needs to hear. Now, in this man’s defense, my mother and I had no relationship with this clergyman. Our shame-filled, abortion-wounded hearts would not dare seek out a spiritual shepherd that knew us or was invested in our spiritual health. We took the cowardly path of anonymity, hoping we would find the words of life we needed from a random man with a collar.

After he told me I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, he then said that the church (referring to his denomination) had not yet taken a position on abortion. The implication was that abortion is a gray area, so don’t jump to any self-condemning conclusions until we get this thing figured out. I was a 22-year-old heartbroken young lady, grieving and feeling as if I’d forfeited all the good things God had for me in life, but in that moment, I felt as if I should turn the table and be the one to minister to this pastor and help him understand what abortion really is and what it does to people. I believe he was a good and caring man. I believe he heard my story and was filled with compassion for me. And he in no way condemned me or tried to put any legalistic yoke upon me. But he also didn’t see my deepest need, nor did he — know how to speak to it. For me to hear that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself was like a man of God telling me that “the blood stain on your hands was really not that bad, and yes, you’ve been through something hard but you’re young and you have your whole life in front of you, so don’t fret; it’s going to be okay.”

So why didn’t those words satisfy? What did I need to hear from that shepherd that day? I believe I simply needed to hear and be convinced of this: that the blood shed by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross was sufficient to pay my debt and that His blood speaks louder than the blood of my children that cries out from the ground. It’s that truth that will lift the yoke of bondage, set the captive free, and will breathe new life into a deflated soul. Receiving that truth would not have been the end of my healing journey, but it certainly would have been a beginning.

If you are a pastor, my hope is that you will take encouragement in this: Your influence, both through your teachings and through the corporate intercession of your leadership, will make a difference in the decisions people make, even if it’s without your knowledge. You and your leaders can create a safe environment for your lambs to be rescued from the thicket if you bring forth the hard truth about abortion and couple it with your shepherding heart of love, mercy, and grace.

A pastor has the influence to affirm this new season of healing, wholeness, and integration into the body. I cannot overstate how significant a pastor’s invitation and affirmation will be in this person’s life as they find their place in the body.

I fully acknowledge that you have a tough job. You want to speak the truth in love, but it’s hard to know how to do that when, statistically speaking, maybe a third of the women and men in your congregations have been involved with abortion in one way or another. Because no matter how lovingly and grace-filled you try to address the subject of abortion, the truth is that many cannot hear it. People with abortion-wounded hearts have a grid of condemnation and shame, and everything they hear about abortion gets filtered through that grid. And trust me, they are squirming in their seats even if they appear unphased on the outside. But here’s my encouragement—please don’t choose to avoid it because some may not yet receive your grace. You can expose that it’s the strongholds of shame and condemnation that keep them bound and unable to confess their sin and receive redemption and healing. When we’re wounded, we let those strongholds define how we hear the message of salvation, forgiveness, and deliverance. Sometimes just calling out the elephants in the room will cause those elephants to bow before the powerful name of Jesus Christ.

Would you be willing to ask your congregation to put away their own sense of taboo about talking about abortion and be committed to becoming a caring and healing community. These shifts will begin to change the atmosphere regarding abortion and the rules of the engagement so these men and women can find healing and freedom.

 – Karen A. Ellison,

Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal, Freedom for the Abortion-Wounded and Help for the Church they Fear (Click on to learn more or to order on Amazon.)

 Lord, we pray for the church to be enlightened to the truth. We pray for those sitting in our congregations to find healing and freedom from abortion-wounds. Lord, help your people and bring freedom and healing to this abortion-wounded world. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.