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.”
(Dem Left quotes from-- 'Thoughts and Prayers Are Not Enough.' Gun
Control Advocates Demand Action After Texas Shooting; By Katie Reilly; Time.com;
11/6/17)
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.
…
(Lemon Argues Prayer Didn’t Stop Sutherland
Springs, Hints Irrelevant Gun Control Would Have; By Curtis Houck; NewsBusters.org;
11/7/17 5:58 PM EST)
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:
2 And the
woman said to the serpent [serpent=Satan=The Devil], “We may eat the
fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 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]
4 Then the
serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 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]
6 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. 7 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.”
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.”
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 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.
**************
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.
++++
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.
_______________
There is a Reason for Evil – Prayer Still Defeats Evil
John R. Houk
© November 8, 2017
___________________
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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