Every Day Is Valentine's Day!

When David and I first married, we had very little money…I remember times when I was relieved that we had $17 in the bank, and that we weren’t down to zero!  But God has been our Great Provider, and we have never wanted nor lacked for anything.  

My precious husband wrote me a letter one year that is still so very dear to me.  In it, he said, “If I could bring you flowers every day, I would.  I can’t do that right now.  But I believe that if we will look to the Lord Jesus, and trust Him for our every need, He will provide for us in such miraculous, abundant ways, that we will hardly be able to believe it…I believe that God is going to allow us to minister to so many thousands of people, together, and that we are going to see many, many people give their hearts to Christ, if we will only trust Him…”

As I look back over the years, I see that David’s faithful prayer and his desire for us has been answered – abundantly, fully, completely, without fail.  Together, we have traveled to more than twenty countries to minister the Gospel; we have presented the Good News of Christ to hundreds of thousands of people.  We have seen many, many thousands of people pray to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. 

I am so grateful, so overwhelmed…when I look at my life, and see the great things God has done.  And I am so grateful, so overwhelmed, that God has allowed me to walk beside such a faithful, trustworthy, Godly, passionate, compassionate, strong, gifted, focused, responsible, smart, loving, caring, tender, awesome man…and that I get to call David Stockwell my own. 

Thank you, Lord Jesus…thank you, my beloved David, for loving me and for leading me and for being my precious, beloved husband.  I love you with all my heart, and I am amazed that you are mine!  Every day is Valentine’s Day with you in my life!

And by the way, now, David does bring me flowers every day!  Our more than forty rose bushes, pink azaleas, camellias, gardenias, all kinds of lilies, crepe myrtles, and magnolias, all lovingly tended in our yard by my husband, bear beautiful flowers all year long!

On The Issue of Marriage Equality for Gay Couples

The issue here is a spiritual one, not one based on loving or not loving someone.  It is not about equality, nor about rights.  The gay community is not a minority but a group of people who wish to gain minority status based upon choice of lifestyle.  Certainly in this free country, a person has the freedom to live his life as he chooses.  

But, the legal issue of marriage is a matter of belief in the validity, inerrancy, and power of God’s Word, which very clearly states that marriage is to be between one man and one woman, and the homosexual lifestyle is not permitted.  It is not about how we feel, nor about the struggles we face, nor about what we want; it is about obedience to the Word of God, and following Him, according to His Word.  If a person is not a believer in Jehovah God Almighty, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and does not believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, then certainly it is easy to understand why he does not agree nor understand what the Bible teaches and what are the parameters on this subject. 

Of course, there are many places in the Scripture where sexual issues and sexual immorality are discussed, and where sexual immorality is clearly prohibited…just one of them is Romans 1:18-32.  If you should desire to read even a small portion of what God has to say about this subject, here it is:

Romans 1:18-32

·       18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 

·       19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 

·       20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 

·       21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 

·       22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 

·       23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

·       24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 

·       25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

·       26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 

·       27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

·       28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 

·       29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 

·       30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 

·       31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 

·       32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

I have had many friends through the years who have lived and do live a gay lifestyle; I love them dearly.  I do not wish them harm and ill-will – I wish them joy and abundant life!  They are my friends and precious creations of God.   My desire is that they will seek to know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and to believe in the Truth of what He says in His Word.  The issue of homosexuality is one that I gladly leave at the foot of the Cross, because until a person is convinced of and surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in his life, and the Truth of God’s Word, the argument is in vain.  The Holy Spirit is the One Who convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8) and I know I can trust Him to do His work.

I do not accept and condone the gay lifestyle because God’s Word teaches that homosexuality is wrong, as is sexual sin of any kind.  The Bible also teaches that sexual sin is different than any other kind of sin, because it is a sin against one’s own body.  Another place in Scripture where these issues are dealt with is in 1 Corinthians 6.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 15-20

·       9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 

·       10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 

·       11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

·       15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! 

·       16 Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” 

·       17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 

·       18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 

·       19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 

·       20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

I know that there are many of you out there who disagree with what I have written here, but I am confident that your argument is not with me, but with God’s Word.  If you do not believe that God’s Word IS God’s Word, then our discussion stops there.  I do believe it is true, it is real, it is living and active, and it is valid in this world today. 

Jesus said, “I AM the Way, and the Truth and the Life.  No one comes to the Father but through Me.”    John 14:6

Amy Stuart Stockwell

2/10/2012

Why I Condemn Planned Parenthood

• Because they provide and promote abortion
• Because they provide and promote unethical birth control 
• Because they provide help for and promote immoral sexual lifestyles

Psalm 139:13-16

•  ^“For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. 
• I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. 
• My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 
• Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written, The days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”

Planned Parenthood (PP) is the largest abortion provider in the world.  Hundreds of thousands of babies are being murdered every year because Planned Parenthood is in business.  PP provides abortions and referral to abortion doctors throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.  PP also provides the “morning after” pill which they "conveniently" entitle “Emergency Contraception.”  

Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization which has an annual budget of more than $1 billion.  It is a money-making machine.  26% of PP’s clients annually are teenage girls under the age of 19.  75% of their clientele have incomes that fall at or below 150% of the federal poverty level.  

Planned Parenthood provides birth control and services for sexually active people who are not married to each other.  This lifestyle is immoral and condemned by the Word of God.  I believe that their promotion of easy-to-get, inexpensive birth control, vasectomies, tubal ligation and abortion services, and their “acceptance” and promotion of immoral sexual lifestyles and activities is detrimental to our society and culture as a whole.

Since the Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973, more than 50 million children in America have been killed in the womb – an entire generation of people, dead.  Millions of babies are killed every year, usually for the sake of convenience of the mothers, wed or unwed. 

The purposeful murder of unborn babies in the womb is the height of EVIL, and our nation and the world are paying the price for this hideous, insidious sin and affront to God. I am AGAINST Planned Parenthood and EVERYTHING for which they stand.  As a Christian and a believer in the sanctity of life from the moment of conception, I CONDEMN the actions and business dealings of Planned Parenthood and pray that God will have MERCY (God’s forgiveness when we deserve judgment) on our nation and its support through government funding of the evil abortion practices of Planned Parenthood.

If you are still not convinced that abortion stops a beating heart – that babies in the womb are people -- children -- with souls and a purpose for living – then I am genuinely and deeply sorry for you.  I strongly urge you – in fact, I beg you – to consider the issues and your position, and to ask God to reveal the Truth to you. 

Look at the simple scientific evidence – evidence which is everywhere, and easily attainable!  Sadly, you can even go to YouTube and watch videos of abortion procedures!  But if that’s what it takes, then do it!  Look at it with your own eyes – look at the images provided by ultrasound – LOOK and SEE the faces and bodies of these precious children! 

How can people truly believe that it is OKAY to kill babies while they are still in the womb, or in the case of “partial birth abortion,” kill them when the head and shoulders are outside of the womb!?  Where does it stop?  When the head is outside the body, but the rest of the body is inside?  When the torso is out, but the hips, legs and feet are still inside?  Or when the whole body is out but the feet are still inside the mother?  At what point is the child still "unborn," and can people possibly believe that it is okay to murder the child?  Wake up, America!  Wake up, World!  This bloody business is an unspeakable horror!  Abortion is wrong!  Abortion is murder!  Abortion kills babies!

I urge you to visit the website of Gianna Jessen, a young woman who is an abortion survivor.  Gianna’s biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester.  After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles Country abortion clinic.  Her medical records state, “born during saline abortion.”

Visit www.seebelieve.org for more information on using ultrasound technology to show expectant mothers and fathers images of their unborn children.

This statement certainly is not meant to be an exhaustive discussion of all the issues and ideas mentioned.  It is intended to be a pointed statement of my convictions on the subject of Planned Parenthood and abortion.  The recent decision by the Susan G. Komen organization to pull funding, and their reversal of that decision due to public outcry, has prompted my wish to make a statement on the subject.

Amy Stuart Stockwell

February 6, 2012

A Proverbs 31 Woman

I'm thinking of my mother today, who went home to be with the Lord eight years ago...she was a Proverbs 31 woman.  How I love her...how I miss her!  This is the woman of God I wish to become...

The Virtuous Wife

    ¹⁰ Who can find a virtuous wife?
      For her worth is far above rubies.
       ¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
      So he will have no lack of gain.
       ¹² She does him good and not evil  is
      All the days of her life.
       ¹³ She seeks wool and flax,
      And willingly works with her hands.
       ¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
      She brings her food from afar.
       ¹⁵ She also rises while it is yet night,
      And provides food for her household,
      And a portion for her maidservants.
       ¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
      From her profits she plants a vineyard.
       ¹⁷ She girds herself with strength,
      And strengthens her arms.
       ¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is good,
      And her lamp does not go out by night.
       ¹⁹ She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
      And her hand holds the spindle.
       ²⁰ She extends her hand to the poor,
      Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
       ²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
      For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
       ²² She makes tapestry for herself;
      Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
       ²³ Her husband is known in the gates,
      When he sits among the elders of the land.
       ²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
      And supplies sashes for the merchants.
       ²⁵ Strength and honor are her clothing;
      She shall rejoice in time to come.
       ²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
      And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
       ²⁷ She watches over the ways of her household,
      And does not eat the bread of idleness.
       ²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;
      Her husband also, and he praises her:
       ²⁹ “ Many daughters have done well,
      But you excel them all.”
       ³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
      But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
       ³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
      And let her own works praise her in the gates.

Why Are You Afraid Of The Blood?

Have you watched “The Passion Of The Christ,” lately? Surely you have not bought into the smear campaign that Hollywood and the unbelieving world wrought against “The Passion,” with the idea that it is “just too violent to watch….oh, how could they have shown so much blood…oh, my, I just can’t watch it!”

Why are you so afraid of the blood? It is the BLOOD of Jesus Christ which has paid the penalty for our sin, and makes it possible for us to be reconciled to God! When I see the blood, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness, with amazement, with joy, and with humility that Jesus Christ shed that blood, bore that pain, endured the shame of the Cross…for me. Jesus commanded us to remember Him this way – remember the Blood that He shed, and the Body that was broken for you and for me. Let us not be afraid of it, but humbled, grateful, and deeply aware of the great, high price that He paid for you and for me by shedding that precious, beautiful, ruby-red blood!

You may not understand it all, and neither do I, but let me ask you this – have you tried? Are you seeking the Truth? Have you asked God to help you understand what the Cross is really all about? Have you read the Bible, or read the accounts of the crucifixion of Christ yourself, or are you just going on what you have heard other people say? I challenge you to READ GOD’S WORD…find out for yourself what the Scripture tells us about our need for a Saviour!

We had a great need; we owed a great debt. Jesus paid the price, according to God’s Law, and God said He was pleased with Jesus, and the sacrifice that He made. Jesus was perfect and sinless. That is why He is called the spotless Lamb of God – sent like a perfect, innocent lamb to the slaughter. God has said that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin! (Hebrews 9:22) That precious blood paid the price for my sin, and makes it possible for me to KNOW that when my body dies, my spirit, my soul, will live forever with Him in eternity.

I have hope for the future, and am not afraid of the blood…and I am not afraid to die, because those of us who believe in Jesus, and have repented of our sin, and accepted Him as Lord and Savior will spend eternity with Him. Consider the following:

• Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die…” (John 11:25-26)

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• Jesus said, “He who hears My Word, and believes in Him Who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24)

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• Jesus said in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice, and opens the door, I will come in...”

• Romans 10:8-10, “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

• ⁴⁸ He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. (John 12:48)

• “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? ³⁷ Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

• ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

Easter, 2011

It’s time for you to wake up, friend – arise, come out of the darkness, tear away the shadows – you must realize that Jesus Christ is a Real Person; He really lived on earth, and was crucified in the manner described in “The Passion Of The Christ. He was resurrected from the dead, with more than 500 witnesses who attested to this fact – that they saw Him ALIVE! You can choose not to believe it if you want to, but your unbelief does not change the facts, nor does it change God’s love for you. He has said that it is not His desire that ANYONE should perish, but that all men should come to repentance – that includes you. (2 Peter 3:9)

You say, “Oh, but that movie made it seem worse than it really was, because it couldn’t have really been that violent…” Why not? Lashing, whipping, beating a man ‘til He was unrecognizable couldn’t have happened? In Isaiah 52:14, the Scripture says that His appearance and His “form” were “marred more than any man,” more than the “sons of men.” In other words, no one had ever been so cruelly beaten as was He.

Consider this prophecy, made by Isaiah hundreds of years before Jesus ever lived…

Isaiah 53

"1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty, That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities.

12Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors."

What will it take for you to believe? When you will accept that you cannot live your life the way you want to, and still have forgiveness of sin, and the hope of eternity? Don’t you want to be free? Don’t you want to have true peace in your life?

Do you understand that if you have not given your heart to the Lord Jesus, that Satan, the enemy, has taken you captive, and has a plan, a will for your life? (2 Timothy 2:26) You are walking in the will of Satan willingly if you are not following Jesus. You are blinded, and you cannot see Truth. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

Jesus said that those who reject Him reject God Who sent Him.

Jesus said in Mark 8:34-38,

I beg you to open the door of your heart and let Jesus come in. Don’t be ashamed of Him…don’t be afraid of His blood…receive His forgiveness, accept His Lordship, and allow Him to save you…let His blood do the work that it was meant to do. Let Him cleanse your heart and life of all unrighteousness, and be made right with God. He loves you so.

Amy Stockwell

Lokatia and Brightness

Friday night I met a sweet young girl named Lokatia, and her friend, Brightness. Lokatia is 11 years old...she and Brightness attended our CityCelebration - our community outreach event, in a market area of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. I noticed the girls on the front row while I was singing; they had beautiful, inquisitive smiles...happy and curious to know what the Americans were doing here in their town...

At the time of invitation, after the singing and testifying and preaching about the Lord Jesus and what He did on the cross for us...those two girls, along with about 40 others lifted their hands, and said they wanted Jesus Christ to be Lord of their lives!

As we were leaving, Lokatia and Brightness came over to me, and as I greeted them, I asked them...what did you learn tonight? Why did you lift your hands and pray with David? Lokatia said, "I accepted Jesus into my heart!" I asked, have you ever heard of Jesus before now? Have you ever heard of how He loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life? She answered, "No, I have never heard of Him...but now I have Him in my heart!"

I praise God that He is able to speak to our hearts, to show Himself to those who do not know Him...to reach out from heaven and touch the hearts of two young girls in Zimbabwe...whose names are now written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

Photos from Mission Bulawayo, Zimbabwe