Latest / The Gospel Briefing / Halloween Shootings, Sen. Murphy's Stroke & Election Eve
Transcript
- Six dead. Dozens wounded. Before the costumes came off. This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. Here is the question for your Monday: when violence breaks into ordinary joy, where does a Christian put his hope? Mass shootings tore through nightlife districts across the United States over Halloween weekend. At least six people are dead. Dozens more are injured. The worst was in Dallas. In the Deep Ellum neighborhood — music halls, restaurants, bars — a series of shootings Saturday night killed four and wounded fifteen. Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said investigators are still working to determine whether three separate shootings over about an hour and fifteen minutes were connected. Some arrests have been made. Police had already increased their presence in the district before the gunfire started. In Birmingham, one person was killed and eight wounded just outside Legion Field after the Magic City Classic between Alabama State and Alabama A and M. Nearly seventy thousand fans had been there. In Newark, Delaware, six people were shot near the University of Delaware. In Bloomington, Illinois, a nineteen-year-old woman was killed near Illinois Wesleyan. Six more were wounded near the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. College towns. A football classic. A nightlife strip on a holiday weekend. These were places people went to be happy. Scripture does not flinch from this. Jeremiah wrote of a people who had grown used to crying "peace, peace, when there is no peace." We cannot pretend this is normal. We also cannot pretend a verse makes it tidy. If you want to sit with Jeremiah six today, Bible Copilot can walk you through it. Developing this morning: Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy is in the hospital after suffering a stroke on Saturday. Murphy is fifty-three. According to his chief of staff, he felt numbness in his arm at his son's hockey game. He was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to Johns Hopkins. His office says he is awake, alert, and responding well. Doctors are optimistic about a full recovery. Three other Senate Democrats have had strokes in recent years, and all three are still serving. Republican senators, including Chuck Grassley and Pete Ricketts, offered prayers for Murphy over the weekend. In a bitter political season, a man collapsed at his son's hockey game, and senators across the aisle stopped to pray. James five tells us to pray for one another. Do that today for Senator Murphy and his family. Also today: President Trump is making a final campaign push through Iowa and Kansas as Republicans try to hold their congressional majority. Tomorrow is Election Day. For the first time in a generation, polling suggests Iowa — reliably red for years — is a genuine toss-up. No election outcome adds to or subtracts from the kingdom of God. Vote your conscience. Then release the result. Daniel two tells us God removes kings and sets up kings. He has not resigned that job. Pray for wisdom today before you repeat what you have heard. One practice for today: pray for the poll workers, the candidates, and the losers. This episode is presented by Bible Copilot. Today's verse comes from Second Thessalonians three, verse sixteen. Open Bible Copilot and study the Verse of the Day first — a short, powerful prayer from Paul. The app will guide you through what the passage says, what it means, what it teaches about God, and how to apply it. Three questions each day are free. Start at mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel. That's mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel, or search Bible Copilot in the App Store. Here is the verse. "Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all." At all times. In every way. Not when the headlines cooperate. Not when the election goes your way. Not when the shooter is caught. At all times. The Lord of peace himself is the giver — and he is still giving. Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. Go vote tomorrow. Pray tonight. I'll see you Wednesday.