Love the least

I recently finished reading an excellent book called Love the Least (a lot). It was written by the creator of the abort73.com website and put out in digital form for free. If you have a Kindle or Kindle ap go download this book at Amazon.com. 

The author, Michael Spielman, could not find a publisher for his book because he was told books about abortion do not sell. So he chose to make it available for free.

In this book he quotes R.C. Sproul as saying "If I know anything about God I know he hates abortion." Speilman really put the pieces together for me, showing me why that is a completely biblically accurate statement.

He also shows how apathy towards the abortion issue is really apathy towards the gospel. He boldly declares "If you've distanced yourself from the open condemnation of abortion, you've distanced yourself from Christ."

Please take time to read this book and ask God to show you how to Love the Least of these. Share-Affirm ministries can help. Contact us at piercefamily@worldim.com

Why fight?

"He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to bear witness about the light."

"I am not the Christ... I am voice of the one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord'..."

"I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do know, even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to unite."

John chapter 1 vs. 7-8, 20b, 23, 26-27

Humbly we walk down the road of missionary service. Not as great speakers with a large following. Not as esteemed teachers with many years of Bible education. Not even as wealthy Christians with the means to "save" the world. What we are are a couple of world worn Johns who have lived messy unkempt lives and have seen the grace and mercy of a loving father.

Why would we fight for the lives of babies? Because once there was one fighting for its right to exist in my own womb. Why would we go to a Godless foreign nation to speak of Christ? Because once we were Godless, foreign in the eyes of our father, and in need of Christ.

Because "I am not the Christ...I am the voice crying out in the wilderness..." and "among you stands one you do not know,".

Shara

Sent

It's hard to know just what to write when you're on a life long journey. You don't want to bore anyone with the details but it is truly in the details that God shows himself.

After being prompted to be still in the presence of God and allow him to re-affirm his calling for us to minister in Japan we have picked back up with our fundraising efforts.

If you've ever championed a cause and asked people to get on board with you you know how amazing it is when they say yes. You also know the feeling of desperation that can some times creep up in your soul making you feel as though the work is too great & the worker (You) are too weak.

We recently watched all 10 episodes of the new Bible mini series. What stuck out to me most was hearing the disciples words said instead of read. Real people wrote those words. Real people felt and saw and experienced those things.

There are real people on the other side of this blog on a journey, following Christ, saying, "send us". And we know there are real people on the readers side saying "go, we will send you". Like the disciples encouraging one another to serve where God has called them.

Thank You for reading and thank you for sending.

Do victims of abortion feel the loss?

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month.

Loss implies something was wanted and will be missed. Often we do not think the mother of an aborted child sees the child as a loss and we assume she does not miss them either. Oh, how wrong we can be.

Some wise person, I can't think of who just now, once said no one ever really wants to have an abortion. And, I believe them. Some individuals would probably rather not be pregnant. Still others might be so bold as to say a child is/would be a burden and is unwanted. But, ultimately I do believe no one really wants to have an abortion...no more than you want to have a root canal.

Stick with me on this one. I am NOT comparing a child in the womb to an infected tooth.

Abortion is:

Surgery
Difficult physically
Emotionally draining both before and after
Causes bleeding and pain
Expensive
Invasive
Uncomfortable
Time consuming
Medical
Can cause death or serious injury

All of that is besides the moral issues attached to the procedure.

So, today if you know someone who has experienced an abortion please pray for them. Pray that they will recognize their loss if they haven't already. Pray that they will understand that it is good to miss that child. And pray that they will receive healing, because they have been hurt and feeling that pain means they are alive.

Giving

My camera is MIA so I can't post a lovely picture of how our cherry blossom tree is growing and our giving thermometer is "heating up". We ache b/c of how badly we want to be IN Japan. I know that God has already begun the work of our ministry and that we are in the midst of it but that doesn't squelch the burn we have to get on that plane and head West.

So, what are we waiting for? First and foremost God's timing is perfect and we know that. We are building towards a commitment of $7500 a month in financial contributions from people who are ready to join the Share-Affirm ministry team and $12,000 in one time gifts to get us moved. 

If you have been following the vision of Share-Affirm and you feel called to join this team please let us know how you want to partner with us. If you are being called to make a monthly financial contribution please click on the WIM logo at the right and it will take you to the giving page. We are branch #262.

Ministry

We've all heard of human trafficking -

Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.

Unfortunately it is not a thing of years past but a very real thing happening today. What gets me most about this is that those who are trafficked, often for use in prostitution, can become so brainwashed by their captors that even if they are freed they will return to a life of prostitution. 

To be sure trafficking can be found in many, if not all countries. We are learning more about the country we are called to serve and the kinds of ministry we will be called in to. Please take time to read the article below and pray for Share-Affirm's part in ending sex trafficking.

http://japandailypress.com/japans-fight-against-modern-day-sex-slavery-hurt-by-backward-attitude-0311022

If you give it a name...

...then you'll get attached.

We hope that is just what happens. By naming Share-Affirm ministries we hope it will give a sense of ownership to everyone involved in getting this ministry on the ground in Japan. Another thing we hope will solidify this ministry's presence is a visual reminder of what Share-Affirm exists to promote.

We would like to present the Share-Affirm Logo. Masterfully created by Shara's gifted brother Sam. Many thanks go out to him for offering his skills and talents to give Share-Affirm a look.

Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment on this post. Also look for this logo in Facebook and blog posts referencing this ministry.