Judges 13-14, Zephaniah 2, Luke 6:37-49, 1 Timothy 6:11-21, Psalm 30: Let me begin by saying this is not a political post. It is a post about the heart of men and women, boys and girls. Over the last few days we have seen evil take the lives of 29 people in 2 shootings. It is heart breaking to think about going to Walmart and not coming home because evil has taken innocent lives. There is one common denominator with all of the violence that is happening not just in the case of these two incidences but around our globe. It is that Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy. The problem is that those doing the evil have allowed their hearts to be filled with anger, bitterness, resentment, jealous, and darkness. That darkness then manifests itself in multiple ways, but the end result is to steal, kill and destroy. Our passage in Luke today says
Luke 6:43″For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, 44for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Satan’s tactics are not new. They were displayed even in the original sons of Adam as one brother killed another. No matter what weapon is used to take the life or wound the core is the same, a heart problem.
I hope you will join me in praying for the hearts and minds of those in our communities. Pray that we will see those in deep need before they explode in violence and can reach them with Light, Truth, and a better way to handle their hatred. Pray for our teachers, principals and school administrators as they try to teach our children how to handle conflict and difficulties in a different way than they may have even seen in their own homes. Pray for churches to stop fighting with one another and begin to love like Jesus loves. Pray we see that the enemy is Satan and not our brother or sister. We are all in need of prayer that we would reflect the Light of the gospel not the desires of our flesh. Pray for those who lost people they loved this weekend and communities that today are trying to pick up the pieces and put life back together. Jesus is the only answer!