The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers

 The Choice Debate

One of the greatest debates in the world happens to be whether or not abortion should be legalized. And recently, I saw a video on TikTok for 'no-nuance-November', where the person said that people debate about this issue yet it is never really about the 'children' involved. It reminded me of one of my favorite novels by Christian author Francine Rivers titled The Atonement Child. 

The novel tells the story of a young college student who is assaulted and as she is a Christian who also happens to be attending a Christian college, she is advised to abort the baby (once it is found that she is pregnant) for the reputation of both the college and her fiance. Yes, one of the major topics of the story is to uncover the hypocrisy in the body of Christ but most importantly it is to reveal the journey of generational curses.

As the story progresses, we find out that her mother had an abortion in her younger years before becoming a Christian and her grandmother before that had also had an abortion. Regardless of whether you are a believer or not, you can acknowledge and concede that the sins of the father do fall on his generations. Having pamphlets written on safety and choice all-around your house won't make much of a difference.

The protagonist of this story had never done anything against her parent’s wishes, who were fairly strict as they knew of their pasts. Yet somehow the repercussions of past decisions still affected her. It affected her, the child her mother kept as she was ready to have children. The child she had decided was not a mistake, the one she had under wedlock and was fully 'prepared' for. Our protagonist had to go through one of the most traumatizing things a woman can ever go through because those before her made a decision they felt was about them. A decision that served and was best for them at the time. 

I feel that regardless of choice, please consider those who are set to come after you. It may be best to note that just because it is your body and your decision, there are millions of other people directly from your bloodline that could be affected by that singular decision. Everyday we wake up and create new versions of ourselves, we might even change our sets of ideologies as we grow older and this is to be considered before we make any major decisions.

goodreads.com/book/show/9943.The_Atonement_Child

Trust The Process

 I find it absolutely amazing that with all our imperfections, self doubts and recently popular self destructive ways; God still keeps to His promises. If you know anything about being a Christian you will know that your level of faith is forever growing and constantly tested. And that faith cannot exist without trust. 

Trust being the scale to be honest. I know who God is and I know that He performs miracles everyday but would He really do that for me? Those visions I get every night, the promises of a wondrous and fulfilling life. In the middle of a pandemic? I realize that I question His promises not because I don't trust or have faith in His word, its simply because I find it hard to think of myself as a David or Ruth.

Yes my nickname is Moses but that's about it, right? I don't evangelize, the praise and worship team would definitely kick me out and patience is a constant prayer point for me. So where exactly would I be contributing towards the Kingdom of God to the extent that He would splurge and dazzle me with all these blessings?

We then get the big revelation, trust the process. Just because you are not up in podiums preaching, constantly sharing bible verses or posting viral christian content doesn't mean God won't work on you or through you. No one is an extra on earth, not even an ant. Yes, pray for direction and fast for your purpose to be revealed but do not let your walk seem meaningless nor your relationship with God a transaction. Some are born knowing exactly how they will serve and some of us just need an extra push or a serendipitous moment. 

Be kind to yourself in your walk of faith, not everyone is going to slay lions or walk on open flames. The promptings of the Holy Spirit can never be ignored and when your time to bedazzle comes, you will definitely do the needful. And do not let yourself be an Israelite that rejected God's vision and promises, depriving your future generations from entering the land of milk and honey, because the journey seemed to be taking too long.

Our God Is Supreme!

Our biggest challenge as a people is that we are indecisive. We let the spirit of fear come into our lives and change the course of everything we know. Fear creeps in and blurs out a lot of God's truths, often times leading us to our destruction. Romans 8:15-17, reminds us clearly of who we are and what we have not been given; yet the doubts always seem to infiltrate and leave us discombobulated. 

When fear and doubt strikes me I find it hard to pray, read the bible or quote motivational verses. I have seen a lot of people advise that when negative thoughts creep up on you, you need to remind yourself of who He says you are. Although that might work for some, we cannot be certain it can work for everyone. So I will let you in on what I do to clear up my anxiety: I think of who He is to me. Regardless of what the situation may be, even if I had been praying for something and the answer was a resounding 'no' so I am throwing a mini tantrum. To get rid of any and all negative thoughts I think of who He is and what He has done for me.

In essence it is simply a practice of reminding myself of His works, burning the flame of His light into the dark thoughts that seek to destroy me. If such a great God can  love me and know me by name then surely all these voices in my head are lying. I have never seen them but I've definitely seen Him, through the many beautiful people that I have met, through nature, through His promises that come to pass in my life and finally through His love that endures forever.

1Peter 2:9

Once all the tears have been wiped away and the wet tissues have been flushed down the drain, I am then able to remind myself of who He says I am. A good friend of mine said that "life is a fixed match, we just want to dala our own", and he is right. If you read this verse you can already tell that once we have chosen Christ we are a whole new nation, it is set in stone. Our only job is to praise Him. Imagine what our lives would be like if we shut out the world, chased out our doubts and just simply praised Him. 

Yes life is not a bed of roses but His marvellous light shines through everything because Our God Is Supreme. He is an everlasting rock that can weather all storms, yes even self inflicted ones. So choose Him today, crush the icy claws of fear and doubt with His warm and everlasting light.

We Are At War.

                     Ephesians 6:12

Last week an acquaintance of mine wrote a Facebook status on the origin of the bible and how old it is, where it was found and that you would have to go beyond colonisation to prove that it was forced upon us. The post was reported and the person went as far as emailing his employer. This angered and surprised a lot of people, myself included. I mean soo many people write some of the most bogus things on Facebook but never get reported, he swore no-one so what happened to freedom of speech?

Then the Holy Spirit reminded me of this verse, we are at war and it is becoming more apparent every single day. Every other day there is now something fighting against Christianity disguised as something that is normal or 'essential'. The suppression of the church seems to be the order of the day, where do you stand in all of this?

The children of the kingdom need to understand that we are not fighting against mere mortals, so that neighbour, that cousin, co-worker, boss, even the suddenly changed bishop are not your enemy but just mere tools used to test you.  We need to remember that the serpent was a deceiver, still is. He will use the things closest to you to suppress the word of God that lives in you. He is not here to make friends or fight for the people, he is here for the collection of souls.

The sole purpose of all of this is to corrupt, confuse and conquer. 

Galatians 6:7 

Do not be deceived, the time of the Lord is near. This is no longer the time to be complacent or let your faith be blown about. It is time we stopped just putting on the armour of God to fight our own demons or just to get by through our daily lives, no! It is time to be courageous and bring back the vigilance of the first church.

Body of Christ you must be armed, you must do the work in order to survive. Obedience is still greater than sacrifice, so take time out. Meditate on the word, the Holy Spirit has never been more clearer than He is right now. We just have to listen, do not be swayed or encouraged by fake prophets and their petty doctrines. Our God is supreme and yes Jesus Christ died for our sins.

We do not worship statues or images, those cannot speak nor hear. Our God is within us, by us and above us.  His word is eternal and it never changes. It will not be moved, through years of endless scorn and bloodshed it remains the same. Be steadfast and firm in your belief, yes question it all. Speak to Him on all your questions and anything the deceiver may try to put against your belief. You will be surprised at where you will find your answers because trust and believe that there are answers.