WHY???

[weary warrior]

I'm sitting right now in my office as the principal of a Christian school. Outside the window of my office is the gym, and I can hear the student on break. They are playing, laughing, running and being children, as children should. On my right hip, covered up by a jacket, is a Kimber Warrior .45acp. On my left hip is a spare mag. At any time during the week there may be in the building as many as three of us with handguns on our person. We are a school with a total of 47 students. These handguns are tucked away behind suit coats or jackets or sweaters, depending on the individual's clothing style. They are never shown, flashed or discussed in front of the students, but the students, at least the older students, are all aware of their presence. Many of them know me from church, where I am head of security, and of course my 16 year old son is a student here as well.

I wonder how many of these students of mine had the thought flash through their mind as they watch the news unfold about the new school shooting in Florida, "Not in my school, we have Mr. Noel"? I watch as the news tells us of the heroic football coach there in Florida who gave his life shielding his charges, those who were placed in his care, those he undoubtedly loved, just as I love mine. And I ask myself, what if this good, brave man had possessed a weapon tucked behind his waste band? Just a little .38 revolver even? Something. Anything. What if someone had been allowed to be prepared to fight physical evil with physical means? 

We have sown the wind in this country, and now we are going to reap the whirlwind. Our schools have told the students there is no God, and thus no consequences, no eternal soul, no higher authority. We have fed them a steady diet of humanism, violent movies, games and "music" and all manner of Satanic influences. We have denigrated the Bible, parental authority, the police, the military, the flag, the anthem and our founding fathers. And then we wonder when these monsters start coming out of the woodwork.

The schools will have to start physically, violently defending themselves from the very hell that they have so foolishly and gleefully created, and the ONLY defense from a bad man with a gun is a good man with a gun. They will not, of course, do this.

I ask "why", but in truth, I already know the answers.

[*Light*]

The Lord is our Protector. That doesn't mean that we can't/shouldn't take prudent personal measures against genuine threats. That is a matter of personal application. As to what's right for schools/officials/politicians/administrators to do, that is a political question, and I would not be surprised to find out after all of this life is over that one of the reason that the devil is motivating these kinds of incidents is to prod Christians to become politically involved by getting them upset about these tragedies and encouraging them to look for political solutions to them. We can certainly pray -- and praise the Lord if we have been personally spared.  But I am leery of even being drawn into discussions which even skirt the issue of some sort of "solution" to problems that are mired deep in the world of ubiquitous social evil manipulated by equally evil politics. But hey, if I were in your position, and my son attended my school, I'd probably do the same for protection. Just my 2 cents worth.

[weary warrior]

On 2/16/2018 at 4:27 PM, (Omega) said:

The Lord is our Protector. 

The Lord is not our protector if we don't lift a hand to protect ourselves. The Lord will not feed us if we don't get off out butt and go to the fridge. The Lord will not fix our flat tire, and if we don't carry a spare, were stuck. The Lord will not put out that grease fire in the kitchen, and if we are too irresponsible to have a fire extinguisher in the house, God will watch our house go up in smoke. If we don't have a smoke alarm, we'll probably even die. The Lord will not heal us if we refuse to accept any medical attention available. And the physical needs of our fellow man, whither it be from the deprivations of hunger or the deprivations of a demoniac with a Glock, have NOTHING to do with politics. What the Evil One really wants is for us to find any excuse, including politics, to say that the dangers facing my fellow man are not my problem. I do not carry a weapon in this school simply because my son attends here. That is an insult. I carry because the children of my fellow man attends here, they are in danger, they were made in the image of God, they breath the very immortal breath of God, and if I don't love them, I don't love God. Love is not what we feel, it's what we do, and what we are willing to do.

Edited February 23, 2018 by weary warrior

[DaveW]

The Lord CAN do all of those things if He so chooses, but the principle of preparation is certainly a Biblical one. 

Matt 6

26  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

How does God provide for the fowls? Do they sit in their nests and wait for God to drop the food down their throats? No! God provides for them as they go are search out their food.

However to say that God WILL NOT do these things, I believe is overstepping the mark.

I do think that your preparation is commendable.

Edited February 23, 2018 by DaveW
Phone spelling

[HappyChristian]

Good for you, @weary warrior. Would that more would follow suit. I know of a school that has most, if not all, of their teachers armed. And trained. The doors lock at 8:30, and nobody without a key card gets in unless the front desk person sees them and buzzes them in. The doors open freely from the inside.  It is a shame that in this day and age those practices are necessary, but it is a truth that they are necessary. 

Folks are just shocked, I tell you, shocked at the idea of arming teachers. All kinds of what-ifs and oh nos going on. The plain truth is that if a would-be shooter knows that the school he or she is going to attempt to shoot up has staff that are armed, said shooter will either not show up or will quickly change their mind. Kinda like the threatened school shooting in 1973 that didn't take place. Students and teachers went to their vehicles to get their guns and waited on the shooter to show. Nobody did...probably because he/she knew they'd never make it past the student and teacher guarding the door.  This was in Delaware.

[DaveW]

I heard an interview with someone yesterday who was quoting Australian stats in relation to gun control as a justification for US gun control.

They implied that since we brought in heavy gun restrictions there have been almost no school shootings in Australia.

A couple of things:

1. BEFORE the heavy restrictions there were almost no school shootings in Australia. I don't think anything changed much after they were brought in.

2. Australia has a very different attitude towards guns and gun control. Australia is DIFFERENT to the US, and a direct comparison is not useful.

The overwhelming majority of people here are not gun owners and have no interest in owning guns. Therefore gun ownership restrictions were able to be passed through with little issue. Not even a conservative/progressive political issue here.

Even most gun owners here were ok with the concept of gun restriction. Not the details, but the concept........ because Australia is different to the US, and attitudes to guns are also different to the US.

Not saying one is right and one is wrong - but they are different.

My point is that to use the Aussie gun laws as an argument for US gun laws is not right.

 

 

I do have one question in relation to all this: did school shootings increase when guns were made freely available in the US?

Oh wait - guns have been fairly well accessible in the US since before you were a nation.

When did school shootings start to be heard of in the US?

The "rise" in school shootings is not related to any change in gun availability.

[weary warrior]

8 minutes ago, DaveW said:

I heard an interview with someone yesterday who was quoting Australian stats in relation to gun control as a justification for US gun control.

They implied that since we brought in heavy gun restrictions there have been almost no school shootings in Australia.

A couple of things:

1. BEFORE the heavy restrictions there were almost no school shootings in Australia. I don't think anything changed much after they were brought in.

2. Australia has a very different attitude towards guns and gun control. Australia is DIFFERENT to the US, and a direct comparison is not useful.

The overwhelming majority of people here are not gun owners and have no interest in owning guns. Therefore gun ownership restrictions were able to be passed through with little issue. Not even a conservative/progressive political issue here.

Even most gun owners here were ok with the concept of gun restriction. Not the details, but the concept........ because Australia is different to the US, and attitudes to guns are also different to the US.

Not saying one is right and one is wrong - but they are different.

My point is that to use the Aussie gun laws as an argument for US gun laws is not right.

 

 

I do have one question in relation to all this: did school shootings increase when guns were made freely available in the US?

Oh wait - guns have been fairly well accessible in the US since before you were a nation.

When did school shootings start to be heard of in the US?

The "rise" in school shootings is not related to any change in gun availability.

Dave, everything you state here is 100% true and accurate. In America, back in the day, kids actually carried their guns to school. On the frontier for protection, and later they would have them at school so that they could leave directly from class to the deer stand / duck blind etc. Back then, there was still scripture, patriotism, respect and whoopin's in school, so the guns were not a problem. Take out the prayer, the scripture, the pledge of allegiance and the whoopin's, and now we have problems.

By the way, how is a nation that forbids prayer in school actually standing up on national TV and asking with a straight face for prayer for those suffering IN those same schools??!!??

[*Light*]

8 hours ago, weary warrior said:

The Lord is not our protector if we don't lift a hand to protect ourselves. The Lord will not feed us if we don't get off out butt and go to the fridge. The Lord will not fix our flat tire, and if we don't carry a spare, were stuck. The Lord will not put out that grease fire in the kitchen, and if we are too irresponsible to have a fire extinguisher in the house, God will watch our house go up in smoke. If we don't have a smoke alarm, we'll probably even die. The Lord will not heal us if we refuse to accept any medical attention available. And the physical needs of our fellow man, whither it be from the deprivations of hunger or the deprivations of a demoniac with a Glock, have NOTHING to do with politics. What the Evil One really wants is for us to find any excuse, including politics, to say that the dangers facing my fellow man are not my problem. I do not carry a weapon in this school simply because my son attends here. That is an insult. I carry because the children of my fellow man attends here, they are in danger, they were made in the image of God, they breath the very immortal breath of God, and if I don't love them, I don't love God. Love is not what we feel, it's what we do, and what we are willing to do.

Not sure what you're asking here. I have no problem with defending myself from terrorists, demon possessed kids, etc. You're telling me that I insulted you, where? I did NOT say that you should only carry a weapon just because your son attends your school. I said I would defend my son because you had mentioned that YOUR son attends your school. And that gives it all the more reason to be protective -- not that we should be a coward and wait until 17 people dies. 

[No Nicolaitans]

I'm tired of it all.

Maybe I'm in a bad place, but I'm tired of it all...extremely tired of it all.

I miss people...especially fellow believers...being happy and joyful...enjoying the salvation that the Lord has given us. At one time, I thrived on debate and trying to prove others wrong...it took me a long time to realize how miserable I was. I've read things on here lately that makes me raise an eyebrow and go, "HUH?", but I've long since lost the desire to try to counter it. 

I'm sorry...I don't claim to be right...and if you look at some of my past postings, you'll see that I've said that quite often. I just don't have it in me any longer to try and continue on. I just need some time to love the Lord and be his child...I've lost that at some point in this journey.

I no longer post in forums that have to do with anything of dire importance regarding scripture, theology, doctrine, or any other kind of important spiritual significance. I'm tired of the arguing. Of late, I've just been trying to have a little bit of fun in hope of bringing a smile to someone who may be having a bad day or a sad moment. I miss the days when I didn't know all of the crazy "theology" that I know now. Perhaps it's my fault for being where I am now, but I'm just tired of it. I long for the days when I was new to the faith, when I couldn't get enough of Jesus and the bible, and when I (mistakenly) thought that all Christians believed rightly. I'm tired, I'm worn out, and I'm depleted. Make of it what you will...and please pray for me...but I just can't take any more right now.

Would to God that the blessed Lord Jesus would take us home right here...right now. I want to go home.

[Jim_Alaska]

NN  we all either have been in that place, or will be in it at some time in our life. Just remember:

 Ne 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. 

[*Light*]

2 hours ago, No Nicolaitans said:

I'm tired of it all.

Maybe I'm in a bad place, but I'm tired of it all...extremely tired of it all.

I miss people...especially fellow believers...being happy and joyful...enjoying the salvation that the Lord has given us. At one time, I thrived on debate and trying to prove others wrong...it took me a long time to realize how miserable I was. I've read things on here lately that makes me raise an eyebrow and go, "HUH?", but I've long since lost the desire to try to counter it. 

I'm sorry...I don't claim to be right...and if you look at some of my past postings, you'll see that I've said that quite often. I just don't have it in me any longer to try and continue on. I just need some time to love the Lord and be his child...I've lost that at some point in this journey.

I no longer post in forums that have to do with anything of dire importance regarding scripture, theology, doctrine, or any other kind of important spiritual significance. I'm tired of the arguing. Of late, I've just been trying to have a little bit of fun in hope of bringing a smile to someone who may be having a bad day or a sad moment. I miss the days when I didn't know all of the crazy "theology" that I know now. Perhaps it's my fault for being where I am now, but I'm just tired of it. I long for the days when I was new to the faith, when I couldn't get enough of Jesus and the bible, and when I (mistakenly) thought that all Christians believed rightly. I'm tired, I'm worn out, and I'm depleted. Make of it what you will...and please pray for me...but I just can't take any more right now.

Would to God that the blessed Lord Jesus would take us home right here...right now. I want to go home.

Hey Bro,

I've done a lot of praying today and I believe the answer to my prayer is found in your post. You can't change someone's mind if their mind is already made up and don't plan on giving in to the TRUTH. I spent an entire hour or so on a thread where I had my refutations all laid out; but for some reason, it was that thread ALONE that I could not post a reply. I lost all the content I wrote. I can post here and elsewhere; however, I cannot post in the thread that I wanted to. Perhaps it was an epiphany that you wrote what you wrote, and the timing was PERFECT. I want to go home now too, and as a matter of fact. . .I will be going home soon because of my heart (literally). I don't consider this bad news from my physician at all. I am elated that I am going to be with the one I love the most. I agree with your observation that our time is short here on Earth, and there are a lot of souls that need to be ministered to. I am going to use the time I have left to devote all my time to the Lord. Anyway, you keep your head held up high and never lose sight of your calling.  Take care bro! Oh...and BTW, I'm going to ban you when we get to Heaven. :)

Love you bro,

Daniel

[Pastor Scott Markle]

9 hours ago, No Nicolaitans said:

I'm tired of it all.

Maybe I'm in a bad place, but I'm tired of it all...extremely tired of it all.

I miss people...especially fellow believers...being happy and joyful...enjoying the salvation that the Lord has given us. At one time, I thrived on debate and trying to prove others wrong...it took me a long time to realize how miserable I was. I've read things on here lately that makes me raise an eyebrow and go, "HUH?", but I've long since lost the desire to try to counter it. 

I'm sorry...I don't claim to be right...and if you look at some of my past postings, you'll see that I've said that quite often. I just don't have it in me any longer to try and continue on. I just need some time to love the Lord and be his child...I've lost that at some point in this journey.

I no longer post in forums that have to do with anything of dire importance regarding scripture, theology, doctrine, or any other kind of important spiritual significance. I'm tired of the arguing. Of late, I've just been trying to have a little bit of fun in hope of bringing a smile to someone who may be having a bad day or a sad moment. I miss the days when I didn't know all of the crazy "theology" that I know now. Perhaps it's my fault for being where I am now, but I'm just tired of it. I long for the days when I was new to the faith, when I couldn't get enough of Jesus and the bible, and when I (mistakenly) thought that all Christians believed rightly. I'm tired, I'm worn out, and I'm depleted. Make of it what you will...and please pray for me...but I just can't take any more right now.

Would to God that the blessed Lord Jesus would take us home right here...right now. I want to go home.

Brother McWhorter,

This thread was not one which really called for my interest - until your post.  I am now here simply to express my heart felt burden for you, my dear brother in Christ and friend in the forum.  I understand the nature of your discouragement and grief; however, I believe that you are indeed swinging too far in the "other direction."  Please understand, I do not communicate that in order to engage in any discussion or debate about it.  I have no desire to do so, for that is NOT what you need at the present time.  Rather, I simply communicate it in order to encourage you to think upon it.  On the other hand, for your sake I shall pray earnestly concerning what appears to be a deep spirit of discouragement and grief.  (If I am misreading this, I humbly and earnestly request your forgiveness.)  I pray that these words will be used of our Lord for good to the use of edifying, administering His grace unto you.
 

9 hours ago, Jim_Alaska said:

NN  we all either have been in that place, or will be in it at some time in our life. Just remember:

 Ne 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. 

Brother Jim,

I earnestly thank you for putting forth the effort to encouragement Brother McWhorter.  I pray that your words will be used of the Lord for His good purpose therein.
 

7 hours ago, (Omega) said:

Hey Bro,

I've done a lot of praying today and I believe the answer to my prayer is found in your post. You can't change someone's mind if their mind is already made up and don't plan on giving in to the TRUTH. I spent an entire hour or so on a thread where I had my refutations all laid out; but for some reason, it was that thread ALONE that I could not post a reply. I lost all the content I wrote. I can post here and elsewhere; however, I cannot post in the thread that I wanted to. Perhaps it was an epiphany that you wrote what you wrote, and the timing was PERFECT. I want to go home now too, and as a matter of fact. . .I will be going home soon because of my heart (literally). I don't consider this bad news from my physician at all. I am elated that I am going to be with the one I love the most. I agree with your observation that our time is short here on Earth, and there are a lot of souls that need to be ministered to. I am going to use the time I have left to devote all my time to the Lord. Anyway, you keep your head held up high and never lose sight of your calling.  Take care bro! Oh...and BTW, I'm going to ban you when we get to Heaven. :)

Love you bro,

Daniel

Brother Daniel,

I also earnestly thank you for putting forth this effort to encourage Brother McWhorter, and pray that the Lord will use it for His good purpose therein.  Furthermore, I pray that you will continue faithful unto the end, walking in our Lord's grace, fighting the good fight, keeping the faith, finishing your course with joy, and fulfilling the ministry unto which our Lord has called you.

[weary warrior]

NN, I am very saddened over your distress and discouragement, and humbly apologize for any part I have played in causing it. As has been said already, we've all been there, and will be there again. Thus, we can all empathize. The Lord is our comfort, and we must look to Him in all things.

Omega, I have re-read your posts above a number of times, and I see where I may have misunderstood some of the things you were saying, and took them in a way they were not intended. I apologize for this as well, and for the trouble brought about by it. I hope you will forgive me for allowing my passion and warrior's heart to cloud my judgement and common sense. It is a weakness I have to contend with continually, and have my whole life.

 

Edited February 24, 2018 by weary warrior

[No Nicolaitans]

Hi everyone...please forgive me for how my post came across. In looking over it, I can understand how it must appear.

To Bro. Scott...

Thank you. I apologize for giving the impression that I'm going too far the other way...that isn't the case. Thank you for praying.

To Bro. Jim...

Thank you for the encouragement; it's appreciated from the depths of my heart.

To Bro. Daniel (Omega)...

Thank you for the jesting that we've shared. I'm praying for you and your condition. Your attitude in this circumstance is a wonderful testimony. May the Lord give you peace and contentment through this trial.

To WW...

You had nothing to do with my post brother. I don't know why I chose your thread to say what I did...I apologize for ruining it.

~~~

When I got off from work tonight, I rode home with my window down. The weather was so nice. It was just me...enjoying God's goodness for the 20 minutes that I had alone with him.

My exasperation is deeper than what I highlighted in my post...

I'm just so tired of everything right now...things that I won't share. I just need some time to feel my Lord's love and grace while I contend with what he has allowed me to endure. He'll see me through, and I rest in him.

May the Lord bless you all.

Respectfully in Christ,

NN 

[Marilyn C]

48 minutes ago, No Nicolaitans said:

.

~~~

When I got off from work tonight, I rode home with my window down. The weather was so nice. It was just me...enjoying God's goodness for the 20 minutes that I had alone with him.

My exasperation is deeper than what I highlighted in my post...

I'm just so tired of everything right now...things that I won't share. I just need some time to feel my Lord's love and grace while I contend with what he has allowed me to endure. He'll see me through, and I rest in him.

May the Lord bless you all.

Respectfully in Christ,

NN 

Hi NN,

I`m new here but I do know what it is to ride and sense the presence of the Lord, especially on a balmy evening. Now what you say is I believe something that the Lord is highlighting across His Body. For all different reasons we are finding ourselves with a back load of stuff that needs to be addressed. The Lord would have us place them all at the cross, for we can`t fix so much of it, and really the deep pains of misunderstanding of relationships in turmoil, is too heavy for us to bear.

So, we over here in our small part of the Body are giving it again, (& again) to the Lord, and finding through the pain we are coming out on resurrection ground and with a new hope and joy in the Lord that HE is MATURING HIS BODY to completion.

in Him, Marilyn. 

Edited February 25, 2018 by Marilyn C