He didn’t know me. We met once, but he wouldn’t have remembered. But I remembered because he was one of my heroes. I thought highly of his teaching and his ministry. He once spoke at our church…but that was before I was here. His dad, Jack MacArthur, was the pastor of Des Plaines Bible Church back in the late 70s and he brought in John, who was already a well-known radio preacher at the time.

The Camp Mystic tragedy in Texas is heartbreaking. I can’t imagine what the parents of the lost girls are going through. On top of that, you hear of first responders hearing cries and screams from children they were not able to reach and save.

We can’t help but ask, “How could God do something like this?”

Last Saturday a few friends and I flew to Eau Claire, Wisconsin for an air show featuring The Blue Angels. I had not seen them since I was a kid. I’ve seen a lot of air show aerobatics, but nothing compares to The Blue Angels. The precision they fly with is unmatched in the world. Flying as close as 12 inches from each other at over 400 mph in their most harrowing demonstration…it’s thrilling to say the least. I was in awe of the technology of the F18 Super Hornets, and especially the skill of those flying them.

A fifty-one-year-old widow in Oklahoma City was diagnosed with a terminal illness and told that she had just a year to live. She had saved up money during her life and decided that over her last year, she would spend as much as possible to find a year of happiness.

We can’t ignore questions like this. Everyone is talking about it. It’s all over the news. Coworkers are making comments. Family members too.

It’s actually an age-old question that takes us deep into our Christian roots. Genuine followers of Jesus have always struggled with the morality of warfare. It seems to fly in the face of Jesus’ teaching.

But then what do we do in this fallen world with massive injustice, genocide, and the threat of encroaching armies?

The ragged Bible and meticulous notes belong to Moussa. I can’t post a picture of his face because of threats from his government.

Let me back up.

Twenty years ago, Samba was the first in his people group in Mauritania to become a Christian.