What Now?

I knew this day would eventually come.

As church-going Christians my brothers and sisters and I have discussed this very thing.

So, now that the abhorrent, this hideous slaughter has occurred, in a house of God, the question is:
"What now?"

The anti-God and/or anti-liberty crowd (often one-and-the-same) certainly have their answers.  What should be the Christian response?

First:  prayers for those who lost loved ones or who were injured in this massacre.  We weep with them because our Lord Jesus weeps with them.  Can we EVEN imagine such horror this community has endured?

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

Second:  a renewed commitment to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Reading an article in the UK's Daily Mail this morning, I noticed that many were quick to label the gunman as "weird", "creepy", etc.  But, apparently that is as far as it went.  Although it appears this man had had opportunities to hear the truth of Jesus Christ and had rejected Him, no person is ever hopeless while breath is in the body.  Still, as the people of God, we possess the ONLY answer to the rising tide of evil in our communities.  We have the antidote. We need to be much more intentional about sharing it, caring for the hurting, reaching out to the "weird", demonstrating the love of Christ.  Jesus is America's only hope.

Third:  a recognition of the reality of spiritual darkness.  We can talk about physical weapons, and I will in the next point.  But, our most potent weapons are spiritual.  We can't battle evil effectively unless we put on our armor and pick up offensive as well as defensive spiritual weapons.  To naively deny the parts of the Bible which describe the reality of demons, demonic activity and satanic opposition to the cause of Jesus Christ is not only ignorant; it is dangerous.  Study Ephesians 6.  And, not only study it, armor-up!  (Related RDM posts below, a short series on Eph. 6):

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/getting-dressed.html

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/armored-up.html

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2016/06/smoke-em.html

Fourth:  this is the new American, earthly, physical reality.  We need to acknowledge it and prepare accordingly to face the evil around us.  We need to prepare our hearts, making sure we are ready to meet the Lord at any time.  And, we must be "wise as serpents, harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16) by making sure our places of worship are physically-protected places.

Yesterday, before the news broke about the massacre, several of us were fellowshipping after church.  The women were yakking around a lovely fireplace, while many of the men shot clays.  Several of the women volunteered that they "pack", acknowledging many of the men in our church do as well.
I believe this incident will be a wake-up call to the local churches and that in the coming days church leaders of local congregations will sit down and formulate a tactical defense plan.
Current circumstances have demonstrated that it is time.  Christian persecution is on the rise around the world, an unfortunate necessity of our fallen world.

I leave you today with the glorious and beautiful promises of 2 Corinthians 4 (NIV).  Those who were killed in Sutherland Springs, TX, yesterday had just finished praising and worshipping the Lord they loved.  They went from worshipping Him here immediately to worshipping Him in Heaven.  And, as I pray for the true Church of Jesus Christ today, my brothers and sisters, I also give Him glory for what He is going to do through these evil circumstances.  He specializes in redeeming awfulness and bringing beauty from ashes.  Praise His beautiful, magnificent Name, forever and ever!

1Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. 2Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. 3And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,”^a made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.

7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

13It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”^b Since we have that same spirit of^c faith, we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Amen.  And, amen.