It takes sincere belief in God to do what Valeen Schnurr did. Here is a story of real faith in God, adapted from a Denver Rocky Mountain News article based on an interview with Valeen's parents. Valeen Schnurr, an 18-year-old student at Columbine High School was studying in the library with her good friend, Lauren Townsend on Tuesday, the 20th of April, when two mass murderers attacked them. Valeen saw Lauren shot and killed. She heard the rage-filled gunman ask Cassie Bernall if she believed in God, and saw her shot dead when she answered "Yes, I believe in God." Bullets and shrapnel hit Valeen, who cried out to God. The same gunman turned to Valeen, and taunted "God!? Do you really believe in God?" Knowing full well what the consequences might be, but afraid to deny her Lord, she paused and said, "Yes, I believe in God." The gunman asked "Why?" She started to answer and crawled away under a table, bleeding. She lay under the table, holding Lauren's hand. When someone yelled "They're leaving!" Valeen tried to wake her friend, Lauren up. She tried very hard to wake her up, but her dead friend wouldn't wake up. Valeen wrapped her sweatshirt tightly around her middle to keep pressure on her wounds and prayed constantly. She made her way outside, where it took nearly an hour in the chaos to get her to a hospital. The paramedics transporting her didn't think she would live. She did live, though. After extensive surgery for nine bullet and shrapnel wounds and about a week of recovery, she came home with 4 bullets still lodged in her body. The doctors only explanation for her being alive was "divine intervention." __________________________ The Columbine High School massacres raise a lot of questions. This tragedy also brought out a lot of stories of heroism, like teacher and coach Dave Sanders, who put his own life at risk to save many students. Greater love has no man than that he lay down his life for a friend. There are stories of divine protection, like how Terry Lawson, whose mother was praying for him as a gunman pointed a gun straight at him, then just shook his head, took aim at someone else, and shot them. There are stories of giants of faith, like Cassie Bernall and Valeen Schnurr. There are others we don't know about. God has given us free will. He wants willing worshippers. God has bound Himself by His Word, in which He commanded mankind to have dominion over this creation. God loves us dearly as our Father, yet He is bound by His Word, even though all of us sin. That is why He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in our place and redeem us. We can simply accept that forgiveness and be right with God. It is God's will for everyone to be saved, but not everyone accepts His free gift by faith. God actually needs us to ask Him to intervene on Earth, lest He violate His own Word. God cannot and will not lie, so we must pray. There is a spiritual battle raging, and if you neglect your duty as a soldier in God's army to pray and take authority over situations around you for the Kingdom of God, then you are to blame for the consequences. This really cramps some religious people's brains, because they would rather just sit around and wait for God to do everything. They then make up excuses and preach them as doctrine. In the mean time, God is waiting for them to take the authority He has already given them to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, bind demons, loose angels, and even raise the dead. God is very gracious and quick to forgive, but the consequences of our actions are real. Satan knows his time is very short, and he is raging more and more, especially as he finds people who are willing to submit to his tyranny. Schools, youth, and our government are under attack. What we as Christians do in prayer, in reaching out to people in our communities and around the world, and in walking in love and harmony with each other will have a very strong effect on just how much damage our defeated foe does on his way out. What we say matters. If we judge and condemn, then expect judgement to be made manifest in physical form eventually. If we speak grace and love, then expect that to come out in physical form, as well. Therefore, let us line our words up with God's Word. And Jesus answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." -- Mark 11:22-25 (NASB) ___ Michael Paul Johnson aka Soaring Golden Eagle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://eBible.org/mpj Rocky Mountain Outpost 207 New Creation Church Jesus Christ is Lord! If Jesus came back today, would you be READY? _______ To unsubscribe, send "unsubscribe rangernet" to [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Eat the hay & spit out the sticks!" RTKB&G4JC! Autoresponder: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://rangernet.org
