Sadly, Child Killings are Predictable...

Jim Thornber

From my friend, pastor and author Richard Exley --

Like many of you I am grief stricken by the tragic mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, earlier today. According to the latest reports 27 people are dead including 18 children. Earlier this week a gunman opened fire in a shopping mall in Portland, Oregon, killing two and seriously wounding another before taking his own life.

Of course murder is nothing new. From the time Cain killed Able until now the human race has a long history of cold-blooded atrocities. Still, there seems to be something different, something more sinister about the random killings being perpetrated by these troubled young men. For the most part their killing sprees were not prompted by religious fanaticism or political ideology or even personal revenge. Their victims were strangers by and large – innocent victims – and seemed to be chosen at random.

Mark Kopta, chairman and professor in the department of psychology at the University of Evansville in Indiana, has researched extensively the country's mass killings, which he defines as attacks leading to the deaths of at least five people, including the killer's suicide. He found three incidents in the United States fitting this profile between 1930 and 1970. Three more followed over the course of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, there were ten such incidents of mass murder. The 1990s had seventeen; and, since the new millennium began, there have been twenty-five such mass murders. Six of them occurred last year. And 2009 has already topped that with eight such killings. There have been nine mass murders in 2012.

So what’s going on? Why this sudden rise in mass killings? Are they just a statistical fluke?

There are no easy explanations, no pat answers. The conditions conspiring to produce these troubled young men are varied and complex. The entertainment industry continues to produce video games, music and movies that glorify violence. Liberal politicians, jurists and even educators insist that there are no moral absolutes, creating a society where each person is a law unto himself. Corruption in high places, within business, government and the church, has produced a jaded cynicism in young and old alike. Then there’s the economic meltdown worldwide and the resulting despair. Finally there is rampant divorce and the resulting dissolution of the traditional family creating a generation of lost souls.

While all of these are contributing factors they are not the root cause. The root cause is spiritual rather than sociological or even psychological. America made a covenant with death and we are now reaping the unintended consequences. That covenant was sealed on Monday, January 22, 1973, when the United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2, in the now infamous Roe v. Wade decision. When the highest court in the land rules that killing the child in your womb is an acceptable way of dealing with your unplanned pregnancy, we shouldn’t be surprised when children reared in such a culture turn to murder and suicide when life becomes overwhelming.

Sadly, Child Killings are Predictable...

Jim Thornber

From my friend, pastor and author Richard Exley --

Like many of you I am grief stricken by the tragic mass murder at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, earlier today. According to the latest reports 27 people are dead including 18 children. Earlier this week a gunman opened fire in a shopping mall in Portland, Oregon, killing two and seriously wounding another before taking his own life.

Of course murder is nothing new. From the time Cain killed Able until now the human race has a long history of cold-blooded atrocities. Still, there seems to be something different, something more sinister about the random killings being perpetrated by these troubled young men. For the most part their killing sprees were not prompted by religious fanaticism or political ideology or even personal revenge. Their victims were strangers by and large – innocent victims – and seemed to be chosen at random.

Mark Kopta, chairman and professor in the department of psychology at the University of Evansville in Indiana, has researched extensively the country's mass killings, which he defines as attacks leading to the deaths of at least five people, including the killer's suicide. He found three incidents in the United States fitting this profile between 1930 and 1970. Three more followed over the course of the 1970s. In the 1980s, however, there were ten such incidents of mass murder. The 1990s had seventeen; and, since the new millennium began, there have been twenty-five such mass murders. Six of them occurred last year. And 2009 has already topped that with eight such killings. There have been nine mass murders in 2012.

So what’s going on? Why this sudden rise in mass killings? Are they just a statistical fluke?

There are no easy explanations, no pat answers. The conditions conspiring to produce these troubled young men are varied and complex. The entertainment industry continues to produce video games, music and movies that glorify violence. Liberal politicians, jurists and even educators insist that there are no moral absolutes, creating a society where each person is a law unto himself. Corruption in high places, within business, government and the church, has produced a jaded cynicism in young and old alike. Then there’s the economic meltdown worldwide and the resulting despair. Finally there is rampant divorce and the resulting dissolution of the traditional family creating a generation of lost souls.

While all of these are contributing factors they are not the root cause. The root cause is spiritual rather than sociological or even psychological. America made a covenant with death and we are now reaping the unintended consequences. That covenant was sealed on Monday, January 22, 1973, when the United States Supreme Court ruled 7-2, in the now infamous Roe v. Wade decision. When the highest court in the land rules that killing the child in your womb is an acceptable way of dealing with your unplanned pregnancy, we shouldn’t be surprised when children reared in such a culture turn to murder and suicide when life becomes overwhelming.

i paused. i thought. i was blown away with the realization....

i paused.  i thought.  i was blown away with the realization, i had just asked God to heal a person of brain cancer half way around the world.  i don't know the person.  i've never met the person.  i don't know exactly where they live.  i don't even know their last name and yet i prayed with confidence that God was going to do the deed.

some say God did that sort of thing in the old days when people needed it to be convinced of His Lordship.  i am inclined to believe God does this sort of thing today, because of His Lordship needing no convincing. He is the I AM and works His will and purpose in our lives out of His being who He is.  not who we are.

He doesn't need our participation, but He enjoys the company when we choose to abide in Him.  It is in His company, miracles happen.  just believe and receive.

i paused. i thought. i was blown away with the realization....

i paused.  i thought.  i was blown away with the realization, i had just asked God to heal a person of brain cancer half way around the world.  i don't know the person.  i've never met the person.  i don't know exactly where they live.  i don't even know their last name and yet i prayed with confidence that God was going to do the deed.

some say God did that sort of thing in the old days when people needed it to be convinced of His Lordship.  i am inclined to believe God does this sort of thing today, because of His Lordship needing no convincing. He is the I AM and works His will and purpose in our lives out of His being who He is.  not who we are.

He doesn't need our participation, but He enjoys the company when we choose to abide in Him.  It is in His company, miracles happen.  just believe and receive.

What if i Claim Healing over Someone and They die....

i asked Jesus into my heart at the age of 6 while riding in a '59 VW down a gravel mountain road in the Sierra Nevadas. Thank you mom for sharing Christ's love with me. 

Today, i should be mature in my faith, but i feel so much like an infant when it comes to someone asking for me to pray for healing. I believe Jesus abides and where He abides there should not be sickness. But in the back of my mind i wonder, what if i tell the person they are healed and they die.....

I received some great thought from friends on Facebook....

"Stan Pollmann II What if someone is dying and you pray for them and they LIVE!!! ??? Because you stepped out in faith and obeyed the Word of God... It is always best to step out in faith and obey His calling than to have pride inside... because you might be embarrassed... food for thought"

"Sandy Campbell Stacey Thank you, Archie for sharing a sweet memory of your Mom and an important day as well as being vulnerable to share your fears. 

I agree with Stan and will share an experience I had. I work at a doctor's office. One day I was in the office with a patient and felt I was supposed to ask him if he was a believer. I was new to discerning the urging and voice of the Holy Spirit, and shrunk back at first speaking in my head to the Lord a small apology and told Him "I am not sure if it's You or me". 

Well, the patient, not knowing anything, said " I have had this song going around inside me all day." I said, "Really? What is it?" He said, "Jesus is my Healer!" I laughed and confessed! He said, "Maybe I was supposed to come here so you could lay hands on me." Spiritual like the book of Acts. I did and prayed the prayer of faith...thanking Jesus for what He did at the cross and Galatians 3:13. 

He has not been back since. I believe he is healed. Not everyone will receive their healing but Jesus gave it and bore all sickness in His body. Be Bold and Courageous. Only believe. James 5 The prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well...if they are willing to believe and receive they will have it done for them. Mark 9:23; 11:22-24."

Raising People from the Dead is not a Spectator Sport or is it...

I love Jesus and have been reading about His life and His expectations on my life.  i believe Jesus abides in me and i in Him.  In His abiding i have expectations that i believe are His expectations.  Sadly... it seems my emulation of Him is lacking.  I want others to see Jesus when they see me, yet mostly others only see me.  I have a friend who shared this amazing story.... 

"Just last week I was at a table with a bunch of friends and we had a good laugh at my "devotion". They had never heard of someone who believed they could do that (raise another back to life). I thought it was NORMAL and thought people were weird who didn't believe we could do it through Christ. 

Once a mom wanted her 7 year old child to be raised. We circled the building ( mortuary) where she was and prayed walking around it for 6 times. On the 7th, we stood and shouted, " Sarah come forth!" I asked them, " what if they ALL come out!!!??? After a minute the door opened and a man stuck his head out and asked, " may I help you?" 

I said, " not unless you were dead." lol!!!!"

Thousands of times... Jesus healed matter of factly... He had no desire for fanfare.  He healed out of love.  Other times, miracles were asked of Him and He rejected their requests.  Could it be our impotence is tied to our need for self acclaim?  

As to the testimony of living life in the reality of Jesus shared above... i think the opportunity would have been great fun!