TRAGEDY, SADNESS, AND CHRISTMAS

Christmas time is happy and joyous for most or so we might think. Many people associate a family members death around this time of year and can not seem to get past it. Death may have occurred prematurely for a young person and when it is time for Christmas, the ache of that memory of that loss lingers on.

Yesterday the unspeakable tragedy occurred when a gunman opened fire at an elementary school in Connecticut with 20 young children among those killed. The families of these children will indeed have a horrible time at Christmas this year. Who would think of killing small innocent elementary school children? It is hard to comprehend why this would even happen. Who knows? Evil is out there and it works overtime to destroy our world.
The news media will be on the bandwagon now to ban all guns. It is a fact that this world has become ultra violent. People who are against guns always use times like this to try to take them away from law abiding citizens. It is not having a gun that is the problem, but it is what is in the heart of man. It is no wonder people do evil things especially since look at what is on television and in the movie theaters these days. Why on earth does everything have to be about killing and violence? Why is it necessary to make video games depicting crime and violence? Taking prayer out of our public schools in 1963 was certainly a huge factor in the downfall of our American society as well as removing the Ten Commandments.

Why are some so offended about the name of Jesus and the word of God? First of all Satan is alive and well and working his evil schemes in the heart of mankind. The Bible says in Proverbs 18:10(NIV) that ' the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run to it and are safe.' It is only through Jesus that you have eternal life.
There is good and evil in our world and yesterday's shootings were definitely in the very evil category. We need to pray for the families of the victims, the family of the shooter, and the entire community. Also pray for First Responders who had to come upon this unimaginable scene. Pray also for clergy and counselors in the area to use words of faith and wisdom in their counseling for the many people affected by this tragedy. Also pray for our government to not overreact to try to abolish our Second Amendment rights.

Once again we do not know why bad things happen to good people and especially to little children. This is not the time to get angry at God although many people do. They say 'why didn't you stop this Lord?' God can bring goodness out of tragedy although it may not seem so at the time.

In attempting to comfort those in grief, it is not the time to give them a bunch of Bible verses. It is time to be a friend and comfort them and pray for them.
Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV) says 'The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?' Mark 7:21(NIV) says 'for from within, out of man's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder and adultery.' You can see from reading these two Bible verses how important it is to get your heart right with God. You keep it right by feeding it a steady diet of scripture. This is how you grow in love and learn to stop hating. For now we all need to simply keep all those involved in this senseless tragedy in our prayers.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus help us keep in the word of God and stay on the path of goodness and righteousness. We know Lord you too are hurting to see little children gunned down but we also pity this shooter who obviously had some problems. Father God we ask that you work something good out of all this tragedy. In Jesus' name. Amen.

TRAGEDY UNEXPLAINED

After yesterdays horrific shooting spree in a suburban Denver theater I decided to change my topic for today. First my heart goes out to the parents of the shooter. You do not hear that on TV. When I was watching this unfold yesterday while working out at the gym, not one time did I hear anyone on television news broadcasts say "let's pray" but all I heard were things like "the government was working on it" and "mental health was there to help." They may have mentioned this after I left but not while I was there. If you  are a parent imagine the pain, blame and suffering they are going through and wondering about  the 'whys'. This young man's actions hurt and killed many but no one would have classified him, a doctoral student, as a mass murderer.Something was obviously troubling him.

 What causes this? My first guess is that we allow violent entertainment into our homes in the form of video games, television programs, music,  and allow children to go to movies like Dark Knight. Among the  deceased I heard was a 6 years old!  The Batman I grew up watching on television was harmless and fun. None of this glorified movie violence like you see today and sensuality. But 'cute' programs and movies apparently do not sit well with those in decision making positions who crank out this unnecessary violence people seem to crave. 

My opinion is if you are a Christian  man or woman you need to watch what you take into your brain. You have heard the saying 'garbage in, garbage out'. Some will say "well men like stuff like that" and I say "what was wrong with John Wayne and the action films we had in the 60's and 70's? Some older readers may totally identify with how movies have gotten pretty raunchy.

There will be lots of speculation about this in the days to come but the main thing that is needed is prayer.Do not be guilty of judging others.  Do not get fearful to go places. Violence happens everywhere so go on about your life. Above all be careful what you watch and parents ,use common sense when selecting a movie for your young child. I do not recommend adult themed movies for grade school children. This is not about guns but this is about the condition of the human heart.
 I will leave you with a couple Bible verses and the first  is Philippians 4:8 which says "Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, think on these things."  Finally remember what it says in Romans 3:23 and that is "all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." In the meantime let's remember to pray for all involved in this horrible shooting and pray for the shooter as well. Let us remember to keep those affected by this in our prayers. Romans 12:15 says "Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep."


PRAYER: Lord God we cry out to you for the hurting families of this senseless tragedy in Colorado and even the family of the shooter. Father we ask for healing for the wounded and healing for their lives as well. Father help us be wise in what we choose to watch, listen to and read. Give us discipline in our lives so we know the right choices to make that please you.In Jesus name. Amen.

 For information on movie content from a Christian perspective check out www.pluggedin.com