Heavy, Deep & Real ministries

By now you all know about the flash flood in Texas that killed 109 people at this writing with dozens still missing. Among the dead are scores of children who were attending a Christian camp that was overwhelmed by the rising water.

I have to say that even a crass old cynic like me was shocked reading some of the social media posts after the reports of the Camp Mystic losses. The first person to go viral was Sade Perkin who is a non-resident fellow at Princeton. In her rant she admits she is going to get “cancelled” for saying what she’s about to say and the goes off the rails saying that Camp Mystic was just for white conservative girls (false) and if the kids had been Hispanic nobody would care (also false). Then she blamed the grieving parents of these dead kids of being responsible for deporting illegal immigrants. Unhinged.

Cindy Steinburg @Rad_Reflections wrote, “F#%! THESE WHITE KIDS. I’m glad there are a few less colonizers in the world now and I don’t care whose bootlicking fragile ego that offends. White kids are just future fascists we need more floods in these inbred sun down (sic) towns.”

Houston, TX pediatrician Dr. Christina Propst has been FIRED after facing mass backlash for posting that the 80+ Texas flood victims, including children, were Trump supporters who “got what they voted for.”

Someone with the tag @juca_pz said, “Texas deserves every flood god has spoken and it (sic) hates Texas.”

Samurai_Barbie @GagaNikita wrote, “Cry Harder, Texas deserves it.”

@MikeBatt99 wrote, “Good, I’m glad! Did it take rogan (sic) with it too? I can only hope…Hahahaha my empathy for these red redneck reject states is ZERO. SO f#%! em (sic). I hope more come. Let’s start the hurricanes.”

There are literally hundreds more like this. I’ve seen a response that called these people “Morally bankrupt,” but one woman was more accurate when she called this “Demonic.”

I don’t know if that woman understood what she was saying or just using that word as the strongest she could think of at the time. However, she is absolutely correct – this stuff is actually DEMONIC!

What I mean by that is people are being blinded to the truth of God and are instead unwittingly (or worse wittingly!) being led by Satan and his demons.

Let me clarify this theologically!

Demons cannot make you do anything. What they can do is entice you to act on your already sinful thoughts and feelings by fanning the flames of those thoughts and feelings to the point where you rebel against God and act out.

Jesus’ brother said it best in James 1:13-15, “13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (Emphasis added)

When asked, most people will say they are good people. That is both theologically and demonstrably wrong. We are fallen, sinful people who fight against our flesh every moment of the day. We are dragged away by our own evil desires – the heart is deceitful above all things, who can understand it? – and then enticed by Satan who turns that small flame into a raging inferno.

These people who say horrific things about dead children have a dead and evil heart. They don’t know the love of God and are blinded to their condition and their need for Jesus. At this stage should they die they are going to hell because the clearly have not accepted the gift of salvation by confessing their sins, repenting and embracing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. My prayer is they figure this out before they die – as Christians we want nobody to go to hell!! However, Satan is alive and well out there right now.

While some people may be blinded to all this and just acting out in really atrocious ways, there are others that have eagerly embraced evil. A woman on Instagram wore a hat that said, “Make Abortion Great Again” as if killing children is a great thing to do! Just plain evil. Anyone that cheers the death of little children in a flood is simply an evil person – they know what they are saying and expressing what they believe!

Demonic influence is everywhere but it’s been everywhere since the Garden of Eden. Demonic influence is not new. What seems to be new is two things in my mind. First, the level at which demonic influence is actually embraced by the culture. Second, how quiet the church is about demonic influence, too afraid to be attacked by the culture to speak up against the rising tide of demonic influence.

So, how do we know that something is demonically influenced? That’s an easy one: Read your Bible! If it goes against God’s word it’s demonic!

Wait, Tom, are you saying that if someone’s an atheist they’re actually demonic? Yes, demonically influenced – blinded by Satan – conditioned to do Satan’s work in this world. Absolutely.

But they seem so nice!

Yes, they do! I have a number of atheist and agnostic friends who seem really nice. Until you talk with them about God’s absolute law – the moral law – and then you see that they choose the side of evil quite quickly.

We are told in Ephesians 6 that our battle is not against flesh or blood but against dark forces. That is why I don’t really get angry with atheists, agnostics, or others. They are just pawns in the game. I do get angry with their actions, however, and believe they need to be held to account. Some of my unbiblical friends say the craziest stuff on their social media. At times I chime in. Other times I remember that old saw about not wrestling a pig in the mud because all that happens is the pig enjoys it and you get dirty.

Look around my friends, Satan is everywhere! His demons are influencing the culture, division, disunity, hate, vice, crime, and more. They influence society turning a blind eye to immorality and violence while influencing the mob to embrace and normalize what God clearly calls sin!

Looking to see where demonic influence lies? Open the Internet. Drive down your local main drag. Walk into a store and listen to the conversations. And if you’re brave enough tune into the talking heads on TV and podcasts!

Yet – God!

As the world turns more dark (which I believe it is) we in the church are to be a light that draws people to Jesus. We pray for those making outrageous statements because their hearts are cold and evil is in their lives. We continue to be an example of love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in our spheres of influence whether they be in person or in our social media feeds. And we call out evil when we see it and not allow it to be normalized. It’s not unloving to correct someone who is out of bounds.

Personally, I’m praying for the families who have lost loved ones. We know that all children go to heaven (in that they are innocent before the age of accountability) so we can take comfort knowing these kids are in the arms of Jesus. But the families are torn apart and need our prayers and our willingness to stand up against the demonic influences that would spew hate in a time of tragedy.