“But your mother didn’t abort you.”

Those were the life-saving words that came from the lips of a young boy participating in 40 Days for Life in BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

He probably didn’t think about it in these terms, but he was answering God’s call to be an ambassador for Christ.

The 40 Days for Life team in Bakersfield sent me this boy’s story, and today I’d like to share it with you.

Eight-year-old Hugo had prayed with his older sister Sandra at the abortion center, but it was never on an abortion day.

He kept insisting to Sandra they go on a day abortions were planned. Finally, she was able to fit such a visit into her very busy schedule.

As Sandra and Hugo prayed that day, a young woman named Denisha walked out of the clinic. “I didn’t have it done yet,” she told the sidewalk counselors, but insisted she would be returning for an abortion.

Little Hugo stood nearby listening as Denisha explained her reasons for scheduling the abortion. She has two young children who were taken away by Child Protective Services. She expects to get her children back at an upcoming court date, but being pregnant again could complicate the situation. She was also afraid to tell her parents that she is pregnant.

“I know it’s wrong to have an abortion,” she confessed, “but I’ll just repent and God will forgive me.”

People continued pleading with her for over an hour, but her heart remained hardened. Denisha insisted she was just going to go back inside and “get it over with.”

During much of the conversation, Hugo stood close to Denisha, looking up into her eyes. Meanwhile, Sandra prayed nearby on the sidewalk, tears filling her eyes. “Her situation seemed so hopeless,” Sandra said.

Then Hugo quietly said to Denisha, “But your mother didn’t abort you.”

Denisha broke down and cried, realizing that she couldn’t go through with the abortion.

When her tears subsided, Denisha’s facial expression changed. The look of anxiety was gone, replaced by a huge smile and an appearance of peace and joy.

The eternal rewards of setting aside our busy schedules to invest an hour in prayer outside an abortion center may not always be as obvious as they were in this instance, but when God gives us the opportunity to participate in saving a child’s life we are always blessed when we accept His invitation.

Today’s devotional was prepared for you by Carmen Pate, co-host of the nationally syndicated “Point of View” radio program…

DAY 19 INTENTION:

Pray that when those representing Planned Parenthood and other abortion groups see volunteers for 40 Days for Life, they see ambassadors of Christ, and may each volunteer be consciously aware at all times of Whom we represent.

SCRIPTURE:

I…beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness, and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love.

– Ephesians 4:1b-2

REFLECTION:

When Carol Everett, a former abortionist and post-abortive woman, was asked what turned her heart from death to life in Christ, she said, “It was unconditional love,” shown by a man who prayed daily for her in front of the abortion clinic where she worked.

He told Carol that “God had sent him” because there was someone in there that God wanted out.

She left 27 days later and now serves as Christ’s ambassador to help others.

We too have been sent by Christ as an ambassador to love unconditionally those God seeks to “get out” of their bondage and sin.

What a high calling it is — much higher than any presidential appointment to another country.

In his book, Fishers of Men, Dr. Sumner Wemp describes what it means to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings:

• God has chosen us (John 15:16)
• We are sent into a world that is not our home (1 Peter 2:11)
• Our walk must match our talk (1 Timothy 3:7)
• We must abide in Him for daily instruction (John 15:5)
• Know our purpose — to seek and to save that which is lost (Luke 19:10)
• We are to reconcile others to God with His authority (Matthew 28:19-20)
• Do not let kindness and truth leave you (Proverbs 3:3-4)
• Our service is to be grounded and rooted in love (Ephesians 3:17)

Pray that we each will walk worthy of the calling with which we were called!

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father, we are humbled that you have called us and appointed us to be ambassadors of Christ in a world that is not our home.

We pray that your Holy Spirit will empower us to walk worthy of the calling. We pray that Your unconditional love will flow through us to those who desperately need Your saving grace.

In the name of Christ who is worthy, Amen.

A few hours ago, my daughter Claire and I were flying home from our whirlwind trip across Texas where today we visited 40 Days for Life locations in College Station (where 40 Days for Life began) and Austin (where we were greeted by a great group of prayer warriors including a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus in full regalia.)

On the plane home it hit me — tomorrow, February 25, marks the half-way point of 40 Days for Life!

In some ways this campaign has flown by, and in other ways it feels like it has been going on for a long time. Either way, I marvel at what God has already done and look forward to what He has yet to do during the second half of 40 Days for Life.

Thanks for all YOU are doing to lift this effort up in prayer, and for making it such a powerful force of change in America.

I appreciate you!!

Yours for Life,

David Bereit
National Campaign Director
40 Days for Life

P.S.- Today let’s have the faith of a child — like young Hugo — as we respond to God’s call to be an ambassador for Christ.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 24th, 2008 at 3:27 am and is filed under 40 Days for Life, Devotionals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.