Do you remember the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in June of 2015? An angry white man, driven by hatred for people of color, attended a Wednesday night Bible study at the church. At the close of the meeting, he pulled out a gun and shot and killed nine of the attendees.
One of the survivors was Felicia Sanders. In her own words: "We were just about to say the prayer to be released...He caught us with our eyes closed. I never told nobody this" (italics mine).
It was while their heads were bowed, and their eyes closed, that the gunman saw the opportunity to act.
Jesus NEVER told us to bow our heads, or close our eyes. You are, of course, free to do so, but you are not commanded. It’s true that the publican did bow his head, and dared not look toward heaven. But remember, this was his posture before his conversion. This man went home “justified,” Jesus said.
Jesus' "style" was to "look up" - eyes open, head raised.
Consider these illustrations from His life…
Right before raising Lazarus from the dead, we are told that Jesus, “…looked up and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me…’” (John 11)
Luke chapter 9 tells of the miracle of feeding the thousands. Luke records that Jesus took five loaves and two fish, and then He, “…looked up to heaven and said a blessing over them...”
Mark chapter 7 tells the story of Jesus healing a deaf mute. Prior to healing Him, Mark notes that Jesus, “…looked up to heaven…”
John chapter 17 tells of a time Jesus engaged in prayer. He went off to be alone with His Father, and pray for His sheep. The opening words of John 17 are…
“…Jesus… looked toward heaven and prayed…”
In all of His teaching on prayer, He never once addressed the issue of posture, nor did He ever instruct His disciples to, “bow your heads and close your eyes…” Again - you are perfectly free to do so: you are just not required.
We do discover, however, that when Jesus was alone He might have “bowed His head.” Matthew 26 tells of His time in the garden. His heart was filled with grief. Matthew states that Jesus, “…fell with his face to the ground and prayed…” But remember: He was alone on this occasion - not surrounded by onlookers.
You need to understand something about New Testament Christianity. This is, to put it mildly, extremely important. It is this: Your Father has paid a very high price for your redemption. That price was the body and blood of His Son.
And because of that sacrifice, that price, God has made something available to us when we approach Him in prayer. He has made it possible for us to approach Him BOLDLY - with our heads held high. Not cocky or arrogant, and not because we have earned it with our good behavior. But, we can approach Him boldly by the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 4:16 clearly tells us we are to …
“…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Did you catch that word “boldly?” It literally means to have freedom in speaking; to be open or frank: to have free and fearless confidence, to have cheerful courage.
Such an approach is made possible only because of Jesus’ body and blood: His body bore our sins - and his blood washed them away.
So - in the words of an old rock n’ roll song, “Hold your head up…”
Besides, what would we “bow our head” - look toward hell - while talking to our Father in heaven - above?
As Sheepdogs, we certainly want to remember this truth. When the congregation bows its head for prayer and closes its eyes, we should be ever watchful (Matthew 26:41 Jesus says to “watch and pray”).
A church in Tennessee heard me share this and decided to make it their practice. On the second week of doing so - because their heads were up and eyes open - they witnessed a man enter the sanctuary and steal a woman’s purse. They gave chase and were able to apprehend him.
Do you remember the story of Gideon’s 300 men? He chose 300 from 10,000 applicants. The reason he chose the specific 300 was because of the way they drank the water. They drank the water in such a way that they could still keep their eyes on the battlefield. In this position, they could remain alert and unexposed - necessary qualities for a soldier.
One final thought…
The tragedy in Charleston in June 2015 was beyond despicable. The killer deeeply wounded the hearts of the dear saints in that church (and community).
But there is a story about the tragedy you need to be aware of…and you may not know about…
One of the victims was Tywanza Sanders. Tywanza stood up against the killer that night. His story is told by Church Safety Expert Carl Chinn. Watch the video.
ALSO - did you know that one of the men killed in Charleston, Daniel Simmons Sr., left his gun in the car the night he was killed? “The gun was sitting on the passenger seat of his favorite car -- in the church's parking lot.” Read story.
Quartzsite, Arizona
We have a church safety seminar in Quartzsite on Saturday, November 12.
We would love to come to your church (area) and conduct a Sheepdog Seminar. We have now done about 400 such seminars around the United States.. One attendee recently told us, “I am thankful our church hosted the seminar and can’t begin to tell you how much it opened my eyes to so much going on around us.” Contact us by email - or text “seminar” to 817.437.9693.
This is a heartbreaking story. This dear brother (photo) is Security Officer Daniel Bourne. He served at a church in Albuquerque. This past Friday night (Sept. 23), while serving at the church, he was run over and killed by a vehicle that fled the scene.
A statement from the church said, “In his retirement, he had dedicated his life to protecting our church community…” READ MORE
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HERE ARE RECENT CRIMES - MOSTLY VIOLENT - THAT HAVE OCCURRED ON CHURCH AND FAITH-BASED PROPERTY.
MICHIGAN - A pastor was alone at Palmer Road Baptist Church, doing some work on the property. A man that he did not know approached and asked if he could go inside and use the bathroom. When he came back outside he engaged the pastor in some friendly conversation. About that time a patrol car pulled up and the officer yelled “Stop right there and drop your gun.” As the suspect reached into his waistband the pastor ran one way and the suspect ran back into the church. After exchanging gunfire with the suspect who was barricaded inside he eventually was taken into custody. The incident started in Detroit where the robbery suspect eluded police.
DALLAS - a man at a church in Dallas, TX had a heart attack at church. Fortunately, a doctor was nearby as well as a defibrillator. The man lived due to the doctor doing CPR (IS YOUR CHUCH READY TO HELP A HEART ATTACK VICTIM?)
CALIFORNIA - A volunteer pastor from Santa Ana, CA suspected of attempting to arrange a sexual encounter with someone posing as a teenage girl remained behind bars Friday afternoon following his arrest over the weekend
ALABAMA - a group of churches in Huntsville, Alabama are reporting their mail being stolen on Saturdays.
MINNEAPOLIS - A burglar was caught on camera, smashing his way through a Minneapolis mosque ($50,000 IN DAMAGES)
VIRGINIA - A pastor has been charged with multiple child sex crimes, according to the Washington County, Virginia Sheriff's Office. The pastor was charged with taking indecent liberties with a child, two counts of aggravated sexual battery, and attempted object sexual penetration. THE CRIME OCCURRED AT A CHURCH EVENT...
Portland, OR: Vandals broke into St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and destroyed the stained-glass windows and spray-painted expletives and crude sexual imagery on the walls.
Baltimore, MD: A man entered Mt. Carmel Baptist Church and stole electronic equipment.
Portland, OR: Three times this past year St Paul Missionary Baptist Church has had the property used as a dumping ground for old furniture. This past week they brazenly dumped a pickup load in front of the church in the middle of the day.
Hampton, VA: Three teenage girls were arrested Sunday for firing shots into the air on the property of Community Presbyterian Church.
Clifton Forge, VA: Two men have been charged with felony breaking and entering Immanuel Baptist Church.
Dornsife, PA: About $5,000 worth of electronic equipment was stolen from Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church.
Memphis, TN: Two men are wanted for breaking into a vehicle that was left overnight in the parking lot of Greater Community Temple Church.
Bay Shore, NY: A man was found shot to death in the parking lot of the House of Prayer Church.
Saint Andrews, SC: Thieves destroyed four A/C units at Christ Fellowship Church and the replacement costs will exceed $40,000.
