DEMONS AND MARTYRS
By Carolyn Dale Newell
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come… and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.
2 Timothy 3:1, 12-13 NKJV
In the span of five weeks, we have witnessed horrific tragedies. Pure evil exploded with the Las Vegas massacre, the NYC terrorist in a rental truck, and now, a church massacre in a tiny Texas town. If a church is no longer sacred, what is?
I could not wrap my head around the first report which said the congregation was shot while praying. I know what the Bible says, but how does God allow His children to be slayed during prayer?
I consulted my pastor, and he explained how these slaughtered Christians were special. Like Stephen, they became martyrs. I know, this type of thinking is difficult. We think of multiple funerals and lives taken from children, but they were transported directly into the throne room of God.
Our humanness cannot comprehend the beauty of a Christian’s martyrdom. We see the grief and a life cut short. We need to get our minds focused on Jesus. Joining Jesus in heaven is the most beautiful moment we will experience. If loved ones could speak to us that may be what they would say.
Later, reports explained the shooting began outside, not necessarily during prayer.
Evil has been present since the Garden of Eden. Cain killed Abel. In Noah’s day, wickedness resulted in a worldwide flood. Moses was born when all Hebrew male children were slaughtered. That heinous act repeated itself when Jesus Christ was born. God allowed Jesus to suffer greatly. His own sinless Son tortured and crucified to save sinful man.
I recall a time when morals were high and crime rates low. From 1900 to 1959 there were a total of 24 mass shootings.
In the early 1960’s The Supreme Court ruled in favor of killing innocent babies, and they decided school prayer was unconstitutional. In 1980, the Ten Commandments were removed from schools. In 1985, all nativity displays in government buildings were deemed unconstitutional.
Since God has been kicked out of schools, the number of mass shootings have climbed to 148 (from 1960-2017). These statistics are from http://www.heraldnet.com/news/the-history-of-mass-shootings-in-the-u-s/
Despite 24/7 news, I really believe there was a time when America was good. The facts speak for themselves. Everyone asks where is God? The USA asked God to leave.
Jesus warned us about the beginning of sorrows (Matt. 24:6-14). There is an eerie resemblance to today’s events in these Scriptures.
Satan, the evil one, has been at work since the beginning. We live among demon possessed people. Many do not want to believe there are demonically controlled people living in 2017 in our nation. Demons are not a thing of the past, nor are they confined to third world countries. What makes a person terrifyingly evil? Demons.
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 1 Tim. 4:1NKJV
What do we do? We proceed cautiously, trusting God. We make plans for safety everywhere we go. We protect others like the heroes outside the Texas First Baptist Church. God used the two men not in church. Amazing!
Senseless makes sense to God. Trust Him.
Lord, we cannot understand the violence we see. We know we don’t need to understand it all. We just need to trust you. Help us do that. Shelter us from the demonic acts of our enemy. Deliver us from the evil one. In Jesus’ name, Amen
DIG DEEPER
Read Matthew 24:6-14.
HIKING THE TRAIL
We must realize we will never understand why evil happens. Pray for the protection of your family and church, daily. Study spiritual warfare. Continue to share the love of Jesus.
Copyright 2017 Carolyn Dale Newell.
A Mountain of Faith 