TODAY'S DEVOTIONAL ON THE VIRGINIA TECH MASSACRE IS ONE THAT YOU NEED TO FORWARD TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW, FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS, CHURCH GROUPS, AND ANY OTHER PEOPLE YOU ASSOCIATE WITH. POST IT ON EVERY MESSAGE BOARD AND CHATROOM YOU CAN FIND. POST IT ON YOUR MYSPACE, FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL INTERACTION SITES. THIS MESSAGE NOT ONLY DEALS WITH THE TRAGEDY ON MONDAY, BUT GIVES PEOPLE THE ONLY ANSWER AND HOPE THERE IS FOR THIS WORLD AND EACH PERSON... JESUS!!!
Why does God let tragic events like the Virginia Tech massacre to happen? In the aftermath of the horrible tragedy that took place on the Virginia Tech campus Monday, I want to dedicate this Devotional today to the families who lost loved ones as well as to the entire Virginia Tech and Blacksburg communities. The prayers of all those in the vast, worldwide Liveprayer family are with you in your time of loss and grieving. I pray that during these difficult days, you will find the peace and strength of Christ to sustain you and help you to move forward. May the hand of Almighty God be upon you in a special way!A horrible tragedy like what happened Monday always causes people to ask the inevitable question, "Why does God allow such events to occur that take the lives of innocent people?" People reason that if God is all powerful, that if nothing happens apart from His allowing it to happen, then why would He allow something like this to occur? That is a fair question. I have found over the years, that it is a question asked more by non-Believers than Believers. People who have rejected the Christian faith will often point to these types of events to justify their rejection of the Truth. However, it is a legitimate question and the answer is simply we do not know.
In Isaiah 55:8,9, God's Word says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." The simple fact is there is very little that happens that we know why it happened. God is sovereign. God doesn't have to check with us before He does anything. God has His plan and purpose that is going to unfold regardless of the free will choices we make. We can choose to live in obedience to God and enjoy the blessings of our obedience, or rebel against God and deal with the consequences of our rebellion. Either way, God's plan will be fulfilled, with or without us.
The cold hard truth is that much of what happens in life we will simply never know "why." This is where our faith must come into play. There are simply times in our life we must trust God that no matter what is going on in our life, He is watching over us, He is in control, and He will see us through. It is in these moments when there are more questions than answers that our faith must become real. We simply must trust God. We live in a fallen, sin-filled, and evil world. Evil is all around us and until Jesus returns, we will always be faced with the evil acts of one man on another.
We trust people all the time, every day, in many different circumstances. Every time we get behind the wheel of a car we trust other drivers to obey the laws and drive properly. Every time we get on a plane we are trusting the pilot to get us to our destination safely. Many work in dangerous careers where they are trusting the people they work with. In many cases, we don't even know these people we are trusting to do the right thing so we don't die! IF WE CAN TRUST PEOPLE WE DON'T KNOW EVERY DAY WITH OUR LIVES, WE CAN CERTAINLY TRUST GOD WHO CREATED US IN HIS OWN IMAGE, LOVES US, AND ONLY WANTS THE BEST FOR US!
The reality is, in the United States there are apx. 300 million people. We live in a free society. In all honesty I am more shocked that what happened Monday doesn't happen more often. I see God's grace at work in the fact this doesn't happen somewhere every day! Do you realize that we have the better percentage of two full generations who have grown up not going to church, a large percentage in broken and blended homes with no faith background at all.
In addition to the Godless and unstable environment so many grow up in, there is a large and growing percentage of society that is anti-social and has little contact with other people. More people than ever are on mind-altering medication daily for depression and other mental llnesses. They don't handle the problems of life well. Millions of people get most of their mental stimulus from the media, TV, the movies, publications, the Internet and live in a world that blends fantasy and reality.
With no faith, on medication, living in between reality and fantasy, it is easy for these people to cross the line into hopelessness. Add to the mix a very real enemy whose stated goal is to kill, steal, and destroy, planting evil thoughts in their head, and it is a miracle of God, a true sign of His grace and mercy, that we don't deal with these types of horrible tragedies every day!Two things that have disturbed me during the past few days has been the media coverage and the gutless words of the "Christian representative" at the Convocation Service Tuesday attended by President Bush. The media, especially the 24 hour cable news stations, FOX, MSNBC, and CNN, have become experts at turning these tragedies into "around the clock entertainment" and cashing in on the great ratings they bring. It is terrible that 33 innocent people lost their lives on Monday, but I wonder why the media doesn't cover as zealously the murder of over 4,000 innocent babies in this nation...EVERY SINGLE DAY!
I sat in my office Tuesday afternoon and watched the Convocation Service on the Virginia Tech campus. Of course they had the Muslim Imam without shame telling people the non-existent false god of Islam allah was the answer. You had a woman representing the false religion of Buddhism without shame quoting his ridiculous philosophies of life. Last to speak was a spineless gentlemen who was there to represent the Christian faith. HE NEVER ONCE MENTIONED THE ONLY NAME THERE IS FOR PEOPLE TO CALL ON IN THEIR TIME OF NEED... JESUS!
I didn't expect him to have the courage to ask people to accept the Lord, though he should have. I didn't except him to have the courage to tell people that there is only one true hope for men in times of grief and sadness, though he should have. I DID EXPECT HIM TO AT LEAST SAY THE NAME OF JESUS! A worldwide stage, an opportunity to share with those who are hurting, looking for hope in the midst of this tragedy, and not one mention of Jesus Christ!
I love you and care about you so much. The great lesson of the Virginia Tech massacre is that we must be ready to stand before God at any moment. Many say they will think about the spiritual side of their life "later." Well, the cold hard reality is that you may not have "later." You can die in an instant, and at that moment, your eternal fate is sealed. You either know Jesus as your Savior or you don't. You are either destined to hell for all eternity or assured of being with God your Creator for all eternity.
There is of course only ONE hope for all men, and that is Jesus Christ. If there is one lesson from this Virginia Tech massacre for all people to learn, it is that life is very brief, very fragile, and can end in an instant without any warning. I can assure you that as those college professors went to teach their classes on that Monday morning, as those students got up to start another week of classes last Monday, NOT ONE OF THEM ever expected to die in their classroom! I remind you often that the Bible teaches tomorrow is promised to none of us. Each day is literally a gift from God. That is also why God says that TODAY is the day of salvation. There is no guarantee you will have tomorrow.
Let me ask you a question today. If your life ended in the next 10 seconds, if your heart stopped beating for whatever reason this moment and you are standing before God, are you ready for that moment? As you read these words, do you have the 100% assurance that if you died today you would be forever with Jesus? If you have never made that commitment of your heart and life to Jesus by faith, if you aren't 100% certain you will be with the Lord when you die, please take a moment to go to the link below. Pray and ask God to open your heart to receive His love today. Watch the short video clip, read the words, and make the most important decision you will ever make as you accept Jesus Christ into your heart and life by faith and receive the promise of God that when your brief journey through this life is over, you will be forever with Him!
http://www.liveprayer.com/bdy_salvatn.cfm
What happened Monday in Blacksburg on the campus of Virginia Tech was a sad day for this nation. It was an isolated event that only reinforced how evil this world we live in really is. Until Jesus returns and this world as we know it ends, there will always be the type of horrific events we witnessed this past Monday. These events show us how desperately men need to have a personal relationship with Christ and how desperately this world needs to repent and turn back to God!
As we remember those who lost their lives Monday, remember their families who are grieving, remember all those in the Virginia Tech and Blacksburg communities, may those who know Jesus as their Savior be motivated to do our part each day to bring Christ to the people we meet each day in our lives. JESUS IS THE ONLY HOPE AND ANSWER THERE IS!!!
In His love and service,
Your friend and brother in Christ,
Bill Keller
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