Showing posts with label Umpqua Community College. Show all posts

Friday, October 9, 2015

"Prophetic Words of Hope and Encouragement Over Roseburg and Oregon" - The Elijah List

"A God-Resolution for Roseburg, Oregon"

Garris Elkins, Medford, OR

Oct. 9, 2015

The shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon has filled our hearts with sorrow. I live in Southern Oregon, and know many of the pastors and churches involved in the healing process that is now just beginning. One of these selfless servants is a young pastor who is a chaplain for the first responders. He was there when bodies of the victims were first removed from the scene. He saw things no one should ever have to see.

This week, after I talked with some of these church leaders, I needed to get away and process what I was feeling. I took a long walk along a country road and began to pray. As I walked, I felt the Lord remind me of something a young man said to me years ago. What made Christianity so appealing to him was the resolution it provided for the pain and sorrow we experience. Christianity provides resolution for the most challenging and painful things we will encounter in this world – painful events that take place without reason or explanation. Evil has no good purpose. The enemy comes only to steal, kill and destroy.

As I pondered the wisdom of this young man's words, I realized how right he was. Jesus is God's resolution for all the pain and sorrow of humanity. With Jesus the resolution for death is resurrection. The resolution for moments of deepest darkness is the brilliant revelation of truth.

The resolution available in pits of despair is hope. Each painful thing we experience has a polar opposite resolution of goodness sent by God to every grieving heart. These resolutions are something only God can provide because they are miraculous in nature.(Photo via Pixabay)

Every action of Jesus demonstrated the love of the Father. Jesus never attributed untimely death, murder or tragedy to God.

Our responsibility is to believe in God's higher reality of love when the natural evidence speaks to the contrary. Our life then becomes a response in faith to the promise of God's goodness in the midst of sorrow.

The Church is a prophetic community. We see things not yet present in our world and speak them into existence. When Paul said he desired that all of us have the ability to prophesy, he was making an invitation to every Christ-follower to live this way in every circumstance of life. Each of us has the ability to prophesy the hope of a Kingdom resolution into the pain and heartache that overwhelms our cities and our nation.

Our calling is to prophesy Heaven upon the earth. In these moments of revelation our voice becomes part of the redemptive process. Our words of resolution are not to be couched in some insensitive need to always have something to say. These prophetic resolutions must be spoken with a wisdom and tenderness that partners with a Spirit-led sense of timing.

In moments of human tragedy, God wants us to listen first for His voice before we begin to speak. Jesus modeled this for us when He spoke only what He heard the Father saying. When God begins to reveal His heart you will know it is His voice because His message will be one that, "Gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist" (Romans 4:17). His voice will carry resolution.(Photo via Pixabay)

When John shared his revelation from the Isle of Patmos he described a voice shouting a new reality from Heaven for the earth and its inhabitants, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. And the one sitting on the throne said, 'Look, I am making everything new!'" (Revelation 21:4-5).

John's words will someday be the ultimate resolution for the pain and sorrow we have seen in places like Roseburg, Oregon and in many other cities across our nation when senseless acts of evil are thrust upon its citizens.

God's resolution of goodness will be the ultimate reality for every hurting heart in every circumstance of life. Those resolutions are the message we carry. Speak them in faith and trust in the goodness of God to prevail.

Garris Elkins, Author and Prophetic Minister
Prophetic Horizons
Email: info@prophetichorizons.com
Website: garriselkins.com

Garris Elkins' ministry, Prophetic Horizons, is a ministry of teaching, writing, and prophecy committed to raising up a prophetic generation to speak to the cultures of our world with the empowered voice of Heaven. Garris and his wife, Jan, are a spiritual father and mother to many, both in the United States and abroad. They live in Medford, Oregon, where they just completed 33 years of pastoral ministry, with the last 15 years as Senior Leaders of Living Waters Church in Medford. Their ministry involves traveling, teaching, and mentoring leaders and churches. Garris and Jan have two grown children, Anna and David.

"Oregon: The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail"

Pamela Koefoed, Lakeview, OR

Oct. 9, 2015

It is written, "The gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." Matthew 16:18

A fresh wind is blowing across the state of Oregon. The Spirit of the Lord is drawing the hearts of mankind, and many will come to the House of the Lord to receive what the Father has longed to give them – the robe, ring and shoes of sonship.

The enemy intends for mass attacks to occur across the United States, but through prayer, intercession and worship that evil spirit will be hindered, and that evil spirit's larger plan will not take root. It will not take root!

Cry Out Against Injustice

The Spirit of the Lord is moving in Oregon. Old wells have been re-dug. Yet a fresh wind is beginning to blow. Revival has been the cry on many a tongue. Now watch and see how the Lord responds when you cry out to Him this year; when you cry out to Him against injustices. (Photo via Wikimedia)

He is compassionate and He will grant restitution – a move of His grace upon the hearts of young and old.

I see a time of blessing coming upon the Body of Christ and one particular group responding in very great numbers. The youth across America will rise up and possess the gates of the Lord's enemy. Their robes have been washed. A ring of authority has been placed on their hands and their feet are shod in preparation for the Gospel of peace.

The tide is changing. It's the hour of revival. But I hear in my spirit, "Who will cry out against injustices in the land, against the taking of the precious?"

The Lord is compassionate. When you cry out to Him, He will answer with restitution.

Pamela Koefoed
Ignite School of Ministries
Email: write@pamelakoefoed.com
Website: pamelakoefoed.com | igniteschool.com

During a traumatic childhood, Jesus delivered Pamela Koefoed from death’s door. Years later, she began encountering Jesus and His angels in visitations. By the power of the Holy Spirit, her ministry has demonstrated a strong and accurate prophetic anointing. Pamela ministers nationally and internationally where hundreds have experienced the healing power of God, deliverance from strongholds, and the life-infusing rhema word of the Lord. Pamela is the director of Ignite School of Ministry in Southern Oregon. She is the author of two books, Angels Appearing and JoyRide: Life, Death and Forgiveness.

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Garris Elkins, Pamela Koefoed and Michael Kroning: "Prophetic Words of Hope and Encouragement Over Roseburg and Oregon"

by Garris Elkins, Pamela Koefoed and Michael Kroning

Oct 9, 2015

From Elijah List Publications and Our Entire Staff:

Steve Shultz

Dennis Wilhelm

Julie A. Smith

As fellow Oregonians we are saddened and heart-broken by the senseless shooting tragedy that happened in Roseburg, Oregon last week at Umpqua Community College. For those who don't know, Elijah List Ministries is located in Albany, OR. about 2 hours away from Roseburg.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the families of this tragic event, the entire community and the leaders who are dealing with this firsthand. We mourn with those who mourn...

As Christians we know that our God always, always has a great plan of redemption in EVERY situation that this world faces... and so it is with Roseburg.

We are posting a special article today from authors and ministry leaders who are from the Roseburg area and Southern Oregon – Garris Elkins, Pamela Koefoed and Michael Kroning. In this article you will find words filled with hope and encouragement from the very heart of God for Roseburg and for Oregon.

These leaders have sought the Lord for words to speak over this community and our state. We pray that those in the Roseburg area would be covered in God's unlimited peace and comfort and be filled with "the God of Hope" in this difficult time.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Many blessings from the entire Elijah List Staff.

Enjoy! And thanks for forwarding this to your friends! They cansubscribe just below...

Steve Shultz, Founder and Publisher
The Elijah List & Breaking Christian News
http://www.elijahlist.com

P.S. – Oh, and a Quick Note to our readers: To have daily, encouraging prophetic emails from The Elijah List sent to your inbox, just CLICK HERE or go to: http://elijahlist.com/subscribe. PLUS: HEY! Please EXPLORE our more than 4,000 Christian Prophetic books, CDs, and gifts at: elijahshopper.com.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Urgent Crisis of the Young American Male - J. LEE GRADY

Why are so many disturbed young men in the United States carrying out massacres? (iStock photo )

The Urgent Crisis of the Young American Male

Why are so many disturbed young men in the United States carrying out massacres? (iStock photo )

Just one day before a crazed young gunman killed nine people in Oregon last week, police arrested four males who planned to go on a bloody rampage at their high school in central California. Fortunately those four juveniles are now in custody—but it doesn't lessen the pain of the families who lost loved ones in the Umpqua Community College shooting in Oregon.

What is happening? Why are so many disturbed young men in the United States carrying out massacres? Consider these four recent cases:

1. Christopher Harper-Mercer, 26, killed nine people at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, Oct. 1, 2015, using five handguns and a rifle. He killed himself after the rampage. An unemployed loner, his parents were divorced and he lived with his mother. He suffered from mental disorders, and neighbors said he sometimes paced the floor of his apartment until 4 a.m. According to posts online, he was fascinated with guns and frustrated that he didn't have a girlfriend. When he broke into a classroom last week he asked some students if they were Christians before shooting them in the head.

2. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, is an avowed white supremacist who shot and killed nine people, including a pastor, in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17, 2015. He used a .45-caliber Glock pistol. His mother left his father before he was born, and his father was later accused of abusing his second wife. A high school dropout, Dylann used drugs, showed signs of obsessive compulsive disorder and was convinced that African-Americans are taking over the world. In his online posts he talked of starting a civil war. He will stand trial in July 2016.

3. Elliot Rodger, 22, went on a bloody rampage on the University of California/Santa Barbara campus on May 23, 2014. First he stabbed three Chinese men (two of them his roommates), then he shot three students at a sorority house using three semi-automatic pistols. Then he killed himself. Coming from a divorced home, he was described by those who knew him as a loner who had been bullied in school. In a video he posted on YouTube just before his shooting spree, he said he wanted to punish women who had rejected him, and to punish sexually active males because they had a more enjoyable life.

4. Adam Lanza, 20, was responsible for storming into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, and killing 20 first-graders and six adults. He murdered his mother first, then used her rifle to shoot his victims, and then killed himself. After the incident, investigators learned that Adam suffered from numerous mental problems. He loved horror movies and was fascinated by mass killings. Adam had had a strained relationship with his father since his parents separated in 2002.

A growing number of young men—even teens—are snapping. What is causing this?

The debate rages today about gun control—and certainly a case can be made that these men should never have had access to handguns or rifles. But this dilemma can't be solved simply by stricter background checks. (Elliot Rodger, for example, stabbed three of his victims with a knife, one of them 94 times. In other cases, they used guns owned by family members.)

In the cases I've described, each young man came from a broken home marked by abuse, rejection or neglect. Each was tormented by inner demons that caused him to be fascinated with conspiracies, weapons and violence. And after each massacre, people who knew these young men said they detected that they were deeply disturbed and needed intervention.

Other factors may have played a role, including drugs, video games, violent entertainment and broken relationships. But one clear factor is mental illness and an obvious lack of support for families that struggle with this problem. A lot of young men in this country today are battling anxiety, compulsive behaviors and serious psychological problems, and we can't sit back and wait for politicians to solve this.

We need spiritual answers—and the church must step up to the plate to provide more help to people like Christopher, Dylann, Elliot and Adam before they reach the breaking point. That's why I'm grateful California Pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay (whose 27-year-old son battled depression and committed suicide in 2013), have organized a conference on mental illness that begins today. The Gathering on Mental Health and the Church will convene at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, Oct. 7-9.

"It's time to break the silence and stigma surrounding mental illness," says Kay Warren. "Every church, regardless of size or location, can be a place of refuge and love and compassion for those who need it most."

Hopefully Saddleback's willingness to apply the gospel to this taboo topic will result in a wave of healing in this country. For too long we have ignored this complicated problem—or we've deliberately swept it under the rug. The church should be the place where families go to find answers to mental illness—and not after a school massacre but before it happens.

For more information on the Gathering on Mental Health and the Church, go to mentalhealthandthechurch.com.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma and the director of The Mordecai Project. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. Check out his ministry atthemordecaiproject.org.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Classmate Saves Pastor's Daughter with His Last Breath - Oregon College Christian Murders

Classmate Saves Pastor's Daughter with His Last Breath

CBNNews.com

Tuesday, October 06, 2015

Pastor Randy Scroggins is talking about his daughter's survival and the man who saved her life during the mass shooting in Oregon in which nine were shot dead after being asked about their faith.

Scroggins, senior pastor at New Beginnings Church of God, used the pulpit Sunday to share the testimony of how, with his last breaths, Treven Anspach saved his daughter Lacey's life.

During the mass shooting, gunman Chris Harper Mercer questioned students about their religion at Umpqua Community College. Lacey, 18, later told her father that Mercer had asked one man to come to the front.

"You're the lucky one. You're not going to die today," he said.

After that Lacey heard a shot close to her and realized Anspach, had been shot and he was bleeding. Anspach started rolling toward her.

"I felt Treven's body as it moved over mine," Lacey told her father.

Lacey played dead under Anspach's body when Mercer told her to get up.

"The blood of that boy that covered my daughter saved her life," Scroggins said.

CBN News reporter George Thomas spoke with Scroggins about his daughter's experience. Listen to the clips below.

Pastor Scroggins describes how his daughter Lacey is doing today.

Pastor Scroggins retells his daughter Lacey's account of how the attack began and the killer asking a victim if he is a Christian.

Pastor Scroggins describes how his daughter Lacey prayed and prepared for death during the attack on the classroom.

Pastor Scroggins' emotional description of how Treven Anspach saved his daughter's life and his conversation with Treven's mother.

Pastor Scroggins says his daughter and his town will not be victims and encourages Christians in America not to lose faith.

Click play to watch the entire, unedited interview with Pastor Randy Scroggins as he retells his daughter Lacey's account of the shooting in Roseburg, Oregon.

Monday, October 5, 2015

Greg Laurie Points His Finger at the Devil in #IAmaChristian Massacre - Jennifer Justice

A woman kneels at a memorial to honor the victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting. (Reuters)

Greg Laurie Points His Finger at the Devil in #IAmaChristian Massacre

Join us on our podcast each weekday for an interesting story, well told, from Charisma News. Listen at charismapodcastnetwork.com.

In the wake of the travesty targeting American Christians, evangelist Greg Laurie says now is the time Christians need to stand up for their faith.

"Should we retreat and try to blend in? Should we no longer speak up for what we know is true? No, we should be even bolder and stand our ground and speak up for our faith," Laurie says. "Events like this can be frightening, I know. But remember this: each of these courageous believers were welcomed into heaven by the Lord."

Laurie penned the words in response to the Umpqua Community College shooting where Chris Harper-Mercer killed nine, allegedly for their faith.

Report after report indicates Harper-Mercer asked if the students were Christians before he pulled the trigger.

Laurie isn't the only one identifying persecution against Christians after the atrocious shooting.

"Persecution and targeting of Christians isn't just in Iran or the Middle East, it's right here in America," Franklin Graham says. "The bold souls at Umpqua Community College who stood up to say they were followers of Jesus Christ were heinously gunned down with no mercy."

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Coalition, joins both Graham and Laurie in crying out on behalf of believers being slaughtered on their own soil.

"Accordingly, as a nation, we must repudiate all religious bigotry—without exception. More than ever before, we must stand committed to protecting our God-given and constitutionally protected right of religious liberty," Rodriguez says.

While some politicians look to gun-control measures to reduce violence, both Rodriguez and Laurie point to the issue of sin as the true root of evil.

"When an event like this recent shooting takes place the question is always asked, 'Why?' Mental health and gun control solutions are usually brought up, but the one thing you rarely heard said is, 'It happened because people are evil,'" Laurie says. "Yes, just as surely as there is a God in heaven, there is a devil, who I believe is behind this persecution against followers of Jesus."

To address the atrocity, and to even prevent more, Rodriguez is adamant Christians need to stand up against sin and how its shaped America.

"The discussion should not be limited to guns, laws, rights, mental illness and prevention," Rodriguez says. "At the end of the day, our conversation must compel us all to address the issue of sin, resulting in hatred, intolerance, animosity, bigotry, apathy, complacency and murder."

With lives at stake, the issue of faith goes much deeper than embarrassment over potential disagreement, Laurie says. Rather, the threat of death should embolden us to live stronger lives for Christ.