John 3:18-21 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Dearly Beloved: May Gods grace, peace, mercy and love be ever upon you. Let me start by giving my heart felt condolences to all of the victims of the Las Vegas massacre. The man who perpetrated that act was obviously very troubled and no doubt plagued by demons. Evil is ever present awaiting an opportunity to infect us and turn us against each other. The further away man drifts from God, the easier we are to manipulate. Even those of us who are saved must maintain constant vigilance. We have to stay in our bibles and go to church. The Word is our shield and our guide. If we stray from the path of light, then we open ourselves up to sin. Let me tell you that from experience. Being in prison is very difficult. There are no words to accurately describe it. You have to live it in order to understand it. I have strayed from the path on more than one occasion and each time I have been met with catastrophe. This is a very unforgiving environment. You can be beaten or stabbed in the blink of an eye. It is very difficult to stay on the path. I struggle. We all do. None of us are immune to evil. Once infected, it will consume us if we do not enlist the help of our LORD to expel it.
Gun control will not stop the killing. Only spirituality and mental health services can make a meaningful impact. The man who killed those people was clearly unbalanced. He needed GOD. I fear his soul is burning in the deepest parts of hell. God did not want that for him. He does not want that for any of us. It is we who make the choice to either deny HIM or accept HIS love and salvation. We cannot escape evil on our own. Our very nature makes us the devil’s playground. We need to have a symbiotic relationship with our Creator. He designed us to be that way. We are meant to be one with HIM. Those of us who understand that will complete our journey on earth and go to heaven where we will all live as one and all violence will cease. I don’t know about you, but that sounds absolutely splendid to me. I am sick of all the violence and killing. I am tired of all the hatred and evil. I want peace. I want LOVE. Thus, I need GOD. We all do.
Now is not the time for contention. Now is the time for healing. I urge you to pray for one another. I urge you to pay closer attention to your loved ones, especially the ones who are hurting. There may be signs that indicate that that person is going to harm themselves or others. It is important to get them help before they do. No matter what we do, people will hurt other people because hurt people, hurt people. The best we can hope for is a reduction of violence. In order to do that, we must all work together as a society. You know, I look at what happened in Las Vegas and I consider the fact that many of the dead may not have been saved. That thought troubles me deeply. Have you thought about your immortal soul? Do you know where you are going when you depart this crooked world? If you haven’t, then now is the time. This world is dangerous and you can die at any moment. I promise you that there is a much better place than here. You need only begin your walk on the path of light. I want to help you do that. I want you to have the same confidence that I have. Please join us on the path.
Repeat the following prayer: “Dear Jesus, I know that because of my sin I need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins. I believe You rose again so I could live with You. I want to stop living for myself and start living for You. I want Your peace in my life. I want forgiveness for my sins. Please come into my heart and change my life. I want to live with You forever. I want You to be my Lord and Savior. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
If you said it and you meant it, then you are my brother or sister in CHRIST and I welcome you to the path. Please contact us and let us pray for you and guide you on your journey.
I love all of you so much. To the families of the victims and the shooter (for GOD LOVES ALL AND HATES NOT ONE), I am praying for you and I hope that GOD’s peace and understanding be upon you. AMEN!
May GOD bless and keep you! May you seek and find salvation! May gun violence cease to exist!
Love in Christ,
Randall
(A man who has survived gun violence and found salvation in the process!)
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John 4:14 “but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
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If We Must Die
By Claude McKay
If we must die, let it not be like hogs
Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot,
While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs,
Making their mock at our accursèd lot.
If we must die, O let us nobly die,
So that our precious blood may not be shed
In vain; then even the monsters we defy
Shall be constrained to honor us though dead!
O kinsmen! we must meet the common foe!
Though far outnumbered let us show us brave,
And for their thousand blows deal one death-blow!
What though before us lies the open grave?
Like men we’ll face the murderous, cowardly pack,
Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back!
[source: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44694/if-we-must-die ]