We have just witnessed another horrific example of how depraved man is. A lone gunman walks into a bar and opens fire. When it is over, fifty people are dead, and more than that number are wounded. Our prayers go out to the families of those who were murdered, and to those who survived. Our prayer is that they will find their peace in Jesus Christ.

And now, all the questions begin to emerge. Why? Why do horrible things like this happen? What would motivate someone to carry out such a despicable act? How could someone have such a calloused heart? And, of course, the one on the top of everyone’s list: Why didn’t God prevent this from happening? And the list of questions goes on and on.

There are those who will try to politicize this awful act of terror. Those on the left politically will call it a hate crime, and use it to espouse their views on stricter gun laws. Those on the right will call it an act of terror, and will use it to further their agenda of stricter laws on immigration.

What I would like to hear representatives from either side of the political spectrum say is this. Within the heart and soul of every human being is the potential of committing all manner of evil. Most never will, but some do, as we have seen once again.

We might look at this act of terror and buy into the anti-Muslim propaganda which would have us believe that every individual adherent to the Islamic religion is bent on the destruction of everyone who disagrees with them. I realize that there are passages in the Koran which clearly stipulate acts of Jihad against all infidels (any non-Muslim). And I realize that history will bear out the truth of sheer hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims. But, I also believe firmly that those perpetrators of this sort of wickedness are part of the radical wing of Islam that has become known as ISIS.

Now, having stated the obvious, let me turn to what may not be quite so obvious. It may come as a shock to some, but these acts of terror are clearly spoken of in the Bible. Jesus warned that there would come the day in which men’s hearts would become hard, cold, and calloused. He stated that there would be those who would actually think they were doing the will of God by wantonly killing others. Clearly, this is the belief of radical Islam. They strongly believe they are doing the will of Allah in killing anyone and everyone who does not adhere to their religious belief. This includes all who are deemed infidels by Islamic belief, which, in essence, is everyone who is non-Muslim.

Please understand that I am not in any way justifying the actions of those who would carry out such horrific acts of terror. I am not! I am simply stating that for the student of the word of God, these acts of terror should not cause us to doubt God, or lose our faith. Rather, it should give us more confidence in the accuracy of the word of God as we see clearly that Jesus revealed these things would happen long before they occurred.

Some will see this act of terrorism as an obvious judgment of God against the homosexual community in America. However, there is a much larger scope of this event. We should not see it as an act of judgment against any one segment of our society, but as an act of divine judgment against a nation that has turned its back on God. We should understand that this is probably a harbinger of things to come. The only hope we have is for this nation to turn back to God in a spirit of sincere confession of our sin, both corporately and individually.

Let me close by once again appealing to every believer in Jesus Christ to unite our hearts and spirits in prayer for those personally affected by this act of terrorism. Let’s pray for healing, physical and spiritual, for those who were wounded. Let’s pray for God’s grace of salvation to be experienced by those who see from this event that life is brief, and that our greatest need as humans is to be prepared for our own impending death. This is accomplished by turning by faith and repentance to the only One who can provide forgiveness, hope, and comfort.