Dark Night

John 3:17-21 Jesus replied, “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

Another senseless act of random violence in America; this time there was a random shooting in a movie theatre, during the opening midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado, just outside of Denver. As of this writing, 12 people are reported to be dead, and 50 injured. The alleged shooter was a 24-year-old white male, who was wearing a bulletproof body armor and a gas mask, using tear gas, and firing three weapons.

I agree with Christian writer Jerry Newcombe, when he writes: “How do we make sense out of this kind of thing? Why do things like this happen? I can't help but feel that to some extent, we're reaping what we've been sowing as a society. We said to God, "Get out of the public arena." America’s dark secular humanist have, over years of Bible-attacking lawsuits and atheistic indoctrination chased away any light of fear of God in the land -- at least in the hearts of millions. Recently, I wrote on the subject of Hell and how our society has generally lost its cognizance of it. We've lost this cognizance to the point that a recent bestseller was a book by an "evangelical pastor," who for all practical purposes denied Hell. This makes me think. "Wow, what the heck happened to Hell?" To me, what Jesus said 2,000 years ago is still worth heeding: What does it profit you if you gain the whole world and lose your soul?

Newcombe  states that tens of millions of young people in this culture seem to have no fear of God, (No higher power with a pure, healthy & holy standard to follow for balance and stability –no light and the darkness). It's becoming too commonplace that some frustrated person will go on a killing spree of random people or commit suicide. Where's the fear of God in our society? Why? I don't think people would do those sorts of things if they truly understood the reality of Heaven & Hell. An Alabama black pastor said, “Because before they took prayer out of school, you didn't hear about kids killing each other, about them bringing dope to school, shooting the teachers, you didn't hear about that. You see what I'm saying? That's what's wrong. We need more God-fearing."

The Founding Fathers of America gave us a system where voluntary God-fearing was the underpinning of civility in society. The more internal restraints people have, the less need they have for external restraints. (And the converse is true.) Religion and morality were key to the Founders' vision for a civil society.

"Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." George Washington

"We have staked the whole future of all our political constitutions upon the capacity of each of ourselves to govern ourselves according to the moral principles of the Ten Commandments." James Madison

"We have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions, unbridled by morality and true religion. Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." John Adams

“All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they may have of stringent State Government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint. Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled, either by a power within them, or by a power without them; either by the Word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible, or by the bayonet.” Robert Winthrop

The horrific Aurora, Colorado massacre was the appalling act of a deranged individual, but the symptom of a much deeper national moral deficiency (sanctity of life, love & respect of others and honoring God, to name a few). The root problem is Sin & Unbelief, where men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. This is my view that the Lord changes the repentant heart that loves and follows Him to say not only: “I won’t kill.”, but also to say: “Why would I kill? I don’t want to!”  “How could I do such a thing against my God and my fellow man?” Know God & eternal life is the key. The Truth must be told and proclaimed in these dark nights. Revival is needed. I pray for the victims, the assailant, the families, and this nation. May God’s loving hand lead and comfort them in this dark time. May we all turn to the "Lord above all" in prayer.

John 3:31-36 John the Baptist replied, “He (Jesus) has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else. He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit. The Father loves his Son and has put everything into his hands. And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

In Christ, Brian