[Darris McNeely] On a recent Beyond Today Daily I was talking about the recent massacre in Orlando, in a nightclub over the weekend, that took the lives of forty-nine people and wounded dozens of other people. And we were trying to sort through not only who did it, but the what and more importantly, the why behind that. I have one more thought that I would like to talk about here, and that is a comment that, as a result of what I am seeing and the discussion in the wake of this massacre, America is further divided than it has been. This particular episode seems to highlight this in my mind, more than any other recent event.

I remember after 9/11, now nearly 15 years ago, that when those attacks upon America – New York and Washington – took place, and nearly 3000 people were killed, America came together it seems for a moment in prayer, in solidarity for the victims and for the cities. Even the United States Congress – all the congressmen and representatives stood on the Capitol steps, and they sang “God Bless America”. And now, with what I am seeing – the commentary and the wake of this particular massacre in Orlando – it seems like we are further divided. There’s more finger-pointing. For whatever reason, as people seek to look at the groups – the group in this case that were targeted was a gay nightclub – and so that dredges up the issue of gender equality and all of this issue that has also been prominent in the United States and frankly, dividing the country for the past year or more. Gun control gets into it, as well, because the assailant in Orlando used an assault rifle, loaded and reloaded many times in his killing. And so it brings up the issue of gun control.

People are pointing fingers back and forth, and it seems to me, again, that the level of rhetoric is even higher that it has. I’ve not yet found even among the leadership of the country, presidential candidates or the existing leadership, words that try to heal and help and bring people together and provide encouragement. There still is finger-pointing there and it becomes highly politicized as a result of that. And so we’re left with a very stark reality as we try to sort it all through, that there are more lone wolves out there who are waiting and will go beyond the radar of the FBI or other law enforcement officials because of the open society which we have in the United States. And they will rise and they will perpetrate further acts of violence such as what we saw.

That’s the unnerving reality about what is taking place. And so rather than you and I getting caught up in the politics of division, let’s seek to come together with the religion or with the faith of unity and understanding as to what is taking place. I’m drawing back to the words that we have talked about a great deal recently in the book of Habakkuk chapter 1. On our Beyond Today Live appearances that we’ve been conducting in various cities in the United States, we have been talking about the fact that it is now, the time is now, for America to wake up and to recognize what is taking place in its country on all fronts, and to turn back to God, to come to understand the purpose – the individual’s purpose for being, and to repent and return to God in a true biblical faith that is based upon truth and understanding of what our purpose in life is.

The prophet Habakkuk, in chapter 1 of Habakkuk, looked at his nation, Jerusalem and Judah, in his time, and he saw violence in the streets. And he cried out to God because of the condition of his people. He was a true prophet in that he really loved his people and he was lifting the spiritual condition of his people to God, and asking for help. And he said, “How long will I cry, O Lord, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, ‘Violence!’, and You will not save? Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; there is strife and contention arises” (Habakkuk 1:2-3). The prophet Habakkuk had the problem described perfectly there in Judea in his day, in Jerusalem. And it mirrors, unfortunately, what we are seeing in the streets of the United States right now.

He goes on in verse 4, “Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; therefore perverse judgment proceeds” (Habakkuk 1:4) The more I read this, and every time I go back to it, I feel like I’m reading the headlines coming out of our country today with events such as what happened in Orlando. And so, what I suggest that we all do is, rather than turning against each other, let’s consider turning to God. Let’s not be divided by politics and by hate. Let’s draw together, let’s unite behind the truth of God and an understanding of exactly what is happening in our world today, in the United States, based upon the understanding that God gives us in the Bible from prophecy and from His revealed word.

The time is now, and it has never been better, for all of us to come to that understanding and to come together in repentance before God. Do that, and we’re on a path to understanding better what has taken place and the why.

That’s BT Daily. Join us next time.