Under the Umbrella of Politics David Barnes This past January 22nd marked the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Depending on where you look for statistics, there have been 48,589,993 abortions since January 22, 1972. That statistic comes from the National Right to Life, which utilizes CDC and AGI figures and is current up to 2004. I realize we are three years further along from 2004, but I use this as a conservative minimum, Advocates for pro-choice argue for state-funded abortion for at least three reasons. There are other arguments, but I will limit my discussion to three. First, unwanted pregnancy from rape, incestuous rape, date rape, or any type of pregnancy from unwanted sexual activity forced on innocent women is an epidemic in our country and poor women are most at risk. Second, poor women were aborting their children with coat hangers in back alleys and as a result were dying at a rate of about five to ten thousand every year.

Parenting on Purpose S. Craig Bean We live in a "go with the flow" culture. Just relax and let the gentle current of culture carry you down the river of life. Get in your inner tube, enjoy your iced tea, and just.... float. But the problem with the inner tube mentality is where the current of culture is drifting. It is leading in a direction we cannot afford to go. We cannot allow ourselves to drift. As God's men and women we have to develop a thinking pattern that moves our families and ourselves in the proper direction. We have to live an "on purpose" existence for ourselves and for our children. There is an indigenous tribe in South America that scientists have been studying for years. No one in the tribe lives to an old age. They all die in their late twenties or early thirties. The early deaths are attributed to disease carrying insects living in the walls of their mud huts. Over the years the affected tribe has been given three choices. They can 1) use the insecticide to eliminate the insects...................

The Poison of Bitterness Al Diestelkamp Bitterness is an evil that can develop and grow within a person almost unbeknownst to him . I am convinced that it is a tool that Satan uses to entrap even the very ones who have worked hard at ridding their lives of many other sins. The apostle Peter spoke of bitterness as a poison when rebuking the former sorcerer. He said, "I see that you are poisoned by bitterness" (Acts 8:23). Simon's condition was not exclusive to him. None of us are immune to its venom. Husbands are warned against being bitter toward their wives (Col. 3:19). Though the inspired writer did not specifically mention the possibility, I have no doubt that wives can develop bitterness toward their husbands. Certainly, if a father fails to heed the apostle's instructions to avoid discouraging his children by provoking them to wrath (Col. 3:21), they will likely develop bitterness toward him.