First Fruits Friday - Humility & APR
Isaiah 29: 23-24
“They shall keep my name holy;
they shall reverence the Holy One of Jacob,
and be in awe of the God of Israel.
Those who err in spirit shall acquire understanding,
and those who find fault shall receive instruction.”
The prophet Isaiah shares with the Israelites the importance of humility. When we sin, miss the mark, when we get distracted or discouraged, or even when we make a life-threatening mistake...each of us err in spirit. In those moments, we desperately need to understand God’s will in our lives. When discerning God’s will, it is imperative that we allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate the virtue of humility in our souls. Humility allows each of us to receive instruction.
Think back to a time in your life when you experienced your greatest failures or mistakes. In retrospect, did that failure actually turn out to be the greatest learning experience or biggest blessing in your life?
Here at Seneca, what is perceived as one of the biggest “mistakes” of our clients’ lives is their unplanned pregnancy. When our Sidewalk Advocates reach out in love and compassion to welcome the women headed into the abortion facility with life-affirming choices, these advocates are literally being the hands and feet of Christ. In humility they welcome mothers to give them one last chance for hope and a future ahead. As our founder, Kelly Tolman says “life is never a mistake”. We know that this situation, that our clients are feeling overwhelmed by, is actually the biggest blessing in their lives. In these moments, we need only take the time to humbly accept the will of God in our lives.
Recently, we were blessed to receive the a call for help from a sidewalk client who had begun the abortion pill process next door. Upon exiting the abortion facility, the client was given information about the Abortion-Pill Reversal from a Sidewalk Advocate. Going home from her abortion appointment, the client said: “the holy spirit convicted my heart.” She then called the hotline to seek an abortion pill reversal. When explaining her reason for seeking an abortion, the client shared: “it just wasn’t good timing”. She was in a moment of panic when she called the abortion facility to embark on what could have truly been the biggest mistake of her life, an abortion.
This mother and her family were so blessed by Seneca’s Sidewalk Advocates and their commitment to humbly share real options with her. The client even shared that her mother and the father of the baby were both supportive, and when they found out she changed her mind (Abortion-Pill Reversal), they were thrilled.
At Seneca, we know that this mother could have been any one of us...or our daughter, our sister, our cousin, our niece, our own mother, our friend, the woman sitting next to us in church.
According to Planned Parenthood’s research arm, Guttmacher Institute, the women getting abortions in America are majority self-proclaimed Christians.
24% Catholic
17% Mainline Protestant
13% Evangelical Protestant
8% Identify with some religion
Every woman who gets pregnant in today’s culture is vulnerable to abortion. Every woman may crumble under the pressure of our abortion-celebrating culture.
Please join us in praying for the 20-25 mothers who come every week next door for abortion appointments in our community. They’ve been misled and lied to by our culture and are in desperate need of healing. Finally, please pray for our ministry, for the faithfully devoted Sidewalk Advocates who week after week offer hope and healing to every woman who’s walking in and out of the abortion facility. You never know when the Holy Spirit will convict a humble heart, and they will choose LIFE and save their own baby!
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