Guns should be allowed for self-defense and deterrence, but this won’t stop crime or other ills in society. These come from the sin in peoples hearts and minds. Only God through His
Son Jesus Christ can change hearts, heal minds, and set people free from sin. When people receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of them, and they become a new creation. In Isaiah 42:7, God promises that Jesus will open blind eyes and set the captives free. Romans 12:2 says that believers in Jesus can be transformed by the renewing of their mind. Jesus can set people free from mental and physical slavery to drink as well as criminal behavior. Once again, we need a nation-wide spiritual awakening to bring many to Jesus. One of the many we have had in the past was the Fulton Street Revival from 1857 to 1860 which started in New York. Per the book “Reformation to Revival” by Matthew Backholer, the revival spread across the nation and an estimated 1 million souls came to receive Jesus.
The revival sparked a decrease in crime at the time. In Brownsville, Florida, revival broke out from 1995-2000. Millions from around the world came to hear about Jesus and believe in Him. People were healed and delivered. One result was that several bar owners admitted to a pastor that half of their patrons were now frequenting church pews instead of their bars. Since Jesus came to earth 2000 years ago, millions of people have received Him, and their lives have been changed forever. Just go to most churches and many there can tell you how Jesus has set them from addiction, crime and other sins that afflicted them. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. He is the answer!
Here is a song by John Elefante called “Where have the old days gone?” This is a rocker (warning!), but I thought it was appropriate for the topic. You can listen to the MP3 below. Enjoy!
I remember me and my friends playing in the schoolyard
Playing silly games, making up the rules
Then I would walk on home all by myself
‘Cause back then we didn’t worry about no strangers
I would get to my house, there were no locked doors
Never worried about freaks or predators hangin’ around
We fought with our fists, nobody pulled a gun
Just get a bloody nose and take off and run
But nowadays everything has changed
Violence everywhere, a state of disrepair
Tell me, where have the old days gone?
Can we bring ‘em back where they belong?
It wouldn’t take too long
It’s easy to see where we went wrong
We sat around playing records with our friends next door
And the only one rappin’ was the local store
And now we turn on the news and the world’s on fire
And if we wanna be safe, we need the One much higher
Tell me, where have the old days gone?
Can we bring ‘em back where they belong?
It wouldn’t take too long
It’s easy to see where we went wrong
We let Him down, but He never went away
Let’s bring back the Son and seize the day
Oh, and I’m telling you how it used to be
We would pray out in the open without a legal fee
So tell me, where have the old days gone?
Can we bring ‘em back where they belong?
It wouldn’t take too long
It’s easy to see where we went wrong
We let Him down, but He never went away
Let’s bring back the Son and seize the day
It wouldn’t take too long
It’s easy to see where we went wrong
We let Him down, but He never went away
Let’s bring back the Son and seize the day
