One Year After a Terrorist Attack

"Looking back over today I never would have thought it would turn out as it did. The head of our safety ministry came in to our pastors meeting to tell us that there was an active shooter down the street and that we were locking down the facility. Soon after we started working again our administrator came and asked if we could bring the people from the site to our church while they were interviewed by the police. I immediately thought of the school but then knew that in a time like this we needed to be a light and extend care to our hurting community. We watched some of the news reports and then started preparing for the arrival of the people. We had snacks, sodas, water and coffee available for them. Some counsellors showed up and set up in the youth auditorium. Police and probation officers arrived first. One of the detectives who attends our church showed up with a shirt soaked in blood. I remembered I had two shirts in my office that were samples from Man Day that I went and grabbed. I gave him one and his partner the other one. They were both very grateful. When the people arrived they separated them by who saw something and who was just there. The people had tears in their eyes. They were very grateful we were open for them. When the bus pulled in and parked at the church one person yelled “Thank God we're safe!” One of our members who worked at the IRC said she has never been prouder of her church than today. Some of our other members were there and greeted me as they walked in the building. Many of the officers and peer support personnel were from our church as well. The cafe was packed. They were getting most of their names and pictures and busing them to another site to be picked up. We had a second bus load of people come bringing the total from 200 to probably 400 not counting the hundreds of volunteers, chaplains, police, detectives, and counsellors. They started to ask about if we were going to have a church service. I had told Pastor Luke we would have a prayer service tonight. They were concerned about opening the campus. We decided to move forward and believe God for safety. A guy went to Costco to buy a pallet of water for the people and when Costco asked him what he was doing and found out they dumped chickens and bagels, croissants and bread in his truck to bring. It was great to see pastors from other churches and the community uniting for this. When the sun had set I walked across to get ready for the prayer service. It was God orchestrated. There were 16 salvation's and who knows how many online. We prayed and preached the gospel. That was all. People from all over the world were texting and hitting us up on social media."

One year later after these events I woke up and came to church to pick up Pastor Luke and our Administrative team and we all headed to the IRC for a memorial gathering where they honored the organizations who opened their doors for the people being evacuated. There were somber moments and words of hope given. They presented a plaque to The Rock Church for our involvement and had Dr. Fred Adams, our administrator at the time of the event, say a few words. 

What I think left the greatest impact was the scripture he read from Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

There are many people whose lives will never be the same after December 2, 2015. Fourteen individuals are now gone from our lives. Their families and friends left in the wake of terror. I am sure many questions and sorrows still linger. Only in Jesus will we find rest for our souls. He alone has the answers. He alone can calm our fears and give us peace amidst the storms of life. He was acquainted with sorrows and if you listen to some of the statements He made regarding current events of His day you will find that there was plenty of tragedy and many questions. 

It was the mission of Jesus to point us to and show us the Father. That is exactly what He did when He went to the cross. Not only in that one instance but also throughout His entire life He showed us the Father through his life, His words, the miracles He performed, His emotions and His actions. 

Now He calls us to the same life. He wants us to show others the love of Jesus through our lives. We can share the words of life. We can act in a way that displays the goodness of God. Whether it is through a prayer, a shoulder to cry on, buying a pallet of water at Costco or giving someone a fresh shirt it all displays the love of Jesus.

We will not forget those who lost their lives. We will work towards love and unity in our nation. Over and above all, we as Christians, will show the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world. 

What the World Needs Now

"I was thinking about how we need to operate in agape love. Love covers!"

People are hurting. Times are not just tough, they are tumultuous. There is fear on every side. Terrors on the outside with divisions on the inside. If you have been following the news or the social media stream you know exactly what I am talking about.

People all over the world read this blog from every walk of life. You are concerned and feel the pain of what is going on firsthand. In our nation we are experiencing things we never would have dreamed of. Some of you are mourning the loss of a friend or the loss of an ideal you have lived by because of the actions of others.

I titled this post "What the World Needs Now" with the old song in mind. We need love. But not just any love. We need agape love. If you aren't familiar with what agape love is let me tell you about it.

Agape is a Greek word for love. It is different than our English word from love in the sense that agape is a very specific type of love. In fact the Greeks had several words they used to describe love. We in our language would say "I love my friends," "I love my spouse," "I love my dog," and "I love nachos" all in the same day. Obviously we do not love nachos the way we love our spouse. Nor do we love our friends like we love our dog. (For some they love their dog more than their friends!)

In the Greek language they had separate words for the different kinds of love. They would use phileo for the friendship type of love. Eros was used for the sensual and romantic type of love. But agape is different. We find that it is entirely a word that was used mostly by the Bible and was used for the love that we as Christians are supposed to have. It is a unique type of love that flows from God the Father.

It was the agape love of the Father that motivated Him to send Jesus to live and die for our sin and salvation. It is the agape love that Jesus lived in that caused Him to touch the unclean and heal them, to stop with a half breed outcast woman by a well and save her soul, and to weep at the death of His friend and raise him from the dead. Jesus is love incarnate because 1 John tells us that "God is love."

God is agape love. It defines Who He is and how He operates. It is this agape love that we are to operate in. It is this agape love from the Father, working through His children, that the world needs. Without it the same problems will keep going on. Division and separation, prejudice and murder will continue without agape love.

When we, God's children, the church of Jesus Christ, come together in love and spread the love of the Father it will tear down the walls of separation. The love of God will show the world that we are His disciples. Our love will be shown in our obedience to the commandments of God and people will see the difference in our lives. This love will compel us to reach out with the Word and power of God. This love will motivate and fuel our prayers for the world and cause us to pray for our enemies and bless those that spitefully use and persecute us.

Agape love is what the world needs now. Love never fails.

The Battle

"From the Word: 1 Chron 5:20, 22 the people are said to have cried out to God in battle. God hears their prayer because they trusted in him. Then it says that many men fell because the war was God's. At the point of our trust God hear's our prayer and takes on the battle."

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. I know our celebrations of the resurrection were well attended and left a lasting impact on our church and on our lives personally. What a time we had! 

It was sad to come home after such joy and celebration to news that Christians were being targeted by a suicide bomber in Pakistan. Our hearts were grieved and we mourned and prayed for our brothers and sisters who were suffering on the other side of the world. We continue to pray that in the wake of such tragedy that the hope and healing power of the gospel shines in these dark times. 

This morning my wife and I were talking and she said she woke up with the song we sang at the beginning of our church service in her heart with the people of Pakistan on her mind. She commented that if it were us we would happy because we would get to be with the Lord. It's true. You will find the martyrs in Revelation asking the Lord how long and He comforts them. This is good news. With terrorist activity on the rise we need some good news. 

If we look at loss and pain we will get depressed and end up questioning God in the wrong way. God is open to questions but not to unbelief. We can ask why with a heart that believes God is good. We can ask God what He is doing without doubting His motive. 

If you are going through a personal battle, physical, spiritual, emotional, financial or whatever else, cry out to God. Give God your questions but also your faith and trust. He will meet you there. God knows our limits and the battles we face. He also is ready and willing to fight for us. When you trust Him and bring Him into your battle you can rest and know that you will come out victorious. 

I would encourage you to go back and read 1 Chronicles 5:20-22 and also study the battles of the Bible. What did the people who trust God do? What were their prayers like? How did they act in faith? What did they speak about with God and other people? As you see these things incorporate them into your life and your battle plan. 

Be encouraged that God loves you. He will fight for you! When God gets involved the battle is already won. 

What battles are you facing? What scriptures help to overcome in these battles?