Sunday, November 30, 2014

My Brother Begs Me, "Please COME!"

EMERGENCY REPORT UPDATE FOR MY BROTHER JOHN SCHUFFERT
John Schuffert
(Photo from his previous hospitalization last year)

UPDATE-John was released from the hospital to return to the nursing home at this time. However, his condition still remains poor, and he still needs me to come an minister to him.

UPDATE SUNDAY DECEMBER 14 2014

AFTER BEING A FEW DAYS BACK IN HIS NURSING HOME, JOHN HAS JUST BEEN RUSHED BACK BY AMBULANCE TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM. READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE (ABOVE.)


Our financial goals to be able to travel there and relocate with the RV have still not been met. 1/3 of our goal has been covered at this time. IF YOU CAN GIVE, please help so I can leave Montana as soon as possible to get to North Carolina, over 2,000 miles away. God bless you! You can donate at the bottom of this article.
********************* 

Today is SUNDAY, November 30, 2014. I have just finished speaking with my beloved brother John in Transylvania Regional Hospital in WNC. He was rushed there with medical complications only yesterday.

How thrilled he was to hear my voice! I have been outraged over his nursing home's refusal to have their cordless phone fixed so I could talk with John over the past five months while he has been there. I called and pleaded with them to get that phone fixed, all to no avail.

John was therefore so relieved and happy to hear his beloved sister once again.  The last time I was with John was in February of 2014.  I had to leave John to go and help another sick person, my friend Sylvia, who lived in Florida at that time and was in deep crisis and deteriorating health. I have been taking personal care of Sylvia ever since.

John's health has been deteriorating since I saw him last, however. He can no longer feed himself and must be fed by staff. But one thing John can still do, and that is PRAY! He loves Jesus and trusts in Him with all his heart. 

He perked up when he heard my voice on the phone today. We discussed how Christmas is only a few weeks away, and recalled the wonderful time we had together last Christmas when I was with him. I asked him if he wanted me to come back and spend time with him this Christmas as well.

I heard HOPE in his voice as he replied, "That would be great!" Although his speech is now slow and it is difficult for him to talk, he formed those words perfectly. He then begged me to come and see him. We both realize that he may not have much longer to live. I know he needs me so badly at this time.

In order to do this for John, I will have to relocate completely, bringing my truck and RV trailer with me, along with Sylvia. The journey will be over 2,000 miles, from chilly Montana to North Carolina. 
Bringing my truck and new home with me


However, as I discussed this with Sylvia and we both agreed it was urgent to go and minister to John, 

We also realized today that we would have to  come to my readers for financial assistance in this task. 

My funds are depleted as I provide free full time care for Sylvia, with her many health needs. We are approaching her ongoing cancer crisis with a holistic, organic health food healing protocol instead of costly and dangerous chemotherapy. 

Sylvia was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer last May of 2014, according to a CAT scan taken at that time. Her PET scan taken later indicated that she possibly had lymphoma and other cancer activity besides in the pancreas. 

Pancreatic cancer prognosis is very poor even with chemotherapy or surgery. And so we are pursuing the route of health food and cancer fighting supplements, coupled with the most important factor of all, FAITH in the Living God through Jesus Christ as we stand on His promises together FOR A MIRACLE.
There is healing in the precious Name of Jesus Christ!

All of this is expensive, as anyone knows who has shopped for organic foods and quality vitamins and supplements. While I am extremely happy to be able to minister to Sylvia in my home, the financial cost is great, and I have exhausted my finances with continual shopping for these essentials for her health. 

Therefore, I do not have the extra funds necessary to go and visit my brother John at this critical time.

Before hanging up today, I told my brother that I would immediately write an article and share this urgent need with my readers. I said to him that as soon as the necessary support comes through, we would be on our way to visit him immediately and stay a while in his area, so I can spend Christmas with him.

We both were so excited at the thought of this! This journey will also become another PRAYER JOURNEY ACROSS AMERICA, as Sylvia and I travel over 2,000 miles to go and minister to John

And so, now you know the REST of the story, as beloved radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say.

If you can, please consider sending emergency financial support for this journey to see my brother John in NC. The major expense is GAS (diesel fuel) for my truck. Trucks burn more fuel when hauling heavy loads, and my RV trailer is 37 feet long. Also Sylvia's vehicle will need gas as well.

I also realize that time is of the essence, based on what John's nurse in the hospital just told me. He admitted that John's body is swollen all over, and that they have just placed him on antibiotics that are being dripped into his body. He said that John may also have pneumonia and other complications as well.

Personally, this is all very devastating for me as well. John comes alive whenever I am with him, praying for him and encouraging him personally. This was one of the reasons he pulled through his previous medical crises throughout the past year, because I was with him...not to mention the presence of God.

Will you please consider making this  one of your Christmas season projects and gifts of mercy at this time? 

My financial resources are exhausted. I am completely unable to travel to do this for John, without your financial support and gifts to make this possible.

You can safely send emergency funds 
through PAYPAL and the DONATE button below.

Thank you so much for helping to make this possible. May God bless you and your loved ones as well. Please keep JOHN in your prayers!

-Pamela Rae Schuffert, and Sylvia too-

Saturday, November 29, 2014

EMERGENCY-My Brother Being RUSHED TO HOSPITAL NOW

Please pray for my precious brother 
JOHN SCHUFFERT. 
My brother John last Christmas 2013

I just received a phone call from his nursing home in NC, at 3:54 PM MST today 11/29/2014.

The nurse told me that John was swollen on one side, with bloody urine, and he was unresponsive to attempts to communicate with him. They are now preparing to rush him to the nearby hospital for emergency procedures.

This is the phone call I dreaded. Every few weeks, the nursing home has contacted me to inform me of John's health issues and general condition.Every time they have called, John's condition seemed a little more deteriorated than the previous. I finally  realized that he was not recovering, but rather becoming worse with time.

How I love my brother John! What a powerful Christian testimony he has, of Jesus saving him from years of drugs and alcohol and living for the world. John became a transformed person, because of Jesus Christ Who saved him from such darkness. 

Sadly, however, over 40  years of abusing his body with drugs and alcohol, coupled with a lifestyle that did not glorify God, took a tragic toll on his body and his health.

It is not without reason that the Bible declares that "the wages of sin is death."

However, John had a reprieve from death last year, when I came to visit him. Discovering him close to death due to malpractice and neglect at GOLDEN LIVING NURSING HOME in Hendersonville, NC, I ordered them to call an ambulance immediately and transport him to the emergency room at Park Ridge Hospital in Fletcher, NC.

The wonderful staff there, including his operating surgeon Dr. Stover, literally saved his life! I thank God for these wonderful people and what they did to give my brother a little while longer on this side of heaven, to glorify God with his shining testimony of how Jesus saved "a wretch like John."

And now, John's health condition is very serious. I will keep you all informed of his condition as I receive word. Honestly, John may not make it through this situation at this time. 

Although I would love to go and minister to him, He is over 2,000 miles away from where I am presently living, and I do not have the necessary funds to travel there to see him. Taking care of  my friend Sylvia with her cancer condition and special health food and supplements requirements has all but depleted my basic funds at this time.

We are now experiencing the second arctic blast of this month, and it is all we can do to survive in an RV trailer as our pipes freeze up, leaving us without water or sewer at this time. We have been hit with two unexpected Arctic blasts, one after the other, requiring extra propane and emergency supplies.

Please pray for John Schuffert at this time. Pray for God's great hands of mercy to do what seems best in the Father's heart at this time. My brother's body is worn out, and he is weary of suffering in pain, bedridden and unable to walk or enjoy life, His true home is in Heaven, free from all pain and suffering at last, and able to begin the next exciting chapter of his life in GLORY WITH JESUS.


I commit my beloved brother 
JOHN SCHUFFERT

into the hands 
of our Almighty Father in Heaven, 
and to the care of 
Jesus Christ his Savior and mine.


Thank you for your ongoing prayers at this time.


-Pamela Rae Schuffert-

Friday, November 28, 2014

The Iranian Rose Seller Who Discovered Jesus Christ

A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE OF HOPE 
By Pamela Rae Schuffert presenting investigative journalism from a Biblical Christian perspective-


Once again,
it was Christmas season in the Washington DC area, where I used to live near for many years. Everywhere I looked, bright Christmas lights and decorations covered nearly everything, from street lights to the huge Christmas tree on the Ellipse near the White House.


For me, this was a season to take the time especially to show forth the love of Jesus to the international community found throughout the Washington DC metropolitan region. You can never spread the message of God's love to the world, without sharing sharing that rich love and compassion in practical ways that touch hearts and lives. LOVE always means ACTION for the Christian disciple who truly wants to change the world for Jesus.

So many people come from distant countries throughout the world, to make Washington DC their home. Restaurants there cater to everything from Middle Eastern cuisine, to Chinese and Asian, to Latin American specialities, and so much more.

Washington DC is also known for her many political and religious refugees as well. When Russia invaded Afghanistan several decades ago, the streets of DC were later filled with the kiosks of many Afghani refugees selling their wares imported from Afghanistan. The same was true for other nationalities as well.

How I loved to walk down those crowded streets of Washington DC, where you could find many international vendors selling their products. Having trained to be a Christian missionary especially to foreign peoples, I loved learning foreign languages and being able to speak at least a few words to these people in their native dialects or languages at times.

This finally led to my purchasing foreign Bibles in many languages from the International Bible Society. I soon had Bibles in Russian and Romanian, Farsi (Persian) and Dari, plus many other languages as well. These were all to be handed out freely to the internationals I would inevitably encounter as I walked down the crowded sidewalks in the parts of DC that were known to have many nationalities present at times.


I can remember times of driving slowly through the  delightful colonial era neighborhoods of Georgetown, for example, praying for God to lead me to the right foreign people that He was reaching out to, to bring them salvation through Jesus Christ. 

Foreign vendors would often be seen in such high end neighborhoods, selling exquisitely beautiful products hand crafted in their native countries at the tables or booths they were permitted to set up daily therein.

In the back seat of my car there was always a selection of Bibles in many languages, ready to give away to the people I encountered at such times.
Christmastime in Georgetown
I can never forget that very special Christmas season one year, as I slowly drove down the brightly decorated streets of Georgetown in Washington DC. Christmas lights were everywhere, and the air was crisp and cold that night, combined with a faint dampness associated with this historic city located on the C AND O CANAL and the Potomac River as well.

All of a sudden, I noticed a man standing by his table, apparently selling bouquets of roses. He did not appear to be an American, but rather more like a person from the Middle East. Great! If that was the case, I had Bibles in Arabic and Persian in the back of my car!

I quickly pulled over to the curb and parked my car, shoving a few quarters into the parking meter. I then slowly walked over to this man and asked him about what he was selling. I noted a look of sadness in his eyes that evening as I spoke to him.

Sensing that I was more than just another customer here to buy his roses, he looked into my eyes and slowly began to pour out his heart to me about why he now lived in America, and what was happening back in his country, Iran, ever since the Ayatollah Khomeini had seized power with his Revolutionary Guards, and began to brutally impose Islamic Sharia law upon the Iranian people.

I was shocked at what I was being told. The US media never really told us what really happened after Khomeini seized power in Iran, and the Shah was ousted.  For many, life became miserable as former liberties and freedoms were abolished, as the people were forced to conform to strict Islamic law, or pay the dread price.

All opposition to Khomeini and the regime under Sharia law were arrested and taken away to be brutally imprisoned, tortured and executed in places like grim Evin Prison.

Dread Evin Prison in Tehran, Iran

This man began to tell me of his family members being arrested by the secret police, and taken away to places like EVIN PRISON to be tortured and beaten for minor infractions against Sharia law. 


He actually had a scrapbook on his table that he began to show me, filled with photos of people who had been brutally beaten, tortured and abused under Islamic law in Iran. The photographs of the injured and those who had suffered under Khomeini were frightening and very disturbing.

Prisoners beaten with cable on their bare feet, then forced to walk on those broken feet afterwards.

Revolutionary Guards in Iran

As I listened and looked into his eyes, now glistening with tears about to fall, I sensed that he too had suffered under the scourge and curse of  brutal and militant Islam. That was why, in fact, he now lived in America instead of Iran.


My heart was profoundly moved. Praying within for the right words, I carefully began to share with him about what Jesus Christ had done for my life when everything seemed hopeless. 

I too had been horribly abused and scarred by a brutal and unbelieving father in my very own home throughout the years. A father who at one time even beat me with a sword from a collection in our Northern Virginia home. And whose hatred and cruelty towards me would cause me to literally shake with fear in his presence at times even in spite of my being very ill throughout my high school years.

Jesus always reaches out to the suffering

But that is
exactly where Jesus Christ encountered me! Jesus found me rejected, bruised and beaten down and ready to die. And then, His tender mercy and love lifted me up out of rejection and abuse and sadness. 


His love and compassion ministered restoration and healing to me as I received Him into my heart as my Lord and Savior in 1971. And finally, my life began to gloriously change at last, as God's grace and mercy began to transform me from victim to victor and overcomer through Jesus Christ.

The HOLY BIBLE in Farsi

I then remembered
that I had ONE IRANIAN BIBLE in the back seat of my car! Excusing myself, I ran to my car and grabbed it and brought it to give to him.


As I shared with this Iranian about the love of God through Jesus Christ and how He could change this man's life and heal him of the past, I witnessed something I was totally unprepared for. I handed him the Bible in his language, and then.....

Tears began to flow from this man's eyes as he began to cry unashamedly on that sidewalk in Georgetown. He then collapsed on his knees and put his arms around my legs and began to weep uncontrollably.  
Jesus will always be there for us when we stumble and fall

I was stunned, uncertain of what to do, as he embraced the Bible tightly, and began to kiss it, and then kiss my hand that handed it to him. In years of ministry, this had never happened before. In broken English he spoke the following words as he wept.

"Yes...YES! ISA  (Jesus) is good! The religion of Muhammad is no good...but ISA...Jesus...HE IS GOOD!" 

I was truly overwhelmed by all this. Apparently this Christian Bible meant more to him than it does to most Americans living in freedom today.

When he finally was able to stop weeping and regained his composure, I was then able to pray with this Iranian man for Jesus Christ to truly come in to his heart, forgive his sins, set him free from the cruel bondage and deception of Islam, and to give him a new life free from the past injustices of Islam.

As I looked at him, I realized that before me stood a man that had experienced a dramatic encounter with God through Jesus Christ his new-found Savior, and he would never be the same again. 

Knees that had once bowed to the god of Mohammad, were now bowing to his new and wonderful Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

He had learned through his painful personal experience in Iran that life under Islam and militant Sharia law was never the way to peace, fulfillment, joy and eternal life.

Rather, he discovered firsthand that Islam brought oppression, bondage, hardships and darkness to the people of his nation, Iran. And for this man, Jesus Christ alone provided the love, the mercy, the healing and compassion that he so desperately needed in his hour of pain and sadness.

We continued to talk briefly as the sun finally set over Washington DC. After a final embrace, it was time to leave. The streets were now dark, except for the occasional twinkling of countless Christmas decorations that seemed to herald the wondrous story of  how God sent His Son into the darkness of this world to redeem all mankind from sin.

Christmas in Georgetown

I slowly walked
back to my car and sat down, amazed at what I had just witnessed. My head was spinning, overwhelmed at how God knew exactly how to lead me to that one person He wanted me to reach out to that night. Oh, how beautiful and amazing are the incredible ways of our Living God!


Looking back at the Iranian rose vendor one more time as I slowly drove away, I observed how this man held the Christian Bible so closely to his heart.

This was a lesson I would never forget throughout the many years of my Christian ministry.

For here was a man  formerly of Islamic background, who had lived in Iran and had experienced first hand the cruelties and numerous injustices of life under militant Islam and Sharia. And from his own lips he declared with tears in his eyes, that Islam and other religions did nothing for him...but that JESUS  CHRIST WAS GOOD!

These were the very words of a former Moslem who discovered personally that there is nothing but heartache and darkness without Jesus Christ, and who could find no peace or healing in his former religion of Islam under Sharia.

What a powerful testimony this was to me! This one Iranian man's testimony puts to shame the reasoning of western analysts and those in America who are foolishly trying to oppress Christianity, and instead push for Islamic law to be subtly and gradually imposed throughout our nation. 

Can we not learn from first-hand experiences such as this???
**********************************

CONFRONTING THE RISING DANGERS OF ISLAM IN AMERICA TODAY


Yes, Jesus Christ IS good!
So good, in fact, that this Iranian man did what few men ever do in public, and that was to weep over the goodness of the living God through Jesus Christ, and to be so thankful for the hope that the Christian Bible provides for all mankind...Moslems included.


While my readers can sense, through reading my previous articles, that I am justifiably concerned over the dark inroads Islam is attempting to make throughout my nation, America, and am therefore writing articles addressing this issue, I also want to make it plain that HEREIN is the eternal answer to the problem of the cult religion of Islam: JESUS CHRIST!


Bring the light of salvation to a Moslem, and their lives will be transformed from darkness into light as the behold the power of Jesus Christ changing them from within. Such transformed people can never again pick up a sword of persecution against Jesus and His people!

This is exactly why Jesus has commanded us to show mercy and forgiveness to our enemies, and to bring His word to them as well. Islam as a dangerous cult religion will never be eradicated from the world through ceaseless wars of retaliation and hatred and revenge.

But rather, the deadly cult of Islam can only be overcome by the light of the world, Jesus Christ, Who IS good and Who alone can provide salvation for millions of lost souls deceived by the heresies of Islam, and walking in darkness worldwide.
Jesus Christ remains the LIGHT OF THE WORLD!

Only the light can eradicate the darkness! The Bible tells us to overcome evil with GOOD. And what could be more good and wonderful than giving a Bible to a Moslem in your vicinity, including sharing your sincere testimony with that lost soul, and praying for that person to find salvation through Jesus Christ at last???

This was God's way of reaching each one of us when we were lost sinners and headed to hell, and this is how we can also reach out to the lost in our world today, and change the world through Jesus Christ. This is what the Bible and the teachings of  Jesus Christ tell us. 

And now, it is time to put such teachings into action throughout our nation, America, today.

American cannot be saved nor transformed, without the SAVING POWER of God through Jesus Christ. Why? Because a NATION consists of her PEOPLE. America is chiefly dying from SIN WITHIN, more than from the enemy without. As the well known cartoon character of yesteryear, Pogo, once famously (and truthfully) declared, "We have met the enemy, and HE IS US!"
Pogo got it right!

In closing, I encourage you to become a part of God's answer to the problems in America today. Sitting around complaining about America's problems will never change this nation. BUT, Christian actions of faith and obedience, based on the word of God, have the power to dramatically CHANGE AMERICA.

I also urge you to resist the natural urge to be filled with animosity or anger towards the Moslems in America today. Of course I am aware and alarmed over the subtle introduction of Islamic teaching into the schools of America, and the conquest of Islam for America.

Of course I am aware that we have a Moslem President who is facilitating Islamic inroads into America. I realize what the goals of Islam are for America and the world, and that is total domination. And with that quest for domination will also come brutal oppression of Christianity as well.

But we must realize that the only way Moslems will truly change, is when the light of Jesus Christ fills them. And this can only happen as we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with such people. It is a matter of transforming the heart within. And guns, bullets, bombs and warfare cannot change the heart. Only Jesus Christ can.

PRAY for the salvation of these Islamic people. Obtain Bibles in their languages and freely offer them to those you meet or know. Spend time behind the scenes praying for their salvation. Take the time to lovingly and respectfully share your testimony about what Jesus Christ has done for your life, and what He can do for theirs as well.

This is clearly Christ's way of winning this battle against Islam, eternally...one lost soul at a time. The moment we choose to turn to the world's ways of winning wars, through the use of hatred and violence and destruction of men's lives, we have become no better than they, and we have then fallen from the faith and the clear revelations of Jesus Christ our Savior.

God's way, or the world's way...what shall it be? 



But the only way to truly win a battle eternally, is to fight it with the weapons of faith and the Word of God that Jesus Christ has given us. And Heaven rejoices over one more soul being saved from the soul-damning cult called ISLAM, all because of our faithful witness of Jesus Christ to them.  

Please, my fellow Christians, choose to make a difference, as the emerging battle of  ISLAM CONFRONTING CHRISTIANITY continues throughout our nation unabated.

And remember the lesson learned from THE IRANIAN ROSE SELLER WHO FOUND JESUS CHRIST. We all have a vital role to play in reaching out to people across America with the light of the Gospel. And YOU can make the difference!


-Pamela Rae Schuffert-

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Ferguson Burns Following Grand Jury Verdict

www.AmericanHolocaustComing.blogspot.com

But what do these riots prove...
and what do they accomplish 
for the people of Ferguson, MO???


By Pamela Rae Schuffert presenting investigative journalism from a Biblical Christian perspective-

FIRST OF ALL, let me say that I am deeply saddened by the death of Michael Brown. I mourn with his family that this young man,  a beloved son and undoubtedly a friend of many in Ferguson, was shot and killed in his altercation with the police officer. I am praying for his family members and parents at this time. The death of anyone under such circumstances is a tragedy, regardless of who is to ultimately blame.

However, the following article strives to make the point that tragedies can come to all of us in this world. And it is HOW we handle that tragedy that determines the final outcome. The Bible makes it clear that when we follow tried and true Biblical principles laid out in the word of God, God then comes to our aid and He is able to bring us victory in all of life's tragic circumstances.
-Pamela Rae Schuffert-
*************************************************
All across America, millions have been watching their televisions or live streaming on the Internet, as they follow the unfolding events hour by hour following the grand jury's announcing their verdict Monday night regarding the Michael Brown shooting by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

And as many anticipated, riots broke out in Ferguson and throughout the surrounding areas when some of the people of Ferguson were not satisfied with the verdict announced by the grand jury. 

Personally, I stayed up past 2:00 AM, so I could watch live streaming of unfolding events in Ferguson, and pray for peace, non-violence and the protection of the innocent as arson and looting continued throughout the long night.

As I watched, I personally noted that many businesses were looted or set on fire. 

Local business owners lost millions of dollars worth of destroyed items and property last night. One police officer in the St. Louis area was reportedly shot. Fire men's lives were jeopardized by the vandalism and fires that erupted as they struggled to put them out throughout the night. One car dealership was struck  by arson and many vehicles on the lot were destroyed.

Excuse me, but I have some comments to make about all this, all from a Biblical perspective. Which means they are not based solely upon my personal opinion, but rather on the eternal Word of God. 

The Word of God and His commandments are colorblind. He does not care about what neighborhood a person lives in or the color of their skin. His commandments are for all to obey, regardless of color or ethnic background.

Let me begin by stating that I have had many unhappy events occur in my life. There was even one time when I had my home, possessions and vehicle stolen right out from under me by other people. 

This resulted in my being homeless for the past 13 years, unable to afford to replace that which was stolen from me. I suffered greatly throughout those years as a result, even having to live out of my car much of that time.

Let me state bluntly that one does not have to be black to suffer persecution and discrimination! I am as white as they come, but I have suffered both from my early youth, because of my uncompromised stand for Jesus Christ, beginning in my own home. 

I have suffered the loss of more than one job, because of discrimination against Christianity in the work place.

I have been unfairly prosecuted during my years of protests to save the unborn from abortion. I was sentenced to prison for one act of peaceful, non-violent pro-life protest to save the unborn from murder.There have been many times when I have been unjustly treated for my religious beliefs. 
Prayer and praise to a mighty God works every time

But regardless of these offenses and injustices committed against me, I always had the common sense to respond in a Biblical and Christian manner that glorified God and accomplished my desired goals in a righteous manner.

Sure, I have been angry when people did terrible things to me. But the Bible says, be angry, but do not sin. Instead, the Bible admonishes us to commit your crisis into the hands of a just God Who cares, and the situation will be resolved in a manner that glorifies God and harms no one.

I have experienced more than one death attempt on my life due to my reporting and Christian witness, including one attack resulting in personal property damage as well. I even discovered the name of this person behind this attack.

But what was my response? One of hatred, anger, retaliation, even striking out at others totally uninvolved just to vent my frustrations, as was recently witnessed in Ferguson last night?

No. Of course not. Why? Because Jesus does not teach us to do this. I follow Jesus Christ and His teachings, and I can tell you that His ways work.

Instead, I have prayed for the people who offended me and who stole from me. Including for those who were stalking me to abduct me and kill me at one time. 

I prayed for them by name, I asked God to forgive them and save them, and I committed my situation into the hands of Almighty God, mighty to save. 

And behold, I am alive and well to this very day, and my life is exceedingly blessed as a result. Following the teachings and example of Jesus Christ really works, friends. And it will bring you through every crisis you are experiencing in your life, safely and effectively.

The Bible is clear in it's teachings about how to respond when going through a crisis wherein you have suffered mistreatment or offense. My first response is always to PRAY about the offense I have suffered. I have learned to turn over everything to God and His mercy and justice as I place my crisis and hurt into the hands of Almighty God.

Obedience to God always brings forth good and lasting results

If we feel offended, Jesus calls us to FORGIVE others, to TURN the other cheek, and to PRAY for those whom we feel have offended us. 

How many times I have chosen to do this, when offended throughout my life.  I have been persecuted for my Christian walk numerous times throughout my life. It has resulted in loss of jobs. It has cost me friends. Persecution has almost cost my very life more than once. Yet I knew that the only scriptural response acceptable in the sight of Almighty God, was to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

When we obey God and place a situation into His hands, we are then laying the groundwork for everything to be resolved completely, justly and fairly. God is just. God is righteous. He is able to bring forth a right resolution to every crisis we experience in life, including injustices. He is not called "Almighty God" for nothing!

When we choose however to BREAK His commandments in response to injustices done to us, we negate what God can do in our circumstances by our sins. The word of God is very clear about stealing, about harming others or their possessions, etc.

There was nothing Biblical about the responses of those who disagreed with the grand jury verdict announced last night in Ferguson, Missouri, and who then resorted to threats, violence, rioting, looting, arson and endangering the lives of other people.

The Bible is clear about stealing being a sin in the sight of God. The Bible is clear about how we should treat our fellow man, as we would have others treat us. The Bible is clear about teachings against violence and harming our fellow man.

How can people expect to have the favor of God and His help on their side, when they choose to NOT trust in Him at such a time, and instead BREAK His commandments?

Sin only incurs the wrath and judgment of God, and does nothing to help our circumstances.

Furthermore, how does this kind of behavior glorify God? What kind of image did these people convey to the rest of America? One is reminded of the actions of a child who, when failing to get his way, then  resorts to destructive temper tantrums to express his dissatisfaction over it.

No good was accomplished by the destructive fires, the looting of local businesses, the endangerment of innocent lives, the police officer shot, the innocent man carjacked and then run over, and more. 

Furthermore, the people of Ferguson involved in this destructive behavior have succeeded in destroying their own neighborhoods! This is something that no one of the opposite race even attempted to do to them last night. 

How does any of this help their community to recover from the Michael Brown shooting??? Does it bring him back from the dead? How many jobs has this destructive behavior cost the people of Ferguson now? Is this not counter-productive behavior for the people of this area?

Such destructive and illegal actions did not merit the support nor favor of Almighty God. Such behavior does not glorify God. Such actions do not demonstrate a willingness to trust in God at such a time as this, nor indicate that people put this situation into His hands for righteous resolution if they feel they have been wronged.

However, violent and illegal actions did great harm to the public image and perception of the people behind the rioting and looting in Ferguson and beyond last night. Truthfully, such actions only reinforced the negative stereotypes held by many across America. How could they possibly have any other impact upon the minds of viewers who followed the events with live streaming?

Innocent people were harmed and endangered last night. Some residents awoke to find they had no jobs awaiting them today, because the business where they worked in were looted or burned to the ground. None of these people whose businesses were victimized were involved in the Michael Brown shooting case, nor did they deserve what just happened to them.

But this is what happens whenever people fail to obey the word of God, and fail to commit their crisis into the hands of Almighty God. This is what happens when people choose to turn to sinful actions to show their displeasure in any situation.

No good thing can ever come from breaking the eternal commandments of God. Good and lasting results can never result from hurting innocent people, nor acting in destructive ways.

I have been reading many comments posted across the Internet, as Americans watching all this and post their response to the rioting and illegal behavior in Ferguson.

It became clear to me from reading these, that this kind of illegal and immoral behavior has impressed no one. It has moved few to sympathise with violent protesters. In fact, it has angered many, and disillusioned others as well.

Judging from comments read, what such reckless and dangerous behavior has done is to reinforce the negative stereotypes held by some people, and to only confirm what others have already assumed was true about some of the people of Ferguson. 

When our actions and behavior do not line up in accordance with the Word of God, no good or lasting fruits will ever come forth as a result, and we find that we lose the favor of both God and man  whenever we sin against God and hurt others to accomplish our goals.

Such people then become criminals. They become lawbreakers and sinners in the sight of Almighty God. Such people cannot expect the favor of God when behaving contrary to the commandments of God.

How much better it would have been if residents of Ferguson held held prayer meetings in their homes or churches last night, and to encourage people to not react in sinful violence and hate, but to rather to trust in God and to respond in accordance with the teachings of Jesus Christ. (And I am certain that some people did, but obviously not enough responded in this manner.)

What kind of outcome COULD there have been, that would have helped their cause, IF people throughout Ferguson chose to react in obedience to the word of God, with prayer and resolutions to commit this situation into God's hands and to trust Him for proper resolution should the verdict rendered somehow be found to be unjust?

Had the responses of the people of Ferguson been based upon Biblical teachings, I can promise you that not one business would have been burned to the ground, not one act of violence or looting could have occurred, and not one life would have been negatively impacted last night.

There are many churches in Ferguson, and many people attend them every Sunday there. Personally, I wonder how many people attended church Sunday,  BUT the next day participated in stealing and destructive acts of violence, contrary to the word of God? 

Frankly, religious hypocrisy never accomplishes  anything, nor does it merit favor with God Himself. In fact, breaking the commandments of God can only result in the judgment of God, and never His blessing. How counterproductive sin always is, and self-defeating as well.

I am continuing to pray over this situation unfolding in Ferguson and affected areas, for protection of the innocent and that the violence and unscriptural behavior cease. I encourage my readers to pray as well for a peaceful and Biblical resolution to this situation. 

God bless the genuine Christians of Ferguson, who chose to respond in Biblical manner and with prayer and non-violence, and who trust God for divine intervention in this situation.

May the people of Ferguson choose to walk the productive and healing ways of God's eternal word, and not resort to the sinful ways of men, as they seek practical solutions to the unfolding situation in Ferguson, Missouri.

-Pamela Rae Schuffert-