The first thing I want to talk about is security. Churches need to realize that they are a soft target for Muslims, for those who are anti-God, and even for some crazed individuals. Churches need to have some kind of a security protocol. Doors need to be locked during services, there needs to be security personnel who are watching what is going on and who are prepared to take the necessary action to protect those in attendance. It is sad that we are in this situation, but the truth is, that is where we are today. I fear that we will see more of this kind of thing.

Let’s look at the shooter, Devin Kelly. It looks like this has turned out to be a domestic event. It is a coincidence that it happened on the same day that we were hearing of the possibility of Antifa launching there attacks against Trump supporters and conservatives, who happen also to be many of the church going Americans. Antifa, and many other left wing groups, consider these people to be the enemy of their goal of bringing about a communist type of regime in this country. They are trying to start a civil war to bring this about.

There were threats of this starting on November 5th, and this is why I made suppositions yesterday. It appears that my suppositions were wrong and that it was more of a domestic violence incident. Kelly had sent threatening text messages to his mother-in-law, the mother of his estranged wife. She worshiped in this church, and his estranged wife would sometimes attend there as well.

As I understand things, the mother-in-law was not there, but the grandmother was. She was killed, along with many others.

There had to be more in this man’s heart than just hatred for a particular person. The New York Times reported that friends said on Facebook that in recent years, Mr. Kelley had become vocally anti-Christian, to the point where many stopped communicating with him. His Facebook page, which has been deleted, listed that he liked a number of atheist groups.

“He was always talking about how people who believe in God were stupid and trying to preach his atheism,” one of his Facebook friends, Nina Rosa Nava, posted on the site, saying she unfriended him because of it.

Our country has become more and more polarized and more divided on these issues. Atheists are becoming anti-theists. They view anyone who stands for God as an enemy.

The lefts agenda is to shut down our free speech. This is why they have started teaching something in our colleges called micro-aggression. Micro-aggressions are those small actions or word choices, although on the surface they are not malicious in intent, but are thought of as violence nevertheless. In other words, they are teaching kids that when people come on campus with word choices that you think are violent, they are to treat it as if someone came on campus with a gun. What to you do when someone threatens you with a weapon? You run, hide, and scream. You warn others and seek a safe place.

It has reached a point with some that when someone comes on campus with a Bible, it is as if they had come with an AR-15, and they were there to do damage. They are teaching our young people that preachers of the Word of God are evil, violent people preaching hate and bigotry.

This is an old tactic of the left. If you can’t argue the facts because they are against you, you attack the credibility of your opponent. It is a tactic that lawyers are taught in law school.

The Air Force committed an error because they didn’t report Kelly’s domestic violence to the authorities that would have prevented him from purchasing a gun. Had they done that, the laws that are currently on the books would have prevented him from purchasing the gun he used. To suggest that we need more laws, and more stringent laws is disingenuous. The fact is, government failed.

It we trust government, government will fail. It is a flawed entity because the people in government are flawed. I don’t want to wait for a policeman to come and protect me, nor do I want to trust the government’s laws to protect me. Laws cannot prevent crime, they can only punish it once it is committed.

Is there a silver lining in what happened Sunday? Our country is falling more and more into godlessness and riotous living. Is there something that could come about as a result of this incident? Perhaps there is.

In Luke Chapter 6:

Luke 6:22 Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake.
23 Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.

God tells Christians, as His children, we are to expect this kind of hatred. If we are not suffering persecution from the godless, we are not living right. When it comes, we are to rejoice because our reward is in heaven. Historically, when persecution came to the early churches, that is when they grew.

The next verse is very interesting:

Luke 6:24 But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation.

Why does Christ seem to be attacking the rich? In 1 Timothy we find the answer:

1 Timothy 6:17 Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

The point is, we have become a very prosperous nation. We really don’t know poverty and real hardship. We think we do, but compared to much of the world, our poorest are rich. When people are prosperous they often ask, Why do I need God? I have everything I need.

Our blessings have turned us from God. God blessed us so we could be a blessing to others, but we have squandered it, and we have come to believe that we deserve it. We forget the One who gave it to us.

In Luke we learn that to whom much is given, much will be required.

Luke 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:

God has blessed America, and He expects much from us. Instead of using what He has blessed us with to bless others, we selfishly use it for ourselves.

Our nation is in trouble. It is getting further and further from the godly principles upon which it was founded. Things like what happened in Texas Sunday could wake us up and turn us back to God. If this happened, our nation could be blessed again.

When God allows His people to suffer persecution, it turns them to their knees. The solution to the problems we are facing must start with prayer. It will take real, fervent prayer, not just superficial prayers that don’t come from a broken heart.

Confess [your] faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16)