Evil Will Fall to the Lord

Stained glass at St John the Baptist’s Anglican Church http://www.stjohnsashfield.org.au, Ashfield, New South Wales. Illustrates Jesus’ description of himself “I am the Good Shepherd” (from the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 11). This version of the image shows the detail of his face. The memorial window is also captioned: “To the Glory of God and in Loving Memory of William Wright. Died 6th November, 1932. Aged 70 Yrs.” (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are searching for a reason that a young man walked into a school and killed 26 people, most of whom were children. As these are being buried and mourned, people search for something to cast blame upon and truly there is enough blame to go around, some would say it is guns, others, video games and violence on TV, and yet others blame mental illness and drugs. Truth be told there is something to all these. First guns, the gun didn’t kill the children and teachers, the person holding the gun and pulling the trigger killed them. The young man made a choice, if he truly wanted to kill, he would have found a way. And if there were no guns, perhaps he would have chosen something that would have taken even more lives such as a bomb or fire. When a person makes a choice for evil, evil finds the way. And yes I do believe that evil exists!

Now for those who blame video games and TV, there again, the object is not at fault however it does make people less sensitive to violence and death, sure this had a impact on this young man.  We have reports that he was mentally ill, and reports that he was on drugs for this. Perhaps it is time for a serious discussion about the influence of video games and violence in the media, on the mentally ill. Perhaps we need to have a serious discussion about what causes mental illness and how we as a society deal with it. Perhaps we need to allow support for the parents of the mentally ill to be available in the schools, even if this support is of the Christian faith…

We can all find some way to assign blame, why not spend a little time praying for answers and getting together with our churches, after all we can all see how the level of violence has increased in our schools. I would dare say that if someone did a serious study, they would find that the changes made in the last fifty years in our schools, have had a negative effect on our children. I doubt that those in government would be willing to do this, but much as they would like to believe that they have the right to decide what is taught, they only have what we give them. Isn’t it time that we as parents and grandparents took a real look at how our schools are being run and what our children are being taught. Ultimately it does fall to us to care for our children and we are the one that the Lord will ask, “What have you done?”

Our leaders have no hesitation in turning to prayer after a tragedy but the real tragedy is that sometimes things can be prevented if we turn to prayer before it happens. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our leaders exhibited that same faith and turning to God before the next tragedy to befall our country? We have no promises of a pain and tragedy free life, but we do have promises that God will be our shelter and strong tower. Proverbs 18:10
The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

Evil does exist, but it isn’t just on one level. We need to open our eyes and see it for what it is. We must take responsibility for our children. We must take our schools back and make sure that the teachers that we hire teach the values that we want our children to learn. God didn’t leave us, we left Him and it is time to go back.  As the title says “Evil will fall to the Lord.”

The following is a repost!

Evil exists, no matter how much we would like to deny it or how much we would like to turn away from it. Sometimes it slips up and knocks you down and you have to admit it. That is the case of what just happened in Aurora, Colorado. The motives of the person are truly irrelevant. The end results of their beliefs or failure to believe in anything, has bearing only on the fact that it let evil in the door.

We long for peace and happiness. We long for security and stability. This is the reason that we have governments. But the truth is that no matter how strict the government, evil finds it’s own way. Whether it is the sanctioned abuse of women and children in countries in the Middle East, or the evil of drug use which alters our minds and makes it easier for evil to take root.

Sadly, there is no cure for evil except death. It exists as a part of life and the only way for it to die, is for us to die. I am not talking about a literal death, although in the end, that is necessary as well. But I am talking about the death of the person that we were and the rebirth of the new person that understands what love, faith, and surrendering to God, is!

Colossians 3:1-8

¹ You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God.² Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth.³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.⁴ Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!

The Old Life and the New

⁵ You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).⁶ Because of such things God’s anger will come upon those who do not obey him.^[a]7 At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.

⁸ But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips.⁹ Do not lie to one another, for you have put off the old self with its habits¹⁰ and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself.¹¹ As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.

The people killed and hurt in Aurora were victims of evil! Nothing that they did was their fault. Evil exists as a part of the reality that we have here on earth. We can do our best to prevent it, but it is going to find a way to erupt. The only hope that we have is in our creator who has promised us a better future. A future where evil will not be able to cause us the tears and suffering that we have now.

I pray that those who are suffering will find the peace and strength to deal with the problems that they are facing. I pray that they recognize that the evil they have faced if not of any fault of their own! I pray that those who are survivors do not live their lives in fear and that those who have lost loved ones will have the faith they need to live their own lives and not believe that all else is lost.

Psalm 59

A Prayer for Safety^[a]

Save me from my enemies, my God;
protect me from those who attack me!
² Save me from those evil people;
rescue me from those murderers!

³ Look! They are waiting to kill me;
cruel people are gathering against me.
It is not because of any sin or wrong I have done,
⁴ nor because of any fault of mine, O Lord,
that they hurry to their places.

⁵ Rise, Lord God Almighty, and come to my aid;
see for yourself, God of Israel!
Wake up and punish the heathen;
show no mercy to evil traitors!

⁶ They come back in the evening,
snarling like dogs as they go about the city.
⁷ Listen to their insults and threats.
Their tongues are like swords in their mouths,
yet they think that no one hears them.

⁸ But you laugh at them, Lord;
you mock all the heathen.
⁹ I have confidence in your strength;
you are my refuge, O God.
¹⁰ My God loves me and will come to me;
he will let me see my enemies defeated.

¹¹ Do not kill them, O God, or my people may forget.
Scatter them by your strength and defeat them,
O Lord, our protector.
¹² Sin is on their lips; all their words are sinful;
may they be caught in their pride!
Because they curse and lie,
¹³ destroy them in your anger;
destroy them completely.
Then everyone will know that God rules in Israel,
that his rule extends over all the earth.

¹⁴ My enemies come back in the evening,
snarling like dogs as they go about the city,
¹⁵ like dogs roaming about for food
and growling if they do not find enough.

¹⁶ But I will sing about your strength;
every morning I will sing aloud of your constant love.
You have been a refuge for me,
a shelter in my time of trouble.
¹⁷ I will praise you, my defender.
My refuge is God,
the God who loves me.

December 17, 2012 | Categories: America, Bible, Christ, Christian foundations, Christianity, Church, Faith, freedom, Future, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Life, LORD, people, Prayer, Psalm, United States | Tags: Aurora, Christ, Christianity, Evil, God, jesus, Lord, Middle East | 12 Comments »