1-11-2017 – A Word to the Wise: Rarely, the symptoms of syphilis go undetected in infants. As infected infants become older children and teenagers, they may develop the symptoms of late-stage syphilis, including damage to their bones, teeth, eyes, ears, and brain. How many infants are affected by immorality on the part of the parent annually? According to the CDC, 800,000 pregnant women have bacterial vaginosis and herpes simplex; 200,000 have chlamydia; 80,000 have trichomoniasis; 40,000 have gonorrhea and Hepatitis B; and 8,000 have HIV and syphilis. 21 An estimated 440,000 children, who lost their mother or both parents to AIDS, were alive and under the age of 15 at the end of 1997.

12-10-2016 – A Word to the Wise: Some infants with congenital syphilis may have symptoms at birth, but most develop symptoms between two weeks and three months later. These symptoms may include skin sores, rashes, fever, weakened or hoarse crying sounds, swollen liver and spleen, yellowish skin (jaundice), anemia, and various deformities. Care must be taken in handling an infant with congenital syphilis because the moist sores are infectious.

12-6-2016 – A Word to the Wise: It is likely that an untreated pregnant woman with active syphilis will pass the infection to her unborn child. About 25 percent of these pregnancies result in stillbirth or neonatal death. Between 40 to 70 percent of such pregnancies will yield a syphilis-infected infant.

12-5-2016 – A Word to the Wise: According to a CDC Fact Sheet issued in May 2001, more than 35,600 cases of syphilis were reported by health officials in 1999, including 6,650 cases of primary and secondary syphilis and 556 cases of congenital syphilis in newborns. It is shocking to see more than 500 cases of immorality, directly affecting the lives of totally innocent babies.

12-2-2016 – A Word to the Wise: VI. Inheritance – Deuteronomy 28:41 “You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity [addiction].” The innocent are those who pay the highest price for immorality. Rarely does one give forethought to the price that one’s children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren will pay for immoral thoughts and actions. We have included just a few morsels to stimulate one’s conscience about the future results of today’s indiscretions.

11-29-2016 – A Word to the Wise: Obstacles were thrown even at Christ because of the circumstances related to his birth. In Christ’s case, these difficulties were overcome. But do children in these circumstances today have the same extraordinary gifts?

11-28-2016 – A Word to the Wise: Jesus deals with his family hostility by separating Himself from them and declaring new family members from those who believe in Him. This, however, is not the end of the matter. A year before His death—in fact on October 6, 29 A.D., a Thursday—Jesus is again confronted by His brothers. They taunt Him and encourage him to return to Judea and Jerusalem, knowing that there was a price on His head and that he would be arrested and killed.

11-21-2016 – A Word to the Wise: “Two major incidents in Jesus’ life record reflect the family hostility. Mark 3:19ff records the first incident. Here Jesus, near the beginning of His ministry, has experienced wide success as a result of His healing multitudes of the sick. Jesus selects twelve disciples to help in His future ministry and then goes home. The crowds give Him no peace, constantly bringing the lame, blind, and sick for His attention. His family hears of it and comes to take Him away forcibly saying, “He is crazy.” At the same time, His chief enemies, the scribes, sling such venomous slurs upon Him that he warns them they are on the brink of committing a sin with eternal consequences.

11-10-2016 – A Word to the Wise: What can be gleaned from God’s word? We can start with the Master Himself. Jesus was perceived by his enemies as being illegitimate. (John 8:41) This accounts for much hostility directed toward Him and for why his enemies found it impossible to accept Him. It seems that the world is always prepared to offer snide, sarcastic, venomous words to denigrate the child in these circumstances. Most of us at one time or another have seen, heard, witnessed, or participated in this behavior. The most intense reminders come from within the family in the form of familial rejection.

11-7-2016 – A Word to the Wise: The chief sorrow for the illegitimate child lies in the family dysfunction that results. We have looked at the effects upon the children from a sociological perspective, including the increase of teen pregnancy and dropping out of school, and the inability to develop a successful marriage for themselves later in life. Now, let’s look at it from a Biblical perspective.