WHY SO MANY MURDER AND MURDER-SUICIDES IN THE UNITED STATES
In recent news of the last week, there has come 3 different reports across our nation of death. Death of family related instances between parents and children.
--Friday night, July 27, a man goes to his estranged wifes house; kills her, her boyfriend and his mother and takes his 4 year old daughter;
--Saturday night, July 28, a man shoots kills his 7 year old daugher; wounds his son and then takes his own life;
--MOnday morning, July 30, a mother shoots her two children, ages 11 and 9 and then takes her own life;
--August 5, a gunman enters a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and kills 6; is wounded by police and kills himself; a continued progression in our nation of murder suicides;
Now it may be that there are other factors involved in this about their deaths and suicides. But there is no mistake that there is an increase in such cases being reported across our nation. Three in 4 days seems to me to be unparalled. I have not heard any statistics on this, but it is has been prevalent in the United States since last fall, 2011. It seems at least one a week has happened, but on many occasions it has been several. What's going on? Weather records in all ways of temperatures, drought, floods, tornadoes and other disasters; increase in disease; recent shooting in Coloardo, leaving 12 dead and multiple more wounded are all signs pointing us to a cause/effect. Of all these people reporting on the issues and conditions, I have not heard one ask the question, 'Why?'. I have not heard the church address nor answer 'why'.
Shortly after such tragedies, you have the political elements begin to pursue their agendas of gun control, issues of mental health, drugs, violence, money problems etc. But these are only symptoms of what is really happening. It is the same as having a virus, and the symptoms are fever, running nose, aches and pains, upset stomach. The virus is the culprit of the sickeness not tthe symptoms. All these things reported by the media are the symptoms, the disease is SIN.
With the lessening of the fear and knowledge of the Lord there has come an increase in sinful actions and ways. There are many with their editorial comments, but none is needed when ones knows that all these things have always been because of sin.
Let us seek to understand this according to the Scriptures:
--If sin has always been then why the increase now?
This is the most pressing question right now. WE have never, or are never, worried about sin it seems until it affects us. For those in hell, they are much affected by their sin, but can do nothing about it. Their eternity is set. The person that drinks is never upset about their sin, until the doctor says, 'I'm sorry, but you have scleoris of the liver due to your consumption.' Or the person indulging in tobacco doesn't care, until they go to the doctor and he says, 'I'm sorry, its cancer.' The price of sin is punishment and judgment. Either it comes in this life time or the next, but make no mistake about it, sin has a price. The price told us in the Scripture is in Romans, 'The wages of sin is death'.
such violent, tragic death as we have seen in recent headlines is directly related to the increase of sin in our nation. Sin increases, Christinaity is decreasing; violence rises, holiness lessenes - they are directly proportionate to each other.
God is very merciful, longsuffering, and desiring to bestow favor and grace. But as a nation, a people continue to provoke Him by their choice to choose sin over Him, then He responds. We have had many warnings that have not brought us to a proper response to God. The increase in such vile activity of murder-suicide is directly resulting from a people that have forgotten God and embraced sin and evil.
The increase of such vile sin is due to directly to the increase over decades of building up. Sin has continued to take soul after soul. Numbers shift; percentages reflect the stark differnce of saved and lost; churched and unchurched; Christian and other in our population. And as the years go by, and the split separates further, we see hell and evil has more numerical numbers increasing their influence, ways, and practices on the people. And directly related to this is the generations. Generations have continued to slide into hell, without any boundary of rescue or deliverance. Hell is literally, 'opening its mouth without measure' due to the lack of holiness by God's people.
Let me illustrate this: I can remember in the 1970's churches were full and active. Salvation and baptisms were constant. Then in the 1980's I can remember things began to change. Attendance decreased, baptisms were not as frequent, and sin began to show itself more common place. And from that point to this point we have seen a steady, decrease in numbers in church, baptism in ratio to population increase and definitely more sin among the population.
This is not about attacking sports, media, entertainment, money or the things of this world. This is all about the root of the problem of sin in man. And without the full knowledge that everything that happens is directly related to holiness or sin.
--What exactly is happening?
God has already warned us of such things to come when there is prevalent sin in our midst. IN Deuteronomy we are given a very vivid account of what God will do and allow to happen because a people forgets Him and chooses to disobey Him. God's commands have already been given. 'Seek ME and live'; 'Obey Me and I will bless you'; and the opposite of these are declared as well: 'Don't seek Me and die'; 'Do not obey Me and I will curse you'. These are all related to cause and effect.
In Deuteronomy chapter 28, it is the chapter of blessing, v. 3 - 14; and curses, v. 15 - 68, Within these verses of curses is very detailed and specific wording for us to read and grasp with what is happening.
1. Sin is chosen by the people.
2. God gives opportunity to repent and turn to Him.
3. If sin is continued and not forsaken, then judgments and punishments deepen.
4. Another opportunity is given for reprieve.
5. God removes all covering of protection, restraints. Satan, hell and evil are literally turned lose to do as they desire.
The increase in evil across the world is not just because population has increased. Nor has it inreased becasue techonology has advanced. Evil is not in population or technology; evil is in the heart of man. Men are evil without God. We see a mirror verse in the Bible that reflects this: Genesis 6:5, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
Christ told us that as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be when the Son of Man returns. We are definitely living in the last days.
Someone says, 'Oh, but people are mostly good.' Wrong. The Bible tells us, 'there is none good, no not one.' I understand when people say this out in the world, for they are in blindness and ignorance about the things of God. 'Having eyes to see, they cannot see, having ears to hear, they cannot hear'. But it is quite another thing for people that are in church to say such false truths. They say these things because they are lost themselves and know not the truth; neither does the truth reside within them. Or they say these things because their pastors have not declared to them truth of the Bible. The doctrine of the church has always been, 'orginal sin'. Herein we study that which is 'why' we are sinners.
And because we enter into sin against God and His holy ways, God being just, must reward sinners for their chocies and actions. The study of God's act of justice is found else where for study and contemplation. But it is enough for us to capture the truth of this, 'what a man sows, is what he reaps.' I do not plant green bean seed and expect tomatoes. Neither do i sow holy seed and expect to reap sinful deeds. But it is ration and practical to see that if we sow faithful, righteous and holy seeds in Him, we shall reap the same for Him. And if we sow sin and self, then we will reap the same against Him. God knows no sin in Himself and sin was rejected by Christ while He was here on this earth. Being tempted to sin by flesh and SAtan, yet never allowing sin. And as He overcame sin and flesh, so He instructs that we should abide in Him to do the same.
YEt, with so many without Christ, are abiding in this world that is filled with sin. They are consumed in thought, deeds, words and actions for sin. And because they reject their only salvation from sin in Christ, they are given over to the depths of sins consequences - death. God holds protection, deliverance, and redemption from sin. But where a people reject God, then these are negated due to their disobedience, hardness of heart and unyieldeness to Him and His ways. A prolonged period occurs which stretches God's lovingkindess, mercy, grace, and patience. It is not that God loses patience with man, it is that God cannot sin against His holiness. And as God is love, God is also just in all His ways. Sin must be punished. It is not God's desire to see His creation punished nor destroyed.
However, because of man's rejection of God's love through Christ and His atonement, God responds. A continual call for repentance, salvation through a personal invitation is rejected by men. "the gospel has appeared unto all men". God sends judgment and punishment on men for these choices of rejection and rebellion. And each time they reject His invitation, the severity of His judgment is increased 7 fold. IN Levitcus 26:18, "And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins." And through decades in our nation of not 'hearkening unto Him', we have seen an increase of punishment seven fold.
I have shared and discussed these levels of judgments.
1. First level of judgment is against the land;
2. Second level is against the government;
3. Third level is against His people, the church;
4. Fourth, is judgments against life, through pestilence, animals, and other tragedies which limits life;
5. Fifth level of judgment is catacylmisic events of mass amounts of loss of life suddenly or broadly; (9/11, hurricane Katrina) all within the last decade;
Such events as these shootings and murder-suicides are the fourth level of judgment. It is as if God begins to remove His protective, restraing hand against evil. Think upon this for a moment. Where God is, there is complete peace, joy, love, order and harmony. And the opposite of this is as true: where God is not found, then therre is unrest, sorrow, hate, chaos and disunity. And the overall emphasis where God is, is goodness and wholeness in Him; and where God is not, then there is pure evil and brokeness of life. The magnitutde of this should be alarming for us as we see this escalation without God where we are going. WE cannot afford to abide like this much longer.
What is the answer to this great sorrow and atrocity?
The answer is nothing else but God. Politicains think it is gun control; others blame hollywood and games, and movies. But the root of it all is found in the heart of man. And there is no movement, religion or man that can fix the heart. Only God, Who is the creator of the heart and sustainer of the heart is able to fix it. Then why does the church and Christians seem to be looking to everything but Him? It seems that God even keeps His Own people in the darkn about seeing, restraining their eyes and minds from seeing and knowing what is going on and what to do. Yet the certainty of only seeking God is the answer for such a time as this.
II Chronicles 7:14, is much recited these days and emphasized. "If My people which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from theri wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
I have no doubt whatsoever, God will keep His part in this promise. I do have a problem with the first 4 actions to be done by His church, My people. WE are to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. And I don't see any of those 4 things happening right now. Yes, there is an increase in prayer; and there is a 'waking up' attitude about the church of how bad things are getting. But prayer is still one of the most neglecting things of the church today. I have never heard in any prayer meeting that I have been, that the sin of prayerlessness has been confessed or stated. Pride still rules and reigns among the church today, it is masked by humanism. The labor of the church today is to be busy, doing religious work, but not doing it the way God said. So they justify themselves that they are 'building the kingdom' all the while doing it in their own strength. Phrases that reveal this truth, 'Let us start chruches'; 'Let us preach'; 'Let us do this. . .or that". It is all 'us', 'we ', and 'me'. 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.' Pride is still at the heart of our service and duty to the Lord. Until humbleness breaks us, we continue in sin of breaking the first of these 4 edicts. The third edict is, 'seeking His face'; does Christians really do this or know how to do this? We can't do it any other way, but is it being done. It grieves me sore, to know that most pastors have no quiet time before the Lord all week. Now they have time for sports, entertainment, family, church duties, but not the Lord. 'Ye ought not to have left the weightier matters undone.' WE are to love God first and everything else second. That means time, thought, words and actions should be all about seeking His face and waiting before Him. Nothing can happen anyway except we first wait before Him and be endued with power from Him. Yet, the church labors to do without Him. They have not sought His face. Lastly, 'turn from their wicked ways'. The practice of religion and orthodoxy has lasted a long time among the church today. Justifying ourselves that we are 'doing church' has missed the mark of having a relationship with Him. WE seek the things about God, but never seek Him and His ways. Thus, we continue in our wicked ways of flesh, world, and self. No repentance is found in 'saving of souls' today called evangelism. The work of repentance as we see is the last mark found here.
Now until these 4 things change in our attitude and practice, God is not required to hear us, heal us or forgive us. Thus, we continue in a perpetual state of rapid judgment, condemnation, and absence of God's power to deliver, forgive and cleanse. Oh, how we need His Divine Presence to accomplish all this. But how few are seeking it His way. Deed honest, we ought to add into the hymn books, the song that Elvis Presley loved to sing, made famous by Frank Sinatra, 'I Did it My way'. Becasue we keep doing it our way, instead of God's way.
There is a remnant that God holds and keeps before Him. They are obedient children, that do 'always behold His face' on behalf of others. Thank God for each one of these that are stretched out for Him and His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Yet, there must be an increase of serious desire toward Him to accomplish in their evil, dark world, His Divine will among the sons of men.
. . . To be continued;
Began:
July 31, 2012
August 1, 2012
August 2, 2012
August 3, 2012
August 8, 2012
Much to pray for. So much.
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