It should surprise no one that hostility to the gospel message is not a new phenomenon. Jesus said in John 15:18-19:
“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world
would love you as its own. But because you are not of the world, since I chose you out of the world, the world
therefore hates you.”
This warning was about a continuation of opposition and persecution that occurred under the Old Covenant. Regarding the Old Testament faithful, Hebrews 11:36-38 has this to say: “Still others had trials of mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered around in sheepskins and goatskins, while destitute, afflicted, and tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”
The apostle Paul, perhaps the most effective worker in the kingdom of God other than Jesus, received this treatment as he traveled the Roman world preaching the gospel: “Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; in weariness and painfulness, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)
As you undoubtedly know, proclaiming the gospel is not a popularity contest. In fact, just living as a Christian is enough to distinguish you from the darkness that tries to close in all around—and marks you for persecution in a world gone mad.
When pondering these realities, a question invariably arises: “Why do people hate me?” Here is an answer to that question from my book, Pentecost If: “Haters don’t need reasons because they do not operate according to reason. They respond according to and at the level of their emotions, with thoughtless obedience to base impulses they do not understand and cannot control. Is it any wonder why violence, depression, suicide, and hate continue to exponentially increase?”
“…Here is another living truth to internalize—it’s a completely counterproductive activity to attempt to please those who may be critical of you. While it might be nice to have their approval, please realize you do not need their approval to have the approval and blessing of God.”
“…Anything you do to try to appease them will only open more opportunities for them to become further infuriated and inflamed. It will give them cause to imagine even more outrageous and untrue claims about you.” (pp. 63-64)
I began thinking about this following the horrific news of the August 27 shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that resulted in two children being killed and another 21 people wounded. Eighteen of the wounded were children, while three others were in their 80s.
Following this unbelievably tragic occurrence, pundits and politicians alike opined that thoughts and prayers for those affected by this violent act were not only not enough, but they also implied that thoughts and prayers were not particularly helpful.
To minimize the importance or effectiveness of prayer in the face of such an evil act should be deeply offensive to anyone who is serious about their Christian faith. I can understand how people could be confused about how prayer could help once people were already killed or wounded—and why such a tragedy could happen in the first place. But those questions are best asked someplace other than in a public forum while a community is reeling from the shock of an act of such life-altering consequence, and while families are dealing with the devastation of deceased or wounded children.
Let me deal with the second point first—how could this happen? The answer is not complicated. It is found in the second of three fundamental principles that make up a distinctively Christian worldview. It is this, recorded in Genesis chapter 3: there was a fall. Man sided with God’s archenemy and became a willing conspirator in the greatest act of treason ever committed in human history. Sin entered the world, and death came along with it. We have been dealing with the frightful consequences of Adam’s act of rebellion ever since then.
The issue is not guns, although they are often the method of destruction chosen in these scenarios. The issue is not ideology, although that is very likely a component in convincing people to set aside or overrule their consciences to do something that is against their very nature. The issue goes far deeper than that. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Unless and until people’s hearts are changed, the basest of fleshly impulses will continue to manifest themselves in shocking acts of death and destruction.
That is why the thousand reforms that people chatter about after every one of these dark episodes will not bring lasting or permanent change. Laws and policies are not sufficient to deal with the carnage that comes from within a heart that has lost hope of any connection to the love and the grace of God. The kind of change that is needed is a heart transformation that can only come from heaven. Thank God, such a transformation is available—designed by God, demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered to us by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
The first question—how can prayer help in the face of such unspeakable tragedy—also deserves attention. Let me at the outset address what prayer is not. It is not a means by which a praying person can avoid any kind of trauma or tragedy. I know of no serious Christian who believes this. We live in a fallen world, and the effects of the fall are all around us. Bad things happen to good people. We cannot avoid heartbreak regardless of what we do or where we go. Our safety is not guaranteed.
We live on a planet that carries the effects of a curse brought upon it by our first ancestors’ disobedience, and we cannot escape it in this lifetime. Prayer is not some kind of good luck charm that can be used like a heathen amulet or a new age mantra to ward off evil.
I encourage every believer to ask God for His protection, His provision, and His peace. I also encourage every Christian to acknowledge the reality that we cannot always avoid the ungodly decisions of ungodly people who are determined to disobey God and wreak havoc. Sometimes the consequences of those decisions result in minor inconveniences. Sometimes the consequences are catastrophic, as they were in Minnesota that morning. Neither of those outcomes means that prayer is hopeless, or that God is no more than a detached observer who cares little for His creation.
Let me share what prayer is. It is a fundamental way to connect with the God who created us, who has redeemed us, who walks with us every moment of every day in this lifetime, and who promised every believer a home with Him in eternity. That connection sustains us, not just when life is grand and our circumstances are good. That connection with God also sustains us when life brings heartache and our circumstances have been upended by events beyond our control. In fact, it is especially then that prayer is a vital resource to fortify our faith and inform our future.
Jesus admonished us to pray. He demonstrated a prayer-filled life for us to emulate. The Bible is filled with examples of prayer. It is not just a religious recital of something we learned long ago, but a vital indication of a vibrant faith in a living God. It is a normal and natural reaction for a believer to turn to God in prayer during times of tragedy as well as times of triumph.
Let us pray that the comfort of God surround all those who were so profoundly affected by the tragedy in Minneapolis. Let us pray for God’s protection for all our children—indeed, all our family members. Let us pray that we have the chance to proclaim the life and the love of God to all those who need to hear it. Then they, too, will be able to lift their voices in believing prayer to the God who hears and answers.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer
This warning was about a continuation of opposition and persecution that occurred under the Old Covenant. Regarding the Old Testament faithful, Hebrews 11:36-38 has this to say: “Still others had trials of mocking and scourging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered around in sheepskins and goatskins, while destitute, afflicted, and tormented. The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”
The apostle Paul, perhaps the most effective worker in the kingdom of God other than Jesus, received this treatment as he traveled the Roman world preaching the gospel: “Five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; in weariness and painfulness, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27)
As you undoubtedly know, proclaiming the gospel is not a popularity contest. In fact, just living as a Christian is enough to distinguish you from the darkness that tries to close in all around—and marks you for persecution in a world gone mad.
When pondering these realities, a question invariably arises: “Why do people hate me?” Here is an answer to that question from my book, Pentecost If: “Haters don’t need reasons because they do not operate according to reason. They respond according to and at the level of their emotions, with thoughtless obedience to base impulses they do not understand and cannot control. Is it any wonder why violence, depression, suicide, and hate continue to exponentially increase?”
“…Here is another living truth to internalize—it’s a completely counterproductive activity to attempt to please those who may be critical of you. While it might be nice to have their approval, please realize you do not need their approval to have the approval and blessing of God.”
“…Anything you do to try to appease them will only open more opportunities for them to become further infuriated and inflamed. It will give them cause to imagine even more outrageous and untrue claims about you.” (pp. 63-64)
I began thinking about this following the horrific news of the August 27 shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis that resulted in two children being killed and another 21 people wounded. Eighteen of the wounded were children, while three others were in their 80s.
Following this unbelievably tragic occurrence, pundits and politicians alike opined that thoughts and prayers for those affected by this violent act were not only not enough, but they also implied that thoughts and prayers were not particularly helpful.
To minimize the importance or effectiveness of prayer in the face of such an evil act should be deeply offensive to anyone who is serious about their Christian faith. I can understand how people could be confused about how prayer could help once people were already killed or wounded—and why such a tragedy could happen in the first place. But those questions are best asked someplace other than in a public forum while a community is reeling from the shock of an act of such life-altering consequence, and while families are dealing with the devastation of deceased or wounded children.
Let me deal with the second point first—how could this happen? The answer is not complicated. It is found in the second of three fundamental principles that make up a distinctively Christian worldview. It is this, recorded in Genesis chapter 3: there was a fall. Man sided with God’s archenemy and became a willing conspirator in the greatest act of treason ever committed in human history. Sin entered the world, and death came along with it. We have been dealing with the frightful consequences of Adam’s act of rebellion ever since then.
The issue is not guns, although they are often the method of destruction chosen in these scenarios. The issue is not ideology, although that is very likely a component in convincing people to set aside or overrule their consciences to do something that is against their very nature. The issue goes far deeper than that. The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. Unless and until people’s hearts are changed, the basest of fleshly impulses will continue to manifest themselves in shocking acts of death and destruction.
That is why the thousand reforms that people chatter about after every one of these dark episodes will not bring lasting or permanent change. Laws and policies are not sufficient to deal with the carnage that comes from within a heart that has lost hope of any connection to the love and the grace of God. The kind of change that is needed is a heart transformation that can only come from heaven. Thank God, such a transformation is available—designed by God, demonstrated by the Lord Jesus Christ, and delivered to us by the agency of the Holy Spirit.
The first question—how can prayer help in the face of such unspeakable tragedy—also deserves attention. Let me at the outset address what prayer is not. It is not a means by which a praying person can avoid any kind of trauma or tragedy. I know of no serious Christian who believes this. We live in a fallen world, and the effects of the fall are all around us. Bad things happen to good people. We cannot avoid heartbreak regardless of what we do or where we go. Our safety is not guaranteed.
We live on a planet that carries the effects of a curse brought upon it by our first ancestors’ disobedience, and we cannot escape it in this lifetime. Prayer is not some kind of good luck charm that can be used like a heathen amulet or a new age mantra to ward off evil.
I encourage every believer to ask God for His protection, His provision, and His peace. I also encourage every Christian to acknowledge the reality that we cannot always avoid the ungodly decisions of ungodly people who are determined to disobey God and wreak havoc. Sometimes the consequences of those decisions result in minor inconveniences. Sometimes the consequences are catastrophic, as they were in Minnesota that morning. Neither of those outcomes means that prayer is hopeless, or that God is no more than a detached observer who cares little for His creation.
Let me share what prayer is. It is a fundamental way to connect with the God who created us, who has redeemed us, who walks with us every moment of every day in this lifetime, and who promised every believer a home with Him in eternity. That connection sustains us, not just when life is grand and our circumstances are good. That connection with God also sustains us when life brings heartache and our circumstances have been upended by events beyond our control. In fact, it is especially then that prayer is a vital resource to fortify our faith and inform our future.
Jesus admonished us to pray. He demonstrated a prayer-filled life for us to emulate. The Bible is filled with examples of prayer. It is not just a religious recital of something we learned long ago, but a vital indication of a vibrant faith in a living God. It is a normal and natural reaction for a believer to turn to God in prayer during times of tragedy as well as times of triumph.
Let us pray that the comfort of God surround all those who were so profoundly affected by the tragedy in Minneapolis. Let us pray for God’s protection for all our children—indeed, all our family members. Let us pray that we have the chance to proclaim the life and the love of God to all those who need to hear it. Then they, too, will be able to lift their voices in believing prayer to the God who hears and answers.
Yours for the Harvest,
Dr. Rod Parsley
Founder & General Overseer