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Wishes for Warren

Dr. Warren Hern Colorado's most famous late-term abortionist retired recently leaving a tumultous carrer behind him. Now 86, he has served over many decades and endured much in his professional life. A man of dedication, skill, and fortitude. A medical professional who seved others and, no doubt, was admired and praised by many. Someone reportedly kind and inspiring. A person of professional accomplishment and accolade!

But was Dr. Hern's chosen profession one of honor, integrity, and betterment? No, is the short answer. For every person Dr. Hern thought he helped, he harmed another. For every woman he thought he rescued, he buried another. For every problem he thought he solved, he created many more. Dr. Hern didn't save life, he took it. Dr. Hern did fall short, he did work in vain, and he will be ashamed! But I hope Dr. Hern isn't beyond rescue. I hope he's not beyond change. I hope he's not beyond saving. And I hope he has enough time left to get it right.

I hope Dr. Hern discovers the truth. I hope he encounters the living God. I hope he makes restoration, and I hope he tells the world what he's discovered. I wish Warren wasn't in this place. I wish he hadn't been lied to. I wish he wasn't deceived. I wish he hadn't lied to others. I wish he'd applied his intellect, his training, his skills, his fortitude, his dedication to helping all his patients, not just the ones he acknowledged. What if Dr. Hern helped the disabled, cared for the weak, rescued those in trouble, and protected the innocent? What if he wasn't a facilitator of death, but a champion of life? What if Warren believed all life was worthy of protection? What if Warren believed that life began in the mind of God and that everyone created in His image was valuable, equal, and sacred. What if Warren was retiring after delivering 8,000 babies, saving many women from debilitationg medical conditions, and championing human rights for everyone, even the most marginalized among us? What if he wasn't loved by some and hated by others, but universally admired by all?

Dear Warren,

It's not to late to change your mind, your ways, and your legacy! Look at fetal development afresh. Read the Gospel of John. Ask God to show you the truth. I pray you will come to the knowledge of the truth and I pray you will be redeemed--that you and I will one day sit down together in the fellowship of the saints! Jesus, forgive us--for often we no not what we do.

God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

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Rocky Mountain Low

Colorado is a beautiful state in the United States of America with over 50 separate peaks that reach at least 14,000 feet in elevation, but currently Colorado's wickedness reaches even higher than its peaks! Colorado has long been a gateway state for abortion. In 1967 it was among the first states to legalize abortion and give it a place in our nation. And with the passing of Roe in 1973, it has long been a state with abortion on demand up through all nine months of pregnancy. But with Amendment 79 on the Colorado ballot this November, it has truly reached a zenith of wickedness and discrimination! An amendment that would enshrine abortion into the state constitution and allow for tax-payer funding of abortion going forward. The heinous act of abortion made universal through forced public funding and documentary assent. Making it clear that our state agrees with abortion and all of its evil. An evil that is profoundly great! As it ruthlessly discriminates against the whole human race, the innocent, the helpless, the marginalized, the weak, the disabled, and every gender and ethnicity. Abortion is murder; abortion is parental abuse; abortion is state sanctioned discrimination; abortion violates every right our nation and state affords; abortion is an affront to God; abortion is physically and mentally damaging, abortion is wrong!

If we vote for Amendment 79, we will be wrong! Dear Christian, do not think any of us can vote for this heinous amendment and not be guilty of grave sin. Dear human being, to vote yes on Amendment 79 is to vote for your own destruction. To be on the wrong side of Amendment 79 is to be on the wrong side of everything. Please stand for truth, justice, fairness, equal opportunity, and love, and throw out this sickening amendment. VOTE NO on Amendment 79!

Please share this post with all you know, pray for the defeat of Amendment 79, vote, and repent for our state and national disgrace called abortion.

God bless, Joel

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24 & More

It’s been two years to the day since I’ve written a blog. I’ve been busy. Embroiled in a season of full-time care for my elderly parents—a trying season of navigating their disabilities, dementia, deteriorating health, and all the strains that come with familial uncertainty and tension. It’s been a hard two years. And with my father in skilled nursing after a recent fall, a subsequent infection, and pneumonia and my mother in a memory care facility, it’s not over. End-of-life trials are hard for everyone! Full of ups and downs, but it’s still living. Even in these diminished days, there are still valuable relationships, philanthropy, the simple pleasures of food, music, and a hundred other little joys. Life may be limited, disorienting, painful, and not much fun at times but there is also laughter, smiles, beauty, flowers, the tender touch, a kind word or gesture. Little things, sure. But little things matter! Truly our lives, on the whole, consist of millions of little things. The tiniest, perhaps, being that first moment of existence in our mother's wombs. The central core of Anna's Choice and our mission to awaken the world to the profound importance of life and, particularly, our formative days of development in that broader journey. A journey my parents have experienced and shared for nearly 90 years and counting. That miracle we all, who are living, experience from conception to undetermined death. And so, I'm back. Here once again to share the wonders of the womb, the miracle of life, and the purpose and value of each and every one of us.

Today, as I departed from my father's bedside after reading him the 24th Psalm, I asked him if there was anything he needed or wanted before I left, and he said, "Depart from evil and do good." And I said, "Yeah, good advice." My father's advice further biblical wisdom found in the 34th Psalm. But it got me thinking as I left. It's truly that simple isn't it. What if more of us strove for this? Or even better yet, Psalm 24's admonition that only those who have, "clean hands and a pure heart can ascend the Lord's hill and stand in His holy place." What if we departed from evil? What if we had clean hands? What if we sought to do good and asked the Holy One to purify our hearts--to make us more like Him? Wouldn't we be better? Wouldn't our community, our state, our nation, be better? Our world be better? What if more of our leaders sought this? Our representatives? Our business people? Our artists? Our pastors? Our community leaders? Our educators? Our journalists? Our lawyers? Our doctors? Ourselves? The choice is ever before us, is it not? We can, with the Lord's help, depart from evil and do good. Will we?

Over the last two years in our nation a million little things have changed or come and gone. Many efforts of light amid a darkening world. Many good things, many bad. Encouraging victories. Agonizing defeats. But in the main we still find ourselves in a flourishing culture of death. Roe has shifted, the courts have played a role, activists have been active, but abortion is still here, and sadly the same proportion of innocent children are sacrificed upon its altar. Not much has changed. Perhaps we've not changed? Are we ready to depart from evil and do good?

Please join me as I reinsert Anna's Choice in the conversation, the struggle, and the effort to bring all of us back to life.

God bless, Joel

www.annaschoice.org

https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023

https://www.abort73.com/

https://radiancefoundation.org/

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Say it Ain’t so, Roe!

Anna’s Choice celebrates the ending of the Supreme Court’s tyranny of imposed abortion today, June 24, 2022. A monumental and overdue decision nearly 50 years in the making! Thank you, Jesus, for the sovereign role You play in decisions and moments like this! We owe more to You than we could ever know or repay. Millions have prayed and labored for this day and we celebrate them as well. Thank you, warriors and intercessors for life, for all you’ve done to bring this moment to our Court. Thank you, pastors, authors, teachers, and any who have labored to show us the truth about God, life, and the horror of abortion. Thank you, pro-life activists, legal personnel, and organizations for all of your efforts, lobby, and financial assistance. There’s so much that goes into a moment like this. And, finally, thank you to every person who has lived the pro-life ethic in word and deed! Today is about all of you in some way or another. May God be pleased and our nation bettered because of this decision! May our Supreme Court be bettered. Praise God that Roe is no more!

There is much more to say and digest about this decision and the road ahead, but for today let’s celebrate.

God bless, Joel Patchen  

www.humancoalition.org/films/roe-is-overturned/

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Awaiting Dobbs

As states continue to pass legislation favoring or restricting abortion before the Supreme Court’s official decision regarding Mississippi’s fifteen-week abortion ban (Dobbs v. Jackson), many believe Roe will go. Will it? The short answer is not really. Everyone has an opinion on the court’s alleged repeal of Roe v. Wade. For pro-life people it is exciting to consider the possibility of the dissolution of Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton--bringing our nation another step closer to true human equality. For pro-choice people the thought horrifies them. For them the abolition of abortion marks the end of women’s rights and a return to a male dominated world and other evils like racism, sexism, and whatever ism they can tack on. Both sides are misguided if they believe this is the end, and here is why. First, the Supreme Court hasn’t decided anything yet. Alito’s leaked draft is a discussion in process and nothing more. A chance for both camps to stir up their base, raise some money, sow confusion or fear, and bemoan or celebrate a decision that has not yet been made. It’s hype, hysteria, and a political football. Second, the political leaning of the justices and the party that appointed them is only somewhat predictive of how they will decide, especially on the conservative side. Time and again conservative justices have disappointed their base. If memory serves, it was a Republican leaning and appointed court that legalized Roe in the first place. To decide for the justices based on political leaning or appointment is very misguided and naive. Third, the vast majority in government, media, entertainment, and academia are pro-choice. Even a small sample of their opinion is loaded with bias, deceit, manipulation, euphemism, and mind-numbing tunnel vision--talk about a strong deception--if these people believe what they’re peddling, they are the most pitiable. Good luck finding even an honest discussion from them, let alone the truth! Fourth, America is collectively guilty of sexual immorality and abortion--from our thoughts to our actions, we all strike out on this one. Over 62 million abortions have been procured by our citizens. And that total doesn’t even include the chemical abortions. Abortion has been celebrated, defended, enabled, paid for, encouraged, counseled, coerced, forced, assisted, ignored, and lived with by almost all. And lust, sex, and contraception? Well, one gets the picture! Fifth, judicial fiat didn’t work the first time with Roe (injustice never does), and it won’t work this time either, especially with an even more polarized nation fraught with complicity, compromise, and indoctrination. The damage and fallout from over a half century of lies grows every day. A wound like slavery that will run deep and long. Sixth, while the court could abolish abortion throughout the entire nation and suggest that a 28th Amendment be adopted to the U.S. Constitution securing equal protection for children in the womb, they won’t. Heck, the justices could just ask those in authority and our citizens to be honest about what the Preamble, the Fifth, and the Fourteenth Amendments already say and grant. But applying reason, common sense, and plain reading to our Constitution would be a bridge too far these days, especially when we won’t do the same with science and medical discovery in this area. If the justices decide to repeal Roe, they will, most likely, return power to each state regarding the regulation and implementation of abortion. A decision that would lead us to the “not really” I asserted above. 

Roe in that scenario won’t go, it will just relocate. As we’ve seen liberal, radical, pro-abortion states like New York, Colorado, and California will codify and establish abortion at Roe levels or worse, while pro-life states like Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota will restrict or abolish abortion altogether. Leaving the nation physically divided over abortion like North and South in the days preceding the Civil War. Creating a temporary retreat for everyone ideologically. Perhaps, even leading to mass relocation so that many can find a place more fitting to their ideology and practice. A move that ultimately won’t satisfy because, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (Dr. King). Peace will never come, internal or external, until the nation repents, abortion is slain, and the preborn are acknowledged for the humans they are. Slavery has left a long and bitter stain, abortion will be the same. Evil cannot be bargained with; it can only be destroyed. Will we destroy it? Will you destroy it in your heart and practice? The choice is ours, the choice is yours. 

Reflective as I await Dobbs and the ultimate end of abortion, Joel Patchen

PS: a moderately fair discussion at Harvard: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnUKBdU3SoI

Oral arguments for Dobbs v. Jackson: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRe4mYcEqBM

A discussion of Roe and its founding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRAlc0NrlNQ

A biased Minnesota Academic review of Dobbs v. Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKd7Gn2UTds

Panel discusses Dobbs v. Jackson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usM8wxooDIs

To learn more about the pro-life position, the value of all life, the Christian perspective, the history of abortion, or ways to get involved in the effort to end abortion, go to: www.annaschoice.org

Please pray for the Supreme Court, our nation, and all of us to make the right decision about life, love, and abortion. Pray also that any gains toward life save many lives until we arrive at that day when all human life is protected by love and by law. 

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Tears for the Little Ones

19 children, 2 teachers, and several fighting for their lives, WHY? An eighteen-year-old gunman dead as well. I weep. I’m so sick of children dying, of mass death, of senseless violence against the innocent and unprotected. And I’m not alone--the whole nation mourns. Steve Kerr feels it (https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33979219/warriors-steve-kerr-delivers-impassioned-plea-gun-control-texas-school-shooting-get-numb-this),  Beto O’Rourke feels it (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/beto-orourke-greg-abbott-press-conference-texas-school-shooting/), Greg Abbot feels it (https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-provides-update-on-states-response-ongoing-investigation-on-robb-elementary-school-shooting-in-uvalde), we all feel it! Something is wrong, something is broken, something is haunting us, but what is it? For Steve Kerr and Beto O’ Rourke it is guns. For Governor Abbot it is mental health. For others it is racism, or a hundred other ills. But for me and the many others who understand abortion, it is a blood curse. Mass school shootings are just one of the ways we reap the calamity of 60 million preborn deaths, the dismantling of faith in America, and the long advancement of doctrines of demons. Hosea may have said it best when he prophesied against Israel: “Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish...”(Hosea 4:1-3). 

We will not see the end of violence against our children or ourselves until we repent, return to God’s ways, and put an end to the greatest evil in our land, abortion! We feel a visceral pain in our gut for the precious little ones lost and injured at Robb Elementary. We taste the tragedy. We struggle over the loss. We ache, but we don’t feel the same for 2,000 of their peers murdered that same day in American wombs. Kerr doesn’t bang the table for the preborn. Beto O’Rourke doesn’t interrupt, Abbot for the preborn, President Biden doesn’t lower the flag for the preborn. Bloodshed follows bloodshed and still we don’t see. We will not see a diminishment of the violence erupting in our nation until we take our pills, our practices, and our evil medical procedures off of the developing bodies of our preborn children. As Scripture asks, “Was our prostitution not enough” (Ezekiel 16:20-22)? Our sexual liberation and practice is out of control in America, so much so that we even sacrifice our own flesh and blood to preserve it! Woe to us and woe to our children! We value pleasure over justice. Pleasure over righteousness. Pleasure over love!  

We lie to our children and proclaim gender is a choice. We lie to our children and proclaim fertilization isn’t life. We lie to our children and proclaim life is meaningless--that we came from nothing and will return to nothing in death--that evolution is proven. We lie to our children and proclaim God is make-believe! We promote selfishness over selflessness. We promote immorality and deride those who champion and encourage morality. We’ve chosen man’s ways over God’s ways. We brazenly acknowledge and champion women who’ve left the womb over innocent women developing in the womb. I hope our orgasms are worth it! 

Oh, God, have mercy! We are a broken and wayward people. Please forgive us and grant us eyes to see and ears to hear.

Sickened, Joel Patchen

Ps. Please pray for the ending of abortion, the families of the children lost at Robb Elementary, the community of Uvalde, Texas, our sin-sick nation, and the advancement of the Gospel. We need Jesus and His grace and truth in the worst way.  

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America’s Great Divide

Unless one’s been living under a rock, one can’t help but notice how polarized and divided the United States has become. Our nation is divided politically for sure, but we’re also divided socially, ideologically, and spiritually. Why? I think it’s because our nation is in the grip of a great deception, a technological revolution, and an ever-increasing drift from God’s ways. A deadly cocktail for increasing disaster. Conditions that will result in difficult times for the nation. Factors that could lead to great upheaval, mass conflict, political dissolution, and, even perhaps, national collapse. We are experiencing a cultural tipping point that shouldn’t be ignored. An identity crisis that may soon be felt by everyone. So, what must a Christian do in preparation and response to these times and days? We must be sober, alert, sensitive to the Spirit, alive to the Scriptures, aware of the seasons and times, and ready. But, before we look at the what, let’s examine the why. Why are we here? Why is America so divided and what are we being deceived by? 

America is divided over many things, but two primary things are abortion and gender norms or gender fluidity. There is a clash in America between Christian moral tradition and secular progressive trends. A fair portion of Americans are in support of abortion rights and gender fluidity, including many Christians. Two modern concepts and practices that fly in the face of biblical revelation and established scientific observation. Two ideas that find themselves far afield from common-sense and reason. When Christians are grounded in Scripture, objective, and unbiased, they can only conclude that the promotion and proliferation of abortion and gender fluidity are the result of a great deception. These pursuits, of course, are not the only areas of contention and disagreement among Americans. Nor are they the only places where deception has taken root. But they are critical, emblematic, and, potentially, devastating to the United States and humanity at large. How can well-supported ideas that are contrary to the Word of God, scientific discovery, and intellectual rigor be described as anything other than deception? Our nation is being duped and coerced into complicity with these notions and practices. Americans have been deceived and compliant with abortion for fifty years now. And, more recently, tempted to believe that gender is not bestowed upon us, but, rather, chosen by us. Like all classic deceptions, abortion and gender fluidity cannot be validated or proven true. In fact, the mass of the verifiable evidence is weighed against them. They are clearly false. Abortion proponents deny and avoid the totality of the Scriptural teachings against it, and the clear biblical doctrine espousing the sanctity of human life (Jeremiah 7:30-32; Job 31:13-15; Psalm 139:13-16). Additionally, they refuse to logically address our knowledge of a baby’s development in the womb (zygote, embryo, fetus), sonogram evidence, fetal surgery, pre-term birth, fetal pain, after abortion trauma (physical and mental), abortion’s inherent prejudice and discrimination, etc. Similarly, gender fluidity proponents deny or avoid the biblical doctrine that we are all created of God into one human race, male and female (Genesis1:27-28). Refuting the revelation that we are made intentionally by a living God who knows us intimately and who has chosen for us our times, our gender, our place of birth, our form, and the dwelling of our habitation (Acts 17:24-33). Proponents of gender fluidity deny the obvious biological realities of masculinity and femininity and instead prefer the nebulous psychological preferences of one’s mind. They seek to alter reality through assertion and surgery. One cannot biologically become what one is not, no matter how many procedures are pursued to give the illusion. These two great deceptions are destroying us. Abortion and gender fluidity cause irreparable harm to humanity, create a sea of victims, and significantly diminish the population. They are divisive and contentious--always agitating a rift among the American public. Clearly, fracturing societal identification and unity. And most dangerous of all, if fully adopted, these two deceptions could lower the population below replacement level or eradicate the human race altogether. Both, by their very nature, violating the first commandment of God, “to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth...” Lastly, given the length of time these falsehoods have assailed the nation and the increasing proliferation and promotion of them, it is clear to me that a deep deception is at work in the land. 

Still, why so rapid a spread of these deceptions? It seems, at times, as if they’ve arrived overnight. How did we get here? Complicity meets technology. Like all deceptions these are not new, they’ve just been repackaged for today. They’ve been dressed up for the hour with new terms and justifications. Abortion is tantamount to ancient child sacrifice and gender fluidity is just one of the many manifestations of sexual deviance. Nonetheless, these two ills have swept up the nation through involvement and innovation. As to involvement, over 60 million American abortions have been performed in the last half-century. Further, statistics suggest that for every one abortion five people are affected, which means you can hardly find and American today who isn’t associated directly with abortion in some way. We’ve obtained them, provided them, paid for them, encouraged them, championed them, defended them, remained silent about them, voted for them, celebrated them, and so on. Abortion is our great collective, national sin. We are all involved and we are all complicit! And as anyone knows, it’s not easy or comfortable to admit personal wrongdoing and repent. Our collaboration with abortion has left the nation cold and indifferent. And while gender fluidity cannot boast so broad a reach as abortion, it’s on the rise. It seems that everywhere one looks, lives, or engages gender norms are being challenged and changed. Public restrooms are being renamed, colleges are changing their policies, businesses are catering to new gender groups and expectations, advertising campaigns are catching the fluidity wave, politicians are introducing new legislation, and Hollywood, Disney, television, and social media are beating the drum. In fact, the gender train is a bullet train. Why? The demonic fallout of abortion and the technological revolution of the last century, and in particular the last twenty years, are why. We are living in a time of amazing availability of knowledge, media, and connectivity. The inventions and advancements of radio, television, computers, wireless phones, the internet, social media platforms, and the like, have allowed for mass distribution, connection, and promotion of any idea or product. The world is no longer quiet or slow, but loud and fast. We are living through the information age, the greatest opportunity for deception in the history of the world. 

Paul, once asked, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” And then immediately answered, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Our hope, our answer, our return to sanity is JESUS. But will we turn to Him? Today in this critical hour it seems that many are abandoning the faith, the teachings of Christ. His ways seem old and antiquated compared to the new enlightenment. He sent a book; the devil responds with a tweet. Jesus taught us to love our neighbor and sacrifice for them; the devil says indulge yourself, even if it means sacrificing another. God says I made you and everything about you is good; the devil says God made a mistake, you can do better than He did. God said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die;” the devil said, “You will not surely die...you will be like God!” Perhaps, it’s time to wise up, America. Perhaps, it’s time to wise up, Christians, and stop trying to be like God?

So then, what is a Christian to do in these deceptive times? We are to look not to the new, but to the old. Look to the Ancient of Days, look to the One who made heaven and earth, and all they contain. All people need, like Paul, to make a sober estimation of themselves--to realize they need a Savior, that they can’t make it on their own. Christians need to be alert to the things of God and apply them to the times and seasons in which they find themselves. We need to say yes to God and no to those people and things that oppose Him. We need to be sensitive to the leading, prompting, and correction of the Holy Spirit in our daily walk of faith. We need to be alive to the reliable teachings of Scripture, and agree with them. My father is fond of saying, “I found out a long time ago that if the Scriptures and I disagree, I’m wrong.” Christians let us align with God’s Holy Word in all matters, especially in the important matters of the sanctity of life and gender. And, finally, my brothers and sisters in Christ, let’s be ready to love. Jesus said, “His followers would be known by their love for one another.” Love is not agreement with that which is wrong, but promotion of that which is true and right. Love is compassion, dignity, and sacrifice. We are not called to respond to the abortionist, the couple who has committed abortion, the person struggling with gender identity, homosexuality, transgender manifestation, fornication, adultery, murder, covetousness, lying, or any other sin with malice, hate, condemnation, or ostracism, but love. Christians are called to grace and truth. Let’s do both in our lives and toward our neighbors, male and female, preborn and elderly, saved and unsaved. Let’s love the way Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13:

           “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org 

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Single Party Option

Jesus told His disciples, “In this world you will have trouble...” Boy, was Jesus right! For the trouble in our world never seems to end. It just cycles from oppression to oppression, war to war, injustice to injustice, and tribulation to tribulation. Our Lord went on to complete His thought by saying, “But cheer up! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). To know Christ is to know joy, both now and forever. The joy of knowing the world is His and that He has dominion over it! The joy of knowing we are His and that He has us in the palm of His hand! Jesus wins, and through Him, we win too! But, we still ask, How long, Lord, until that day? I think He might reply, Until it is finished. Until what is finished? Until we are finished! Jesus overcame the world through His righteousness, obedience, and sacrifice. And after He had given all and accomplished all, He said, “It is finished.” As His children, His spiritual offspring, we should strive to do likewise. We should strive to live righteous, obedient, and sacrificial lives. While being far from divine, we, who are Christians, do possess His Spirit, and in that there is hope. Hope that the unrighteous will pursue righteousness, and one day become righteous.  Hope that the disobedient will pursue obedience, and one day become obedient. Hope that the selfish will pursue generosity, and one day become sacrificial. Is this not our Christian Journey? The pursuit of being like our Savior, our Comforter, our Father? And, one day, finding ourselves in His presence, to be made entirely NEW. Oh, glorious day!

But while we are here, we must be about our Father’s business. Just as Jesus was and is: the business of loving God and our neighbor. A business that presents in many forms and intersects at many points, but one that is crystal clear as it regards to life. LIFE: the foundation of everything--that beginning point and continuing necessity for all things--every creature, every being, every mission, every journey. God is life, and as such, everything that possesses life proceeds from Him. If one possesses life, one is no accident. God has placed each of us in this time, in this space. We are here for His reasons. Our time is at hand. Our time is ongoing. And our mission is in play until God calls us home and says to each one of us, “it is finished.” So, as part of my mission to inform the body of Christ about their mission to protect and cherish every life, let me say it’s time for Christians of every affiliation, background, tradition, and denomination to check their party affiliation. The two-party system currently dominating American politics is not our primary party. We belong to a party far above either the Democrat or Republican Parties. We belong to the Gospel Party, God’s Good News Party. For far too long Christians have divided themselves between Democrat and Republican. Dividing our vote between factions that are often disappointing, embarrassing, damaging, and downright evil. Why? I fear it’s because we’ve disengaged from our party’s platform, we’ve lost connection with our party’s charter, the Bible. Maybe it’s time to register not as Republicans, Democrats, or Independents, but as Dependent voters. People dependent on God’s Word and His Spirit. People who understand God’s mission and their mission with Him. People who understand the times. People who are united with Christ and His objectives. A people who stop negating their voice, but instead raise their voice in harmony toward positive change. Certainly, Christians need to raise their voice in defense of preborn life. One positive change we desperately need to see is the ending of abortion in America and the world. 

Please, if you haven’t already, inform yourself about the Christian perspective on the dignity of human life by reading the Bible, the devotional I’ve written titled, Love Is for Eternity, or by utilizing the other great resources collected at www.annaschoice.org. Abortion is a crisis far too critical to be ignored by anyone, especially the Christian. Our neighbors, made in the image of God, are dying by the millions! Please stand with Christ and combat this evil. No politician that is for abortion (aka, reproductive health) should ever receive a Christian’s vote. Currently, this means an almost entire departure from the Democratic Party in the United States. See Colorado’s current passage of HB22-1279 for a chilling example of the unified Democratic Party’s stance on abortion: https://www.cpr.org/2022/03/23/colorado-abortion-rights-bill-passes-legislature/ In addition, some Independents and Republicans should not receive a Christian’s vote for this same reason. Let’s band together over the truth communicated in God’s Word when we go to the voting booth or elsewhere in our daily lives. 

God bless, Joel Patchen

PS. If no political candidate is worth voting for because their positions are grievously or largely at odds with Scripture, please investigate how to establish good candidates in upcoming elections or think about running yourself. Below are a couple general videos on the two main political parties in the United States:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T7PxQMLTt8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVWiAArXYpE

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Deadly Compassion

What do we say when Christians advocate for abortion or defend abortion? Recently, my son came to me with questions about how we should respond to challenges to the pro-life view that arise from Christians who advance personal, painful experiences that seem to make the choice for abortion understandable or okay. How do we respond to compassionate pleas for the women who’ve endured sexual assault or incest and then found themselves pregnant? How do we respond to the couple who received a fetal diagnosis of severe abnormality or disease and went on to terminate their child? Hopefully, our response is one of grace and truth--the hallmark of Christ and His teachings. Grace should always be extended to our fellow man. We can all find ourselves in places of hurt, confusion, and brokenness. Life is rough at times and, unfortunately, full of tragedy, difficult choices, and mystifying, painful experiences. So, out of love and compassion, we should always aim to be sensitive to the experiences and pain of others. Doing our best to listen to our brother or sister’s heart, hearing them, and then offering them whatever seems appropriate, be it empathy, prayer, silence without words, counsel, connectivity to professional counselors or church staff, friendship, acceptance, forgiveness, etc. This should be our first response: how can we help or care for the person currently in front of us? Is there some way we can minister to them or help them? But, the next part is truth. How do we articulate the truth about the sanctity of every human life, regardless of condition or circumstance? Hopefully, we express the truth with discernment and sensitivity, but we express it nonetheless--because this is the core of the pro-life paradigm--all life is life, made in the image of God, equal before Him, and of inestimable value.

when one is pro-life, one is for the betterment and benefit of all human persons at every point along life’s continuum, regardless of circumstance. And, as such, compassion and value extend to every human life. This includes mothers, fathers, children, preborn babies, and all of us. It includes the dying, the victims of sexual assault, the sick and the disabled, and those facing terrible circumstances and life and death realities. Life is not a changeable reality based on circumstance, but a concrete reality of existence--all humans are fully human, and at no time or under no condition are they any less human. This is the bedrock of pro-life understanding, and will help us, and hopefully others, navigate these painful circumstances, experiences, and scenarios. Furthermore, Christians know that life is not an accident or a random occurrence, but, rather, the intentional work of God. No life is ever created or sustained without God’s divine will and providence. So, let’s examine how the pro-life position is stable even under the scrutiny of adverse and tragic circumstances.

It’s no wonder with how silent our churches and culture are about abortion and the sanctity of human life that many believers would be unaware, unsure, or ill-equipped to do anything other than agree that sometimes abortion is okay, especially given a painful, gut-wrenching personal experience or scenario. In fact, there are many Christians who present painful scenarios and experiences to defend or support abortion as an appropriate choice. However, these Christians are at odds with Scripture, science, and observable reality. They, knowingly or unknowingly, advance a deadly compassion; meaning their compassion for some in the arena of abortion is deadly for others. It is not compassionate to consider only one life when two are potentially at stake. One cannot claim pure compassion regarding the life and death procedure of abortion when only considering the mother or the father or the disease or the sexual assault because abortion effects, at a minimum, three human beings and one Supernatural Being. It’s a biological fact that pregnancy and a following abortion require a fertile male human being, a fertile female human being, and a developing human being. And, from a biblical perspective, the Creator of all life, God Himself. These entities must all be considered if we are to have true compassion, not prejudicial compassion. No matter what experience, scenario, or ethical question, the primary point at issue is: who are the preborn? Are they human beings or not? If the zygote, embryo, fetus, or developing baby is human, then they have equal weight and stake and value in any scenario or dilemma. Developing babies are equal to their mother, father, and anyone in society. The Bible, biological science, observation, and experiential common sense all say developing babies are human beings. This is the key to finding the truth in difficult circumstances and ethical dilemmas, the humanity of the developing baby. It is no longer the sexual assault victim and her rapist’s baby, but, instead, a survivor of sexual assault who is now a mother with child. Phrasing makes a difference, doesn’t it? One person calls the child, “The rapist’s baby.” Another person calls the child conceived after sexual assault, “The heroic mother’s baby.” It is no longer a fetus that is incompatible with life, but a baby that is facing illness and disability who needs our prayers, help, and the very best medical interventions available. It is no longer a mother who is facing severe heath concerns, but a mother and her child who are facing severe health concerns and even death. The bottom line is this; it is never right, good, or Christian to kill a child, a mother, a father, or anyone else. We need to always ask this question: under what circumstances or conditions is it okay to kill a child? The pro-life position and answer is never. The developing baby is a human being--this is the great reality of the pro-life position. 

Life can be painful and hard in many ways, let’s not add to the trauma by killing a child, ours or anyone else's. Instead, during painful circumstances, trials, and disappointments, let’s turn to God and share our burdens with Him (Psalm 55:22; Matthew 11:28). And let’s do everything in our power to save and help every life. Some lives may be tragically lost, but not because we chose to end them. 

God bless, Joel Patchen

Please visit www.annaschoice.org for a deeper understanding of the pro-life worldview. The resource tab houses many helpful books, websites, and other materials.

For further reading, I recommend:

Victims and Victors by Julie Makimma and Amy Sobie with David Reardon

The Missing Piece by Lee Ezell

Shepherding Women in Pain by Bev Hislop

Why Pro-Life by Randy Alcorn

Changed by Michaelene Fredenburg

Pro-life 101 by Scott Klusendorf

Fatherhood Aborted by Gary Condon

Love Is for Eternity and Hushed by Joel Patchen

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49 And Not Feelin’ Fine

As we approach the 49th year after Roe v. Wade, our nation is more godless, divided, immoral, and broken than ever. I wonder why? Could it be that abortion is more than a personal choice? Is it possible that abortion affects us all? That abortion affects everything. Forty-nine years of inhumanity has poisoned the nation. Abortion has infected our nation like a virus and changed America into something far worse than we hoped it would be. Abortion mocks our founding principles. It runs roughshod over our Constitution, making it the arbiter of atrocity. It belittles every move of justice and equality. Abortion exposes our hypocrisy and complicity! Abortion and its ongoing acceptance are proof that America has not progressed, but, rather, regressed. America is more oppressive, cruel, and wicked that it has ever been.

Year after year, our culture languishes in a sin as sickening as slavery. Our culture stands aloof, unaware, and unconcerned by our great tyranny of abortion. Many of us are sleepwalking through a time of death, unmoved by more than 60 million infant deaths, butchered babies. Denying the mental, psychological, and physical harm abortion has done to the mothers and fathers who’ve consented to abortion, not to mention the rest of us. We fancy ourselves enlightened, and yet we’ve participated in one of the greatest scientific and theological deceits in history. It appears, for many of us, that common sense and observable facts have no place or sway in the abortion debate. To quote Gandalf the Grey, “We’ve abandoned reason for madness!”

What has happened, America? We are desperately sick, but we’re not seeking a cure. Our nation and many of its citizenry are hysterical over Covid, but not abortion. A silent killer among us that takes the lives of healthy, young, and innocent children at a rate 3 to 4 times higher than Covid. While Covid is relatively new and survivable, abortion isn’t. A haunting specter for forty-nine years at the national level and more than half a century in many of our states. The nation’s true leading cause of death every year for the past five decades! God, have mercy on us, a blind, deaf, and dumb nation. Please, Lord, give us eyes to see and ears to hear. We need to repent. We need renewal. We need deliverance. We need forgiveness. We need to end abortion.

In that spirit, as I prepare to attend the 49th annual March for Life, please think about who we’ve become as a nation and join the many pro-life efforts to end this atrocity. Join me and millions of others desperately trying to restore dignity and worth to every individual from the first moment of their existence to their final departure from this life in the flesh. Leave a legacy of life, not death!

Roe must go! Please pray for the Supreme Court to see the truth and render a powerful, righteous verdict in Dobbs v. Jackson. Pray our pastors get off the sidelines and speak the truth regarding abortion to their congregations. Pray expectant mothers and fathers have a revelation about their progeny and refuse abortion. Pray abortionists and their staffs repent and quit the abortion industry in revulsion over what they have done. Pray that Dr. King was right when he said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Pray the preborn receive liberty and justice, and that the year of their jubilee is upon them. Pray and pray and wear the opposition out with your coming like the widow of Luke 18!

For Life, Joel Patchen

Please utilize the resources at www.annaschoice.org to equip oneself in the urgent work of ending abortion, the greatest threat to peace and prosperity the world has ever know.   

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Oh, Lord, hear our voice!

Dear Christian, friends of life, and citizens,

Please join me and many like-minded people in gratitude, prayer, and repentance this Thanksgiving and Christmas Season. We have much to be thankful for: from our creation by God to Christ’s atoning work to the Holy Spirit’s presence to heath and abundance to family, friends, and freedom…so much we can all be thankful for even in the most troubling times and circumstances. Certainly, the last few years have been trying, difficult, and, in some cases, fatal, but If we’re still here, we have purposes to fulfill, lives to live, and responsibilities to meet. Please join us in expressing gratitude for all we’ve survived and all we’ve been blessed with. Join us in the pursuit of living well and embracing the freedoms we have. Join us in the responsibility and privilege we have to love our neighbors, care for the marginalized, and walk in greater character and holiness through repentance and advocacy.  

A great opportunity is before us and before the United States Supreme Court—The opportunity to overturn Roe and Doe and possibly end abortion in America! The Supreme Court is in the midst of deliberations concerning the Texas six-week abortion ban and the upcoming (Dec. 1, Dobbs) 15-week Mississippi ban. These cases represent an opportunity to righteously decide the core contentions and provisions of these helpful laws, but also to revisit the constitutionality of Roe and Doe itself.  Should the Supreme Court be moved, awakened, and convinced in the direction of life, great things will begin to happen, including, perhaps, the complete abolition of abortion in the United States. Can we imagine a nation free of the slaughter of developing children? We must not only imagine it, we must usher it in through praise, prayer, and repentance! To that end, Alan Parker of The Justice Foundation and many other pro-life people are calling for concerted, consistent, prayer and repentance during the time surrounding these critical cases, especially the day before, during, and after the Mississippi case is heard (www.nationaldayofrepentance.org). Please visit their website and make plans to join us in contrition and prayer! Prayers regarding personal repentance and national repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14) and these two cases before the Supreme Court. In the Mississippi case alone 130 pro-life briefs have been filed, including over 2000 after-abortion testimonies exposing the trauma and devastating after-effects of abortion, a brief from a girl named Hannah who spent two years in a frozen embryonic state before insertion in the womb argues she is proof positive that life begins at conception, and the Moral Outcry petition (www.themoraloutcry.com). If anyone reading this has not signed the Moral Outcry Petition, please go to the above website and do so. Lend your voice to the growing list of people outraged and appalled by the greatest human rights violation to this point in our history (https://themoraloutcry.com/videos/)!

As you pray, keep these specific prayer points in mind:

~ The intervention of God’s Holy Spirit, the fear of Him, and His will to be accomplished.

~ Supreme Court judges and their clerks for awakening, discernment, wisdom, and understanding.

~ That the after-abortion testimonies are read and understood.

~ That Hannah’s frozen embryo testimony will be compelling.

~ For Scott Stewart, the lead Mississippi attorney, and all the attorneys fighting for life to have favor, protection, wisdom, discernment, courage, boldness, and fire in their presentation.

~ Against the spiritual forces of wickedness and the enemy—bind, hinder, and confuse.

For a broader understanding of abortion and its devastation, please visit: https://www.annaschoice.org/resources.html -- books, pro-life website connection, pregnancy centers, movies, music, etc.

For life in prayer and repentance,

Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

 Additionally, enjoy the following podcast from October: https://theresilientheartpodcast.libsyn.com/joel-patchen

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Doubling Down On Evil

“Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity…”

Psalm 7:14

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil…”

Proverbs 3:7

 Congresswoman Chu, Speaker Pelosi, and House Democrats, with the exception of Congressman Cuellar, have committed a great sin with the passage of HR3755, The Women’s Health Protection Act. A euphemistic bill that is anti-God, anti-Christian, anti-science, anti-humanitarian, anti-child, and anti-woman just for starters. The Democratic party proving once again that they are the party of death! A party so sick with sin and wickedness that they even embrace and celebrate the death of developing children. In a time of national pain and struggle with a world-wide pandemic that has claimed 688,032 American lives according to the CDC, the Democrats passed a bill last week that would solidify under law abortion on demand without restriction. A callous, disgusting act that would preserve open season on the nation’s most vulnerable children. Enshrining a death toll much greater than Covid-19 upon the future of our nation. Welcoming the death of around a million children every year in the United States—500,000 of them female!

The Women’s Health Protection Act has nothing to do with women’s health or their protection. In fact, the direct opposite is being pursued. This bill, like all other abortion measures, is designed to kill men and women in the womb as well as literally killing and scarring many outside the womb. Several post-abortive persons have been maimed through an abortion procedure, killed as a result of one, or have, tragically, taken their lives in the aftermath of abortion as they grappled with post-abortion trauma (see Lime Five by Mark Crutcher)! This new House bill is yet another barbarity by the nation’s Democratic Party. A party with a dubious history of human rights violations. A party no Christian should ever vote for in its current state (see my devotional Love Is for Eternity). A party of wickedness!

Please join me in prayer for the Senate of the United States—that they would have the wisdom and the courage to defeat this reprehensible bill. Also, join me in praying for Congresswoman Chu, Speaker Pelosi, and the Democratic Party. Praying that they will feel the weight of their sin, the dread of their Creator, and the truth of this and other matters pertaining to life and righteousness. Ask the Lord to turn their hearts and save their souls! I pray they will repent, relent, and find redemption in Christ. May they repent of championing abortion, the death of vulnerable children. May they relent in supporting wicked pro-abortion legislation and blocking righteous life-honoring legislation. May they discover the true and living God, not just in theory or in ceremony, but in Spirit and in truth—to the glory of God, the enrichment of His kingdom, and the betterment of others and themselves! And lastly, if they will not repent and relent, please pray that they be removed from leadership, decision making, and power. Finally, if they will not change, do not vote to retain them in office. For when the wicked rule, the people groan (Proverbs 29:2)!

 “For He who avenges blood remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.”

Psalm 9:12

 In Rebuke, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-house-passes-abortion-rights-bill-expected-fail-senate-2021-09-24/

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/24/house-passes-abortion-rights-bill-in-response-to-restrictive-texas-law.html

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Why I Write

I write for change. I write for education. I write for my daughter. I write for the future. I write for the record. I write to create. And I write in hope. In hope that one day we’ll be better as a society, that one day I’ll be better. I write what I believe and what I dream—that Jesus will make all things new! That what is right and moral and good and decent and kind and loving will prevail over that which is wrong and perverse and bad and unbecoming and mean and hateful—that the light will overcome the darkness—that the wickedness in me and in mankind will be transformed by the love of God. I want desperately to see change, betterment, and improvement in myself and the world about me. I want to love more and sin less. I want good to triumph over evil. I want abortion to end, racial tension and division to disappear, and healthy sexuality to emerge as the norm. I want the good things of God to multiply in the land of the living!

Why change? We need it! We’re living in a world of increasing division, discouragement, and evil. We kill our developing children and call it choice. We reject our God-given gender and call it reassignment. We foment blame, hate, suspicion, and division and call it social justice. We encourage escapism and addiction and call it recreation. We embrace perversion, immorality, lust, and unfaithfulness and call it erotica, orientation, and love. We are broken in many ways and we need help, healing, and deliverance from those sins that so easily entangle us. We need Jesus—His Spirit, His wisdom, His guidance, and His love. We need to be changed by the Changeless One! We need to see with His eyes and embrace His ways. I write as a plea for change—in hope that my readers will discover Jesus and life more abundant. I write hoping my readers will join me in pursuing the better things—all those efforts toward loving our neighbors and improving the world.

Why education? Knowledge, perspective, and wisdom are critical in assessing reality and determining truth. We must know our faith, our convictions, and our subject if we are to prove a matter true or false. Have we looked at the evidence, the perspectives, the facts, the arguments, and so on? Have we reached a reasoned opinion? Education is invaluable. I write to educate my readers about the critical issue of abortion. I want to help them examine life and abortion from the biblical, scientific, observable, and philosophical perspectives. I want them to know what I know. I want them to see what abortion really is, what it does, why it’s so critical, and how to refuse it and defeat it. I want my readers to learn something from my writing.

Why for my daughter? I feel profoundly her loss! And, similarly, the loss of all the aborted children who were not even afforded the opportunity to struggle for their life as Brooke did nineteen years ago in a hospital NICU. I write to honor all she taught me and showed me during her last forty days of life. She is, in many ways, my inspiration—critical to my purpose, my journey. I write for Brooke because she’s the turning point in my pursuit of life and my activism surrounding the abolition of abortion. I write because Brooke can’t, and the preborn can’t.

Why the future? The future is not yet determined. Today we kill thousands of preborn babies, tomorrow we may not. Today pornography is everywhere and perversion is often celebrated, tomorrow purity and self-control may rule the day. In the future anything is possible. What is not celebrated and practiced now may be celebrated and practiced then. The future could grow darker still, but it can also turn to the light. It is this hope of regeneration that makes me write for the future. I write for the generations to come, all unborn. I write in hopes that they will accomplish what we have not. I write with the dream that they will discover and follow the better angels of their natures. I write for the future and to change the future.

Why for the record? So that others will know what we thought and that we tried. So that humanity and heaven will have a witness to our times. That documentation will exist about those who tried to make a difference, save lives, and restore human dignity. I write for the record so that the record may be full—that my voice and all the other voices crying out for life will be represented and available for our times and the times to come. I write for today and tomorrow and all the days to come!

Why create? Creativity draws us. The arts and all creative expressions resonate deep within the human soul and personality. Cultures are shaped and changed through the arts. Creativity moves us, it hits us on many levels—spiritual, emotional, physical, etc. We create because we were all created in God’s image. We are creative because He is creativity itself. He commissioned all of us to be creative. One of my creative pursuits is writing. I love the arts. I love stories and drama and music and painting and sports and all manner of creative expression.  I want to participate in life and its creative derivatives. I want to express important truths. And so, I present my gifts and passions and perspectives through writing. Since I can write and I enjoy to write, I should write. I write for the joy of it. I write for the potential of it. I write for myself and I write for others. I write because I need to—I write because I want to. I write to contribute. I write to share. I write to implore. I write to honor. I write.

Why hope? The Scriptures say, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick…” And there have been many times when my heart has been sick. But it goes on to say, “…but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” And the psalmist adds, “…hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption.” I desire to be better than I am. I desire a better world. For all of us to be the best versions of ourselves we can be. I desire to see God’s ways triumph. And I hope and pray that one day my desires will be fulfilled. I hope to make an impact. I hope that my efforts, works, giving, and contributions make a difference in the lives of others—that lives are spared and souls are saved. I hope we end abortion. I hope we put away all division and rightly determine that there is only one race, the human race. I hope we save sexual expression for marriage and honor marriage. I hope we embrace masculinity and femininity and stop trying to change who we were created to be. I hope we trust our lives to Jesus and follow Him. I hope we will overcome our sins, addictions, struggles, failures, hurts, losses, and a host of other things. I hope we will love more, live well, forgive often, and bless our fellow man. I hope…

 God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

Works by Joel Patchen:

Who Am I?

Letters to My Dad

Love is For Eternity

Hushed

The Witness Writer

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A Day of Mourning

Today is a day of mourning. A day that marks the beginning of America’s nationwide abortion practice. A day that entrenched the most egregious human rights violation in the history of our country, the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. A day that has culminated in the loss of, at least, 62,000,000 babies over the last 48 years. A day then and now that calls for repentance: God, forgive us our shameful sin of abortion. We are a broken and wayward people. We have raised our hands against the innocent. We have shed innocent blood. We have acted selfishly and failed to love our neighbors. We have not spoken what is right. We have acted without courage. We have placed pleasure, reputation, and fear over decency and love. We have walked in the flesh and not the Spirit. Oh, Lord, forgive us and make us new! Without Your provision and power, we will ever remain as we are. But if You transform us, we will bring beauty out of ashes! Deliver us and heal us, Lord, so that we may be instruments of deliverance and healing.

Yesterday, I visited the cemetery where my daughter, Brooke, is buried. It has been eighteen years since her passing. Standing there at her graveside, I wept silent tears. Tears not of loss, but of gratitude. Gratitude for what her life taught me. Gratitude for what her life has inspired. Tears for what her life continues to mean for me. Brooke is a big part of why Anna’s Choice exists. She’s the inspiration behind the books, the website, the sidewalk counseling, the advocacy, the speaking, and the persistence. She’s my definitive proof that life begins in the womb! She’s my constant reminder of the preciousness and brevity of life—her life being of such short duration, less than a full-term pregnancy. She’s the person God used to initiate my calling and focus my life’s mission. She’s one of my unseen partners in the ministry of Anna’s Choice. Her worth cannot be measured!

Today, full of all Brooke has helped me see, I cry different tears—tears of sorrow. Because I know that each of the 62,000,000 aborted children’s worth cannot be measured either. Over the last eighteen years, I have often become emotional thinking about our staggering national loss. Whenever I witness great talent, a miracle medical breakthrough, beautiful writing, a noble act, a powerful movie, a selfless gesture, athletic excellence, a stirring song, bravery, sacrificial giving, a rousing sermon, caregiving, good parenting, or just a simple smile from a stranger, I’m reminded of what we’ve lost. I’m reminded of the millions of Brookes we’ve tossed in the trash. People who never saw the light of day. People who never tasted this life or contributed to it outside the womb. People God meant to be here. People…

Throughout our fifteen years of ministry, Anna’s Choice has often been overlooked—seldom noticed or appreciated by the public at large. Our books have not, by and large, been discovered or read, this blog is almost universally ignored, and the average time spent searching our website is less than a minute. But in all this, I’ve felt a strange kinship with the preborn who are themselves largely ignored, dismissed, and discarded. And even though many in the pro-life movement enjoy a greater platform than I, I’ve often observed just how little the culture at large pays attention to their messages as well. Therefore, I’m issuing this challenge to anyone who happens to view this post: Let 2021 be a year of attention and exposure! Please pay attention to the pro-life movement and what it has to say and offer. Please don’t remain silent, aloof, or unmoved—people are dying! Dying in greater numbers than any other single thing that assaults human life! Abortion is the greatest killer of humankind, not cancer, not heart disease, not Covid-19, not suicide, not accidents, not even war. Abortion is number one—see Jacobson and Johnston’s Abortion Worldwide Report: 1 Century, 100 Nations, 1 Billion Babies (under resources at www.annaschoice.org) for a statistical look. Don’t look away, don’t shy away, don’t put abortion away--look at it, face it, resist it, defeat it! Spend time at: www.annaschoice.org. Meditate on what you encounter there. Read the books, watch the videos and movies, contemplate the quotes and Scriptures presented, take in Brooke’s story, engage with the many pro-life websites provided, live the mission for life. The world will be better if you do. Please let your friends, family, and fellow citizens know about Anna’s Choice and the many excellent organizations that promote the cause of life, especially preborn life. In that spirit and in sorrowful observance of this January 22, 2021, let me introduce you to an outstanding voice for life that I’ve recently discovered: Stephanie Gray Connors. Stephanie is a pro-life author and speaker well worth hearing. Spend some time on her website: www.loveunleasheslife.com. Watch the video of her talk at Google, read her posts, share her with others. Share the gospel of Jesus Christ and spread the mission of life this year by becoming an active member of the pro-life movement and by pointing others to those already active in the cause. You’ll be glad you did and others will be saved.

 God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschioce.org

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Goodbye 20, Hello 21!

With 2020 over and 2021 just beginning, I thought it would be fitting to review some things we’ve experienced and learned in 2020 as we look forward to our hopes for 2021. The Bible scholar and nineteenth-century writer, E.W. Bullinger, wrote an interesting and powerful book on numbers and how they relate to Holy Scripture titled, Number in Scripture. In this enduring work, Bullinger wrote that the number twenty, “…being one short of 21, signifies what Dr. Milo Mahan calls expectancy…” Certainly 2020 has both delivered what very few, if any, expected and has left us all wondering: What now to expect?

2020 showed that life is unpredictable, fragile, and limited. But it also showed us how much we need each other. How good it is to have our family, friends, and neighbors near us. The importance of community and the love we can give one to another. Many have been touched by loss and felt the preciousness of life to a whole new level in 2020. We’ve tasted separation, anxiety, and fear. We’ve seen churches shut down, businesses closed, and riots in the streets. But we’ve also witnessed courage, resilience, and determination. We’ve seen and felt the good, the bad, and the ugly in 2020. Despite all the changes and challenges, we’ve also felt or witnessed, if we’ve been paying attention, the Changeless One and His dependability. No matter what the circumstances we faced in 2020, the sun always came up and the stars always came out. The cursed soil still yielded a portion of its strength to us. Children were born every day, the hope of new life. Millions more survived the virus than died from it. We prayed more than we had in years and God answered many of those prayers, remember? He helped us through loss and tragedy. He helped us reprioritize what’s important. He paused our entertainments, sports, and many vain pursuits and refocused our thinking on deeper and more profound things than escapism. He challenged us to be appreciative and grateful. He drew us back to nature and time alone with Him. He provided for us in miraculous ways and helped us see afresh—He is our ultimate provider. The One who alone gives us everything, so that we might utilize and pursue everything. He beckoned us to come and place our lives in His all-sufficient hands, for only He holds the future. Where one spends eternity became important again, especially as the death tolls rose. He gave many of us more time with family, more time to think, more time to evaluate what matters most, did we use that time? Did we invest in Him and His people? We saw much, we learned much, and, hopefully, we grew much in 2020. We didn’t get what we expected in 2020, but we can always expect good things from God if we will turn to Him! Let’s expect Him to be Himself, a promise keeper, and to do even bigger things in 2021.

Bullinger also said of the number 21, “…if 21 is the three-fold 7, and signifies Divine (3) completion as regards spiritual perfection (7)…” then perhaps we can expect good things from 2021. But even if 2021 evidences more of the same shakings and the ups and downs of 2020, we can always turn to the One who is unshakable to see us through, the Giver of life and all good things! Be blessed, be courageous, and be His in 2021.

Please join me in the following 21 prayer points for 2021:

1.    That millions of people all over the world will draw closer to God.

2.    For millions more to accept His free gift of eternal life and fellowship with Him through their confession of sins unto salvation faith in Jesus Christ.

3.    That abortion will be diminished and eradicated on earth.

4.    That Covid-19 deaths will be diminished and eradicated on earth.  

5.    That the recently developed vaccines would be safe and effective and free of any nefarious practices in their development, or rejected if they are found to be dubious.

6.    That families will grow stronger together and bless each of their members.

7.    For all children to be able to return to school and remain vibrant and healthy.

8.    For churches to flourish, open, and live the mission of the gospel.

9.    For the elderly to be valued, prized, and included in our society and families.

10.  For families and nations to have the financial stability and blessings needed to maintain a healthy environment in which to live.    

11.  That biblical marriage would be honored, respected, and cherished among all people.

12.   For people everywhere to respect and aid their neighbors.

13.   For truth to triumph over lies.

14.   For joy and fellowship to flourish where it hasn’t.

15.   For all of us to rediscover nature and nature’s Creator.

16.   That people everywhere would begin to read the Word of God, the Holy Bible.

17.   That those in authority would be wise, fair, and a blessing to those they assist, lead, or govern.

18.   That those in authority would have provision and protection.

19.   That good men and women would not lose heart and would continue to pursue good things and the betterment of others.

20.   That righteousness would increase in the earth.

21.   That wickedness would diminish in the earth.

May God bless and uphold us all as we journey through these eventful, trying, and significant times. And may He protect and guide each of us in 2021!

 God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

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Voting Faith

With the 2020 Election just a week away, I thought it would be helpful to discuss the importance of the faith vote and what it means to vote your faith. Voting is an important fundamental American right, experience, and duty. One I would encourage every citizen to exercise, especially in a republic democracy such as ours. In America the people have the privilege of shaping, empowering, and curbing their government through their collective voice and choices. A tremendous opportunity that can have profound and lasting consequences, but an opportunity many among us neglect and avoid. Why? Perhaps it’s because some people believe their voice doesn’t matter. Maybe they feel their beliefs are not represented. Or stronger still that the candidates presented are unacceptable. But how will a Christian’s lack of participation change these circumstances? If Christians want better candidates, greater representation, more focus on their values and beliefs, they must get involved in the political process. Very little, if anything, changes in a vacuum! Christians aren’t likely to influence or shape our nation through apathy and inaction. No, we must participate, we must lead, we must fight, and we must vote. But how should we vote? And why are Christians so divided in their votes?

Looking at research data about the 2016 election will confirm a general election turnout of around 60% of eligible voters (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/10/22/voter-turnout-2020-ranking-us-presidential-elections/6006793002/). As well as the reality that around 40% of Christians fail to vote. And that among Christian voters each major party secures at least 40% of the votes cast by Christians, creating a substantial divide between the way Christians see the candidates, parties, and issues surrounding the elections (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/09/how-the-faithful-voted-a-preliminary-2016-analysis/). Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, vote more for the Republican Party than the Democratic Party, but not by an overwhelming majority when all subsets are examined. Looking at the numbers one realizes that if all professing Christians voted, and voted with greater harmony, the influence God’s people could exert in the representative leadership of our nation would be enormous. However, a divided church, largely negates its opinion and renders a much smaller influence in the governing affairs of the nation. So, why are Christians divided and how can they become more unified? By looking to Scripture and the ways of the Lord.

The Christian community must rally around the authority of Scripture and the baseline teachings of God. The Bible encourages participation within our world systems and speaks to the most important issues facing our nation. Jesus, in responding to taxes, said, “…Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s...” (Matt. 22:15-22). And Paul advised in the Book of Romans that, “Every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed…” (Romans 13:1-7). Christians, when given the opportunity to vote, need to vote. As God’s representatives on earth and His agents of light, we must vote.

As for the issues that are presented before the body of Christ in elections, Scripture also must be our guide. The issues of life and abortion have been before the American voter for nearly five decades. The Bible is emphatically clear on how we should side. Christians must side with life and against abortion, the intentional destruction of preborn human beings. Psalm 139 declares we are, “knit together in our mother’s womb” (Ps. 139:13-16). And the Book of Acts reminds that, “He himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:22-26). The Scriptures declare marriage is between one man and one woman. Genesis proclaims, “A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). With the Book of Hebrews reminding Christians to, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Heb. 13:4). Regarding today’s gender question, Scripture is also not quiet. The Bible affirms that gender is a reality of creation and not a choice of the whim. Genesis states, “When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. Male and female he created them” (Gen 5:1-2). And the Book of First Corinthians reminds: “In the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God” (1 Cor. 11:11-12). Making clear there are only two genders, each with purpose and supporting roles. As to race, the Bible declares there is only one. Genesis One, the Bible’s chapter of beginnings, reveals that, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it…’” (Gen 1:27-28). And again, in Acts, “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26). When Christians embrace that WE ARE ONE RACE and begin to treat all God’s children as brothers and sisters, we will see the beginning of the end of what we today call “racism”. As to poverty, healthcare, fair wages, education, judges, and a host of other issues, if we’ll turn to Scripture and prayer, we will discover God’s plans, inform our minds, and build common ground around God’s revealed truth. The Bible is not silent about today’s issues and questions, do we know it?

Finally, as to the candidates, those modern-day Caesar’s vying for power, Scripture asks us to pray for them and evaluate them in light of God’s ways. Prayer is vital to the life of our nation and all things. Christians are admonished to pray and pray routinely for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Paul urged in Timothy, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim. 2:1-2). Christians should vote and they should pray—are we praying for this election and all those who serve our nation in government?  When it comes to candidates running for secular office, we need to evaluate their character and their policy positions and past actions. Paul, writing in Corinthians, understood that the world is different from the church when he communicated, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world” (1 Corinthians 5:9-10). And similarly, as Christians evaluate their choices for president or the congress, they will not often have the luxury of choosing from superb moral people. However, by examining a candidate’s personal character, their affiliations and positions, and their policies and actions, we can make determinations about which candidates align most closely with God’s teachings and principles. Holding the candidate up to Scripture’s declarations about good and poor leadership is a good place to start. Proverbs 29 tells us, “By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down” (4) And, “If a ruler listens to falsehood, all his officials will be wicked” (12). And further still, “If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever” (14). Looking at these and other Scriptures, Christians can discern which candidates best represents the counsel of God.

I pray my fellow Christians will vote and pray during this election. May the Word and the Spirit guide us to the best representatives for our government. May we get involved in the political life of our nation at all levels and may we routinely pray for those in office. Let us serve God at all times, but especially as we exercise the privilege of voting for our representative government.

 God bless, Joel

Colorado voters, remember to vote “yes” on 115. The measure will ban late-term abortion! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mDaXCxxrbU

Please enjoy the following incites about faith voting from Barna:

https://www.barna.com/research/notional-christians-big-election-story-2016/

https://www.barna.com/research/religious-beliefs-have-greatest-influence-on-voting-decisions/

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Colorado’s Prop. 115

Coloradans have a great opportunity to save lives in 2020 and beyond. Proposition 115, the late-term abortion ban will be before the voters this upcoming November. A measure, like all abortion restrictions, that is long overdue. After all, Colorado was the first state to decriminalize abortion in 1967 and has continued to offer unrestricted abortion up until birth since 1973. One of only a handful of states to continue to uphold this liberal and barbaric standard in 2020. Forty-three other states have already curbed late-term abortion, it’s time Colorado does as well! Proposition 115 will make it illegal for a physician to perform an abortion after 22 weeks gestation in Colorado. A law that would save hundreds of Colorado children every year and many others from out-of-state. A law that does and should make sense to almost anyone, especially with its provision to safeguard women from any prosecution for violating the proposed law. A common sense law that all people should be able to agree upon. In light of medical knowledge, technology, and advancement, the least we can do to protect our developing children in the womb. A proposition I fully support. Please go to: www.duedatetoolate.com to find out more about the proposition, how you can help, and ways to spread the word about Prop. 115 in the next couple of months. If we care about human dignity, worth, and life, we will vote YES on 115!

         With the 2020 election looming and all its implications, it’s imperative that those of us who love life vote. All elections are critical and this upcoming election is no different! Those who govern and implement and uphold our laws are critically important to the future course of our country. If we want to see things change for our preborn neighbors, we must vote for those parties, candidates, and representatives that recognize the preborn’s inalienable right to life, their worth, and their need to be protected. Our government is representative of the people and if we, the people, don’t vote or vote for candidates who devalue life, we will damage our nation, our children, and our future. We must vote for life in this and all elections. The culture will change only as we change. We must put life first. We must put into positions of power those who will work toward life and change. Without life and the respect and protection of life, all our other rights are suspect and in danger of revocation. Life is the foundation and cornerstone for every other thing we have, it all starts with life. Life must be our first priority as voters!  Don’t be fooled by the many other concerns, life, the fundamental right to life, and abortion are the critical factor in this and all our coming elections. I’ve often said if a party, candidate, judge, or public official is wrong on life (when it begins, who is entitled to it, when it’s worthy to be protected, etc.), then they are likely to be wrong on everything else. We know when life begins! We know 61 million Americans have lost their lives to the horror of abortion! We know that the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” in foundational to our nation and all free people! We know what God has spoken about life! We know protecting preborn life and all life is right, moral, and good. Let’s vote that way. If a politician running in 2020 is pro-choice or pro-abortion, they shouldn’t be your pick. Vote for Life!

God bless, Joel Patchen

www.annaschoice.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPGwO1g6bIE&feature=youtu.be (Prop 115)

Susan B. Anthony List’s voter information: https://www.sba-list.org/election-hq

Voter information guide: https://ivoterguide.com/?partner=afaaction

Priests for life voting guide suggestions: https://www.priestsforlife.org/candidates/

Kristi Burton Brown, one of the founders of the 2008 Personhood Amendment in Colorado, shares her thoughts about Proposition 115: https://www.coloradopolitics.com/opinion/point-vote-for-children-end-late-term-abortion/article_b7004686-e8d8-11ea-b78c-bf945d04e853.html