This tragic shooting in Florida is not the fault of media channels, governmental policy, educational systems, family values or Hollywood propaganda...
All of these things absolutely play a huge role which I will get to in a minute but bottom line -
This is the Church’s fault.
Through legalism we wound and reject people like Nikolas Cruz
Through HyperGrace we enable and empower people like Nikolas Cruz
Through HyperCharismania we promote feelings and experiences over truth, righteousness, and holiness which is the only thing that can change people like Nikolas Cruz
The Church quit exercising power and authority over darkness and as a result it is running rampant across the earth
The Church quit talking about demons and quit teaching people how to cast them out
The Church chose to shrink back while the enemy stepped up
The Church became weak while the enemy gained strength
The Church settled for large buildings rather than a powerful movement
The Church settled for Religious Marketing gimmicks and carnal advertisements rather than ministering to the oppressed, possessed and broken
The Church sold out to worldly riches and robbed people of the freedom that comes in Christ.
The Church chose to tickle the ears and scratch the itch people had for feel good messages rather than confronting and exposing sin
Pastors became celebrities rather than preachers of righteousness, instruments of deliverance, and healers of oppression
Pastors started caring more about Instagram followers than being and training true Jesus followers
When are we going to wake up as a Church and realize we are the problem....
But at the end of the day, We are also the solution.
Obama wasn’t the solution. Trump isn’t the solution. Gun control isn’t the solution. A wall isn’t the solution. Money isn’t the solution.
The Church is the solution. And I’m not talking about a Church building, I’m talking about the body of believers who make up the Church. That’s how God created this world to function and His narrative to play out.
It’s time for the Church and Pastors to start acting like we carry the solution rather than tiptoeing around subjects scared to hurt anyone’s feelings because we don’t want to lose our salaries or even more pathetically our own following. Jesus deliberately took steps to decrease his following. He wanted real followers not lukewarm followers.
We have abandoned God as a Church and abandoned God as a country. We are now watching the consequences unfold on a mass scale.
We took God out of schools and now we are mad at him for not protecting them? Absurd.
I’ll explain how absurd in modern parabolic language -
You’re a 12 year old boy living alone with your dad in a dangerous neighborhood.
One day you decide you don’t agree with your father, you don’t like him, you don’t love him, you don’t trust him. You don’t even believe he is your dad. So, you reject his guidance and teaching, you reject his protection and presence. You kick him out of our house and say you don’t want him there anymore.
The next night while you are alone at your house, a 30 year old man with a gun comes in, beats you up, ties you up and steals everything.
Who’s fault is it? Your fault or your Dads?
Time to quit blaming God and start inviting him back into our lives, systems, and country.
What else do I believe played a major role in the recent years of these extreme acts of violence at the elementary, middle and high-school level?
Video games, movies and music. Especially video games.
We have allowed our kids to ingest poison all the while expecting pure water to flow out of polluted wells and pure fruit to fall off of bad trees.
Parents quit monitoring their kids behavior on computers, TVs and cell phones but Satan did not. Parents simply laughed off the choices their kids were making as “just part of growing up” while Satan was the one who was really laughing.
Now it’s backfiring and no one wants to admit the role they played.
Hollywood has no problem with promoting violence and sexuality until an abuse or tragedy happens. Then they take a hypocritical stance as a reactive measure rather than doing us all a favor and ceasing to produce the filth.
Even then we cannot blame Hollywood because we are the ones buying what they are selling.
We as Christians wrote people off as fanatical who said not to go to R rated movies or listen to garbage. Now we are reaping what we sowed as a result of our rejection of such messages and messengers.
We’ve been rejecting the Bible and truth for years now. That has brought nothing but more evil into our lives.
And finally Christians, before you judge and write off Nikolas Cruz, do not forget at one point you too were a murdering sinner who deserved punishment. And yet while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you and redeemed you.
Christ died for Nikolas Cruz.
And for those out there that read this and don’t think there is enough forgiveness, grace or power to save you...there is absolutely enough. There is more than enough.
You are not too far gone.
You do not have to listen to the voices in your head or in the world that are telling you to commit evil acts.
There are still people in this world who know how to help and who want to help.
Christians — start looking for the broken, neglected, outcast, lost, wandering people and start telling them about Jesus the Savior. Listen to their story. Listen to their pain. You can prevent evil by just sitting down and listening to someone.
Wake up Church.
We are the solution and it’s time to start acting like it.