Relatives of a school teacher shot dead by her husband in a San Bernardino, California, classroom have told investigators the slaying capped a brief, turbulent marriage and breakup marked by accusations of infidelity and threats, police said on Tuesday.

Police also revealed that surveillance video showed the shooter initially had tried to get into the school through a locked door, forcing him to gain entry instead by way of the front office, where he signed in and was allowed free access to the classroom by staff who recognized him.

School employees, however, were apparently unaware of the marital discord believed to have led the gunman, an unemployed former pastor and maintenance worker, to fatally shoot his estranged wife, Karen Elaine Smith, and an 8-year-old student in front of their class before reloading his revolver and killing himself.

The slain student and another boy hit by gunfire happened to be just behind Smith and were believed to be unintentional victims. The second child, aged 9, though badly wounded, was expected to survive. He remained hospitalized on Tuesday.

Later on Tuesday, the Mexican government confirmed in a statement that the deceased student was a Mexican national and that it “profoundly laments” his killing.

The shooting at North Park Elementary, the latest of dozens of U.S. schools traumatized by armed intruders in recent years, reopened debate about what educators can do to safeguard students against mounting gun violence.

It was especially wrenching for San Bernardino, the “Inland Empire” town about 65 miles east of Los Angeles where a shooting rampage 15 months ago left 14 people dead and more than 20 wounded at an office holiday party.

Unlike the 2015 massacre, carried out by a radicalized Muslim couple in what authorities described as an act of terrorism, police said the latest shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute between the suspect and his wife.

Brief, Stormy Marriage

Monday’s gunman was identified as 53-year-old Cedric Anderson of nearby Riverside, who according to police had a criminal record that included four past arrests, most recently in 2013 on assault and weapons charges. But he was never convicted, Police Chief Jarrod Burguan told reporters on Tuesday.

Burguan said it was unclear whether that arrest had anything to do with Anderson’s wife, also 53.

The couple had known each other for more than four years and were married in January. But Smith moved out of their home in mid-March amid domestic strife, Burguan said.

According to interviews with her family, Anderson had accused his wife of infidelity, the chief said. He said Smith also had confided to relatives that she was concerned about his “odd” behavior and that “he had made some threats toward her.”

Burguan did not elaborate except to say there was no “specific threat to shoot her.”

“It appears that he had been making efforts to contact her and have her come back home, and she was resistant to that. And I don’t know if that just reached the boiling point or what it was. Nor do we know exactly why he chose to do this at the school,” the chief said.

Burguan said Anderson, who had shown his identification to school employees in the front office before being allowed in to her class unescorted, kept his weapon concealed until opening fire without saying a word.

Fifteen special-needs students and two adult teacher assistants were in the classroom with Smith during the attack, in which 10 shots were fired, police said.

No suicide note as such was found. But detectives turned up a handwritten letter at Anderson’s home in which he wrote about “the relationship and fixing things, and it also made reference to feeling dishonored, and moving forward,” Burguan said. Still, there was nothing inherently alarming about the letter’s language, he said. {eoa}

God made a declaration about Job that every child of God should hope He will make about them.

God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, who fears God, and avoids evil” (Job 1:8, 2:3).

What an amazing description of a man of God by the Almighty.

What about you? What does God say about you?

If you are a born-again child of God, redeemed through the blood of the Lamb, He has made a divine fiat declaring you to be justified (just-as-if-you-had-never-sinned). “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

He has proclaimed that you are “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:4-5). “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Because that is who you are, there are four principles found in the Book of Job that are significant to your life.

They are especially significant when facing a crisis or when going through a season of pain and suffering.

1. Your enemy is finite.  An important principle about Satan if found in the first two chapters of Job. Yes, it is the same fallen angel who led a rebellion in heaven against God, before mankind was created.

We discover he spends his time walking back and forth across the earth looking for people he can attack. This tells us something very important about our enemy.

He is finite. He cannot be everywhere at one time. He is not all powerful and he doesn’t know everything. He can only know those facts he has learned. The Lord Jesus Christ said about our enemy, “I saw Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Look, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you.”(Luke 10:18-19).

As great as your enemy may be and though he continually makes accusations against you, he does not have the power to conquer you. Jesus Christ has defeated him and you hold authority over him.

2. God knows who you are. We learn an important principle about God in these same two chapters of Job. He is intimately acquainted with every human being.

Just as Lucifer is walking back and forth across the earth to attack and torment the human race; God, who is infinite, everywhere at one time, all knowing and all powerful, is watching over the people of the earth, especially the righteous ones who are His children.

2 Chronicles 16:9a says, “For the eyes of the Lord move about on all the earth to strengthen the heart that is completely toward Him.”

4. You are protected. We also learn an important principle about those who are the children of God. Lucifer complains to God in Job 1:10, “Has Job feared God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

Not only are the eyes of God fixed upon the righteous one, He has surrounded them with His divine protection.

“He who dwells in the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust” (Ps. 91:1-2).

A child of God is never at the mercy of their enemy. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6) under the care and protection of Almighty God.

4. Suffering doesn’t mean you’ve sinned. The fourth principle we learn is about going through a crisis and about suffering.

Job was a righteous man of God, and he came under the attack of the enemy. The Apostle Paul assured us, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; and always carrying around in the body the death of the Lord Jesus, that also the life of Jesus might be expressed in our bodies.” (2 Cor. 4:8-10).

The righteous experience crisis and suffering just as do the unrighteous only with a different purpose and a different outcome.

In the same way, the unrighteous will experience the goodness of God and prosperity, Jesus said heavenly Father makes the sun to rise on the evil and the good and make the rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45), only with a very different outcome.

Proverbs 13:22, “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (righteous).”

When the righteous are suffering and going through a crisis, that does not mean they are rebellious or have secret sin in their life.

When a child of God chooses to disobey God and sin, of course they will experience the consequences of their actions. But it should not be automatically assumed that is the case when a child of God is in crisis.

More than likely, they are suffering for righteousness’ sake. The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be very glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in this manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you'” (Matt. 5:10-12). 

The child of God should not assume that He is punishing them.

The enemy will fill their mind and emotions with condemnation. They must forcefully renounce those thoughts and emotions and replace them with the truth of who they are “in Christ Jesus;” boldly proclaiming they are the righteousness of God, holy and without blame.

Even after Lucifer made a severe attack upon Job and his family, God declared, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and an upright man, who fears God and avoids evil? He still holds fast his integrity” (Job 2:3b).

Job is a blameless and righteous man, yet he is in crisis and suffering. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, his son in the ministry, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim. 3:12).

Be assured, in all of these things, the Lord God, Jesus Christ, is not against you.

He has not put these things on you. He is your refuge, your fortress, your shelter in the time of storm. In all of these things, you are more than a conquer.

Choose to not allow pain, suffering and crisis to determine your day, your future or your identity.

You are the redeemed child of God.

You are a king and priest unto your God.

You know who you are in Jesus Christ.

Make that your identity and your declaration.

Dr. F. Dean Hackett has served in full-time Christian ministry since October 1971. He has ministered throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, serving as pastor, conference speaker and mentor. He has planted four churches, assisted in planting 15 others, and currently serves as lead pastor of Living Faith Church in Hermiston, Oregon. Dr. Hackett founded Spirit Life Ministries International in 2001 to facilitate ministries in Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina and to open a training center for workers in those nations. You can find him at F. Dean Hackett – Foundational, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Students at a British university have been told they will be marked down in essays unless they use gender-neutral pronouns.

Undergraduates in the School of Social Sciences at the University of Hull have been told that if they do not use “gender-sensitive” language, it will have an “impact on their mark”.

While other universities already advise students to use ‘gender-neutral’ language, Hull is the first to penalize students for not doing this. 

‘Will impact your mark’

The news emerged as a result of a document obtained by The Times via a Freedom of Information request.

The document, from a course on religious activism, says: “Language is important and highly symbolic. In your essay, I thus expect you to be aware of the powerful and symbolic nature of language and use gender-sensitive formulations. Failure to use gender-sensitive language will impact your mark.”

A senior lecturer in religion at the university said: “Should any student use language which is not deemed gender-neutral, they will be offered feedback as to why. Deduction of marks is taken on a case-by-case basis.” 

Gender-neutral equivalents

Other universities already advise students not to use masculine pronouns such as ‘he’, ‘his’ and ‘him’ if the person referred to could be either male or female. They are told to use “he or she,” “she/he” or “they.”

Cardiff Metropolitan University includes a “gender-neutral term” checklist, giving alternatives for 34 words or phrases.

It includes equivalents for common phrases such as “best man for the job,” “mankind” or “waitress.”

‘Pettifogging’

Commenting on the news, Professor Alan Smithers, director of the center for education and employment research at Buckingham University, said: “Malcolm Bradbury satirized it brilliantly in the 1970s in The History Man where an examiners’ meeting could not get underway until it had agreed on whether to call the chairman Mr. Chairperson,” he said.

“That was more than 40 years ago, and by now, we should have grown beyond this pettifogging.” {eoa}

The most headline-grabbing observance of Women’s History Month last month may have been “A Day Without a Woman.”

On March 8, the feminist-led event marked International Women’s Day by staging “a demonstration of economic solidarity” in which women were encouraged to take the day off, avoid shopping, and wear red.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department participated in two events last month that highlighted the achievements, challenges, and real needs of women around the globe in a more serious and constructive way.

Ambassador Nikki Haley, permanent representative of the United States to the United Nations, led the U.S. delegation to the annual meeting of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women, which this year discussed the priority theme of women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.

Much of the outcome document—which acts as an exhortation, and is not binding on member states—discussed issues of tangible importance to women and girls across the world in achieving greater economic empowerment.

The specific issues included education, access to resources and investments, juggling family and childcare needs, recognizing unpaid care and domestic work and ending discrimination, harassment and violence against women and girls.

The consensus document that finally emerged at the end of the meeting yielded far better language affirming human dignity than in recent years, thanks in part to U.S. leadership.

Additionally, the U.S. made a statement confirming the U.S. position that the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action documents, which the commission references every year, “do not create new international rights, including any ‘right’ to abortion.”

The statement also reminded the world that the U.S. does “not recognize abortion as a method of family planning, nor … support abortion in our reproductive health assistance,” while the U.S. remains “the largest donor of bilateral reproductive health and family planning assistance” in the world.

These statements serve as good reminders that being genuinely pro-woman is consistent with being pro-life. It also recognizes that women’s diverse needs and goals should not be reduced solely to matters of sexuality and fertility.

To that end, the State Department last week showcased 13 exceptional women from around the world at the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Awards.

These women of diverse race, religion, nationality and age each exemplified courage, bravery, perseverance and personal sacrifice in enduring and overcoming the many challenges they faced.

For example, Sister Carolin Tahhan Fachakh, a Syrian Catholic nun, risks her life daily to run a nursery school in war-torn Damascus for Muslim and Christian children and a tailoring workshop for displaced women of both faiths.

Natalia Ponce de Leon survived an acid attack at the hand of a stalker and has since worked to promote legal and medical reforms in Colombia to benefit other victims.

In her comments at the ceremony, she spoke about the importance of forgiveness and gave a powerful testimony to the personal growth that she has experienced as a result of overcoming her tragedy.

As first lady Melania Trump, who presented the awards, said, “We must continue to stand together with the steadfast goal of making our world safer through acts of collaborative and individual bravery. As we all know, wherever women are diminished, the entire world is diminished with them.”

These events are an encouraging sign of direction under the new administration, which would do well to seek to advance women’s empowerment at home and abroad by championing freedom, equality under the law, and respect for human rights through the pursuit of policies that are pro-life, pro-family and ultimately pro-woman.

As the International Women of Courage awardees’ inspiring stories of striving for justice, peace, equality and accountability illustrate, women’s concerns cannot be reduced to sexual and reproductive rights. {eoa}

Grace Melton is an associate for social issues at the United Nations.

This article was originally published at . Used with permission.

It’s a mistake for leaders to focus on the mistakes of their teams.

At one time or another, we all work for a mistake hound. There can be 20 points of progress made in a day, but the nose of the hound will sniff out one mistake with laser-beam focus.  

The last question we should ask is “Who did this?” The first question asked should be “Did we follow our checklists and systems?”

The minor point is that a mistake was made. The major point is that we discovered an Achilles heel in our system. We simply need to improve that system prior to the next project launch.

We need to hold systems meetings after a blunder. We don’t need to schedule beatings and public floggings. Our focus must be people over process.  We must not damage people in the quest for improved processes.

When we improve a process, we improve our people. A checklist brings peace of mind. Our coaching should be based on the processes listed on the checklist.  

In the face of an oops, effective leaders show remarkable restraint. The most satisfying response for a leader would be to throw a hissy fit and make everyone on the team feel bad about the mistake. A leader with influence won’t be doing a happy dance about the mistake, but the focus will be directed at system review. The leader will also bolster the self-image of everyone who touched the error.

The strength of a leader must not be on the bellow but rather, the mellow.  

Yes, we want our team to own their mistakes. But ownership is equated with a systems check. The blame game has no winners.

Cindy Jacobs prophesied America’s healing while talking to televangelist Jim Bakker recently.  

“It’s a new change and a time we feel we’ve been rescued, basically,” Jacobs says. “We’re hearing the Lord, you know, we met with a group of prophets, saying it’s a breakthrough year. And this is the year the breaker is going before us. And we know that is happening.” 

Watch the video to see more. 

{eoa}

If you didn’t get enough of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) traveling around the country in 2015 and 2016, perhaps you’ll get your fill sometime this year.

The Democratic Party’s also-ran in last year’s presidential primary contest with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is up for re-election in 2018. But rather than spend the current Easter recess visiting with his constituents, he announced Tuesday that he’s going back on the national stump:

With Trump’s election, we live in a pivotal moment in American history. This country will either move in the direction of an authoritarian government where the rich get richer and everyone else gets poorer, or we will successfully fight back and build a strong grassroots movement to create a government which represents all of us, not just Donald Trump and others in the billionaire class.

That’s the struggle we now face. No one can sit on the sidelines. Not now. The only way we win is when we stand together and fight back. I need your help to do that.

The bad news is that Trump’s agenda—huge tax breaks for billionaires, enormous increases in military spending, massive cuts in health care and programs that protect the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor, horrific attacks on environmental protection and scapegoating the immigrant community—constitutes the most reactionary set of policies in the modern history of our country.

The good news is that the resistance to this extremist Trump/Republican agenda is growing rapidly. We saw that as millions participated in the Women’s March in January. We saw that as hundreds of thousands attended rallies and town meetings in February and March to successfully defeat the Republican effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and throw 24 million Americans off of their health insurance. We are seeing that now as people across the country are mobilizing for Green Day events to take on the fossil fuel industry, combat climate change and transform our energy system to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

When we launched our presidential campaign two years ago, I told you that victory would require the active participation of millions of Americans in every community across the country. That it would require nothing short of a political revolution to combat the demoralization so many feel about the political process. That’s what I believed then. That’s what I believe now. And that’s what I am attempting to do.

During the last several months, I have visited a number of states where Donald Trump won. My message: Working people must not support a president and a party beholden to powerful special interests and the top 1 percent. We cannot support a party that wants to divide us up by race, gender, religion, national origin or sexual orientation.

I was in Wisconsin where progressives are determined to overcome the Trump victory in that state and elect candidates who, in 2018, will stand with working people and not the 1 percent. I was in Kansas where, in one of the most conservative states in the country, over 5,000 people attended a progressive rally in Topeka. I was in Mississippi, a state today heavily dominated by the Republican Party, where brave workers in the auto industry are fighting for a union. I was in West Virginia, where Trump won a landslide victory, but where many people are beginning to rethink the wisdom of that decision.

And next week I am going back on the road, visiting areas of the country often ignored by Democrats. I will be in Maine, Kentucky, Florida, Nevada, Nebraska, Utah and Arizona. I will be talking about the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we face and the need for the rich to start paying their fair share of taxes. I will discuss the Medicare-for-all, single-payer legislation that I will soon be introducing. I will urge people to join the Fight for $15 minimum wage struggle to make sure all Americans enjoy a living wage. I will ask people across the country to help us create millions of jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. I will explain the need to aggressively move forward for comprehensive immigration reform and why we must immediately fix our broken criminal justice system.

But, he says, he can’t do it alone. He needs his large, now national, base of supporters to kick in some cash to pay his expenses, and the email in which he announced his intention to travel around the country and obtained by Charisma Caucus, in fact, is a fundraising letter in which he asks each recipient to cough up $27 each for his campaign. {eoa}

Often believers are discouraged because their prayers seem unanswered. But God has graciously enlightened us concerning effective prayers. James assures us that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplish much” (James 5:16). Jesus instructed His disciples, “whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24). The writer of Hebrews penned the invitation for God’s children to “come with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Therefore, it is evident that God desires to answer prayers.

Instead of responding with discouragement when prayers are delayed or unanswered, we can benefit from observing the gardener’s meticulous and consistent approach as he or she cultivates the seeds they have planted. Nurture your prayers with regular increments of faith (James 1:6, 7), persistence (Luke 18:1), and obedience (John 15:7) all the while uprooting weeds of doubt and rebellion.

Faith and persistence are well-known practices that result in answered prayers. An often-ignored yet equally important factor is obedience to the Word of God. Obedience to Scriptures brings transformation and greater propensity to pray God’s will. James emphasizes that praying with wrong motives yields zero result (James 4:3) while John affirms the believer’s confidence in answered prayer when praying according to God’s will (1 John 5:14).

God answers prayers for His glory and not merely for the individual’s comfort.

SOS-type prayers seem to be readily answered. One morning while driving in busy traffic I sensed the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray for the traffic, so I simply began to pray for safety for motorists. Less than five minutes later, an SUV heading in the opposite direction lost control, jumped the median and headed toward the driver’s side of my vehicle. I called out with intensity, “Jesus!” It was enough! The SUV stopped abruptly only a few inches away from me.

At other times, like Daniel, we may experience delay in an answer to prayer (Daniel 10:12-13). Delay in itself is not an indicator of God’s decision (if we are living according to biblical standards). The delay should motivate us to persevere in prayer, anchor our request on the promises of the Word of God and develop deeper trust and faith in God. I continued to pray for the salvation of my sister for 40 years. Without notice, she and her husband both received Christ as their Savior. Both have completed INSTE Level I discipleship training and now serve in their church.

Isaiah reminds us that God’s ways and thoughts are vastly different from ours (Is. 55:8, 9). A point to bear in mind is that God answers prayers for His glory and not merely for the individual’s comfort. Paul is a prime example of a devoted Christ follower who suffered all manner of evil including ill health, persecution, poverty and assaults. Yet he demonstrated unwavering faith and trusted God’s grace (2 Cor. 4:7-11; 2 Cor. 12:7-10). God’s lack of response to prayer does not diminish His love and compassion for us. Rather, God’s loving eyes and heart are ever on His children to do good to those that walk uprightly and are pursuing His purposes.

So just like the attentive gardener, carefully nurture your prayers as you would seeds planted in the ground. Anchor those prayers on God’s promises, offer them from a cleansed heart, water them with large doses of faith and perseverance and be careful to remove weeds and pests of doubt and discouragement. Finally, remain expectant for God’s answers. The gardener plants seed for its fruit. {eoa}

Reprinted with permission from The Message by Open Bible. Rev. Dyrie Francis, the associate pastor of Living Word Open Bible Church in Cooper City, Florida, is the Southeast Region Prayer Coordinator.

The chaos that erupted on a United Airlines flight yesterday should never have happened.

I was in the vicinity of two unfortunate United Airline situations over the past week.

First, I was on my way to preach at the Strike the Match Conference in Melfort, Saskatchewan, Canada last Thursday. My flight from Chicago to Toronto was delayed most probably due to a fake bomb threat on a Toronto to Chicago flight earlier in the day.

Second, I was at O’Hare International Airport again, this time on my way back from the conference recently (which, by the way, was an electric and supernatural explosion of Holy Spirit power) —the same day passenger David Dao was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight.

The police never should have been called. David never should have been dragged off the airplane. He never should have been bloodied or knocked unconscious. This never should have become a trending story on social media.

David Dao should have obeyed the directive to walk off the plane.

I have to admit, I am disturbed at the number of Christians who are knee-jerk reacting against United Airlines and in favor of the unruly passenger. While the police may have possibly employed regrettable actions, the airline was acting within their rights, just as they do many times a day in similar situations. Submission to authority is an elementary level truth for believers. David Dao and every one of the nearly 1 billion air travelers in the United States agree to very clear, non-negotiable terms when they buy their ticket. The Contract of Carriage allows airlines to remove and rebook passengers.

Complaining, refusing to comply and rejecting the directives of our authorities is ungodly behavior. Period. David may or may not be a believer, but Christians, you should know better.

Do all things without murmuring and disputing, that you may be blameless and harmless, sons of God, without fault, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world (Phil. 2:14-15).

Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You hurt Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your eyes, that You lay the burden of all this people on me?” (Num. 11:11).

My United Airlines Experience

Everybody who travels by air is well aware of the fact that there is a chance you won’t make it on time. My trip to Canada and back was negatively impacted both directions. I was exhausted in both instances and easily could have been grumpy and unreasonable with the decision-makers who were putting stress on my journey.

Two flights were delayed on the way to Canada, and air traffic control issues forced the cancellation of my flight from Chicago to home last night. I missed my daughter’s birthday because of it. Plus, the airline only paid half of my hotel. I’m out at least $160 for hotel, food, toiletries and so on. Guess what? That’s life, folks! I wasn’t pounding my fist on the United Airlines customer service counter (after waiting in line for an hour) demanding better treatment. I didn’t strong-arm them into finding my luggage that was unnecessarily checked through to my final destination at the gate, by the way, so I could have clean clothes to wear today. I was tired, probably a little smelly and ready to go home. Instead, I emptied my wallet because of no fault of my own, checked into a hotel somewhere in Chicago, slept just a little, woke up early, wore the same smelly clothes today, and finally flew home.

How sad a story that is, right? You have to be kidding. That’s simply called travel.

Come on, people. It’s not all about us. Sometimes life doesn’t go as planned. Yes, the man in Chicago who refused to deplane was extremely in the wrong.

It’s our job as lights in a dark world to smile and reveal the life and love of Jesus in challenging and unfair situations and not grumble and demand that our rights be met.

Ironically, just as I emerged from the jet bridge in Springfield, Missouri, I saw the group of people waiting to board the plane for their own flight. The attendant said, “This flight is overbooked and we are looking for volunteers to surrender their seats.” I’m sure those who either volunteered or were forced to give up their seats acted much more maturely and appropriately than the gentleman did yesterday.

The Lost Art of Submission to Authority 

Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil works. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from him, for he is the servant of God for your good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is the servant of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him who practices evil. So it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for the sake of conscience (Rom. 13:3-5).

We aren’t only to submit to authority that is fair or right. We don’t turn our submission on and off based on our own analysis of the situation. We should have no fear of authority, of pastors, of leaders, of the police, if we are doing what is right.

Regardless of whether David Dao was treated properly or not, he disobeyed a clear and direct order. He was wrong, no matter how important he believed himself to be. Entitlement must go. Humility and submission to authority must find its way into our independent, narcissistic culture.

As I said above, I’m stunned at the Christians who are instant in their defense and outright celebration of David’s clear indiscretion. In today’s society, it seems it’s the authority that’s always the villain. Corporations, pastors, police officers, parents and others are held in suspicion at best and rebelled against without apology at worst.

Airlines absolutely have the right to remove people for any reason. Refusal to comply is against the law. That simply cannot be argued. We are required, per Scripture, to obey. Our supposed “rights” are not more important than our responsibility to submit.

God will always support authority that is wrong before he supports one under authority who is right and in rebellion. Those who don’t understand this set themselves up for great bitterness both against authority and God.

We presume God is most interested in right vs. wrong. He is not. He’s interested in our response, our reaction.

It doesn’t matter if United Airlines was wrong (though I personally do not think they were), David’s reaction was unacceptable. The airline had the right to do what they did. They had no obligation to explain themselves. They along with the lawmakers write the rules.

There are many “unfair” rules the flight attendants must enforce on flights. They are irritating. I really don’t think my seat being two inches more upright is really going to save me in an air disaster. However, they are in charge. What they say goes, whether it’s when we can wear headphones, get up to use the restroom or whether we get to fly that day at all. They—and ultimately, the captain—are our authorities in the air. It doesn’t matter if we like the rules or agree with the rules. We simply have to obey the rules. I think introducing, “Yes sir, yes ma’am; no sir, no ma’am” back into our culture would do us all a lot of good.

False Human Rights

From my Charisma News article False Human Rights Destroying the Church and our Nation: 

Today we are absolutely overwhelmed by the constant, self-centered shouts of those who demand that their country—or their church—gives them what they believe is rightfully theirs. 

It’s a false human rights movement.

The right to abortion. The right for same-sex marriage. The right to be equal. The right to be heard.

It’s a sickening, selfish focus that is driven by human desire instead of a willingness to take up our cross and die. How often have people left churches because their supposed rights weren’t addressed? How much dissension is in the workplace because people are looked over in favor of another?

I’ve said it before—today, when people’s self-centered pursuits are rejected, they abandon relationships, leave churches and cause division, but when Jesus was rejected, He didn’t abandon people. He didn’t forsake the church.

An offended people will destroy a nation. A surrendered people will build a nation.

All over social media today I’m reading about who was right and who was wrong. Some are screaming that United Airlines was wrong and that David is the victim.

Friend, it’s not about right or wrong. It’s about our response.

Christians are being tortured, raped and murdered as martyrs all over the world, and we think someone being required to vacate a seat on an airplane is a violation of human rights? We’d have to be sick to think such a thing!

Covens in the Church

From my book on authority, Covens in the Church:

The enemy has caused many to believe that we can’t experience freedom while being submitted. This is simply not true. 

Freedom from authority is rebellion. 

Freedom in the absence of authority is anarchy. 

Freedom under authority is liberty.

It must be made clear now that while God desires leaders to serve with great love, humility, passion and care, there are some in the body who simply do not do so. While God will hold those leaders deeply accountable for their leadership, God will hold the rest of us accountable for how we respond to them. Do we serve from a position of great love, humility, passion and care–or not?

Loving submission to authority is non-negotiable and more important now that it has ever been.

God loves you very much and is capable of protecting you even as He has placed you under the authority of imperfect men and women. Remember, we are not to be self-governing in an attempt to protect ourselves from flawed leaders. That is the wrong response to the problem. Using a spirit of control to fight a spirit of control doesn’t work. This is the core idea of the entire book. As we submit to those whom God placed over us, be they good or evil, God will ensure our protection.

We may have to go through difficult situations that seemingly limit us, put our dreams on hold or even violate our pet ideas and opinions. The situations may last years, but we must submit in love without failure! God is able to bring us through!

We never speak against or elevate our own opinions above God’s established authority. Pastors, prophets, apostles, politicians, policemen, bosses, etc. We humbly support them, unless, and only unless, they were to cause us to violate a clear Scriptural truth. That’s it.

It’s important to understand that to submit to God’s appointed leaders in our lives only to the point where we agree with the order is not submission at all.

Submission is actually spotlighted when someone honors his or her authority when the order is contrary to their own opinions, experience or position. We can agree with our authority while not agreeing with the order or instruction or position. It is never appropriate to remove ourselves from a position of submission if the order given is inconvenient, bothersome or irritating.

Honor of Authority Must Return—to the Nation and to the Church

It’s time to crucify our narcissistic, independent flesh and love and honor—and obey—the authorities God has put in our lives. We don’t have to be afraid. We can be free.

Today there seems to be a new uprising against the establishment, against leadership almost continually.

We can contend for cultural change. In fact, as kingdom Christians, we have a mandate to do that. But, we do it with intercession, love and honor for our leaders.

God will not affirm those who use control, manipulation, unrighteous anger and an independent spirit to affect change.

Entire movements of zealous intercessors and godly social activists can do wonders in society—as long as their hearts are right.

Come on friends, let’s change the world the right way. Let’s go the way of honor. God will have our backs. {eoa}

John Burton has been developing and leading ministries for over 20 years and is a sought-after teacher, prophetic messenger and revivalist. He has authored nine books, has appeared on Christian television and radio and directed one of the primary internships at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Additionally, he planted two churches, has initiated two city prayer movements and is currently directing a prayer- and revival-focused ministry school in Detroit called theLab University. John also has a web- and graphic-design business and is continually developing new and exciting ventures. He and his beautiful wife, Amy, have five children and live in the Detroit area. He can be reached via his website at .

This article originally appeared at .

In the last days, many will be deceived, including those in the church.  

“How can we be deceived if we’re inside the church?” evangelist Mondo de la Vega says on The Jim Bakker Show. “If we’re trusting men of God, if we’re preaching the gospel? … All of a sudden, you unveiled these people he (David Wilkerson) calls ‘pillow prophets.'” 

Wilkerson discussed this in Set the Trumpet to My Mouth. 

So what are pillow prophets, and what do they have to with the end times? 

Watch the video to see!

{eoa}