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Wednesday, November 8, 2017

There is a Reason for Evil – Prayer Still Defeats Evil

John R. Houk
© November 8, 2017

Good Before - Evil After

You’d think even a godless person that knows right from wrong (to the best extant that is even possible) would concur the massacre in a Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs Texas was a horrific incident that should instill national unity rather than divisive comments from Leftists in Hollywood and the MSM, RIGHT?

AND I am not even speaking about the idiocy of gun control! After all, it was a former NRA gun instructor (Stephen Willeford) – with a gun – that prevented Devin Kelley from more than 26 or 27 (depending who you read) already butchered with bullets – men, women and children.

I am talking about the godless who went public with their thoughts that “prayer” did little for the Christian in Church who were wounded or dead. Instead Leftists demanded gun control would be more effective than prayer to Almighty God. Keep in mind Kelley’s acquisitions of guns happened even though gun laws should have prevented such and gun owner Stephan Willeford more than likely stopped a greater death toll with his gun.

A call for more gun control merely enables crooks gain illegal gun acquisitions while keeping guns out of the hands of responsible people.

Dems negating prayer by increasing ineffective gun control:

Seth Moulton – Dem Rep from Massachusetts:

“We are praying - but prayers won't fix this or prevent it from happening again.  Let's also pray that you find the courage to do your job.”

Richard Blumenthal – Dem Senator from Connecticut:

“Horror, heartbreak, shame. Prayers are important but insufficient. After another unspeakable tragedy, Congress must act - or be complicit.”

John Lewis – Dem Rep from Georgia:

“We must do more than mourn and pray for those murdered in Texas. We must act.”

Pramila Jayapal – Dem Rep from Washington State:

“They were praying when it happened. They don't need our prayers. They need us to address gun violence crisis & pass sensible regulation.”


Leftist Hollywood


“prayers and thoughts don’t seem to be working. We NEED reasonable gun laws. Do your job” (quote from -- 'Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough.' Gun Control Advocates Demand Action After Texas Shooting; By Katie Reilly; Time.com; 11/6/17)


“Will Wheaton responded to the deadly shooting at First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs on Sunday by tweeting: 'The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive, you worthless sack of s***.' [The “you” refers to Speaker Ryan] (Wil Wheaton Fire Tweet Lashing Paul Ryan; By CHRIS SPARGO; Daily Mail; 11/6/17 09:13 EST – Updated 14:41 EST)

Leftist MSM


“Enough with the “thoughts and prayers already.” The Bible teaches us that faith without works is dead. Do something or say nothing.” (quote from--  'Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough.' Gun Control Advocates Demand Action After Texas Shooting; By Katie Reilly; Time.com; 11/6/17)


CNN Tonight host Don Lemon went on a nearly-four-minute-long commentary on Monday emphasizing that he’s not “not anti-thoughts and prayers,” but demanded Congress defeat the NRA and pass gun control measures that wouldn’t have stopped Sunday’s Sutherland Springs church shooting.


Lemon read a few tweets from Republicans following the massacre and then mocked them by repeatedly muttering “thoughts and prayers” under this breath. 


From there, Lemon seemed to discount the notion that prayers aren’t always answered in how one expects and that there’s evil in the world when he bemoaned how “thoughts and prayers” didn’t stop the shooter.

“Thoughts and prayers did not stop an oversight from the justice system which enabled a guy who attacked his stepson and assaulted his wife from getting a gun. Thoughts and prayers didn't stop a troubled person from buying assault-grade weapons that took the lives of 26 people in an instant,” he added.

Lemon could have stopped there

Of course, that’s not what Lemon did. He continued by claiming that “[t]his is not at all about the Second Amendment or taking guns out of the hands of responsible gun owners.”

“I am a firm believer in the Second Amendment. I'll say that again. I am firm believer in the Second Amendment. 

If you’ve ever read someone going this far to make clear that you’re not for gun control, here’s a spoiler alert of sorts: This means they’re for gun control.

And sure enough, Lemon went on to float the very notion that he just claimed he’s not advocating for:

But think about this. How many guns and of what caliber does one person need? Does a civilian really need an arsenal? Does a civilian really need body armor? Those are good questions that we should all be asking. Maybe you think they should, but we should at least be asking those questions. Those are the questions our leaders should be debating. Our leaders should be leading, not following. 



Friends this is only a sample of people discrediting prayer and wanting to end the 2nd Amendment Right to protect oneself with gun control that enables greater power to thugs and less power to YOU.

People still devoted to the faith of the Word of God – Biblical Faith – comprehend why evil functions in this world. The reason begins with the God’s record of the creation of humanity. The very creation mocked by the irreligious Left as a myth.

Genesis presents Creation as a six-day process in which He rested on the seventh (our Saturday). If you are dedicated to Biblical faith you will be part of the theological argument, that God’s Creation was six 24-hour periods. Much to the displeasure of my son, I’m not into the six 24-hour period creation. There are some who discovered verses relating to one-day for God is as 1000-years to we created humans (Psalm 90: 1-4; 2 Peter 3: 8 NKJV).

The 1000 years for me explained that God made a natural order. I still believe the Almighty could have blinked and Shazzam, Creation came to be. On a personal, it is my guess the Shazzam method was not God’s modus operandi in Creation. This is why I interpret the 1000-years=1-day to God probably relates to a concept of a long time rather than a specific measurable time. If that messes with your theology, please forgive me. I am not dogmatic about the theory.

Getting to Creation and humanity. God made man (as in humanity) male and eventually female. Man was made in the image of God which clue you into a general appearance of the Almighty but not a specific rendering. The Creation man was on the sixth creation epoch:

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[a] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Genesis 1: 26-27, 31 NKJV)

It is important to note and dwell on verse 31: “ God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.”

God’s Creation “was” very good. Meaning no sickness, no death, natural disasters, no inherent wickedness on the Earth and so on that would be the opposite of very good. (In Genesis Chapter 2 God reveals the process of male created first then the female. Secular minded scholars will tell you this is another document that was merged in antiquity into our current Bible. I don’t buy scholarly theories that discredit God’s Word.)

What in the world happened between “very good” and evil’s existence in our present age? The explanation is in Genesis Chapter 3. You really should read the whole chapter, but for brevity’s sake, here are the highlights:

And the woman said to the serpent [serpent=Satan=The Devil], “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

[THE DECEPTION]

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

[Rebelling against God’s Command and becoming a servant of Satan by believing lies]

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. [Adam were clothed glory, the glory-clothing disappeared in rebellion and were actually naked]

[Not taking responsibility for own actions is the 2nd evidence evil had entered God’s Creation]

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

[Serpent was cursed by being synonymous with Satan and Satan cursed with the foretelling a son born from a woman will someday ]

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel
.”

[Female descendants of Eve are cursed]

16 To the woman He said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”

[Male descendants of Adam are cursed]

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:

“Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3: 2-7, 11-19 NKJV)

In Sunday school you may have learned Adam’s (and descendants) curse was to toil for his family unit to live. In other words, no work means no eat. Probably what you didn’t learn in Sunday school was “Cursed is the ground for your sake”. The “ground” is all that exists on Earth from evil acts of beasts and humanity to horrific natural disasters.

In essence Adam and Eve unwittingly yet willingly separated themselves from God. Thus, Adam and Eve “surely” died by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Without Jesus, humans are dead people walking. No Redemption from this separation means the Second Death, which is Eternal Separation from God.

As soon as Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, the authority given to them of the Earth was transferred to Satan making the Devil the god of this world until Jesus returns the second and last time through the Devil in chains in the Lake of Fire with those unrepentant choosing to ally with Satan over obedience to the Creator.

There is a Devil. Jesus Christ the Son of God defeated the Devil with Resurrection power available to all who Believe. Is the Devil still here? Yes. The Devil's last and final defeat occurs after humanity's last test of who is with God and who is not. Read the back of the book - The Revelation of Jesus to John the Apostle.

Until Jesus returns to Redeem the entire planet from the curse of Adam, we have the power of prayer via Redemption activated on Earth by the Holy Spirit. The actions of Believers are only as effective as we are aligned to the power of God through the Holy Spirit. Sometimes protection comes by Holy Spirit led people who thwart the designs of the Devil. In Sutherland Springs Texas, that person was Stephan Willeford armed with a gun and Johnnie Langendorff the side-kick car driver.

The inspiration for these thoughts deserve some reading as well. Hence the below cross post.

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Actual Demons Are Actually Real

November 6, 2017, 05:00am

The Bible makes clear what a lot of people seldom ever think about. Demons are real. Protestants tend to think it is all Catholic talk and secularists think it is all in the movies. But evil is a very real thing and demons are part of it. Though we may not see them commonly, they are there and the church shooting in Texas should remind us of that.

“Where is your God?” the secularists heckle as the American progressives and Nazis and Soviets and Romans and Persians and Philistines all have heckled Christ’s church. He sits on his throne, still sovereign, mourning the dead and welcoming them into His kingdom. On this earth, as it grows more secular, we should expect more of this as evil creeps back in. I think Augustine was right that evil exists in the absence of God.

Missionaries to far off places often have similar stories. The natives are stirred to faith by dreams. But as the gospel moves in there in the shadows the missionaries will sometimes encounter the demonic. It may take the form of a witch doctor or a demonic possession. They are not just in the Bible.

Secularists dismiss this all as superstition. But Christian missionaries are eye witnesses in many cases and Christian churches need to wake up and realize the evil creeping back in with the rising tide of secularism in America. There will be more church shootings. There will be more persecution of Christians. There will be more evil, often masked under the guise of progressive enlightenment. It all comes as American society increasingly shoves God aside.

We do not know all the details of the shooter in Texas. But we should recognize evil and call it evil. And churches should see what happened in Texas and what is happening to culture as a whole and start preparing their congregations for a harder life in the United States. Actual demons are actually real. They take many forms. But they are all evil and all wish to harm the church.
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MSNBC Reporter Asks ‘Are Prayers Enough?’ in Wake of Church Massacre

By Billy Hallowell, Senior Editor
November 7, 2017

Paul Buford, pastor of River Oaks Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, had a pointed response on Monday when an MSNBC reporter asked him if prayers are really enough in the wake of the horrific mass shooting at First Baptist Church.


“I think, absolutely they are,” Buford, whose church is just two miles down the road from First Baptist, said during an on-air segment. “It’s only our faith in God that’s going to get us through this.”

The preacher went on to say that “prayer works” and delivered a mini sermon about how Christians believe that those who died at First Baptist and who knew Jesus are now in heaven. But the conversation took yet another interesting turn when the reporter asked how, outside of prayer, society can stop events like this from happening.

“I’m not sure we’re going to be able to stop those things, because the word of God tells us that we are gonna face trials and tribulations, that evil is out there, and it’s doing everything it can to attack,” Buford said. “We talk about it’s a gun issue, or we talk about a mental health issue. Well, as pastors and as Christians, we talk about it and say it’s not that; it’s a heart issue.”

He then went on to say that people are focusing on the world and not God, lamenting the state of affairs.

“If we were focused on the [God], then we wouldn’t be having those things,” he said. “We continue to push God out of our schools, out of our communities, out of our government.”

At that point, the reporter interjected to question whether Buford was blaming the shooting on those things and he clarified that he was not and was, instead, speaking to a broader issue that he believes is unfolding.

“We’re in a spiritual battle, we believe, in this world. It’s evil against good,” he said. “Now, we know that good is gonna overcome that.”

Watch Buford’s comments below:

MSNBC VIDEO:


(H/T: IJR)
++++++++++++
Jennifer LeClaire Offers Prophetic Insight on Sutherland Springs Attack

11/7/17 11:00AM EST 

The church massacre that killed more than 24 people—including an 18-month-old child—still has investigators puzzled. News reports are trickling out about a connection to a domestic dispute but authorities have yet to say much about what specifically motivated the killer.

"This was not racially motivated; it wasn't over religious beliefs," Freeman Martin, a regional director with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news briefing. "There was a domestic situation going on within the family and the in-laws."

We must avoid knee-jerk reactions to politicize this tragedy and hit our knees in prayer for healing. While police look for a natural motive, we know the enemy's motive all too well.

This massacre, like so many others, has the devil's fingerprints all over it. Of course, it doesn't take a prophet to see that, but I don't mind reminding you amid the outrage and grief that 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelly, the attacker, was inspired by rulers of darkness.

You know I'm not a doom and gloomer, but this not the first attack on a church; it will not be the last. Amid the Sutherland Springs massacre, we must not give in to the spirit of fear, but understand our adversary, the devil, is influencing people to steal, kill and destroy.

We must wage prophetic warfare in the heavenlies because our battle is not against flesh and blood. Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against the church. And Jesus is always right. He also told us, "Occupy till I come" (Luke 19:13b, KJV).

It's time for the church to rise up with all manner of prayer with prophetic insight, including petitions and decrees, binding and loosing, even as we grieve for those who have been traumatized by this calamity.

Here's how we can pray:

1)    As the Lord to comfort those who are grieving and to deliver them from trauma that could impact them for many years to come.

2)    Ask the Lord to fully expose every hidden motive, agenda or mandate behind this attack.

3)    Give the pastor of this church the wisdom of Solomon to walk through this tragedy in the days ahead.

4)    Bind the spirit of fear over this church, this city and others who are glued to the secular news media waiting for the next revelation about the killer.

5)    Decree and declare a cease-and-desist order against massacres in our nation.

6)    Pray that those who lost friends and family can truly forgive this atrocity.

7)    Pray for awakening and a transforming revival in our cities.

Jennifer LeClaire is senior leader of Awakening House of Prayer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founder of the Ignite Network and founder of the Awakening Blaze prayer movement. She is author of over 25 books. Find her online at jenniferleclaire.org or email her at info@jenniferleclaire.org.
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There is a Reason for Evil – Prayer Still Defeats Evil
John R. Houk
© November 8, 2017
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Actual Demons Are Actually Real


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MSNBC Reporter Asks ‘Are Prayers Enough?’ in Wake of Church Massacre


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Jennifer LeClaire Offers Prophetic Insight on Sutherland Springs Attack

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