As the world tries to make sense of the tragedy in Colorado, many people are asking, “Why did this all too familiar drama that has terrorized places such as Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Arizona and Fort Hood, happened in Aurora?” This quiet suburb neighborhood is one of the most unlikely places one would expect a massacre. Nevertheless, evil has no discretion. It could spring up anywhere.
For answers, authorities turned to experts of all sorts for their theories on what kind of person would slaughter innocent strangers and then calmly surrender to the police. But so far nobody has uncovered anything in the shooter’s background that would suggest he was capable of committing such a heinous act.
Still, the killing of innocent people is not an uncommon occurrence. This horrible, despicable act happens all over the world, on an almost daily basis. Which leaves one to wonder. “What’s wrong with the world?” The answer to this question can only be found in the Word of God.
To help me explain, here is a sermon given in Charlotte by Rev. Billy Graham in 1958. Many of us were not born then, but this message is relent now just as it was relevant then.
Sometimes I think it is terribly difficult to tell whose side some of my Christian brothers and sisters are on. The words we communicate with our mouths are quite different from the things we do with our hands. Furthermore, we often get engulf in the issue of the moment, and we frequently say and do things that we later regret.
For example, on May 31, 2009, abortion Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed, while he served as an usher in his Wichita church, by anti-abortion activist, Scott Roeder. Many anti-abortion Christians celebrated the heinous act, lauded the shooter and commented that Tiller got what was coming to him. Can two wrongs make one right? No. Fighting fire with fire is most certainly not the approach Jesus would use when attempting to resolve a conflict. Suffice it to say, Jesus did not respond in kind, when he was violently nailed to the cross. Instead, He said: “Father, forgive them, for they know what they do.”
So, whose side are you really on? Is it Jesus’, (whose life is the epitome of love and all its attributes? The man who says, “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,’) or is it the devil’s?
When the Patriarch Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he became worried for his people. Many of them fell back into their old ways. He felt afraid they would fall even further when he is gone. The Bible says, “Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. Then he challenged them in the following words.
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. However, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
That day the people of Israel renewed their covenant with God and declared that they will serve the Lord. Will you do the same today?
Chinese depiction of Jesus and the rich man (Mark 10) – 1879, Beijing, China (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the 1900, the average person living in the United States wanted seventy two different things and considered eighteen of them essential. Today, the average person, wants over five hundred things, and considers one hundred of them essential. Our obsession with stuff carries a hefty price tag. Eighty percent of us battles the pressure of overdue bills. We spend 110 percent of our disposable income trying to manage debt. And who can keep up? We no longer measure ourselves against the Jones next door but against the stars on the silver screen or the stud on the magazine cover. Hollywood’s diamonds make yours look like a knock-off bought in China. No one can compete against Madison Avenue. So be content with what you have.
Jesus warns against greed.
According Luke 12:13-21, Jesus was addressing a large crowd one day when one of the men in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, my father just died and left some things for us. Tell my brother to share them with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Who said I should be your judge or decide how to divide your father’s things between you two?” Then Jesus said to them, “Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. People do not get life from the many things they own.” Then Jesus used this story: “There was a rich man who had some land. His land grew a very good crop of food. ‘What will I do? He thought to himself. I have no place to keep all my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘I know what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger barns! I will put all my wheat and good things together in my new barns. Then I can say to myself, I have many good things stored. I have saved enough for many years. Rest, eat, drink, and enjoy life!’ “But God said to that man, ‘Foolish man! Tonight you will die. So what about the things you prepared for yourself? Who will get those things now?’
“This is how it will be for anyone who saves things only for himself. To God that person is not rich.”
Friends, Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). What we feel and believe are the truly precious and meaningful things in our lives. If we do not commit ourselves to what is good and right, then we are empty. Moral poverty occurs when we place things above relationships. Christ sent His disciples out in the world without possessions, but no one in history has known more wealth than those chosen men who walked with Jesus. It is when we choose to walk with Jesus that we find out what true riches are.
Every person who has accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior must go through a transformation process. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” It is patently clear that the old man cannot be made new unless he goes through a transformation process. And it seems watery baptism is part of that process.
Nevertheless, some will argue that watery baptism is just a symbol that bears no remarkable significance, if any at all. However, I beg to differ; Scripture proves that watery baptism is a significant piece in the transformation process. And while I would hasten to admit that it is not an agent of change, it is definitely an act that the changed used to announce to the world that they have been transformed, and have decided to follow Jesus for the rest of their lives. Even Jesus was baptized.
English: Baptism of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
According to Matthew 3:13-15: “Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” However, Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Then he allowed Him.”
Furthermore, in what is known as Jesus’ great commission, He declared the following: “Go; therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
“Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Jesus Christ brings you something that is far greater than intelligence, reformation, or alteration. The power of the gospel of Jesus Christ will transform.
When you received Christ, you did not receive a better life, but a new life.
You did not receive new ideas, but a new way of thinking.
You did not receive new opportunities to improve yourself, but a new kingdom to rule over you.
You did not receive better tips on how to handle your problems, but a new master who is able to manage your whole life.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).
Jesus Christ in Capernaum (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Does God always answer your prayers? What do you think is the reason your prayers have not been answered? Many followers of Jesus Christ, including me had to endure periods during their lives when they doubted God. You have found yourself in almost dire straits, and you have prayed for deliverance, but it never happened. It seemed God is so far away and out of your reach.
However, the devil is a liar. God is never more than a prayer away. But, prayer without faith is futile. Subsequent to healing the boy with epilepsy the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked; “Why could we not cast out the demon?” And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief. For verily, I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20).
The Faith of the Centurion
“When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”
Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”
The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For, I am a man under the authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment” (Matthew 8:5-13).
So it seems lack of faith is the reason most of our prayers go unanswered. Petitioning God is a serious act. It should not be used frivolously. Instead, we should be sincere when we pray and believe that we will receive what we asked God for. However, avoid getting carried away every time you get a headache.
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