Deliver Us from Evil

By:  Dale Weckbacher

John 10:10

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. 

NKJV

On Wednesday last week, a half-crazed lunatic, believing that because the skin tone of someone was darker than his had to be taken out, cut the lives of nine precious souls short at a church in Charleston South Carolina.  Since the nine victims, including two of their pastors, were at a Bible study on a Wednesday night, most of us assume they were believers and now live in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, never again to suffer at the hands of this murderous destructive world again.  However, we must continue to pray for those left behind for they too are victims.  Most importantly, we must especially continue to pray for them after the media hype ends and they move on to the next story.

As we discover more about the shooter in Charleston, we are beginning to see what occurs when a soul that does not have the benefit of the indwelling Holy Spirit is deceived by the lies of the enemy.  The initial reports from survivors of the shooting told of how the shooter told the pastor that, “You rape our women and are taking over our country,” Obviously a racial slur referencing the election of the nation’s first black President.  (1)

In addition to these witness reports of statements made by the shooter at the scene, we now have his manifesto where he even expressed his desire to turn every Jew blue.  In his rant, the shooter also lamented that there was no ‘real KKK to help him’ and that he had no choice but to act.  (2)   These are the words of a deranged mind, a mind deceived by the lies of a society under the control of the thief of John10:10.

We have also learned that drugs may have contributed to the derangement of the shooters mind.  The shooter was recently arrested on a drug charge for the suspected use of SSRI drugs.  These drugs have been tied numerous cases of mass murder and suicide.  (3)  Drugs and alcohol are tools of the thief for they reduce or even eliminate any inhibitions or conscience an individual may have assisting them in carrying out the thief’s desire to kill, steal, and destroy. 

In the Lord’s Prayer, we are asked to pray for deliverance from evil.  Jesus included this in his teaching because he knew we would be living in a world dominated by evil (Matthew 6:13).  I therefore urge everyone to pray for God’s protection and deliverance from evil as we live for Jesus in this evil world.  However, Jesus also reminds us to be of good cheer, for He has overcame the evil one (John16:33). 

We both grieve and rejoice for the victims of the shooting in Charlotte.  We grieve for the loss of life and the families that now must deal with the reality of what happened.  However, we also rejoice knowing that the victims are now in the presence of the Lord and never again will have to endure the pain of this evil world. 

The shooting in Charlotte also reminds of the uncertainty of life.  Those attending the Bible study on Wednesday went expecting to learn and be encouraged by the Word of God but instead came face to face with the raw and destructive evil of this world.  Fortunately for the victims of the shooting they had a certainty of where they would go when they died.  However, many of you reading this may not have that certainty.  I therefore want to extend an invitation for you to have that certainty by praying with me

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life (Romans 10:9-10).

If you prayed that prayer you now have the assurance that should something tragic happen to you, you will spend eternity with God in Heaven (John 3:16). 

I also want to speak to anyone reading this that has hatred in their heart towards anyone or any group of people.  God created all men and women.  We are uniquely created (Psalms 139:14) which includes the fact that we have different skin tones.  However, God does not look at the outward appearance but looks inside at someone’s heart (Hebrews 4:12). 

If you have hatred in your heart and prayed to receive Jesus into your life, ask the Holy Spirit which now dwells in your heart to remove the hatred and replace it with the love of God.  If you did not pray, I encourage you to please scroll back up, pray, and then ask God to remove the hatred. 

The shooting in Charlotte was tragic and unfortunately, since we still live in a world dominated by evil and the thief whose desire is to kill, steal, and destroy, there will most likely be more tragedies.  However, as individuals we can ask Jesus to replace any hatred in our lives with his love, protecting us from the thief’s deceptive and destructive lies.  We can also know that with Jesus in our lives, we have eternity with God to look forward to no matter what happens in our lives.  I encourage you to let this give you strength during these troubling times. 

1. Raf Sanchez, Peter Foster. 'You rape our women and are taking over our country,' Charleston church gunman told black victims. www.telegraph.co.uk. [Online] The Telegraph, June 18, 2015. [Cited: Junne 20, 2015.] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11684957/You-rape-our-women-and-are-taking-over-our-country-Charleston-church-gunman-told-black-victims.html.

2. Corcoran, Kieran. Revealed: Dylann Roof named Charleston as his target in twisted online 'manifesto' where he rants that black people are 'stupid and violent' and how he wanted to turn every Jew BLUE for 24 hours . www.dailymail.co.uk. [Online] Daily Mail, June 20, 2015. [Cited: June 20, 2015.] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3132670/Dylann-Roof-manifesto-Killer-unveils-Charleston-target-church-massacre-calls-black-people-stupid-violent-complains-s-no-real-KKK-help-him.html.

3. Watson, Steve. Charleston Shooter Recently Faced Drug Charges. www.infowars.com. [Online] Alex Jones Infowars.com, June 18, 2015. [Cited: June 20, 2015.] http://www.infowars.com/charleston-shooter-recently-faced-drug-charges/.