I can't even begin to imagine the heartache and pain the friends and families of the victims are feeling. I am praying for, and will continue to pray for, the friends and families of the victims, as well as for the students and faculty of Umpqua Community College in Oregon.
The title of this blog post is: 'I'm Thankful The Oregon Shooting Victims Were Christians'. That may seem strange, especially since I'm a Christian and a pastor, but let me explain.
I am not wanting to belittle the loss of the families and friends, or the sacrifice made by Chris Mintz, the heroic Army veteran, who stood up to the shooter and was shot 7 times. But, I do want to give a different perspective on the death of these 9 people.
My thought is this, who better to be murdered (martyred) than people who have an assurance of where they will be going when they die? These courageous people lived out the passage, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
According to a victim's father interviewed by CNN and numerous others, (click here to watch the interview) the shooter lined the students up and then asked them if they were Christian. If they answered "Yes" to his question they were shot in the head. If they answered "No" to his question or did not answer, they were shot in the torso or leg.
These 9 peoples lives weren't taken. These 9 people had the courage and faith to give up their lives for Jesus. They said "Yes." When everything was on the line, they each said "Yes."
Philippians 1:21 in the New Living Translation says,
"For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better."
And the Voice Bible says it like this,
"Life versus even more life! I can't lose."
These 9 brothers and sisters in Christ lived for Jesus and died for Jesus. Living was nice, but dying was even better. They couldn't lose, and neither can we.
And that's why I'm glad the victims who were killed were Christians. They are in heaven and with Jesus face to face for eternity. Any other person wouldn't be so lucky.
As Christians, we are SUPPOSED to be ready and willing to die EVERY SINGLE DAY. We are supposed to pick up our cross DAILY and follow Him. (Luke 9:23)
These 9 people lived out these passages. If ever faced with a similar situation, I hope myself and my family would be as courageous and wise as they were.
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| Photo credit: freeimages.com/photo/gun-1546602 |
While holding a news conference following the shooting, President Obama offered his condolences to the victims and said, "Our thoughts and prayers are not enough." Obama is, of course, referring to enforcing stricter gun control laws and not only sending thoughts and prayers their way. He is understandably frustrated and upset with the number and the frequency of mass shootings in our nation. We all are.
I'm not sure if stricter gun laws would help or hurt our chances of having less mass shootings. But one thing is for sure, what we are currently doing is not working. What the President doesn't understand, is that THE ONE THING that can and will make a change is our prayers. Really, THE ONLY thing that will make a difference is if Christians begin to pray. Our prayers are the only thing that will be enough. And when I say 'our' prayers, I mean Christians' prayers.
Prayers to any other god won't make a difference, at least not a positive one.
We Christians need to pray a fervent, heartfelt, and continued prayer. (James 5:16) Prayer will cause change. Prayer will make a difference. Our world needs Christians praying on its behalf.
This shooting reminded me once again of Ephesians 6:12 which says,
"For we are not fighting against flesh- and- blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (New Living Translation)
We so often forget that our opponent is not other people. Our fight is not Republican vs Democrat, or Liberal vs Conservative, or Black vs White, or even Muslim vs Christian. Our fight is Jesus vs Satan.
We literally can't even see our true enemy. We can see the result of his work. We can see some of the people he works through. But we can't see him, so stop trying to fight the people who are just being used as puppets and pawns by him. They need Jesus just like I need Jesus.
Ephesians 6:12-14 in the Amplified Bible says,
"For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground],"
"...Put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground],"
This is our assignment. This is our calling.
Resist. Stand your ground. Do everything the crisis demands. Stand firmly in your place. Stand and hold your ground.
Christians, we need to step it up and be who we were made to be and start fighting these spiritual battles! The enemy and the problems our country and our world are facing are much bigger than any single political, social, racial, economic, psychological, moral, or religious problem, etc. All of these 'problems' are the result of the bigger problem, the enemy. We are facing a spiritual enemy that creates the problems we are facing. So we need to begin to fight the enemy in the only way possible, through prayer.
Repent and pray church! Repent for not doing what we were supposed to do sooner. Repent for not being who we are supposed to be sooner. Repent for getting caught up and sucked into the whirlwind of controversy, social activism, and hot topics and begin to actually do something. PRAY!!!
Be world changers! Be like Jesus. He and a small group of people changed the world and the entire course of history in a matter of 3 years. What have you and I done in the last 3 years? Anything of eternal significance?
In the last 3 years I got pretty good at Call of Duty and created a pretty sweet FIFA team on my Xbox. I became a dad and a soccer coach. I got a lot better at cooking. I grew a huge beard. I led a few dozen people to the Lord and prayed with another few dozen.
None of this was enough. Most of it was time wasting and life wasting. I shouldn't be content with that small of an impact, and you shouldn't be either.
I am tired of having a lackadaisical and passive faith. I'm ready to do something. I'm hungry to see God do something.
Challenge:
Pray. Actually pray. Pray a lot. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
The time is now. Shake the earth.
- Joel
"For we are not fighting against flesh- and- blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places." (New Living Translation)
We so often forget that our opponent is not other people. Our fight is not Republican vs Democrat, or Liberal vs Conservative, or Black vs White, or even Muslim vs Christian. Our fight is Jesus vs Satan.
We literally can't even see our true enemy. We can see the result of his work. We can see some of the people he works through. But we can't see him, so stop trying to fight the people who are just being used as puppets and pawns by him. They need Jesus just like I need Jesus.
Ephesians 6:12-14 in the Amplified Bible says,
"For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the despotisms, against the powers, against [the master spirits who are] the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere. Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground],"
"...Put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day [of danger], and, having done all [the crisis demands], to stand [firmly in your place]. Stand therefore [hold your ground],"
This is our assignment. This is our calling.
Resist. Stand your ground. Do everything the crisis demands. Stand firmly in your place. Stand and hold your ground.
Christians, we need to step it up and be who we were made to be and start fighting these spiritual battles! The enemy and the problems our country and our world are facing are much bigger than any single political, social, racial, economic, psychological, moral, or religious problem, etc. All of these 'problems' are the result of the bigger problem, the enemy. We are facing a spiritual enemy that creates the problems we are facing. So we need to begin to fight the enemy in the only way possible, through prayer.
Repent and pray church! Repent for not doing what we were supposed to do sooner. Repent for not being who we are supposed to be sooner. Repent for getting caught up and sucked into the whirlwind of controversy, social activism, and hot topics and begin to actually do something. PRAY!!!
Be world changers! Be like Jesus. He and a small group of people changed the world and the entire course of history in a matter of 3 years. What have you and I done in the last 3 years? Anything of eternal significance?
In the last 3 years I got pretty good at Call of Duty and created a pretty sweet FIFA team on my Xbox. I became a dad and a soccer coach. I got a lot better at cooking. I grew a huge beard. I led a few dozen people to the Lord and prayed with another few dozen.
None of this was enough. Most of it was time wasting and life wasting. I shouldn't be content with that small of an impact, and you shouldn't be either.
I am tired of having a lackadaisical and passive faith. I'm ready to do something. I'm hungry to see God do something.
Challenge:
Pray. Actually pray. Pray a lot. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
The time is now. Shake the earth.
- Joel
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