Dr. Alveda King Scripture References: Genesis, Ruth, Esther, Psalm 51, Song of Solomon, Romans, Ephesians, Matthew, Mark, John, 1 John When many people hear the name Alveda King these days, the pro-life movement quickly comes to mind. Psalm 51:1 For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2 Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3 For I recognize my shameful deeds -- they haunt me day and night. Yes, the history about my two aborted babies (Phillip and Jessica) and one miscarried baby (Raphael) due to complications surrounding the abortions is becoming familiar. What many people haven’t heard is the rest of the story, about my sometimes painful journey to sexual wholeness that has come full circle through forgiveness, the healing power of the Holy Spirit by the Love and Divine Mercy of my Lord Jesus Christ, and the grace of my ABBA Creator God. Psalm 51:4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. 5 For I was born a sinner -- yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. My grandfather, Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr. rescued me from abortion in 1950, when the Birth Control League (later known as Planned Parenthood) was trying to convince my mother that her “unplanned pregnancy” was just a “lump of flesh” and that she should try a procedure called a D&C which was a clever solution to many “mysterious female problems.” Granddaddy told Mother that he had seen me in a dream three years before my birth, a “bright skinned baby girl with red hair.” He convinced my mother to keep me, and on January 22, 1951 Alveda Celeste King was born. As a cherished and beloved child in what would become the famous “King Legacy,” I should have been protected from sexual predators. Without the knowledge of my parents and grandparents, I fell victim to a teenage neighbor when I was ten and he was seventeen. He touched me inappropriately when he walked me to the store and back, and brought me candy, and warned me not to tell “our secret.” This was very confusing to me because I wasn’t sure why I couldn’t tell… Two years later, I was still pretty confused about sexuality, but wasn’t sure who to talk to and what to say. I did talk to another neighbor, an older girl who was my “babysitter.” I told her what the boy had done, and she asked me to show her. The sad thing is, she ended up touching me too, leading to more confusion… Today, we would call this “child molestation,” and I would agree that as a child my innocence had been sorely violated. I even kept those experiences a secret when I became a “virgin” bride. At the time of my first marriage, I went to my honeymoon with my hymen intact. But I was far from innocent because of the previous violations. Psalm 51:6 But you desire honesty from the heart, so you can teach me to be wise in my inmost being. 7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me -- now let me rejoice. 9 Don't keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. The sin of abortion was added to my list of guilty secrets. I became more “private” about my sexuality, adding secrets to secrets, pain on top of pain… In my twenties, after my divorce, I was a victim of “date rape.” It was painful and terrible… And a secret I added to my growing list of secrets… Yes, I kept these incidents secret until many years later, when young victims of similar and worse incidents came to share their secrets with me. Needless to say, I remembered my pain, and was very careful not to continue the cycle of pain. I never did inappropriate touching of the little ones who were seeking my help. I also didn’t advise any young women to get abortions. I thank God that He broke the cycle, and I didn’t harm His little ones. Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. 13 Then I will teach your ways to sinners, and they will return to you. 14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. 15 Unseal my lips, O Lord, that I may praise you. As the young ones came, I began to share my testimony of the violations of my soul and body by people I trusted. I added the molestation accounts and the abortion accounts, the adultery and fornication and rape episodes and finally the redemption trail that led to my being born again and healed. I was able to assure the ones who came to me that their victimization was not their fault, and to help them to forgive those who hurt them, and to seek forgiveness, restoration, redemption and inner healing for themselves. Psalm 51:16 You would not be pleased with sacrifices, or I would bring them. If I brought you a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise. 18 Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will be pleased with worthy sacrifices and with our whole burnt offerings; and bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar. The bottom line is that too many people have been very ignorant of Satan’s plan to destroy God’s procreative plan for human sexuality. His evil tactics often lead to child molestation, human sex trafficking, porn addiction, adultery, fornication, abortion, rape, divorce and so many other forms and misuse of human sexuality and other destruction of God’s procreative family units that are not life affirming. The debate over human sexuality is as old as humanity. For ages, people have indulged in sexual expressions within and without of the foundational structure which was ordained for the procreation and longevity of the human family. Is sex wrong? Is sex dirty? Is sex right? Is sex good? The answers lie in the perspectives of those asking the questions. Even the definition of sex is often unclear in these days and times. For instance, someone might ask the question, “what sex are you?” Do they mean what gender? If gender determination is the desired outcome from the answer to the question, then, it would be better to ask, “what gender are you?” This question often causes its own brand of confusion, because in the ongoing quest for enlightenment, some people are “gender confused.” In essence, some people, born male, have early signs of “feeling more female than male.” The same can be said of some women. As people approach puberty, their sexual identities mature, and heterosexual or homosexual tendencies become more apparent. There are often testimonies from male homosexuals about how their parents tried to “beat it out of them.” Girls who display male tendencies are generally labeled as “tomboys,” and are not targeted for confrontation about their sexuality as early as boys are. Yet, the approach in any case should be compassionate and informed, rather than a form of attack. A question should arise: “If your son or daughter was born with or displayed early symptoms cancer, would you try to beat it out of your child?” Some people believe that God creates homosexuals. They also believe that it is God’s will that people have diabetes, or high blood pressure, or other forms of sickness and disease. They even feel that it is God’s will that some be poor and hungry. Otherwise, they reason, “If God had wanted me to be straight, He would have made me that way. Since God is God, can’t He change these things, if they are not His will?” So if someone is born a certain way, the assumption would be that God made them that way. The good news is that God designs each of us to be whole and perfect. No matter how we are born, and what degree of sin and iniquity is part of our birth (including sickness and disease), the really good news is that we can be born again! The bad news is that sin entered into our lives at the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, disturbing the perfect design of humanity, short circuiting the perfect plan of creation, all of which has been transmitted down from generation to generation through DNA and RNA. A short lesson in history, or even a long BIBLE examination would reveal that God desires that we members of the human race (Acts 17:26 Of One Blood, God made all people) would all be whole, healthy and blessed in every way. Evil forces are the originators of sickness, disease and poverty; on the other hand, God is Love and God is good! This leads one to consider the origins of sin, sickness, disease, poverty and all harmful influences that affect the procreative human family. We could turn to the Bible for answers, yet some people do not trust the Bible. “The Bible was written by the white man,” they say. “You can’t trust their Bible because they used it to enslave us.” While this is true, some slave masters often twisted the truths of the Bible, to their own dark purposes, this doesn’t mean that the BIBLE is twisted, just the humans who did evil things were twisted. This is not just a Black/White thing; many people, no matter what their ethnic identities are, use the Bible to misinterpret the goodness of God. Have you ever heard anyone say, “the white man used money to enslave us, so we can’t use money?” Or, “the white man made us pick cotton, so we can’t wear cotton?” Of course not. Like it or not, the Bible is an established source of divine law. Without the ten commandments, and all the commands of the Bible, especially the commandment to LOVE God, ourselves and our neighbors, we are a lawless people. So why do we reject the Bible which is full of truth, and still cling to other much less perfect tools that were used in our days of misery? Some even try to use the Bible to justify certain lifestyles, whether in the realms of sexuality, money, relationships, no matter. If a human being can interpret or misinterpret the Bible to fit a personal desire, the temptation will be there. People do this all the time, no matter what color they are. Mark 11:22 Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God. 23I assure you that you can say to this mountain, 'May God lift you up and throw you into the sea,' and your command will be obeyed. All that's required is that you really believe and do not doubt in your heart. 24Listen to me! You can pray for anything, and if you believe, you will have it. 25But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too." When people went to Christ for healing, He taught them to forgive others. Then, He would forgive their sins, and they would be made whole. Of course, some people were offended when Jesus said “your sins are forgiven, be whole.” They didn’t want to forgive those who had hurt them; and they didn’t want to admit that their own sins and sickness were related. Matthew 9:1 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”3But some of the teachers of religious law said to themselves, “That’s blasphemy! Does he think he’s God?”4Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 6So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”7And the man jumped up and went home! 8Fear swept through the crowd as they saw this happen. And they praised God for sending a man with such great authority. Sins and iniquities are ancient, so are sickness and disease (which originated with sin and iniquity.) Let’s just say that one more time. Sin and iniquity are partners with sickness and disease. We are born into a world of sin, with the ravages of sin translated into sickness and disease (generational curses) imprinted in our DNA and RNA. Think about it. Mama was diabetic, so is the child. Papa had high blood pressure, so does the child. Sickness and sin entered into the human family with the fall of man. It is interesting to note that if someone has cancer, or diabetes or hypertension, he or she will run to the doctor. Sickness feels bad, so we try to get rid of it. Sin feels bad too, but we are not so quick to look for deliverance or healing from sin. It just seems easier to try to find a way and a reason to keep doing it as long as it feels good in the beginning before it turns bad. Some people even try to get rid of lust, various addictions, and gluttony, which is why there are so many seven step deliverance programs out there. Lust, substance addictions and gluttony can lead to many other problems either physical or financial. The temporary good feelings that come from indulgence vanish in the long term, leaving their victims with the sad and unfortunate results and consequences of the indulgences. 1 Corinthians 6:9 Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, 10 thieves, greedy people (gluttons), drunkards, abusers, and swindlers -- none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. When we burn for drugs, or harmful foods (weight loss and body building = big business), society shows compassion and offers solutions to help us. Even lust for money is recognized as a problem, and there are programs for compulsive gamblers, or people addicted to money schemes. Yet, when our flesh burns for sexual release from someone else’s spouse, or a child, or a same sex partner, we fight to protect these categories of human sexuality. For example, why is homosexuality a protected category, when it comes to examination of what is good for us and what is not? Perhaps for the same reason that there is one category of protected murder in our communities. Think about it, abortion kills babies, yet abortion is legal. (Remember, we are speaking on what “is good” for us, and not necessarily what “feels good” to us.) In other words, to keep from hurting people’s feelings, should we fight to uphold homosexuality and kill babies? My uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed both homosexuality and abortion in an advice column he wrote for EBONY Magazine in the 1950’s: Question: My problem is different from the ones most people have. I am a boy, but I feel about boys the way I ought to feel about girls. I don’t want my parents to know about me. What can I do? MLK: Your problem is not at all an uncommon one. However, it does require careful attention. The type of feeling that you have toward boys is probably not an innate tendency, but something that has been culturally acquired. … You are already on the right road toward a solution, since you honestly recognize the problem and have a desire to solve it. Question: About two years ago, I was going with a young lady who became pregnant. I refused to marry her. As a result, I was directly responsible for a crime. It was not until a month later that I realized the awful thing I had done. I begged her to forgive me, to come back, but she has not answered my letters. The thing stays on my mind. What can I do? I have prayed for forgiveness. MLK: You have made a mistake. … One can never rectify a mistake until he admits that a mistake has been made. Now that you have prayed for forgiveness and acknowledged your mistake, you must turn your vision to the future. … Now that you have repented, don’t concentrate on what you failed to do in the past, but what you are determined to do in the future. Consider this, homosexuality and abortion share a common denominator; they both attack the foundations of procreation and the human family. The sex act between two men or two women cannot result in conception of another human being. Abortion cuts off/kills the life of the person in the womb. Add to this deadly formula pornography, child pornography, sex trafficking, fornication and adultery; what do you get? The destruction of humanity. There are obviously destructive forces at work to attack the procreative human family; and these forces are not readily and easily perceived by the human senses. Any force that short circuits the life span of a person, and/or circumvents the procreative energy of a person cannot be good. So what is a decent, kind hearted sexually challenged person to do? The same thing that a decent, kind hearted victim of any problem would do. Seek truth, resist the evil forces. The funny thing about all of this is that if we don’t have sex, we won’t die. Think about it. The person addicted to food, resulting in life threatening illness, also has a problem. He or she needs to modify her lifestyle. This is often very hard, because we just can’t say, “I’ll never eat again.” We have to eat something, or we will die. Such is not the case with sex. We can abstain from sex for a season, or a lifetime, and not die. So, someone just can’t stomach having sex with someone of opposite gender; or feels like he or she can’t live without having sex with a child or someone else’s spouse… Then, why have sex at all? Remember, we won’t die if we don’t have sex. Love and sex are really two different things. Yet, we are such a “feel good” society, such a “gratify me now” society, that we often indulge in things that ultimately make us sick, and often even kill us. “So, God is so mean that He will deprive us of sex, if we don’t follow His rules,” some ask? It might be better to ask what draws us to partaking of forbidden fruit of any type? The Christian Church has the best kept secret around. "Christians do it better!" Any sex outside of God ordained marriage is somehow counterfeit and often unfulfilling. This includes adultery, homosexuality, pornography, sex trafficking and fornication. The thing is, we need to realize that sex between one man and woman in marriage is liberating. Neither the ”redeemed” husband nor his “redeemed” wife is under the curse of Adam and Eve. The man is not trying to “have the rule over his wife,” as he was cursed to do in Genesis because of Adam’s and Eve’s sin. Instead, the redeemed husband loves his wife as he is taught in the book of Ephesians. The woman’s/wife’s desire is not directed towards her husband as in the curse of Eve, but rather she is at liberty to express her godly desire, and to love and respect her husband as is also taught in the New Testament. Together, they can enjoy their mutual sexuality in the bonds of Holy Matrimony, as God always intended. So, why has the devil been able to sell illicit sex on such a grand scale? We as Christians have not effectively taught our young people about the procreative plan of God and the rewards that come with fulfilling God’s plan. Song of Solomon 6: 1 Young Women of Jerusalem: "O rarest of beautiful women, where has your lover gone? We will help you find him." Young Woman: 2 "He has gone down to his garden, to his spice beds, to graze and to gather the lilies. 3 I am my lover's, and my lover is mine. Man: 4 "O my beloved, you are as beautiful as the lovely town of Tirzah. Yes, as beautiful as Jerusalem! You are as majestic as an army with banners! 5 Look away, for your eyes overcome me! Your hair falls in waves, like a flock of goats frisking down the slopes of Gilead The most romantic love stories in the Bible are between married people. Sensual love is approved within marriage. The marriage bed is undefiled! Spread the good news! Hebrews 13:4 Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery. My grandfather, Daddy King used to preach a sermon: NIBBLING SWEET GRASS. It was a parable about a beloved little sheep who ignored the loving rules of his master, to stay in his own protected pasture. Next door, the grass in the sheep slaughter’s field appeared to be greener and sweeter. So the little sheep edged closer and closer to the fence, nibbling in ignorant bliss, till one day he slipped into the slaughter pen. The rest was history! This reminds us of people today. Fornication, adultery, divorce, sexual “preference” and so many other lifestyle occurrences have us out to pasture and in danger. Our sons and daughters value their CD players, their gold chains, their cars, their clothes much more than they value their own bodies which are the temples of the Holy Ghost. 1 Corinthians 6:19 Don't you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don't belong to yourselves. Lack of understanding of the purpose of our lives, and the purposes for which God intends for our bodies leads to curiosity akin to that Satan stirred within Eve, causing her to sin. An example of this is pornography which entraps so many of our children, and even unsuspecting adults; whether it be on the Internet, or magazines or television, or wherever they get it, porn is often at the root of sexual exploration. Pornography encourages unholy images and soul ties which are very difficult to break. Porn also leads down the deadly spiraled path to human sex trafficking. Only the Blood of Jesus can wash away the ungodly images and influences from this influence. Let’s talk about the Blood of Jesus for a moment here; that pure DNA of Christ the Lamb that can never lose its power! Whew! There is a plausible explanation for the origin of iniquity, sin, sickness and disease, including misuse of human sexuality. Our original bodies were not designed to accommodate the DNA of demons, nor of sin! We need the blood of Jesus, which flowed into the earth from which our natural bodies are formed, to deliver us from this situation! 1 John 8: (Jesus) the Son of God came to destroy these works of the Devil. 9 Those who have been born into God's family do not sin, because God's life is in them. So they can't keep on sinning, because they have been born of God. Without being born again, the human race is subject or slave to sin and iniquity. Sin breeds in iniquity, and once grown, sin leads to spiritual and physical death. Iniquity is like the soil or fertilizer or fodder. Sin is the seed, which once grown, brings death. Sin is an evil fruit, and must be pulled up from the roots, and destroyed by the Word of God, the Blood of Jesus, and the Power of the Holy Ghost. Too often we attack the symptoms, without dealing with the root problems. We “mow the grass” as it were, topping off the weeds, without killing their roots. Redemption in Christ is needed to free humanity from the curse which results from iniquity and sin! We are not just talking about Christian conversion here. We can be converted, saved, and at church every Sunday, while still indulging in sin and sickness. Yes, indulging in sickness, doing those things that will result in sin, and ultimately death. This includes what we eat, who we have sex with, what we do in and away from home. John 3:16 God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus) so that everyone who believes on Him will not perish, but will have eternal life! The bottom line is love. Everybody needs (Agape) love. We must never condemn, only share the truth in love. Love never fails. Notice that we say love never fails. Love and sex are two different things. Love never fails! Ungodly sex does fail, and if the sex is outside the Divine Plan, it will fail to truly satisfy, it will fail to deliver. We need to graduate from conversion to deliverance. We need to be free from the generational curses of sin! We need to know the truth, which will set us free! Sexuality is just one part of the picture. The topic is broad, and we need full understanding of the purpose of sex, and the benefits. Song of Solomon 9:11 Come, my lover, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages.12 Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vines have budded, if their blossoms have opened, and if the pomegranates are in bloom-- there I will give you my love. 13 The mandrakes send out their fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, both new and old, that I have stored up for you, my lover. As we can see in this Bible passage, a conversation between King Solomon and his bride, sex in marriage is desirable and good. This is something that should be taught to our children, and remembered among adults. It is so much easier to teach human sexuality the Bible way from the beginning than to have to undo the work of the devil once the influences of ungodly sex take hold. Godly sex is the real thing. Godly sex, some ask? Who do you think created sex in the first place? Sex in marriage between one man and one woman is ordained of God, and can be very fulfilling and rewarding. Our people perish for lack of knowledge. Don’t be afraid to teach your children about sex and marriage. There are great benefits and rewards!
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