Newsmakers Curt Snead – Chaplain Snead – Columbia, SC

Grieving, a Cry for Justice, and a Hope for Better Things 

*All of these pictures were taken on Sunday May 31, while some violent protests were still taking place; clockwise from the top left: 1) Me praying for the department 2) Myself and Investigator Damaris Williamson 3) Me with Ofc. Alec Mauer 4) Me with Richland County Deputy Scott Morris*

Curt is an REF Missionary



This is his Monthly Newsletter 

 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” 
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” – Jesus, Matthew 5 
 
 

Memorial Day week started off like any other four day week for me. Tuesday felt like a Monday and I was trying to catch up from missing a day of work. That Tuesday, May 26th, I was part of a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing for a squad of officers who witnessed the death of a young child in a tragic event. I was so proud of these officers as I listened to their recounting of that painful event, for the work they did and the compassion and care they brought to the situation. I also hurt with them as real emotion and frustration was expressed over such a tragic loss of life. This was a diverse group of men and women, white and black officers who all shared in this trauma and who were leaning on each other and helping each other through a hard time. Their compassion and heartache was evident and I was so proud to be a part of this department working alongside of such good, brave and caring people. 

Then, I went home and turned on the news that same Tuesday night. My heart sank as I watched a video out of Minneapolis where a police officer, a man who looked like me, wearing a uniform of a profession I love, showing zero compassion and humanity as he leaned down on a handcuffed, and helpless black man. My heart sank as I watched the face of this police officer, stone cold and devoid of compassion, while George Floyd desperately cried out, “Please! I can’t breathe!” The officer stayed there for almost nine minutes, until the defenseless man was unconscious. Everything in me recoiled at this obvious abuse of this officer’s power and authority. How could he do that? How could anyone do that? I immediately began to feel a great sense of grief for my African American friends and neighbors over the pain that they were feeling once again, because of yet another case of police misconduct. I also began to feel a great sense of grief that the profession that I love and men and women that I care for deeply, would yet again be tarnished by the wicked actions of someone who dishonorably wears the same uniform as them. My heart broke both ways and those emotions have remained with me since. 

“How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” – Psalm 82:2-4 

I want to make it very clear, that while I one hundred percent support the Law Enforcement profession and my police officers, I also grieve deeply with my African American friends. They have suffered greatly in these situations of current grievous injustices and the long history of injustices that they have faced in this country from its very founding.  

Also, I want to make it very clear, that while I grieve the injustices against African Americans and want to enter in to the hard work of listening to and caring about the perspectives of others in order to love them well, it does not mean that I am following some “Neo-Marxist”, “Critical Race Theory”, or other progressive/secular social justice agenda. It’s quite disturbing to me how many in the church seem to view racial reconciliation or a biblically informed view of societal justice, as just being a part of a godless, progressive political agenda. Some are even accusing those of us who do care about these things as being unfaithful to the Gospel itself. 

The truth is, the Bible is full of talk about race. The Bible is not “color-blind” and neither should we be. The Scriptures don’t hesitate to identify the Ethiopian Eunuchs in Jeremiah or in the book of Acts. When the Bible uses race, culture, religious and cultural differences to make points about the nature of the Gospel and character of God, then we must not turn a blind eye to what is being said to us, simply because it offends our political or ideological sensibilities. Jesus makes the racially, religiously, and culturally hated Samaritan the hero of His parable in Luke 10. He contrasts the Samaritan’s actions against the actions of outwardly religious and pious Jewish Levite and Priest who were un-neighborly and unloving in their apathy and indifference to the injured traveler. Even in the grand scene of Heaven in Revelation 7, where all God’s people are gathered to worship around His throne, we see that this awesome and unified group of God’s redeemed seem to still possess their racial, cultural, and linguistic distinctions. 

And what of societal justice? This concept is also found throughout the Bible. We see justice not only in places like Psalm 82 and Isaiah 58, but it also is a central theme of James 2, and in Paul’s instructions of the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11. It is right to say that social justice obedience must never replace the Gospel of God’s grace. But, like James tells us in chapter 2 of his letter, faith that does not lead us into action for the love of our neighbor is a dead faith that cannot save. Social or racial justice is not the Gospel, but a “faith” that never leads us to obedience to love our hurting, oppressed or neglected, neighbor seems to be an anathema in Old and New Testament alike. We are not saved by loving people well, but the Gospel that does save works love in us. Not only for our God, but also for our hurting, oppressed, and justice-denied neighbor. 

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;….. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” – Isaiah 61:1,2&4 

It’s been so hard for me to articulate how I’ve been feeling about this over the past three weeks. I really have been so saddened to hear about and grapple with the hurts and perspectives of my black friends, neighbors, and black police officers. I’ve also been so hurt and saddened by the physical and verbal abuse that has literally been hurled at my police friends who would never treat anyone with injustice and yet have borne the anger of so many because they wear this blue uniform. I’ve also been so saddened by the divisiveness that I see in our culture and even in the church. So many seem to care more about being “right” in their political and ideological views than they do about the neighbors that God has put right in front of them and called them to love. I admit I’ve felt hopeless at times. What does all this mean for my relationships with black friends and neighbors whom I love? What does all this mean for my police friends and the police profession whom I love?  

God has been so good to remind me that Jesus deeply cared about justice and promised to restore it to His creation in His perfect and full way. In Luke 4, Jesus quoted from Isaiah 61, to remind all of us that He will come to save sinners and to restore the broken people and things of this world. He already accomplished this on the cross by subjecting Himself to the worst of the world’s injustice, in order to bring salvation and justice to all of His people and His creation. He will fully bring justice and salvation when He comes again in glory. There is still hope for justice for the African American community in our land. There is also hope for justice for my police friends and neighbors. Jesus is coming again in all His power and might to rid this world of all injustice. He has also given us, His Church, the great work of being agents of His salvation and justice in this world. Isaiah 61:4 makes this so clear. We will see and be a part of the healing and repair that God has designed. May we, may I, be willing to put in the hard work to love my black neighbor and my police neighbor. May we all pray for and strive for God’s Kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven. 

The past three weeks haven’t been all bad. I’ve seen some really hopeful and encouraging acts of healing and bravery. I am so proud of how the Columbia Police Department handled hard situations, not only in risking their own lives and safety to resist the violence that was taking place, but also in how they are working to reach into the community for real healing and dialogue. I’ve also been so proud of many protesters that I’ve seen. Folks not content to speak their grievances from a distance with signs, but who themselves moved toward the police and sought for conversation and peace. It was quite a good and hopeful sight to see.  

Please pray for the growing relationships between the police and our community. Pray that peace and humility rule. Pray that Christians would stand in the gap to be people of peace and justice. Pray for the hurts of our African American neighbors and friends. Pray for our police men and women to be encouraged and continue to work hard for a more just and more effective police force that serves all our neighbors and communities. Pray for justice and mercy to rule over all in our land. 

I want to thank you again for helping us even be able to do this ministry work. All of our income personally comes from the generous donations of God’s people. By giving to this ministry you are enabling me to work in and for the police department full time. If it were not for this ministry, there would not be a full time, biblically faithful, chaplain ministry. I can’t tell you how many times officers said to me that they were thankful for me being there during the protests. You made that possible and I like to think that in some way we have all made a difference for God’s Kingdom work of justice and peace right here in our own community. 

Here’s a great video about confronting our own biases from an African American Christian Police Officer. This is well worth a listen… 
http://a%20href= 

Also, here’s a video from our endorsing agency that featured our ministry along with others. You find our segment right at the beginning. Deputy Chief Melron Kelly of CPD says some encouraging things aobut my role as a Chaplain at the department. You can see the video here… 
https://youtu.be/Fj7wP77EE_w   

Please remember that we can only commit to this work the way we do because of the faithful prayers and generous gifts of God’s people, and that faithfulness on your part is bearing fruit in our city! Do you know other individuals, churches or businesses who may be interested in supporting this work? Please tell them about us! 

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Our mailing address is: 
Reconcile the City

380 Eagle Pointe Dr

Chapin, South Carolina 29036

Joe Hinson’s Ministry Newsletter

Joe Hinson, a Team Leader for the Super Bowl Outreach ’20 in Miami Jan. 31 – Feb. 2, has written a report for his time at the SBO. To read it click on the link below.

Click to access Joe%20Hinson%20Update%20Superbowl.pdf

Daily Devotional 7-27-20

Gospel: Matthew 14:14-21 (Pentecost 9: Series A)



Jesus’ miracle in this sermon, then, is a type of the compassion He has for your hearers. While they certainly have many physical needs, your hearers also (more fundamentally) need Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness.

his week the lectionary begins a series of three consecutive miracle texts from Matthew’s Gospel. This week Jesus feeds the 5000. Next week He walks on water and calms the storm. The following week He heals the daughter of the Canaanite woman. This string of miraculous acts of Jesus invites a sermon series which will tie all three readings together. To that end, I suggest you consider preaching a three-part series of sermons exploring Jesus’ miracles.

If you do so (and even if you do not), it is worth giving some thought to preaching on miracle texts in general. To help with this, you might read Francis Rossow’s recent  article , “The Functions of Jesus’ Miracles,” in Concordia Journal (Fall 2018:164-171). Rossow identifies three functions of miracle texts and how those functions might figure into a sermon. In short, the preacher has three options for how he might use a miracle text to proclaim the Gospel:

1. Miracles have an “evidential function.” That is, they show us what Jesus can do as God. A sermon that goes this direction might emphasize Jesus’ AUTHORITY over creation as Lord of all. This would be appropriate for hearers who are helpless, vulnerable, or afraid.
2. Miracles have a “typological function.” That is, they give us a glimpse of what God has done for us in Christ. A sermon moving in this direction might emphasize the COMPASSION of Jesus as He suffered with and for His people. This would be appropriate for hearers who are stricken by guilt and question God’s mercy.
3. Miracles have a “didactic function.” That is, they teach us about ourselves, the fallen nature of creation, and God’s manner of operating in the world. A sermon working with this function might emphasize HOW God works in Christ. This would be appropriate for hearers who are confused or mistaken about how God works in their lives.

Depending on the text, one of these approaches might be more natural than the others, but many miracles could be preached from more than one angle. Here are the kinds of questions you should ask about your potential sermon:

• What will the sermon do, theologically speaking, with the miracle?
• Which details of the text will you highlight? Which will you ignore?
• What will you promise to your hearers based on this text?
  *You will want to make sure, of course, you do not promise something to your hearers the text does not authorize promising for hearers of all times and places.
• What do your specific hearers need to hear from this specific sermon?

With these preliminary thoughts in mind for this and the next two sermons, I will suggest a few options for this familiar reading of Jesus’ feeding of the 5000. I will also recommend you begin by listening to Jeff Gibbs’ brief and careful translation of the text  here .

Of the functions offered by Rossow, all three of them could provide guidance. You might emphasize Jesus’ AUTHORITY over all creation by highlighting His ability to multiply the loaves and fish. If you go this route, consider making a connection to His ability to provide bread and wine for many thousands on a regular basis at the Lord’s Table. Be careful not to overstate the case, however. This text is not directly or obviously about Holy Communion.

You could also use this text to help your hearers understand HOW God works in Christ. While Jesus certainly could have fed the people Himself, instead He instructed His disciples to feed them (Jesus’ instructions to Peter in  John 21:15-19  come to mind here). You could also highlight Jesus’ blessing of the food. The miracle took place through Jesus’ speaking, which reminds us He works through His Word to fill His people with every good gift.

The miracle took place through Jesus’ speaking, which reminds us He works through His Word to fill His people with every good gift.

A third option, which I would probably take, would be to highlight Jesus’ COMPASSION. Verse 14 invites this approach by identifying the motive that led Jesus to engage the crowd in the first place. Despite the fact He had withdrawn by Himself upon hearing of John’s death, Jesus’ compassion led Him to heal their sick. And even though this apparently took all day (see verse 15) and He was certainly ready for some time alone to rest (which Jesus finally got in verses 22-23), He refused to send them away without first providing for them. These are the actions of one who cares about those in need.

Jesus’ miracle in this sermon, then, is a type of the compassion He has for your hearers. While they certainly have many physical needs, your hearers also (more fundamentally) need Jesus’ mercy and forgiveness. We all do. In our own way, we all share Alexander Hamilton’s deep guilt and disturbed conscience as portrayed in the recent hit musical (see Ken Sundet Jones’ reflection  here ).

A sermon on this text that highlights Jesus’ compassion for the crowds and proclaims His compassion for your hearers now would not need to spiritualize Jesus’ feeding of the 5000. It really happened. And He really provides for us today—both physically and spiritually. Because of His compassion for His creation, Jesus willingly suffered to provide for all people of all time. Through His Son and by the power of His Spirit, God the Father offers mercy for mistakes from the past and forgiveness for the habitual sins of the present. His forgiveness is ultimately the only source of true and lasting satisfaction (see verse 20), and there is always more left over to share with others.

From:  https://www.1517.org/articles/gospel-matthew-1414-21-pentecost-9-series-a

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Additional Resources:

Concordia Theology -Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching  Matthew 14:13-21 .

Text Week -A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach  Matthew 14:13-21 .

Lectionary Podcast -Dr. Arthur Just of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through  Matthew 14:13-21 .

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ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

 

Peter Nafzger (Ph.D. Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO) is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. He is the author of “These Are Written: Toward a Cruciform Theology of Scripture.”

Daily Devotional 7-26-20

Taking Your Faith to the Marketplace

I  have seen extraordinary examples of laypeople who have taken their faith to the marketplace in the form of ministry.

Charles Colson went from the White House to prison. When he was released from prison, he was not released from ministry. Indeed, from his experience grew a vision to minister to prison inmates in the name of Christ, a ministry that now reaches tens of thousands of people in virtually every country.

Wayne Alderson, a layman, put his faith to work in the violent arena of labor-management relations. He has taken that ministry around this nation ministering to people in corporate boardrooms, coal mines, and labor union halls.

The list could easily include a multitude of ministries that involve the laity. Without the laity, the church would not have conquered the ancient world. The Reformers understood that for real reformation to happen, the laity had to be educated, trained, and mobilized. Martin Luther took a leave of absence from the university in order to translate the Bible into German—so that every believer could personally read the Scriptures.

John Calvin’s Institutes was originally penned as an instruction manual for the laity. Many of the works of Jonathan Edwards were originally composed for the benefit of his congregation, many of whom were known to be studying their Greek New Testaments while they were plowing their fields.

Coram Deo

Reflect on some ways you can take Christ into the marketplace of your occupation or profession.

Passages for Further Study

Acts 8:1–4 From:  https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/taking-your-faith-marketplace/

Daily Devotional 7-25-20

The FRENCH REVOLUTION


To hear the audio lecture of this article, click  here . 

To view the video presentation of this article, click  here . 

14 July is celebrated in France as Bastille Day. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille and the launch of The French Revolution.  
  
A Time of Turmoil 
The French Revolution was one of the most influential events of modern history. The ten-year period from 1789 to 1799 when France went from a Monarchy to a Republic, to a Reign of Terror, to Dictatorship was one of the most tumultuous times in European history.  
  
Myth and Reality 
Much myth and romantic legend has been written on what some politicians would like the French Revolution to have been, but the reality was that the French Revolution was a monstrous horror. In the name of “liberty, equality, fraternity or death!” over 40,000 people lost their heads to the guillotine, 300,000 people were publicly executed by firing squads, drownings and other methods of mass murder and ultimately many millions died in the 25 years of war and upheavals that resulted.  
  
The Prototype Revolution 
The French Revolution has been the inspiration and model for all socialist and communist revolutions in modern history. As so many today seem entranced by the deceptive promises of communism, it is vital that we look again at what communism really is and why so many rose up in resistance against it. Over 30 years ago, the Iron Curtain fell, Soviet satellites broke free, the Soviet Union collapsed and the world rejoiced in a new birth of freedom. Yet, today, there is an entire generation who are apparently ignorant that they are being lied to and used, to advance a failed and evil system, under the delusion that they are working for a better and more just world. Those of us who fought against communism during the Cold War need to remind the younger generation of the reality which destroys the modern propaganda narrative being taught on so many university campuses and broadcast under the guise of news on the mainstream/lame stream media. Communism is the most malicious and destructive system in the history of mankind. God’s Covenant people have beaten it before and we must defeat communism again. “Who will rise up for Me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for Me against the workers of iniquity?” Psalm 94:16  
  
Deliberate Design 
Lord Acton in his Lectures on the French Revolution observed: “The appalling thing in the French Revolution is not the tumult, but the design. Through all the fire and smoke we perceive the evidence of calculating organisation. The managers remain studiously concealed and masked; but there is no doubt about their presence from the first.”  
  
Tools of Revolution 
The tools of the French Revolution were: dis-information, propaganda, the subversion of language, malice, envy, hatred, jealousy, mass murder and foreign military adventurism as a diversion to distract the masses from the failure of government. These tools have been implemented by more modern revolutionaries: Vladimir Lenin, Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Fidel Castro, Che Guevare, Patrice Lumumba, Nicolai Ceausescu, Pol Pot, Ho Chi Minh and Robert Mugabe.  
  
Revolutionary Ideas 
The power mad and disenchanted have continued to sing the praises of the French Revolution, and to attempt to replicate its ideals in revolutions as far afield as Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Angola, the Congo and Zimbabwe. Demonic forces and the Enlightenment ideas of humanist philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire prepared the ground for revolution.  
  
Disenchantment and Degeneration 
Historian Otto Scott observed: “French intellectuals, middle and upper classes had grown ashamed of their country, history and institutions. Such a phenomenon had never before arisen in any nation or race throughout the long history of mankind. …a great loosening began; the country slowly came apart… for the first time since the decadent days of Rome, pornography emerged from its caves and circulated openly in a civilised nation. The Catholic Church in France was intellectually gutted; the priests lost their faith along with the congregations. Strange cults appeared; sex rituals, black magic, satanism. Perversion became not only acceptable, but fashionable. Homosexuals held public balls to which heterosexuals were invited and the police guarded their carriages… the air grew thick with plans to restructure and reconstruct all traditional French society and institutions.” (Robespierre – Inside the French Revolution, the Reformer Library, New York, 1974.)  
  
The Role of the News Media 
“The heirs of the Enlightenment of the late 18th century… launched the first Revolution in all history against the ideas of Christianity, and Christianity’s God. …the press… was spearhead, font, and fuel for these discussions… the journals were mixtures of politics and smut. They admired agitators extravagantly and never discussed the Church without mention of scandal, nor the government without criticism. They relied heavily on tales of sin in high places and high handed outrages of the court; no name, however highly placed and illustrious, escaped. …through its journals and pamphlets …it could distort, colour, plead, argue, lie, report, and misreport the information upon which the balance of the realm depended.” (Otto Scott,  Robespierre )  
  
The Debt Crisis 
The French involvement in the American War of Independence against Great Britain created an enormous debt for France. This debt added to the financial crises which had started with France’s involvement in the earlier ruinous Seven Years War against Great Britain and Prussia. The colossal debt added to the financial crises which propelled the French state into bankruptcy.  
  
Side-lined from Recovery 
King Louis XVI began his reign wisely. He dismissed the large number of corrupt and incompetent ministers inherited from the court of his father, Louis XV and he appointed an excellent economist, Anne Robert Jacques Turgot as Controller General. Turgot proposed drastic solutions to France’s crises: the cancelation of tax privileges for the nobles, the abolition of industrial monopolies, removal of restrictions on free enterprise, and other bold, practical measures. However, the nobles pressured Louis XVI to dismiss Turgot.  
  
Stop Gap Measures to Stave off Economic Collapse 
The young banker Jacques Necker was then given the task of managing the unmanageable bankrupt economy. He bravely tried some short-term measures to stave off the inevitable economic collapse. But when he attempted to move towards adopting Turgot’s free market strategies, the privileged nobles and wealthy middle-class forced the king to dismiss him too. This was in 1781. Louis entrusted one hapless man after another with the financial crises, but all to no avail. France’s international credit rating was plummeting and the country was no longer able to secure loans.  
  
Bankruptcy 
By mid-1788, the government had become paralysed and no longer able to avoid admitting bankruptcy. The king was forced to re-instate Necker and call for a meeting of the Estates-General to be convened in May 1789.  
  
The Estates General 
The Estates General consisted of three houses, the First Estate was the Clergy, the Second Estate was the Nobles and the Third Estate were merchants and the common people. Although the third house had twice as many people as the other houses, each house was understood historically to have only one vote. Louis’ government failed to specify how the three houses of the Estates-General were to function, nor did he provide them with any Agenda or Constitution.  
  
The National Assembly 
The commoners in the third house boldly organised themselves as a self-contained National Assembly. The nobles were outraged and convinced Louis XVI to send troops to blockade the hall where the Assembly planned to meet. The third Estate then met on a nearby tennis court and vowed to continue in session until they could complete a new Constitution for the nation. This was outright rebellion against the authority of the king. Yet, on 27 June 1789, Louis ordered the other two estates to join the commoners in a new combined Assembly.  
  
The Liberals 
The National Assembly spent most of its time debating the latest philosophical and political theories. The Marquis de Lafayette, who had achieved fame through his involvement in the American war of Independence, espoused the cause of freedom and rallied the liberal wing of nobles around him. The Count of Mirabeau dominated the Assembly through his eloquent campaign for a constitutional monarchy.  
  
The Fanatics 
The most fanatical extremists gravitated to Maximilien Robespierre who was a strong devotee of the writings of radical philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. Rousseau wrote that: “It is necessary to have a cohesive force to organise and coordinate the movements of (societies), members.” Rousseau advocated constant agitation for “equality” in order to maintain an atmosphere of fear where individual differences will not be tolerated. Inspired by the defiance of the Assembly and stirred up by revolutionary pamphlets and speeches, mobs began to roam the streets of Paris attacking and murdering royal officials.  
  
Coordinated Chaos 
France’s financial house of cards collapsed. Capital fled the country and economic depression resulted. A series of events combined to create food shortages and hunger. Agitators panned out across the countryside to destroy the grain stores and terrorise the inhabitants. Hired mobs staged “spontaneous” riots in Paris. The powers of government then collapsed. Everything fell apart with astonishing co-ordination.  
  
Reaction 
In reaction, some of the nobles persuaded the king to seek to reassert royal authority. Soldiers were ordered into the streets of Paris as a show of strength. The appearance of the soldiers inspired mobs to seize whatever weapons they could find and to storm the old fortress of the Bastille.  
  
Revolution 
The French Revolution is officially dated from this point: 14 July 1789. The Bastille had become a symbol of hated tyranny and much legend has grown out of this event. As it so happens, there were no political prisoners at the Bastille at that time, and despite the fact that the Lieutenant Governor of the Bastille, M. De Launay, was guaranteed safe conduct and surrendered the fortress under a white flag of truce, the mob massacred his soldiers, and the governor, cutting off their heads and carrying them on spikes throughout the streets. As body parts of the defenders of the Bastille were paraded through the streets, a mere seven prisoners were found in the Bastille. When the news reached the palace of Versailles, King Louis was astonished: “This is revolt!” He said. The Duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt responded: “No, Sire, it is a Revolution!”  
  
Appeasement 
The next day King Louis arrived, simply dressed and with no bodyguards or attendants, and spoke at the National Assembly. He had ordered the troops to leave Paris, so that the people would have no reason to fear their king. Louis assured them that he had confidence in the Assembly. The deputies rose to their feet cheering with great fervour. 88 of the deputies gathered at the Paris City Hall and took turns speaking to the enormous crowd from the balcony. The famous 32-year-old Lafayette was elected General of the National Guard.  
  
Deterioration 
While many seemed optimistic for the future, Marie Antoinette was filled with foreboding and burned her private papers. Nobles fled the court and the country, with many settling across the border. On 17 July the king travelled to Paris to identify with the revolutionary mob. In October a mob marched to Versailles demanding that the king transfer his residence to Paris. On 6 October, the royal family were escorted by the rioters to Paris where they could be under the control of the revolutionaries.  
  
Manipulation of the Masses 
Otto Scott observed that: “Paris, like the nation, was divided into the politically active and the passive, between the many confused, disorganised and abstracted and the highly concentrated organised and intent few.” (Robespierre).  
  
Radicalisation 
Two clubs came to dominate the Assembly at this time: The Cordeliers were led by Georges Jacques Danton and Jean Paul Marat. The Jacobins were skilfully manipulated by Robespierre.  
  
The Origin of the Left Wing 
It was in the French Revolution that the terms “left wing” and “right wing” were first coined. Those on the left were the Radicals, who proudly adopted the designation as a symbol of their Revolutionary defiance of Christian tradition which always represented those on the right hand of God as saved, and those on the left as damned. (James Billington, Fire in the Minds of Men: Origin of the Revolutionary Faith.)  
  
The Hijacking of the Church 
On 4 August 1789, the Nobles and Clergy renounced their privileges in the name of revolutionary equality. On 2 November 1789, the Assembly voted to confiscate church property and issue new paper money, called Assignats. This sparked off rampant inflation. In July 1790 the Assembly nationalised the Roman Catholic Church by enacting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. The Assembly undertook to pay the salaries of the priests from the National Treasury and to create a French church under the control of the government. Pope Pius VI excommunicated all clergymen who took the new oath demanded by the Assembly. Most of the clergy refused to take the oath and were evicted from their pulpits and parishes. France was divided into 83 Departments (counties).  
  
Declaration of the Rights of Man 
The National Assembly produced the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens. Although this was patterned after the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and the American Bill of Rights which had been appended to the United States Constitution, the French Declaration embodied mostly humanistic ideas of the Enlightenment. While attempting to adopt many of the forms of the Biblically orientated Magna Carta and the English Bill of Rights, the French Declaration of the Rights of Man failed to recognise the Creator and ignored the Biblical foundations for true freedom. A new Constitution was completed in 1791, with a unicameral legislature elected by “active citizens”. Before Mirabeau died, in April 1791, he predicted that all their well-deliberated efforts at Reform would collapse and be washed away in a bloodbath.  
  
Abolishing the Monarchy 
Louis XVI attempted to flee with his family from France on the night of 20 June 1791. When radicals discovered them, they blocked their path and escorted the royal family back to Paris. Danton and Robespierre seized upon this event as an opportunity to proclaim that France was a Republic. As the new Legislative Assembly met, 1 October 1791, the Girondists proposed replacing the just-adopted Constitution and creating a Republic.  
  
War 
Deeply concerned for the fate of the royal family, Austria, ruled by Leopold II, the brother of Mary Antoinette, prepared to invade France. The Assembly declared war on Austria in 1792. The French were soon defeated by the Austrians and the Prussians.  
  
Massacre 
The mob stormed the king’s residence and massacred the royal Swiss guards. The Assembly voted to depose the king and write a new constitution. On 10 August 1792, the municipal government was overthrown and Danton became the self-appointed national dictator. The entire male population was drafted for military service and weapons production entered high gear. In September 1792, terrorist mobs swarmed through the prisons and massacred thousands of prisoners including many nobles who had been arrested for no other reason than that they were nobility.  
  
Killing the King 
A new National Convention was called on 21 September 1792 to write a new constitution. In December, the Convention summoned the deposed King, Louis Capet as he was now called. On 21 January 1793, King Louis XVI was beheaded on the guillotine.  
  
Coalition Against Revolution 
All of Europe was horrified and a coalition was formed against France. Austria, England, Holland, Prussia, Spain and Piedmont prepared to restore order to France and prevent the exporting of revolution to their own regions.  
  
The Reign of Terror 
The Jacobins mobilised the mob to invade the Convention and arrest the 31 leading Girondists. This launched the Reign of Terror, which officially began 2 June 1793. Robespierre established the Committee of Public Safety. A policy of mass public terror was unleashed with Revolutionary Tribunals, in which all “enemies of the Revolution” were summarily tried. Mere accusations were tantamount to verdicts of guilt. The trials were abrupt with no real opportunity granted to the accused to prepare or present any defence. The accused were quickly convicted and carted off to the guillotine.  
  
Killing of the Queen 
The Queen, 38-year-old Mary Antoinette, was dragged through the mockery of a trial and guillotined on 16 October. Her son, later recognised as Louis XVII, died as a result of inhuman treatment by his revolutionary jailers.  
  
Heads Roll 
Twenty-one Girondist leaders, including Madam Roland, were also beheaded shortly after the Queen. The Duke of Orleans who had joined the Jacobins and taken the name of citizen Egaliter, even voting for the death of his cousin the King, was also executed at this time.  
  
Big Bang Social Science 
Romantic occultism taught a big bang theory of social science. If one could blow up, or burn down, enough buildings, kill enough people and destroy enough things, you could produce Utopia!  
  
Destruction 
The Reign of Terror spread throughout France. When one city sought to resist, it was destroyed. The revolutionaries set up a pillar outside Lyons inscribed: “Lyons waged war with Liberty. Lyons is no more.” Toulon was subjugated under the leadership of a young artillery officer from Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte.  
  
War Against God   
The Committee of Public Safety launched a vicious atheistic war against Christianity. They invented a new religion which they called the Cult of Reason. At a festival at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, an actress was enthroned as the “goddess of the French people.” France was renamed “The Republic of Virtue”. Ancient Rome was lifted up as its model. The press and theatres were turned into instruments for state propaganda. Fashions changed to immoral loose Roman robes. Over 2,000 churches were renamed Temples of Reason and hijacked for the promotion of this cult.  
  
A Secular Religion 
Historian Arnold Toynbee wrote: “In the Revolution a sinister ancient religion suddenly re-erupted with elemental violence… the fanatical worship of collective human power. The Terror was only the first of the mass-crimes that have been committed… in this evil religions name.” (John Wilson, The gods of Revolution.)  
  
Meltdown 
The revolutionaries began to turn on one another. Danton was executed 5 April 1794. On 7 May, Robespierre sought to impose a new religion on France, declaring a new calendar to replace the Christian calendar. 21 September 1792, the day the Monarchy had ended, was declared the First day of year one of their revolutionary calendar. Robespierre appointed himself as high priest of the Supreme Being in this new cult.  
  
Reaping What They Had Sown 
On 27 July 1794, Robespierre and 20 other of his henchmen were seized and executed by the survivors of the Convention. More than 40,000 victims had been murdered on the guillotine under the Reign of Terror. Over two-thirds of those victims had been peasants, artisans and workers. As Madam Roland was being ushered up to the platform to be guillotined, she faced the statue of the goddess Liberty and cried out: “O Liberty, Liberty! What crimes are committed in thy name!”  
  
Unleashing Forces of Destruction 
The end of the reign of terror was not the end of the French Revolution. It would be followed by the Directory and by the Dictatorship eventually culminating in Napoleon’s Empire which embroiled all of Europe in ruinous war. Even after the death of Robespierre, the Revolution continued to talk about liberty and equality, to fight against the Christian Faith, and to inspire more communes, voices of virtue and revolutionaries like Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Fidel Castro, Mao Tse Tung and Robert Mugabe.  
  
Revolutionary Tyranny 
The French Revolution was the prototype, which was followed by the Russian Revolution, the Chinese Revolution, the Cuban Revolution, the Cambodian Revolution, the Vietnamese Revolution, the Ethiopian Revolution, the Mozambiquan Revolution, the Angolan Revolution, the Zimbabwe Revolution and many others. In every case, they proved that yesterday’s revolutionaries become tomorrow’s tyrants and dictators. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption.” 2 Peter 2:19  
  
Dr. Peter Hammond  
Frontline Fellowship  
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725  
Cape Town South Africa  
mission@frontline.org.za   
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org   
www.HMSSchoolofChristianJournalism.org   
  
  
Otto Scott’s  Robespierre – Inside the French Revolution  is the very best expose of what led up to that cataclysmic event and what really took place during that disastrous revolution. Reading this extraordinary book enables one to understand the revolutionary forces arrayed against Christian civilisation today. It is uncanny the similarities one can immediately recognise to what is happening in our streets, in the media, in education, in entertainment, in churches and in government, available from Christian Liberty Books, Tel: 021-689-7478, Fax: 086-551-7490, Email:  admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za ,  Website:  www.christianlibertybooks.co.za .   
  
See also:  
Resistance to Revolution   
How to Respond to Marxist Bullying Tactics   
Marie Antoinette , also available as a  PowerPoint .  
The French Huguenots , also available as a  PowerPoint  and translated into  Afrikaans .  
Reformation or Revolution   
Is South Africa Entering the Second Phase of the Revolution? 

To listen to a radio interview on The Real Agenda Behind Revolutionaries click   here . 

Fred Schwarz and David Noble’s  You Can Still Trust the Communists to be Communists  is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how to negotiate and deal with Marxist revolutionaries like BLM and ANTIFA.  
  
The  Agenda – Masters of Deceit  DVD documentary is a brilliant expose of how revolutionaries work and how one can resist their unreasonable and suicidal demands.

Meet Joe Hinson’s SBO ’20 Team

Joe Hinson a seasoned evangelist from Denton, TX was a Team Leader at the Super Bowl Outreach in Miami this past Jan 31 – Feb. 2.

Joe had a team of likewise seasoned evangelists from Wisconsin, Louisiana, Arkansas, Ohio, Georgia and Florida.  One team member also from Denton was relatively new to open air preaching.

Team members with web sites: Zoe White:  Declaring Truth Ministries ; Jason Cantrell ; Jeff Warner ; Joshua Richards;   Ryan Woodhouse;    John Crowley ; Dorothy Boyett ; Anthony Bearden .

Newsmakers: New Anglican Church in Whitfield/Gordon County

There is a new Anglican church in formation for the Whitfield/Gordon County (GA) area. This new mission parish will be affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America through the Anglican Diocese of the South. A place and time of gathering is being determined based on replies. If you are interested in exploring this new work call Austin Goggans at 706-506-1241 or email pastorgoggans@gmail.com.

Story from: https://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/calhoun-church-calendar-july-22/article_73283a48-caf3-11ea-b7e2-4b0b45ed5fb1.html

Daily Devotional: 7-24-20

WHAT CAN WE LEARN from THE ST. JAMES MASSACRE?

To view this article as a video, click  here .

To listen to this message as an audio, click  here .

To view this presentation as a PowerPoint, click  here .

With Christians under fire throughout North Africa and the Middle East, we need to remember the persecuted and learn from their steadfastness amidst suffering. 25th July, marks the anniversary of a dreadful atrocity in Cape Town, a terrorist attack on St. James Church of England, which left 11 people dead and over 50 wounded.

Sanctuary Desecrated
At about 7:30 pm, on Sunday, 25th July 1993, while the congregation of 1,400 listened to a hymn of worship, a group of APLA terrorists burst into the church and opened fire with automatic weapons.

Eye Witness Accounts
“I noticed the handle of the side door facing the congregation turn and then the doors were kicked open. A black man wearing some kind of overall was standing in the doorway. He was carrying an assault rifle. As he stepped forward he raised the rifle, cocked it and fired it on full automatic directly into the congregation.”

Another eye-witness described it this way: “I saw this man kick open the door next to the stage and holding his rifle from the hip he opened up on us spraying bullets across a wide arc into the packed congregation. But before he even opened fire, two other black men who seemed to be wearing some olive green uniforms lobbed two hand grenades into the centre of the church.”

“There was this trail of smoke from the grenades and a few puffs of smoke from the first shots fired. The grenades were still in the air when he started firing.”

“As I dived under the pew for cover I heard two grenades explode. I looked up and saw pews sticking up into the air. The firing went on for a while and then suddenly everything was quiet.”

When War Comes to Your Neighbourhood
For many years Frontline Fellowship has taken the Gospel to the war zones. On Sunday, 25th July 1993, the war came to us. Our Mission headquarters was a few metres from St. James on the same road. Several of our workers were members and both my father and my brother were converted at St. James.

I had just been singing with my daughter, Andrea and was about to pray with her before putting her to bed when the phone rang. “It was the worst nightmare, Peter, St. James has been attacked by terrorists.” As I sped to the church my mind reeled with the implications. I thought of my many friends there and prayed that they would be safe. Vivid memories of blood splattered churches and scenes of massacres in Angola and Mozambique flooded my mind.

Storm
As if in sympathy with the storm in many hearts, lightning flashed across the sky and the heavens wept in a blinding downpour of torrential rain. Above the roar of the rain, the air was filled with wailing sirens from convoys of ambulances, police vehicles and fire engines as they converged upon 3rd Avenue, Kenilworth. Flashing lights and flashing lightning lit up a scene of dazed survivors fleeing from the church, weeping churchgoers praying in the rain and frantic relatives searching for loved ones.

Shocking Scene
I was soaked as I stumbled into the church. The tiles in the foyer were smeared with blood. Inside the church, there were several bodies lying on the blood-stained carpets, or on shrapnel-scarred pews. Some wooden pews were overturned. There was a hole in the carpet where one grenade had exploded. Prayer books, music sheets, welcome cards and Bibles were strewn amongst the pools of blood. The ceiling was pockmarked with shrapnel.

Emergency Workers
Rescue workers were working swiftly and efficiently. Some of the wounded were being cared for inside the church. Others were being carried out on stretchers to the waiting ambulances. A broken pew was used to transport one person. Pockets of Christians sat, or stood, holding hands and praying. The police moved swiftly, but with sensitivity, to clear the church sanctuary of all but emergency workers. Then they began to separate eye-witnesses for questioning.

I located several friends and then began to help serve tea to the shocked survivors. Only later, as I began to hear the different testimonies of those involved, did the full scale and horror of the attack strike me.

Personal Testimonies
Mrs. Marita Ackermann was shot in the chest at close range. She died about 30 minutes after arriving at the hospital. Marita had twice triumphed over cancer and she had helped start an outreach ministry to Khayelitsha and had also initiated an outreach ministry to Russian seamen passing through the harbour in Cape Town. Marita left behind her husband and three children, Braam, LiesI and Pierre. She was buried on her birthday.

Mr. Lorenzo Smith had his wife Myrtle die in his arms. A piece of shrapnel had pierced her heart. They had been married for 21 years. She left behind her husband and her two children, Craig and Mandy, who were not hit in the attack.

Peter Gordon, who was wounded in the attack, saw his wife Denise murdered next to him. Denise left behind her husband and her little daughter, Sarah.

Sacrifice
Seventeen-years-old, Richard O’ Kill died instantly from a bullet through his head as he flung himself across two young friends, Lisa and Bonnie, to shield them from the line of fire.

Twenty-one-years-old Gerard Harker died instantly as he dived on top of one of the hand grenades, absorbing the full blast in his body to protect the lives of those around him.

A police spokesman praised the selfless action of Gerard and said that his act of sacrifice undoubtedly saved the lives of many others by absorbing most of the blast. Gerard’s brother, 13-years-old Wesley, also died in the attack. They left behind their elder brother Shaun (23) and parents Dennis and Dawn Harker.

Four of the slain were Russian and Ukrainian sailors – Valentin Varaksa, Pavel Valujev, Andrey Kajl and Oleg Karamzin. Another victim was Guy Javens.

Crippled
Of those victims crippled in the attack, the most heart rending situation is that of Ukrainian sailor Dimitri Makagon. Both his legs were ripped off when one grenade fell in his lap. His right arm had to be amputated and both his eardrums burst in the blast. Dimitri, who was 23-years-old, was earning money as a sailor in order to pay for his wedding upon his return. The St. James Church flew out his fiancée, Olga and started a fund for the victims of the massacre.

Wounded
A medical student, Gillian Schermbrucker, narrowly escaped death when a piece of shrapnel pierced her lung and an artery. Her feet were also badly damaged yet she still sang a hymn to comfort her friends as she lay bleeding on the church floor.

Murderous Tools
Several survivors expressed their amazement that more people had not been killed. Police investigators agreed. The M26 fragmentary hand grenades had nails attached to provide additional shrapnel. If Gerard had not covered the one grenade with his body more would have been killed. If another member of the congregation had not shot back, apparently wounding one of the terrorists, then many more would have been shot.

Shooting Back
After the grenades exploded, one of our missionaries, Charl van Wyk, returned fire with his 38 snub-nosed revolver. One bullet wounded the gunman who was firing into the congregation. The shooting stopped and the attackers immediately fled. Charl then pursued the terrorists into the parking lot and fired at their getaway car as it sped off into 3rd Avenue. When the police later recovered the terrorists’ getaway car blood-stains indicated that at least one of the attackers was wounded.

Saving Lives
If one compares the St. James massacre with similar atrocities in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola and Sudan – it becomes apparent that many more people would have died had Charl not fired back. An official Commendation by the Police Commissioner N.H. Acker, stated: “On 25 July 1993, Charl Adriaan Van Wyk endangered his own life in warding off the attack perpetrated on the St. James Congregation in Kenilworth. His action in pursuing the suspects on foot and returning fire prevented further loss of life. One of the suspects was wounded in the incident and was later arrested.”

Why?
In numerous reports on the St. James massacre, the questions have been asked: Who could possibly want to attack a congregation of Christians worshipping in a church? What could anyone hope to accomplish through such senseless slaughter? To these questions, Christians have added another: How should we as believers respond?

Christians Under Fire
When I saw the shocking carnage at St. James Church it immediately brought similar bloody scenes flooding back into my mind. Over the last 38 years of missionary work, I have personally come across many similar atrocities, especially in Angola, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and Sudan. In August 1983, Frelimo troops killed 5 pastors and burnt down all 5 churches in Maskito village, Zambezia province, Mozambique. In September 1983 Frelimo troops killed over 50 Christians and burnt a church down in Pasura village. At Chilleso Evangelical Church, in Angola, Cuban troops shot 150 Christians during a church service. At New Adams farm in Zimbabwe, 16 missionaries and their children were murdered in November 1987.

Churches Attacked
Over 5 years, between 2010 and 2015, Muslim mobs and Boko Haram terrorists bombed and burned down 1,000 churches, killing 17,000 Christians in Nigeria. In Sudan, hundreds of churches have been bombed and burned. Many hundreds of churches have been attacked in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea and all churches in Somalia were destroyed by 1993. One could continue to recount literally hundreds of similar atrocities against Christian churches, the fact is that churches have often been the target of Muslim extremists and Marxist terrorists.

What Do Such Terrorists Aim to Accomplish?
In answer to the second question, as to what anyone could hope to accomplish through the attack at St. James, we must note that it is the aim of terrorists to instil fear in the hearts of their target community. To paralyse people into inactivity and non-resistance. To induce people to flee the country, or at least to be too afraid to fight back. An additional aim of terrorism is to provoke an unreasoned and extreme response, to provoke counter-terrorism, which would then be exploited for propaganda purposes.

The Aim of Persecution
The aim of persecution is not to kill Christians. Sending believers to meet their Lord in Heaven hardly achieves the purposes of evil. No, the aim of persecution is to shock Christians into fear and inactivity. To paralyse and neutralise the church. Only if one gives in to this fear and allows oneself to be intimidated into silence and compromise does the enemy achieve his objectives.

How Are We to Respond?
This should encourage us not to betray the Faith for which the martyrs have died. The only appropriate response to such massacres is for us to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word – The Bible. We dare not allow the fear of man to divert us from fulfilling the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ. The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and we are to love our neighbour as ourselves… making disciples … teaching obedience to all things the Lord has commanded.

Political Exploitation
In this context, it is shameful that some sought to exploit such tragedies to enhance their own public image or to promote inter-faith services. As I wrote in the following letter to a Cape newspaper:

Hypocrisy
“It is hard for us to take politicians or Archbishop Tutu seriously when they so shamelessly milk tragedies like the St. James massacre for media coverage and to advance their political agenda. I find it offensive that certain priests and politicians have cynically exploited the Sunday massacre for their own political ends.

“With the ANC’s abysmal human rights record of placing landmines in farm roads, car bombs in public streets and limpet mines in shopping centres and restaurants, they are the last people who have the right to condemn violence. The thousands of victims of ANC necklace murders, petrol bomb attacks, stonings and shootings and those dissidents tortured in ANC concentration camps bear eloquent testimony to the ANC’s real position on violence.

“As for Tutu – how could he barge into St. James and lie to the policemen on duty – claiming that he was the head of the denomination – in order to gain access to the site of the massacre? Most people are not aware that the Church of England in South Africa (CESA) is an entirely separate denomination from Tutu’s Church of the Province of SA (Anglican) denomination. Yet surely Tutu is aware that he is not the head of the CESA!

“For Tutu to have gained access for his media entourage to St. James by deception and then to have desecrated the sanctuary by turning it into a media circus to exploit this tragedy for his image overseas is despicable.

“Other political activists in the guise of the priesthood have suggested that we use this opportunity for a ‘reconciliation’ service. St. James is a fully multi-racial church that has opened its doors to all races at all times. Our church has an outreach to Khayelitsha and offers Bible studies in Xhosa on a weekly basis. We have always worked for reconciliation; first to God and then to man. St. James does not have to use this tragic event to prove our commitment to reconciliation.

“The Church of England in South Africa is an Evangelical denomination which holds to the Inerrancy of the Bible as God’s perfect Word. CESA holds to the full Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ and to His bodily Resurrection from the grave. We proclaim salvation by the Grace of God, through the Atonement of Christ, received by faith. For this reason it would betray the martyrs who were killed on Sunday if we were to partake in an inter-faith service with those who reject this Gospel.

“The greatest tribute and memorial which we could erect in honour of the victims of the massacre would be for us to remain faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word – the Bible. May many more come to Christ in true faith and repentance.”

Manipulation by High Profile Atrocities
I also noticed that every time the negotiation process stalled and reached a deadlock, some high profile atrocity occurred which was then used to accelerate the process of hurtling this country towards the transitional executive control which the socialist “liberation forces” so desired. Their expressions of outrage were hard to take seriously. Their actions, stained with the blood of thousands of innocent victims, spoke far louder than their words.

How Then Should We as Christians Respond?
Which brings us to the third question: How should we as believers respond? In any crisis or tragedy we need to turn to God and cast all our burdens and frustrations upon Him in prayer. We need to seek answers and guidance from studying the Word of God. Many survivors of similar atrocities have found tremendous comfort and strength through praying the Psalms.

At the mid-week service, three days after the massacre, the church was packed almost to its capacity. Bishop Frank Retief opened the service by reading Psalm 11: “In the Lord I take refuge. How then can you say to me: Flee like a bird to your mountain? For look, the wicked bend their bows; they set their arrows against the strings to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart. When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in His holy Temple; The Lord is on His heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; His eyes examine them. The Lord examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence His soul hates. On the wicked He will rain fiery coals and burning sulphur; a scorching wind will be their lot. For the Lord is righteous. He loves justice; upright men will see His face.”

Frank Retief said that many had commented on the calmness of the St. James congregation in the face of this tragedy. “While we are shocked, stunned, shattered, hurt and angry at the senselessness of what has happened, we also have a sense of peace.”

Triumph Amidst Tragedy
At the Sunday evening service one week after the massacre, over 2,000 people packed the church and the overflow facilities. If the aim of the terrorists had been to terrify people into avoiding the church, they had clearly failed.

At that service, Rev. Frank Retief outlined a Biblical response to the tragedy, which I summarised as follows:

1. The world is not our home. We are pilgrims passing through. Do make a meaningful contribution to improving society, but don’t get too caught up in materialism and personal ambitions. We won’t live forever.
2. We must believe in a Day of Judgement. If evil is not finally punished then this world is meaningless. The wicked may seem to prosper for a time, but a just God will deal with sin. Only Christians have the spiritual resources to cope with such tragedy.
3. Life is uncertain. None of us know how long we will live. Spiritual apathy is dangerous. We need to be jolted awake.
4. There is a constant need to re-examine ourselves. Is your faith genuine or nominal? Watch out for temporary emotional motivation. Be done with empty words. Do away with frivolous things. Be serious about your faith. Get involved in the life of your church and in the lives of others.
5. Do not be ruled by fear. Our trust must be in God. We fear God and no one else.

Testimonies of Grace
As we learned to cope with the shock and sense of loss, many testimonies of God’s grace and sovereignty began to surface:
The attack took place on St. James Day, the day when the Church commemorates the first martyrdom of an Apostle (Acts 12:2-3).

The attack took place five minutes after the children had left for a children’s service in a separate venue.

The attackers had apparently wanted to burst through several doors simultaneously – but all the other doors were locked on that cold winter night.

Excerpts of the un-preached sermon of Rev. Ross Anderson were printed in local newspapers. One verse, in particular, stood out: “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the Resurrection and the Life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.’” John 11:25

One man testified that as he pushed his wife’s head down he felt a bullet whistle over the back of his hand and heard it slam into the wall behind.

Another husband pushed his wife flat seconds before a bullet smashed into the backrest against which she had been sitting.

One Ukrainian seaman, Demichev Vladimir testified of how Marita Ackermann had led him to Christ: “I have been a seaman for 28 years and never in this time have I met such warm and kind hearted people as Marita and Dawie Ackermann. I met Marita in October last year, my first time in Cape Town. Marita gave me some papers to read about our Lord. Before that, I was an atheist. Marita invited me and my crew to church and our attitudes changed as we began to read and discuss the Bible.”

Just three weeks before the massacre 72 Russian and Ukrainian sailors had made public commitments to Christ.

Marita’s favourite verse was Philippians 3:10: “I want to know Christ and the power of His Resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.”

Other members of the Church have shared these testimonies: “Possessions and position are no longer important to us – these things last only for a short time.”

“When we keep our mind on God, God keeps our mind at peace.”

“God is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in trouble.”Psalm 46:1

On the Order of Service bulletins handed out at the main funeral service on 29th July this passage was quoted: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers… will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail
Frontline Fellowship’s official letter of sympathy to St. James Church included the following message: “Jesus Christ is building His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. You cannot destroy the Church by attacking buildings. The Church is not buildings – but people. People who love Jesus Christ. People who have a relationship with God as their Father. People who have been changed by the Holy Spirit. One cannot kill Christians by sending them to Heaven. Death for the Christian is not final. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life… I rejoice in the assurance that the great work which He has begun at St. James will not falter, or be distracted from the Great Commission.”

A Spiritual World War
Such traumatic experiences remind us of the reality of the spiritual war in which each of us is engaged. There is a life and death struggle between the Kingdom of God and the forces of satan. Outside of Christ, man is desperately wicked. “It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgement.” Hebrews 9:27. God is just and He will ultimately reward the faithful and punish the wicked.

We need to live our lives for the Glory of God – to the fullest.

“Only one life – it will soon be past – only what’s done for Christ will last.”

Dr. Peter Hammond
Frontline Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
mission@frontline.org.za
www.FrontlineMissionSA.org
www.ReformationSA.org
www.HMSSchoolofChristianJournalism.org

Meet Jason Cantrell from Atlanta, GA

Jason Cantrell preaches at the Feminists Women’s Health Center, sporting events and festivals in Atlanta. 

Meet Steve Bauer from Eaton, CO

Steve Bauer is a Super Bowl Outreach Team Leader for SBO ’21.

Steve leads Watersource Ministries a mission society who’s mission is to preach the Gospel, teach people to preach it and connect like minded ministries to do so. His local church Evangelical Free Church of Eaton, CO is very supportive of Steve’s efforts.

Steve and Christine Bauer are indigenous American missionaries based out of Northern Colorado, where they have been involved in one to one witnessing, tracting and open air preaching since 2004. They have also served as worship leaders, church planters and Steve has served as associate and teaching pastor in two churches. Their evangelistic efforts include preaching and witnessing at 3 previous Superbowl Outreach Missions, open air preaching at Cheyenne Frontier Days, warning and preaching to the attendees outside of Joel Osteen’s “Night of Hope,” and leading a team of preachers in Old Town Fort Collins, CO, where they have been preaching for over 15 years. They are members of the Evangelical Free Church of Eaton where they stay accountable to the elders/pastors and enjoy tremendous support from the body of believers. They are also utilized by the elders of EFC to teach evangelism to its members. Outside of their missionary efforts, Steve is a full-time paramedic of 25 years and Christine is a homemaker and small business owner. They also operate a small, family farm with Christine’s parents in northeast Colorado. Steve and Christine’s primary focus after Christ (and before “ministry…”) is as husband and wife, and as “Mama and Papa” to their 6 year old son, Joshua.