Where are we heading or are we there now?

(Picture is a 7 month old aborted baby)

A newspaper article about a murder. A murder that will most likely not make the news headlines, not raise so much as an eyebrow on the national news. It won't, but it should.Why should this murder be more important than hundreds of others that go unnoticed every day?Because the case of Shanice Williams is a barometer of where this nation IS ... not where it is going ... but where it is. Here's the sad story of her death.

J. Michael Sharman, Editorial ColumnistPublished: February 10, 2009

Sycloria Williams’ baby girl, Shanice, died shortly after childbirth. The physician who was supposed to have attended Ms. Williams at the facility, “A GYN Diagnostic Center” in Hialeah, didn’t show up. No one else at the clinic, including the owner/operator, BelkisGonzolez, held a medical license of any type and when Sycloria went into labor and delivered her premature baby, no staff member called 911, a neonatologist, or any medical or rescue personnel.

After Shanice was born, Ms. Gonzolez cut the umbilical cord but did nothing else to assist her for the five minutes she lived, and when she died, Gonzalez put the baby in a plastic biohazard bag and threw her in the trashcan. A day later, the police received an anonymous call from a pay phone outside of the clinic stating that a baby had been killed there by employees and the baby’s remains were still on the premises. The police came but could find nothing. Later, the police got another anonymous tip that the baby’s remains were on the roof of the clinic, but the body wasn’t there when they searched. A final anonymous call was made, and this time police found Shanice’s decomposing corpse in a cardboard box.

Sycloria was 18 years old, single and 23 weeks pregnant. She decided she did not have the maturity or resources to care for her child. She paid a down payment of $800 on a $1,200 abortion fee, and The Miramar Women’s Center referred her to Dr. Pierre Jean-Jacque Renelique who met with her and gave her Laminaria (a drug that dilates the cervix) and three other prescription medications to set her body in motion for the relatively late-term abortion.
Dr. Renelique told her he would meet her and complete the abortion the next day at “A GYN Diagnostic Center”, a Hialeah clinic under the same ownership. Renelique didn’t show up, but the drugs he had given her kept working and the unlicensed staff gave her more medications, and Shanice was born on the floor of the clinic. At that point, as Sycloria’s attorney, Tom Pennecamp, says, “She came face to face with a human being and that changed everything.”

Two weeks after Shanice’s death, the clinic operator, Belkis Gonzalez, was arrested on two felony counts of related to the unlicensed practice of medicine – but not in Shanice’s case. These two counts stemmed from a report that had been made to police two years earlier on November 16, 2004 that “The Miramar Women’s Center” and “A GYN Diagnostic Center” had two unlicensed persons, Robelto Osbourne and Kieron Nisbet, performing abortions. Osbourne’s medical license had been revoked on August 17, 2004 and Nisbet never had been fully licensed in Florida. Osbourne pled guilty on September 23, 2005 and Nisbet fled to Trinidad with arrest warrants issued against him.

Two other clinic employees, Joselin Collado and Adieran Rojas were both charged as part of that investigation and in 2006 pleaded guilty to practicing medicine without a license. The clinic, “A GYN Diagnostic Center”, has now finally surrendered its license and closed.

One of the documents that the Miramar clinic gave to Sycloria was a notice that Dr. Renelique had no current medical malpractice insurance. Renelique’s address of record is in Woodmere, New York 17 and according to state records there, he has made at least five medical malpractice payments in the past decade.

On February 6, 2009, two and a half years after Shanice’s death, the Florida Board of Medicine unanimously voted 19 to revoke Renelique’s medical license. The Homicide Division is still investigating but no criminal charges have yet been filed.

Shanice's body was recovered by police, an autopsy performed, confirming she was breathing on her own when she died.If this doesn't bother you about where we ARE as a nation, I don't know what will.What's worse is that Shanice's mother has hired an attorney and has filed a lawsuit. Maybe she should. But I have very little sympathy. She was old enough to do the deed, but living with responsibility is now a rare thing.What really should happen is this. She went for an abortion, she took the medicine, she went to the clinic. As long as she didn't have to see her daughter, she was willing to let her baby be killed because ... Shanice was an unwanted pregnancy, an inconvenience and hardship.The reality is Shanice's mother should be prosecuted for murder. Along with the doctor, the clinic owner, and anyone else who assisted.But that won't happen.Why?Because our nation has become so desensitized to killing babies, that we don't really care about it any more. And we're so easily swept with emotions of sympathy for a struggling mother who just had "no other way out." But now, she is having a hard time with it having looked her baby in the face.But the truth is, we don't really care about Shanice or her mother.

We care more about bigger issues than throwing babies out in the garbage: like the economy, hard times, unemployment, stock prices.Where do you stand? Is the economy more important than protecting little babies like Shanice? Is money a bigger "moral" issue than innocent, helpless babies? Is protecting little babies like Shanice more important than money? You say, "Yes"? Well, I have one other question for you.

Did you help elect President Obama? Yes or no? If so, why? Certainly not because of his willingness to protect Shanice. No, he has a 100% track record against protecting babies like Shanice.In fact, he ACTIVELY opposed the "Born-Alive Infants Protection Act" (BAIPA). I don't mean he just voted against it. He campaigned against it. But for some reason, a whole lot of people didn't care about the Shanice's in this world, and voted for him anyway. Why? Was it for money? Because of economics? My question to you is this.

If you voted for President Obama, was your reason only skin deep? Was it just because the way he looks. Just because he has a nice wife and two pretty girls and had the right skin color to make history. Quite frankly, I'm getting sick and tired of hearing people who claim to be Christians praise Mr. Obama and glow with pride at having elected the first black President. And don't point fingers at President Bush or McCain or anyone else. They all made plenty of mistakes, too, which we have criticized when appropriate.

This is about taking a hard look at S-E-L-F and examining where we are, why we do what we do. It is a shame and humiliation on our country that we can't reason and think any deeper than skin color ... still. No, we really haven't come very far.Racism is alive and well in 2009 ... it just has a different look. And just like some white people were guilty who turned the other way when black people were lynched and persecuted merely because of their skin color ...... so are those guilty who turned a blind eye to the innocent children being murdered, the corruption of the family, the CONTINUING degradation of morality ... and SUPPORT those who ACTIVELY campaign for what is EVIL and against what is RIGHT in the name of history. That's all.

Make Me A Sycamore Tree

One of my favorite accounts of Jesus’ ministry is where he interacted with Zacchaeus. I can strongly relate to Zacchaeus because I see a lot of myself in him. I am not referring to his physical stature, because I am almost 6’2” and as the children’s song describes him as a wee little man. Nor am I referring to his profession as a tax collector and his journey to acquiring that position.

What I see in Zacchaeus, was an individual that was empty, alone and disconnected in the midst of his important and busy life. He was a man who needed to find his identity or at least re-discover it. A person who seemed, among some groups, he had it altogether but yet wondered where the road he was on would eventually lead to. While he did not know where he was heading, he was well aware of where he was. He knew he was standing in the consequences as an outcast from the “fold” because of his compromises which he made. Those who should have been the ones to reach out to him by offering their assistance in restoring him back into the “fold” were the ones who abandon him.

All around us, there are lonely and out-cast people. While at most of the time, this status is a result of their doing which drove them away from their “home” alliances. However, the opportunity or invite to return has seldom been extended to them from the home community. These “Zacchaeus's” are just as removed from restoration, as what the Zacchaeus of the Bible was. They proceed through the continual movement of the motions of life and duty, but yet are empty, lonely and lost. Deeply desiring to be re-connected, but yet shoved behind the crowd, prevented from escaping the dungeon of loneliness and abandonment.

Who around us, around me, have we over looked that are looking toward us for redemptive acceptance presented through us by the grace of God? Who is those or that one person, who feels as if they are of little stature, because we have forced them behind the crowds to where they can not see beyond? Who is the Zacchaeus around you? Around me?

We have to read between the lines and intelligently speculate to fill in some blanks about Zacchaeus’ search for acceptance both from among the home alliances and from Jesus. We have to assume that he had heard of the mighty stories (and at this time they were only stories to him) of what had taken place in people’s lives as they made contact with Jesus. Not only had he heard of these accounts, he may have personally witnessed such events as they took place while in the midst of his personal search for resolve of his disconnection. What about the mighty impact that was made in their lives as Jesus and the others connected? Rather it was a physical correction, an emotionally reformation or a spiritual transformation Zacchaeus could not deny that something beyond the explainable natural took place.

The emptiness that resulted in the unanswered questions that haunted him drove Zacchaeus into a consuming quest to find the answers. The opportunity now was within his grasp to personally reach out to the possible solution. He heard that Jesus was passing down his pathway of life. Jesus was in town. But how, given his handed out and his acceptance of his stature and status, was he even hoping to even make contact let alone to be impacted by Jesus? He knew, or at least presumed to know, that he was not going to receive any real assistance from those who had any authority, even in the littlest amount, to open the path to meet this Jesus. Those who moved within his circle were only mocking his longing to return to his home land. How then would he proceed from there? What were, in true reality, his chances to make contact with this Jesus, let alone to be impacted by or be connected with him? Would this day conclude just as so many of the past have? No connection, no transformation of his status, no returning to home. But he was not content to live one more day without at least making a personal contact with this Teacher, this Jesus, this one who has been proclaimed as the Messiah. But how? How could this take place?

As these questions haunted his quest, he threw his hands up in despair. If only I could see over the obstacles. If only I could get beyond the press of people. If only … if only. And then, as if he was kicked by the merchant’s, who stood next to him, camel, it hit him. There it was … the answer. The way above and over the fence of people in front of him. There was the sycamore tree. It was not a pretty tree as trees go, but it was a beautiful ladder. It was his pathway to raise him above so to make contact with Jesus as he passed his way. So up he went and there he sat. Just high enough to get him above the crown, but yet low enough to still make contact with Jesus.

Then it happen … Jesus stopped just in front of him. Before Zacchaeus could even draw enough breath to speak out, Jesus looked up at him and called out his name. Jesus told him, yes him … Zacchaeus the tax collector, the compromiser, the alien for the home land that he wanted to have lunch with him at his house. He never felt larger and taller in his life. Just the thought that Jesus had stopped and spoke his name brought a security that had evaded him for many years. Yes his name … not just a generic salutation … but his personal name. And it was done in compassion, not in mockery as he had grown accustomed to.

There it is … Zacchaeus saw Jesus, because of the Sycamore tree. Not only did he see Jesus, but he made contact, which opened the door to be impacted by Jesus and then to be connected to the Kingdom of God anew and afresh. Just as the old legend tells of the Dogwood tree used to make the Cross to lift Jesus up before the world so to be seen, so the Sycamore was used to lift up Zacchaeus to see Jesus. Oh may I be a Sycamore tree. Lord, please make me to be a Sycamore tree.

Remember, there are Zacchaeus’ all around us. Remember, Jesus is in town and he is passing this way. Are you available to be an old ugly Sycamore tree? It was not the Cedars of Lebanon or the mighty Oaks that did the lifting up. It was a twisted limb, shaggy bark Sycamore tree.

Please Lord, make me a Sycamore tree! Please make my church a Sycamore tree!

Four Attributes of a Life God Blesses

This is a devotional that I received from Prime Time With God, written by O.S. Hillman



"So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed." - Isaiah 28:16


Whenever God calls us into a consecrated life, it is made up of four distinct stages. Christ often compared this process to building a house.

First, we must prepare to build by laying a foundation. That foundation is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Any foundation other than Christ will not stand.

Second, as we enter a walk of faith with God, He allows each of us to experience trials, testings, miracles, and challenges in life that are designed to provide "faith experiences" that demonstrate tangible evidences of His work in our life: Moses' burning-bush experience, Peter's walk on the water, Joshua's parting of the Jordan River. These experiences built the faith of these people. The depth and width of our calling is directly proportional to the faith experiences He allows in each of our lives. If God plans an international ministry with you, chances are you will experience a higher degree of faith experiences compared to another. The reason being, you will need to look on these to ensure your calling and provide testimony to His work in your life.

The third stage deals with motives. "All a man's ways seem innocent to him, but motives are weighed by the Lord" (Prov. 16:2). What is the motive behind my actions? Is it only financial accumulation? Is it to gain control? Is it to create independence? The primary motive must be God's leading you to take such an action - it must be obedience. These other factors must be by-products of the decision.

Finally, we are prepared to take action. Here we must ask, "Do we have the skill, quality, and ability to enter into this activity?" So often we have not trained ourselves adequately to be successful in our endeavor. You would never want someone working on your teeth who had not been trained and certified as a dentist.

Before you begin your next project, ask yourself these four questions. What is the foundation this project is based on? What experiences has God demonstrated in my life that indicate His involvement? What is my motive for entering this activity? Do I have the skill, quality, and ability to accomplish the task? Answering these questions will tell you whether God will bless your activity.

Depending upon God

We often hear and use the phrase … “Just depend upon God and you’ll make it.” Or, “My trust and dependence is upon what God can do.” Have you said these or something similar? Just what do we mean when we say we are depending upon God to see us through?

Life is filled with a vast amount of opportunities to stand still and see God do great and mighty things. But do we stand still long enough to see them? How long is long enough? Our relationship with Christ is based upon having faith in him and believing in what He says he’ll do is what he will do. We accept this when it comes to our salvation, but how deep does it run in living it out day by day?

When we hear and read the wonderful words of scripture and we are often over-whelmed with emotion as we ponder upon themes such as: “I know the plans I have for you, thus says the Lord ….” Or, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Or, “Our Lord never sleeps nor slumbers.” But just how far can we or do we trust him to fulfill his plans in our lives because he will not leave or forsake us because he is always alert concerning us?

We all, including myself, need to increase our “belief level” when it comes to depending upon God. We all too often get impatient and forge ahead by taking the reins out of God’s hand and in some form or the other tell him, “Let me show you how to do this.”

If this does not reflect upon you in any way at all, great …just tell us how you do it. But if this reflects upon you life in some form, let me suggest the following.

We all depend upon something for our main resource. For some, it is personality; for others, knowledge; still others depend upon past experiences. We often run off the strength of that main source until we come to the end of ourselves and then cry out to God. What are you depending upon God to do? The ability to find that answer is very easy to discover. Those things you are praying for are the things you are depending upon God to do. Those things which you are not praying for, you are doing on your own.

We cannot do life (ministry) upon our own. Prayer is a requirement. If you want to test your commitment to praying for your life (seeing your dependence upon God), do this little exercise. Rate yourself from 1 – 100 on praying for guidance (applying your dependence) in the last month or even the last year. Now put a percent sign after that number. The result: that is the level of the percent of your dependence upon God’s capability to care for your life.

Caught By the Hand of God

Caught By the Hand of God
Psalms 37:23-24


It was a cold and dark winter night when the phone rang, awaking me from a peaceful sleep. The initial thought that passed though my mind was “not what?” The day leading up to this greatly sought after rest was filled with many tasks that ran from encouraging a grieving family, to sermon preparation then onto the monthly board meeting that seemed to have lasted beyond any reasonable length of time. When I finally made it to bed, sleep quickly and gratefully came.

As the phone was answered, I quickly recognized the sound of distress and fear. On the other side was the voice of Alice. Through the sound of tears and scrambled words, I heard her say, “Pastor, we need you to over here right away. Jim is threatening me and the kids again and I am afraid that he is going to hurt us.” A river of thoughts passed through my mind from, “Why me?”, “Can this wait till tomorrow?” to “Do I need to call the police?”

I splashed some water on my face and pulled myself together. As I stepped out into the cold Michigan winter night, the sleep quickly left my eyes. I did not fathom that within the next 5 minutes I would be face to face with death. I entered Jim and Alice’s humble mobile home to find Jim standing there with a handgun pointed at his wife’s face as the 3 children cowardly huddled behind her. You talk about 911 praying, I found myself doing just that. Not a large amount of words, but very sincerely crying out to God “You got to take care of this!” At that point, I did not even know if I would see my wife and children ever again. However, as I approached Jim and Alice, I sensed the very powerful company of the Spirit of God with me. I stepped in front of the gun and began to intervene in behalf of that family. After a few minutes, Alice and the children left and headed over to her family. But yet, I stood there with Jim and his gun.

I do not remember all that was said that night, but I remember very clearly the end. For the next few hours, with the gun pointing at me, I began to share with Jim the story of the wonder, amazing and freeing power of the grace of Jesus Christ. To be there was a terrifying experience though it was a very empowering. To know that I was in the hand of God that night has repeatedly brought great strength to me since then. However, the greatest awareness was by the end of that night, to know that Jim was caught by the hand of God. As the hours waned on, the loving embracing of God was being extended to Jim. To watch Jim come to the realization that God loved him is beyond words. As Jim invited Jesus into his life, was and is, one of the greatest moments in my pastoral experience. There are several more details that took place that night that adds beauty to it. And the follow-up with the family … well let’s just say it required a tremendous amount of work.

Caught in the hands of God. Wow … what a powerful and beautiful thought. As we travel down life’s pathway, both as individuals and as a church, let’s remember that the outstretched hand of God is available. He catches. He holds. He protects. He hugs. Oh the wonderful hands of our Father. Are you there?