In light of the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, have you wondered, “How Did We Get Here?” as a nation and as a people…

God is sovereign over all of creation, yet evil exists in the world, even the worse kind like the recent Texas school shooting taking the lives of 19 young children and two teachers. 

Where does such evil come from? Angels were created perfect in every way and resided in a perfect place called heaven. Yet, of their own free will, 1/3 sinned against their Creator, and were driven out by Michael the Archangel and his angels. Therefore, it should not surprise us that evil exists. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul explains the extent of evil prevailing in the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms—Satan’s demons. As we get closer to the End Times in Revelation, the extent and intensity of evil will increase steadily. 

 

The Texas tragedy is considered the second deadliest school shooting ever, when an 18-year-old, fatally shot and killed 19 young children and two teachers, before he was killed by a law enforcement officer. Is the issue guns as professed by some, or is it a lack of God in our culture and diminishing respect for human life, all of which has given Satan and his demons a correspondingly increasing foothold?  The shooter was described as a troubled youth. Where does such evil originate? 

Some may wonder, what is the eternal state of those children whose lives were cut short at such a young age?  I certainly pondered it, as I’m sure many others have. Did they go to heaven? Our only answer is to turn to Jesus’ own words in the Gospels (next slide). 

The only solace for those parents, and anyone who loses a young child, is Jesus’ own words here in Luke18, also in Mark 18:14 and Matthew 19:14.

While being interviewed in regard to the shooting, after expressing his faith as a Christian, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick pondered the shooting with a question, “How did we get here?” Something that most Americans would undoubtably ask and wonder.  

The human race is born with Adam’s DNA, and fallen nature, as such, people are prone to certain types of evil, some with greater propensity than others. Many things influence and stir up evil in today’s culture. When looking at the world from a biblical perspective, watch the evening news and it becomes readily apparent, that behavioral norms are descending. What was once considered sinful, appalling and immoral has become increasingly acceptable. 

On April 20, 1999, Columbine H.S. in Littleton, Colorado, was the first major school shooting by students. It wasn’t the last. Estimates show that more than 311,000 have suffered gun violence in schools since Columbine.

Images taken of the Columbine shooters while in the school. Many have asked, and many more have wondered, why does God allow such evil? Evil is inspired by Satan and his demons, as we are told in Ephesians 6:12, but like Satan’s rebellion against God, the evil in man comes from within. Yet, we are to be mindful that in spite of man’s evil deeds, God is ultimately sovereign over all things, even history itself. Something we will look at next week.

The following link provides a list of school gun shootings in the U.S. since 2000. All of which raises that same question: “How did we get here?”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States

Congress and the President are demanding stricter gun laws. Some believe stricter gun laws will make everyone safer. The difficulty is that criminals do not obey laws, only law-abiding people do, who are not the cause of shootings. Is the problem guns? Will elimination of the 2nd Amendment as demanded, prevent future shootings? Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws anywhere in the country, and yet it has some of the highest gun crimes in the nation. All of which turns us back to the original question: “How did we get here?”

Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but has one of the highest rates of homicides from illegally obtained guns. 

Food for thought: If all law-abiding citizens are forced to surrender their guns, as is being proposed in Canada, only criminals will own guns. Combine that with current efforts to disarm police, and we can be certain that it will open the door for a crime wave against unarmed and defenseless residents, especially with limited police availability to prevent it. Truly a wave of evil will be turned loose.

Published in BREITBART: Younger Americans are reshaping the country with a philosophy of life that rejects faith in God and organized worship at the same time defining success and morality in terms of personal happiness and economic social justice—which is based on a survey from the Cultural Research Center (CRC) at Arizona Christian University. All of which raises the question noted on the following slide…

The first thing tyrants do is make the people defenseless, thus easily controlled, which of course was Hitler’s goal. The German Jews were disarmed by the police state, the Gestapo, beginning in 1933. We know where that led, because they were easily rounded up and shipped off to concentration camps with no means of defense for themselves or their children. We can be certain that the Antichrist will use similar tactics to rise to power and control the people. 

The noteworthy answer to “How did we get here?” began in 1962, as shown on the following slides…

In a 1962 decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled that daily recital of prayers in public schools, even though non-compulsory, was unconstitutional. The court held that the recital of such prayers in schools financed through public taxation violated the religious freedom guarantees in the Constitution. The decision was handed down in a New York case. It has since affected all public schools throughout America.

In the decision of Engel v. Vitale handed down on June 25, 1962 , the US Supreme Court ruled that state-sponsored prayer in schools was unconstitutional. The court did not outlaw prayer in school entirely - only school-sponsored prayer. Sadly, many schools have even rejected student led prayers or allowed Bibles in school. Perhaps another Supreme Court case is needed. 

President Ronald Reagan’s 1984 message to the Nation rings just as true today, and after viewing a night of evening news, even more so today. But the root causes then and now, are closely related. 

Shootings v. years is relevant in response to, “How did we get here?” Is it a gun problem or a morality problem? 

For many decades, guns were readily available in the Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog delivered by the U.S. Postal Service, bought by many average young Americans, none of which were used in school shootings. Why is that? Because we were a Nation that believed in God, a belief that infused the very fabric of our culture. Once all reference to God was removed from the schools, evil filled that void with many other teachings and ideologies, none of which were based on biblical standards. 

Does America still cling to the value of life that we profess in our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights? Or in the Bible?

Our independence as a Nation and as a people, began with these words. Are they still as relevant in today’s United States of America? Is this something that today’s children are still learning in school or not?

“Pro-choice” is a politically correct term for “pro-abortion”, which is the killing of an unborn child. What message does it send regarding the sanctity of life? 

What does the Bible tell us about the unborn child? Psalm 139 describes the yet to be born “child”, not as a thing or extension of the mother’s body. But as a unique individual with a individual soul created by God. 

The pregnant woman is the host for the unborn child, who is a totally separate individual with the same right to life as its mother. 

This was posted before, but in light of the value of life debate, definitely worth repeating. It shows three individuals, one yet unborn. 

The sign states that it is the woman’s decision “to kill” or “not to kill” the unborn child. Sadly, it is the unborn child’s fate they are deciding. 

America’s Holocaust? Sixty-three million unborn lives were taken in America. Where then is the sanctity of life, or even respect for life in general? What message does it send to our youth, when even the President and members of Congress are strong advocates? Abortions are the consequences of careless sexual encounters—for convenience. Thank God for the young ladies in the photo. I call it a ray of hope! 

In 2 Chron 7:14 the Lord God tells us, if my people , who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 

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