Gianna Jessen’s Testimony

July 1, 2008 in Advocacy, Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , , | | No comments

Testimony of Gianna Jessen1
Hearing on H.R. 4292, the “Born-Alive Infants Protection Act of 2000″
House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution
July 20, 2000

My name is Gianna Jessen. I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I count it no small thing to speak the truth. I depend solely on the grace of God to do this. I am 23 years old. I was aborted and I did not die. My biological mother was 7 months pregnant when she went to Planned Parenthood in Southern California and they advised her to have a late-term saline abortion.

A saline abortion is a solution of salt saline that is injected into the mothers womb. The baby then gulps the solution, it burns the baby inside and out and then the mother is to deliver a dead baby within 24 hours.

This happened to me! I remained in the solution for approximately 18 hours and was delivered ALIVE on April 6, 1977 at 6:00 am in a California abortion clinic. There were young women in the room who had already been given their injections and were waiting to deliver dead babies. When they saw me they experienced the horror of murder. A nurse called an ambulance, while the abortionist was not yet on duty, and had me transferred to the hospital. I weighed a mere two pounds. I was saved by the sheer power of Jesus Christ.

Ladies and gentleman I should be blind, burned…..I should be dead! And yet, I live! Due to a lack of oxygen supply during the abortion I live with cerebral palsy.

When I was diagnosed with this, all I could do was lie there. “They” said that was all I would ever do! Through prayer and hard work by my foster mother, I was walking at age 31/2 with the help of a walker and leg braces. At that time I was also adopted into my wonderful family. Today I am left only with a slight limp. I no longer have need of a walker or leg braces.

I am so thankful for my Cerebral Palsy. It allows me to really depend on Jesus for everything.

When the freedoms of one group of helpless citizens are infringed upon, such as the unborn, the newborn, the disabled and so called “imperfect,” what we do not realize is that our freedoms as a NATION and Individuals are in great peril.

I come today in favor of this Bill, in favor of the Protection of Life. I come to speak on behalf of the infants who have died and for those appointed to death. Learned Hand, a well respected American Jurist (within our own century) said: ” The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near 2000 years ago, taught mankind that lesson it has never learned, but has never quite forgotten; that there is a kingdom where the least shall be heard and considered side by side with the greatest.”

Where is the soul of America?! Members of this committee: where is YOUR heart? How can you deal with the issues of a nation without examining her soul? A murderous spirit will stop at nothing until it has devoured a nation. Psalm 53:1-3 says: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’; they are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good. God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.”

Adolph Hitler once said: “The receptive ability of the great masses is only very limited, their understanding is small; on the other hand their forgetfulness is great. This being so, all effective propaganda should be limited to a very few points which in turn, should be used as slogans until the very last man is able to imagine what is meant by such words.” Today’s slogans are: “a woman’s right to choose” and “freedom of choice,” et cetera.

There was once a man speaking from hell (recorded in Luke 16) who said “I am tormented in this flame.” Hell is real. So is Satan, and the same hatred that crucified Jesus 2000 years ago, still resides in the hearts of sinful people today. Why do you think this whole room trembles when I mention the name Jesus Christ? It is because He is REAL! He is able to give grace for repentance and forgiveness to you and to America. We are under the judgment of God - but we can be saved through Christ. Romans 5:8-10 “But God demonstrates his own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For when we were ENEMIES we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Death did not prevail over me….and I am so Thankful!!

Additional  Resource

Christ In Cerebral Palsy

June 28, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , , | | No comments

7 -10Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,

   My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
   My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. - 2Corinthians 12:7-10 (The Message Bible)

         At 22 I stopped praying for God to heal me from having cerebal palsy,and started praying that he would use my life to bring him glory. I didn’t stop believing that he couldn’t heal me, but he revealed to me that it’s not his will to heal me of my cp in this life.It’s in our nature not to like to hear no,and I don’t always know why I must have cp but I Trust the One who allowed it.My life has been marked by hard and trying circumstances but the grace of Jesus Christ has flowed through my life to the point that leaves me breathless.Before I gave my life over to the Lord, I was heading down a dead end street that would only end in me trying to take my own life. At 21, I started believing the lies of the world. I started seeing myself as worthless,ugly, a waste,and not worthy of living. Then Jesus found me in the pit and carried me out to a new life filled with a future and a hope. He started meeting me in the pages of my Bible and my life started to make sense and started having a purpose. I’ll never forget the very first day I taught the Bible to children at my church. As I taught, I was praising God. Here I was, once a angry depressed young man teaching kids the Bible. That my friends is what his grace is all about. He takes the broken and makes them whole,he takes the old and makes them new. Since that day I first taught the Bible I been a sunday school teacher, youth pastor,and preacher. God has given me alot of chances to share with teens and adults about his love and grace. I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world.

        As I write this my wife and I are in the process of buying our first home together. Everything I have is due to the Lord. This world wrote me off a long time ago but God is not done with me yet, and he’s not done with you either. Trust Him!

19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.-Genesis 50:19-20 (Joseph speaking to his brothers when they sold him into slavery)

     The devil meant my cp for evil against me but God is using it for good. Our you trusting God with your circumstances?

Free To Serve God

June 24, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | 1 comment

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil;live as servants of God.

-1Peter 2:16

       I haven’t posted anything new in the last few weeks  because of  being busy but the last few days have inspired me to write.  I walked by a store today near my work and in the window a sign read, “Every Saint has a past, and every Sinner has a future!” That  made me very grateful to God. I lead chapel services at our town’s local city mission and the Lord blessed me with an awesome day. I’m in awe every time the Lord uses me to preach or teach.  But that’s what awesome about our God, no matter who you are or what we have done, he’s willing to forgive us and use us for his glory.

         I started reading 1 Peter for my devotion time and 1 Peter 2:16 stayed with me. Jesus Christ didn’t just die so we can go to heaven one day, he died so we can live for God. No matter our past or the sins we have done. If we have trusted him as Savior than we are free. Not free to do whatever the hell we want to do, but free to live with and for Jesus. God’s grace to us should not make us abuse grace but should compel us to live for Him.

    So, brothers and sisters, be grateful where Jesus has brought you from and those who are hearing the good news for the first time trust the future you can have  with Jesus. For, it’s a future with God.He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.-1Peter 2:24

 

 
 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. -1Peter 3:18

 

But God!

June 5, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , , | | No comments

 Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.-Psalm 73:25-26

      June 23rd will be my one year anniversary married to Robin. This past year has been one of the happiest but also one of the most roughest ones in my life.Since we got married Robin has have health problem after health problem and unable to work, our apartment flooded twice in eight months,left our old church,and have been at our wits end trying to figure out our circumstances, but God is the strength of our hearts and our portion forever.

         In Psalm 73,the psalmist is trying to deal with why it seems that the wicked and evil people seem to never have any problems. We all want to know why the good suffer and often think God is being unfair. As the psalmist pures out his heart to the Lord, he admits that he almost gave up on God but thanks the Lord for never giving up on him.And in verse 25 and 26 he says that his tank is empty,that he is burned out physically and spiritually but proclaims that his hope rest in the Lord.

      It’s not a sin to say we can’t understand why were in the middle of a storm, Jesus just wants us to trust him that he’ll calm it and til he does he’s in the middle of it with us. Our hope must be rooted in the Hope that is in Jesus Christ. Our flesh and heart may fail even unto death but God will never fail.If our situation in this life never changes we can still have hope because Jesus is alive and we will one day be with him in glory.Troubles will enter all of our lives but take heart Jesus have overcome the world(John16:33). They enter to test our faith,make us grow in Christ,and to get us to the point where we turn to God for help. But even in the times that we can’t understand let us hold tight to our heart the promise of having Christ forever.We can’t focus on our the things of this earth for they are only temporary but our time and joy with Jesus is forever.

3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.-Colossians 3:1-4

     It’s not saying that your circumstances have no meaning, I’m not being harsh, it’s saying that they can’t control you and that their effect on you are limited to this life. God has used my cerebral palsy to bring him glory and to bring me closer to him. In his love for me he has decided to not heal my cp in this life.You see, my hope is not in having no pain in this life, it’s trusting that Jesus is God,he really did died for my sins, and rised from the grave bringing me into relationship with God forever. Come what may in this life, I have God forever. I’m not say God doesn’t still work miracles, he does,but our faith can’t be that fickle that if that miracle doesn’t come we just walk out on him. That’s not faith! There will come a time when I see Jesus face to face and that is the greatest promise of all. yeah we won’t have cancer,disabilities,and pain anymore and that is awesome but heaven will not be heaven without the strength of our heart and portion being their. If you have one prayer let it be, “Give me Jesus!” In your trials can you say but God….?

      Here is some scripture to think about:

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope  in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.-1 Corinthians 15:12-22

Praise God that he’s alive,because our hope is in a living God!

 

      

Out Of MY Comfort Zone

May 27, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , | | No comments

    When I started the youth ministry at Friendship Community Church,I saw myself being the youth pastor for many years. But the Lord told me to leave about a year ago. I loved my students and couldn’t understand why God would want me to leave only after three years. A friend of mine confirmed it to me. I still tried hanging on to the ministry. Friendship has accepted me, I was in ministry,and I was comfortable. Than one night after youth group a few months ago God asked me if I was ready to trust him. I was, so my wife and I stepped down as youth leaders and started seeking God about were He wanted us to go. We ended up at Life Point Baptist Church and it’s been great. But being a part of a new church plant has taken me out of my comfort zone. I no longer had any titles or ministry responsibilities, and in a way had the feeling like i was in over my head choosing a new church. But the Lord has blessed my obedience and Robin and I have gained some great friends at Life Point. They want to reach our city for Jesus,and so do we. This past Sunday the Lord assured me that Life Point is where he wants me. Through this whole transition the Lord has humbled me, made my faith grow,and has taught me that if you want to be used by him in a big way you must get out of your comfort zone. I know God is calling me to full-time ministry but he had to get me to the point where I would trust him with what he gave me in the first place. The youth ministry was never really mine and I was blessed that God used me for a time to reach kids but it was time to give it back to him so I was free to follow him to where he wanted me to go. If God is calling you out of your comfort zone, follow Him. He won’t let you down.

Is Anything Too Hard For God?

May 25, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith, marriage | Tags: , , | | No comments

 “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?-Jeremiah 32:27 

    Pastor Aaron  of Life Point Baptist Church talked about this verse in his sermon today. And as he been teaching on differnt people of faith from the Bible, the one thing that they all had was the faith to know that there is nothing that is impossible for God.I started to praise God at the end of service during the time of prayer. I started thinking about how Jesus has done great things in my life no matter what people have said to me. There was a time when people told me flat out that a woman would not have me because of my cerebral palsy,but I prayed to the Lord for a woman who would love me for who I am and he answered me by giving me my wife Robin. If I listened to the negative people around me I would still be single but I had the faith that God had someone out there for me.

             Also at 22 the Lord revealed to me that he wanted me to be a preacher. I started teaching children than was the youth leader at my church for three years, and this whole time he gave me chances all over my city to preach the Gospel. In a world who would look at me as broken and worth nothing, Christ scooped me up, made me whole,and use me as a tool for His Kingdom.That’s what he does all the time, He takes the least and the outcast of the world to do great things to his glory. Take me as an example, I was fatherless,motherless,angry about having cp but he changed my heart giving me joy. He made me a proclaimer of his Word. He made me a youth leader to reach out to teens. Can you see the miracle in that? Can you see His grace in that? He took me who was filled with hate and turned me into someone filled with His love. I never think that this is me cause apart from him there is no good in me. I say all this to show you that nothing is too hard for God.Do you have faith that God can do great things in your life? Dream big for Jesus, he’ll never let you down. God Bless.

   

Don’t Waste Your Pulpit

May 22, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , | | 1 comment

Great insight from John Piper that every preacher needs to hear.

 

New “futile care” promotion includes attack on ADA

May 22, 2008 in Advocacy, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | | No comments

From the Not Dead Yet Blog

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

New “futile care” promotion includes attack on ADA

I found an “interesting” article from the Kalamazoo Gazette, thanks to Bobby Schindler, who is doing some guest blogging for Wesley Smith while Wesley is on vacation. Bobby has his own valuable insights on the article, but I wanted to write about a couple of things that jumped right out at me.

The article is a profile of Dr. Kenneth Fisher, who has recently published a book that pushes - hard - for greater implementation of “futile care” decisions by strengthening the autonomy of medical professionals and undermining the self-determination of patients.

In case anyone thinks I’m overstating the case and its relevance to the disability community, here’s just one of Fisher’s “suggestions” to “improve” care by preventing “futile” medical interventions:

To revise the Patient Self-Determination Act and Americans with Disabilities Act so they ensure appropriate and beneficial medical care rather than provide patients the right to demand any level of care.

Got that? Fisher wants to go after the ADA specifically to weaken or eliminate our legal rights to direct our own care and determine what we think is appropriate.

Fisher is someone we should all probably keep an eye on. He has a blog - there’s a link provided in the article.

The blog provides a form for download that replaces traditional advance directives. For one thing, it invites individuals to cede their rights to an “appropriate care committee.”

Excerpt of text from his new and improved admissions form:

A patient has the right to evidence based care tailored to the individual, but cannot receive care that has no value. The physician team is responsible for defining beneficial care, where the benefit to the patient significantly exceeds the risks. A committee (the appropriate care committee) is available within the hospital should conflict arise. The committee will render judgment within one working day.

Fisher’s also not shy when it comes to self-promotion. The sample fax he provides so that you can email your congressional reps comes complete with a glowing recommendation from you - urging the congressional rep to read his book.

So for those of us who have been concerned with the rising juggernaut of “futile care” policies, here’s a new reason for concern. We have a new promoter who clearly has the ADA in his sights.

Big Wheel Races!

May 22, 2008 in Youth Ministry | Tags: | | No comments

All I got to say is,before I die, Lord willing I will do this.This is sweeeet!

 

God In Your Desert

May 21, 2008 in Youth Ministry, faith | Tags: , , | | No comments

 7 The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything. -Deuteronomy 2:7

      I woke up today around 6 AM and open my NIV Study Bible and turned to the book of Deuteronomy to spend some time with the Lord. I have to be honest and say that until God convicted me, I really didn’t spend a lot of time in the Old testament but I have felt drawn to it to see what I learn about Jesus. I’ll be posting more about what I learn but for now I have to share this verse.In Deuteronomy Moses is reminding the Israelites good God has been to them and how they should love God with everything they are. In verse 7 of Chapter 2 he reminds them how the Lord was with them as they were wandering in the desert.

      In my life I have had a lot of desert times in trying to understand my circumstances because of my cerebral palsy or not having my father in my life,and in those times my heart can often fail me causing me to think that God has forsaken me and left me alone in my desert. Your circumstances are different than mine but you still find yourself in a desert. Disability? Cancer?Death of a child? Lost of a job? Being a single parent? What do you do in theses times?

     We need to take God at his Word, when he says he’s watching over us and is with us we need to trust Him even if we can’t feel him near us. To have this kind of trust takes us loving Him with everything we have. Mark 12:28-30 says:

28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

    29“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

     There’s times when I don’t feel like God loves me but because I go to His Word which reminds me that he does, those feelings are stamped out. If I just love God with my emotions than my faith in him is based on how I feel and not on the Truth. We all need to keep our eyes in the Word so We’re reminded that Jesus is with us and is with us if our circumstances change or not. Deuteronomy 2:7 brought me great joy today. Read it and may you be blessed.

 7 The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.