TOMORROW IS SUNDAY - ARE YOU READY? BE SURE YOU HAVE “THIS”

A friend of mine was attending a safety seminar at which an FBI agent was speaking. Reference was made to the massacre that occurred in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. If you recall, 58 people were shot to death, and over 500 were wounded.

According to my friend, the FBI agent stated that of the 58 who were killed, half of them might have lived if someone had … applied a TOURNIQUET.

CONSIDER THIS - How often do we mourn the loss of someone who might have lived if someone had simply applied first aid???

I do NOT buy into the statement that you will only die “when it’s your time.” That may sell with some, but not with me.

Every day in this country, over 7000 people die. Many of them, however, would still be around if certain precautions had been taken. The diet of some forced them into an early grave, while in other cases the failure to apply first aid hastened their death.

So - fellow sheepdog - when you go to church tomorrow, serving on the safety team, will you have a TOURNIQUET … ON YOUR PERSON??

ON … YOUR … PERSON …

Notice the phrase, “on your person.” In other words, your tourniquet is not stored away in some box in a closet, but ON YOUR PERSON.

Let’s be blunt. If you do not carry a TOURNIQUET, you are saying “It will never happen here.” And if that is your attitude, and it would be if you are without a TOURNIQUET, it would probably be best if you excused yourself from serving on the safety team.

Put simply, you do NOT have the necessary mindset to serve in such a capacity.

My advice would be to have every member of the team carry at least TWO TOURNIQUETS.

When I conduct Sheepdog Seminars across the country, I usually ask the crowd, “How many of you carry a tourniquet?” If there are 200 people in the room, maybe 10 respond affirmatively. Most of them haven’t even given it a thought. Most are content with the knowledge that they are carrying a gun, so, what else does one need?

And then I ask another question, and the response always catches me off guard.

“If you have to shoot someone, will you apply a tourniquet on him?” Several nod their heads with a “no” gesture, while the others are silent.

And I stand there stunned!

Did you catch that? I am speaking to a group of men and women who profess faith in Jesus. When asked if they will make an attempt to save the life of someone who is dying right in front of them, they are NOT sure they will.

So - the answer to my question should be a resounding “YES!” Of course we will. Why? BECAUSE … WE … LOVE … JESUS.

And He did not let us die in our sins. We were “bleeding out,” and He came to our rescue, bandaged us, and kept us alive.

As a matter of fact, He did come to you in your dying, bleeding-out state, and saved your life. In Ezekiel 16:6 He says to Israel (and that includes YOU): "‘But I came by and saw you there, helplessly kicking about in your own blood. As you lay there, I said, ‘Live!’”

Yes, your Heavenly Father came to your rescue and saved your life.

Lastly, you must remember that as a member of the church safety team, the sheepdog, it is not only your job to stop violence (if possible) but to know what to do AFTER a violent incident.

You cannot (I repeat, “cannot”) allow the wounded to lie on the floor and bleed out while holding their hand and bidding them goodbye.

Instead, you must whip out your TOURNIQUET, and make every effort to save their life (I‘m assuming the reader knows that the scene must first be made safe. We cannot apply a tourniquet to a killer who still has his gun/weapon in hand).

The one who is dying before you is, in the words of Proverbs 24:11, “being led away to death.” And it is your job, your privilege, to heed what this verse tells you to do when you witness such a scene: “RESCUE those being led away to death…”

R-E-S-C-U-E…

(Could your team use some encouragement? I would love to help. Call me and I will share a quick word of encouragement with your team on Sunday morning. We can FaceTime, or you could just put me on speaker phone. I can be reached at 817.437.9693)