Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 1214 ｜ Texas Tragedy： Facts, Heroism, & God’s Goodness

00:00:00.420 Massive floods have devastated much of the Texas Hill Country.

00:00:04.740 There are so many people still missing, many people that have died, including young girls

00:00:10.320 that were at a camp called Camp Mystic in Kerrville, Texas.

00:00:14.700 We've got their stories today.

00:00:16.700 We will be debunking some myths about what caused this.

00:00:20.260 We will even be getting into just slightly the conversation about weather modification.

00:00:26.520 But most importantly, we are going to address the theological aspect of this, what Christians

00:00:32.460 should be thinking, what we should be praying on, and what we should be doing in the midst

00:00:37.480 of this awful tragedy.

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00:01:12.880 Hey guys, welcome to Relatable.

00:01:24.620 Happy Monday.

00:01:25.620 Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th, a wonderful weekend, as you can see and hear.

00:01:31.460 I am not in the studio today.

00:01:33.340 I am recording remotely, so apologies if the quality is just a little different than how

00:01:38.420 it typically is.

00:01:39.680 So if you follow me on Instagram, you probably know you're anticipating what I'm going to

00:01:45.600 talk about today, and that is the flooding in the state of Texas and the impact of that

00:01:51.800 on the communities there.

00:01:53.820 But also, we are going to talk about the conversations, debates going on about who is to blame, what

00:02:00.900 is to blame here, and then, of course, having a theological conversation about how we deal

00:02:07.180 with tragedy, how we look at why awful things like this happen, especially when helpless

00:02:13.120 children are impacted, how we can know where children are going after they die.

00:02:20.480 Really tough questions that a lot of people are asking right now that I wanted to try with

00:02:25.920 as much grace as I possibly can to give clarity on.

00:02:31.040 First, let's talk about what happened.

00:02:34.420 I am from Texas, have many ties there, lots of community there, and so this is especially

00:02:43.840 close to my heart.

00:02:45.260 Not that other tragedies throughout the country don't matter, but of course, when you have

00:02:49.920 roots in a place, it just hits closer to home because the state is home.

00:02:55.900 And so I have just been watching this story so closely and feeling so deeply for everyone

00:03:04.720 who has been affected, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I feel even more deeply

00:03:13.600 for the parents who have lost children, little girls at this camp.

00:03:19.000 Not that those lives matter more than anyone else's lives, but as a mom of little girls

00:03:26.580 myself, as someone who grew up going to summer camps, it just doesn't take a whole lot to

00:03:33.600 put myself in their shoes to imagine what they are feeling, the deep pain that these parents

00:03:39.460 are feeling.

00:03:40.160 And so I want to try to honor that as much as I possibly can, respecting the privacy of those

00:03:46.820 who have asked for privacy and telling stories of heroism as well so that we see that God

00:03:53.300 is already working through this tragedy.

00:03:56.140 But first, let's get into the sad and very disturbing details of everything that happened

00:04:01.660 so we can have proper context for what is going on.

00:04:05.360 In the very early morning hours of July 4th, heavy rain caused severe flash floods in central

00:04:14.120 Texas, specifically in a town called Kerrville.

00:04:17.600 This is in Kerr County, where the Guadalupe River surged over 20 feet in just under two

00:04:23.840 hours.

00:04:24.920 Right now, as we are recording this, floods have tragically killed at least 82 people,

00:04:29.960 but they are still uncovering bodies.

00:04:32.900 They are still adding to that number, it seems, hour by hour.

00:04:36.580 However, this includes right now 28 children, left 10 girls and one counselor missing from

00:04:43.380 a Christian girls camp called Camp Mystic.

00:04:46.860 The camp is very close to this river.

00:04:49.320 Some people are saying the cabins these girls were staying in were waterfront.

00:04:53.260 That's not exactly true.

00:04:54.960 They were close to the river, but not on the bank of the river.

00:04:58.220 It just goes to show how quickly this river flooded.

00:05:01.460 As of Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security reported that over 850 people have been rescued.

00:05:09.900 What I'm about to play you is a video from Friday that shows how quickly the water is rising

00:05:15.440 within just 30 seconds.

00:05:17.540 A street is fully covered.

00:05:19.440 Here's stop one.

00:05:31.460 The flooding was a lot worse than expected.

00:05:49.180 They saw up to 15 inches of rain in just hours, so that is equal to about six months of rainfall

00:05:56.180 in this area in just a few hours.

00:05:59.500 This county was hit hardest.

00:06:02.020 The National Weather Service, NWS, issued flash flood warnings, and so people got those

00:06:07.680 notifications on their phone, but it all happened so fast.

00:06:12.180 A lot of people are asking, how in the world could this happen?

00:06:14.960 Surely there was some negligence, some incompetence.

00:06:18.280 People didn't get the warning.

00:06:19.820 Maybe their phone wasn't working.

00:06:21.860 What is going on here?

00:06:23.180 It doesn't seem like that's the case.

00:06:24.940 It seemed like the National Weather Service did its job that people got the notification.

00:06:29.500 But even those that took this warning seriously, they just weren't able to do what they needed

00:06:35.920 to do to protect themselves and to protect their families because it happened so fast.

00:06:40.900 Also, if you think about it, you've probably gotten a flash flood warning.

00:06:45.360 You've probably gotten a tornado warning on your phone.

00:06:47.620 I grew up in Dallas.

00:06:48.460 We got tornado warnings all the time.

00:06:50.440 Flash flood warnings pretty regularly.

00:06:53.200 And usually we didn't have to do anything about it.

00:06:55.760 It was just, you know, they were being overly cautious, which is good.

00:06:59.100 You want them to do that.

00:07:00.620 They're trying to spare as many lives as possible, trying to get people off the road.

00:07:04.220 But usually you're thinking, okay, if I'm in my home, I'm fine.

00:07:08.520 So a lot of people, not stupidly, just based on their past experience,

00:07:13.600 they get the notification on their phone and they think, okay, I'm fine.

00:07:17.900 Maybe if they were out to eat or if they were driving, they thought, okay, I should get home.

00:07:22.400 But when you're in your home, you feel safe.

00:07:26.040 And I think there's a lot of unnecessary blame kind of being passed around,

00:07:31.160 even in people's minds of how could you not possibly, you know, drive away to safety.

00:07:36.740 And they're not understanding, one, how quickly this happened, how quickly the waters rose.

00:07:42.540 And then, two, thinking about our own experiences and how so often we ignore these warnings.

00:07:48.960 Because of the ongoing recovery right now, there is some variation in the reporting on the death toll.

00:07:56.440 So, you know, the most recent figures that we've already talked about from CNN, 82 deaths, 10 campers, one counselor missing, are used here.

00:08:07.480 But there are other reports from people saying, no, it's actually this many.

00:08:12.420 And in the wake of tragedy, even though we're so used to getting really quick information,

00:08:18.760 there's so much going on and so much chaos and so much ongoing reporting happening,

00:08:26.000 both from individuals who are involved and from official institutions that it's really difficult to know.

00:08:32.000 So now we are going to go through the fatalities and honor them and talk about the human cost here

00:08:41.400 and go through some of their stories.

00:08:43.880 These are all image bearers of God with souls that will live forever.

00:08:48.760 These are people who woke up that morning and thought that they were going to have a normal 4th of July weekend.

00:08:56.180 Maybe they were going to go to the lake.

00:08:58.620 Maybe these girls had activities that they were looking forward to. 1.00

00:09:02.540 As for the actual campers whose lives were lost,

00:09:06.420 all of those parents sent their kids to this camp thinking that they were going to have a wonderful week

00:09:13.640 or weeks of making friends, playing outside,

00:09:16.360 a screen-free time where they could learn new skills.

00:09:21.560 All of the reasons parents send their kids to summer camp and they were already anticipating picking them up from camp.

00:09:28.140 They could have never, ever imagined that they would never get to hear their child laugh again,

00:09:36.020 never get to hug their child again,

00:09:37.740 never get to tell them or hear from them,

00:09:40.440 I love you.

00:09:41.280 And so I just,

00:09:43.260 it's so difficult to talk about these names and these people knowing the absolute nightmare

00:09:50.280 that they went through themselves and all of their families are going through.

00:09:55.040 First, before we get into that,

00:09:56.880 I do have to recognize one of my favorite organizations

00:10:02.880 and they were kind enough to sponsor this episode and that is Concerned Women for America.

00:10:08.620 From Congress to your children's schools,

00:10:11.400 there is a culture war raging across America.

00:10:14.660 For the moms watching, I don't have to tell you this.

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00:10:20.120 And so that's why I want to make you aware of this organization,

00:10:24.420 Concerned Women for America.

00:10:25.680 It's the nation's largest public policy Christian women's organization.

00:10:30.620 For 45 years, they've been leading the charge as your voice in all levels of public policy,

00:10:37.240 advocating for policy that is good for our communities,

00:10:40.540 good for our children,

00:10:41.800 good for their education and their safety.

00:10:44.360 They've got seven core issues that they focus on.

00:10:47.360 The family, sanctity of life, religious liberty, parental choice and education,

00:10:52.000 fighting sexual exploitation,

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00:11:00.440 They've got this new book out, which is amazing.

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00:11:20.120 That's ConcernedWomen.org slash Allie.

00:11:27.740 According to Texas Tribune, Camp Mystic confirmed today, Monday,

00:11:32.780 that it is grieving the loss of 27 campers and counselors.

00:11:37.560 So these are young girls, as young as eight years old,

00:11:42.180 and then you've got all the way up to the college age girls

00:11:45.980 and sometimes a little bit older and younger that were the counselors.

00:11:50.580 Families have confirmed the identities of some deceased campers to the media,

00:11:55.120 but there's no comprehensive official one list of all deceased individuals from Camp Mystic

00:12:00.960 that has been released publicly.

00:12:03.720 But here are some victims whose families have confirmed publicly,

00:12:08.060 and so it seems that they are okay with these names being honored publicly by the media

00:12:13.340 since they have made their own public statements.

00:12:16.400 And I'll read a few of their names.

00:12:18.440 And I hope I'm pronouncing this last name correctly.

00:12:21.300 It's Renee Smostrela.

00:12:23.760 She's an eight-year-old camper.

00:12:25.520 There's Janie Hunt, a nine-year-old camper from Dallas.

00:12:27.920 She is actually the niece of the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, Clark Hunt.

00:12:33.980 Lila Bonner, a nine-year-old.

00:12:36.000 Eloise Peck, another nine-year-old.

00:12:40.200 Anna Margaret Bellows, an eight-year-old.

00:12:42.820 And then you also have Sarah Marsh, an eight-year-old camper.

00:12:47.200 And like I said, there are other campers whose names have not been officially confirmed

00:12:51.540 by the family yet, and so we're not sharing those.

00:12:56.180 Um, also the longtime director and co-owner of Camp Mystic, Dick Eastland, he died while

00:13:02.960 trying to save campers, and we'll actually get into the details of his heroic story in

00:13:08.700 just a few minutes.

00:13:09.960 And then there was a director of another camp in the area who, thank the Lord, did not have

00:13:14.560 any campers there at the moment, but her name was Jane Ragsdale.

00:13:18.460 She was the longtime director and co-owner of another Christian camp called Heart of the

00:13:23.460 Hills Camp for Girls, and she lost her life trying to escape the flood.

00:13:29.020 There were two other children, um, their names and their deaths being confirmed by their family

00:13:34.560 and reported by the media.

00:13:36.220 Two sisters named Blair Harbor and Brooke Harbor.

00:13:39.940 There was some, uh, contradicting reporting about their ages, but it looks like Blair was

00:13:45.780 13, Brooke was 11.

00:13:47.460 Um, they weren't at Camp Mystic, but they were staying with their grandparents nearby, uh,

00:13:53.480 their grandparents' cabin was along the Guadalupe River.

00:13:57.740 And, oh, this is so, so tough to talk about, but, um, their bodies were found with their hands

00:14:08.260 held together.

00:14:08.880 And thankfully their, their parents were unharmed, but, um, their grandparents, Charlene and Mike

00:14:17.080 Harbor, uh, remain missing.

00:14:19.320 And if you have any information about any of the missing people that we talked about today,

00:14:24.260 I will give you the phone number of who to call.

00:14:29.220 Um, there are a lot of people posting the personal phone numbers of the parents and maybe the parents

00:14:34.620 want that or family members.

00:14:36.020 They're posting their own phone numbers, asking you to call them with information.

00:14:40.280 I would probably not do that.

00:14:43.760 Honestly, I would probably call the official lines of Kerr County, um, and the official

00:14:51.600 rescue missions, just because unfortunately in times like this, people take advantage of

00:14:57.720 a tragedy and there are prank calls.

00:15:00.460 There is fraud.

00:15:01.640 There are people trying to extort money by calling these personal numbers of people who

00:15:06.900 are just trying to get information about their missing child or missing family member.

00:15:11.340 And I'm just so sensitive to that.

00:15:12.780 So I just don't want to share those personal numbers here.

00:15:15.700 Although I understand as a parent, why you would just want the quickest way to get information

00:15:20.500 possible.

00:15:21.540 Um, I am going to share some of the names and the photos of, uh, some of the campers missing.

00:15:28.120 Um, I have really good family friends who are connected to some of the campers missing and

00:15:34.400 their parents don't want their names or photos out there, which I also understand.

00:15:39.680 So I won't be sharing all of the names and the pictures of the people missing, but we have

00:15:45.080 one little girl, Hadley, Hannah, uh, Kellyanne Lytle.

00:15:49.940 I think that's how you pronounce her last name.

00:15:51.840 Gosh, these little girls are so, they're so little. 1.00

00:15:54.760 So we've got Virginia Hollis, we've got Greta Toronzo, you have, sorry, this is so tough.

00:16:03.460 Mary Grace Baker, Blakely McQuarrie, you've got Molly DeWitt and Margaret Sheedy.

00:16:10.400 Those are names of some campers that we have.

00:16:14.440 Um, Kerrville city manager, Dalton Rice noted other non-camp individuals may also be missing.

00:16:20.320 He didn't provide specific names.

00:16:22.320 Um, there are two local residents, Jonathan and Brittany Rojas.

00:16:26.800 Um, they reported that a mother and a baby from their extended family are missing.

00:16:32.700 Their teenage son, Leo survived after being caught in barbed wire.

00:16:37.500 I posted about a family who was camping along the Guadalupe river.

00:16:42.520 Their, their last name is Burgess and, um, a mom and a dad and their little kids, they were

00:16:49.480 swept away.

00:16:50.460 They are still missing.

00:16:53.000 Um, there are so many people that we didn't get to honor that we didn't get to name.

00:16:57.260 The loss of life is huge.

00:16:59.060 It is catastrophic.

00:17:00.160 And while we will have a designated segment for the theological side to all of this, I just

00:17:08.860 want to encourage you to pray.

00:17:10.720 Even if we don't know all of their names, we don't know everything that needs to be done.

00:17:15.900 Um, I just really encourage you to pray that those who are alive would stay alive until

00:17:22.620 they are rescued.

00:17:24.040 Pray for the safety, for the energy, the strength, the effectiveness, the wisdom, the discernment,

00:17:29.140 the clarity of mind for those who are operating rescue missions.

00:17:33.920 Um, pray for the families of little girls, of children, of people who are missing.

00:17:41.080 I cannot, I can, but it's also difficult to imagine the anxiety that they have right now.

00:17:50.700 And the only thing that we can ask God to do is to yes, rescue their children and their

00:17:55.820 loved ones, but to give them the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that transcends

00:18:02.040 their current circumstance.

00:18:03.300 They have every reason to be anxious and yet God can do this miraculous thing in their hearts

00:18:08.440 and their minds and their bodies to give them peace, to give them comfort and strength.

00:18:13.760 And so pray for that, pray that in the midst of this, God would be glorified somehow in this

00:18:21.000 tragedy.

00:18:21.560 And if you're not a Christian, and maybe even if you are, that sounds really bizarre to you,

00:18:27.460 but that is what God is in the business of doing.

00:18:30.340 He makes beauty out of ashes.

00:18:31.960 He brings redemption and goodness, even to the darkest situations.

00:18:36.760 Sometimes we can see that redemption up close.

00:18:39.560 Sometimes it is happening on the other side of eternity and we can't see everything that is

00:18:45.220 happening.

00:18:45.680 But we do know that when God is doing one thing, when it looks like he's doing one thing,

00:18:50.520 he's actually doing a million things.

00:18:53.060 And really, I see that some of these heroic stories that are already coming out about those

00:18:59.800 who sacrificed their lives on behalf of the people that they were tasked to protect, I

00:19:05.980 think we see the character of Christ in some of these stories.

00:19:09.200 And I think we see that God works through really, really sad situations.

00:19:14.860 And I want to tell the story of the director of Camp Mystic.

00:19:19.540 His name is Dick Eastland.

00:19:21.240 He was trying to save campers during the flood, doing what he does, take care of campers.

00:19:28.200 He has done this for decades.

00:19:29.700 He's been the director for decades now.

00:19:33.860 And he inherited Camp Mystic as a third generation director of this camp back in the 70s.

00:19:42.660 And so this was his life.

00:19:45.200 This is what he did.

00:19:46.220 He took care of these campers, led them, helped them.

00:19:48.760 And he did it until his dying breath.

00:19:50.600 He was actually rescued as he was saving these young girls during the flood.

00:19:55.980 But reportedly, he died in a helicopter while being transported to a hospital in Houston,

00:20:02.520 according to Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly.

00:20:06.360 The Kerrville Daily Times, there was a guest columnist.

00:20:09.340 Her name was Paige Sumner.

00:20:10.580 She was a longtime camper at Camp Mystic and knew Dick Eastland well.

00:20:17.240 She wrote,

00:20:17.740 It doesn't surprise me at all that his last act of kindness and sacrifice was working to save

00:20:23.100 the lives of campers.

00:20:26.220 And so our heart just goes out to his family.

00:20:28.260 He had four boys, I believe I read, and I'm sure that he is also a grandparent.

00:20:33.440 And there are many, many young women and girls who have been impacted by his faith and his

00:20:40.120 leadership and their lives literally saved because he sacrificed his life on their behalf.

00:20:47.660 We also have this amazing story of someone named Scott Ruskin.

00:20:53.580 He's a 26-year-old U.S. Coast Guard petty officer and rescue swimmer from New Jersey.

00:20:59.460 He has, according to the New York Post, saved 165 lives during the floods.

00:21:06.320 And there's a picture of him.

00:21:08.100 And he, I mean, he looks courageous.

00:21:11.120 This was Ruskin's first ever rescue mission where he served as the sole triage coordinator

00:21:15.920 at Camp Mystic.

00:21:17.080 He directed Army Blackhawk and Coast Guard MH-65 helicopters to survivors.

00:21:22.640 He managed medical care.

00:21:24.220 He comforted campers who were rescued.

00:21:27.040 Here's a sweet excerpt from a report from the New York Times.

00:21:31.800 At Camp Mystic on Friday, Mr. Ruskin shuttled campers to the helicopters that would lift them

00:21:36.160 to safety, sometimes carrying two girls in one arm.

00:21:39.060 As he took some evacuees away, he assured the others that he would come back for them.

00:21:43.160 Some asked if they could bring their stuffed animal with them.

00:21:45.240 Of course, he told them.

00:21:47.000 Oh, sweet man.

00:21:49.640 There is another really tragic story.

00:21:52.180 But again, just a meaningful story of sacrifice.

00:21:54.980 This is according to the New York Post.

00:21:57.340 A 27-year-old father by the name of Julian Ryan, he died saving his mom, his fiancee, and

00:22:03.360 his children.

00:22:04.860 They were in their trailer, realized that water was rising.

00:22:08.640 They weren't going to be able to get out.

00:22:10.240 And so when he realized this, their door was jammed, so he punched through a window to help

00:22:16.560 his fiancee.

00:22:17.880 And their two children, aged 6 and 13 months, and his mother escaped their flooded trailer

00:22:24.540 home.

00:22:25.200 And they were able to get onto a mattress and to float to safety.

00:22:29.260 But when he punched through the window, he severed an artery in his arm, and he bled to death.

00:22:35.800 And as he was bleeding out, he, according to his fiancee, Christina Wilson, said, I'm sorry.

00:22:44.300 I'm not going to make it.

00:22:45.580 I love y'all.

00:22:47.260 A GoFundMe was set up to support Ryan's family.

00:22:49.720 It's already raised over $88,000 as I'm giving this report.

00:22:53.440 And so we can link that if you're interested in supporting them.

00:22:58.800 But my goodness, he did exactly what men are supposed to do and what fathers are supposed

00:23:04.000 to do in that moment.

00:23:06.240 There are other heroic stories, specifically from the Texas National Guard, and I'll get

00:23:11.140 to that in just a second.

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00:24:38.920 Here is the Texas National Guard rescuing big groups of children from local camps sought

00:24:47.840 to.

00:24:55.100 Okay.

00:24:55.920 So I'm so thankful.

00:24:57.260 I'm so thankful for everyone who is sacrificing their safety and convenience to try to help

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00:25:28.600 the Rio Grande Valley, and they have continued to help Texas communities whenever disaster

00:25:34.820 strikes.

00:25:35.480 And so here you see a caravan of HEB trucks carrying supplies, much-needed materials to

00:25:41.860 the communities that were affected.

00:25:43.420 Here's top three.

00:25:47.040 That's exactly what they said to us.

00:25:48.980 That's exactly what they said to us.

00:25:52.640 That is awesome.

00:26:05.120 I think that you see the best of humanity, and as we'll get to in a little bit also, the

00:26:12.320 worst of humanity when tragedy like this strikes.

00:26:15.120 But there is so much generosity and love and selflessness and sacrifice from Americans, specifically

00:26:24.420 from Christians, that really shines through in the darkness in these moments. 0.95

00:26:29.480 And there's hope, too.

00:26:31.480 Christ is our hope in life and in death, in good times and in bad times.

00:26:38.400 And these girl campers from Camp Mystic, this Christian camp in the heart of the Texas Hill

00:26:45.380 country, many of them are already showing the world what it means to have hope in Jesus,

00:26:51.620 to have hope in the gospel, to have hope in the eternal life and the joy that we find in

00:26:56.840 him.

00:26:57.100 There's this video that's going around of a bus full of Camp Mystic campers.

00:27:02.580 They're being evacuated post-flood.

00:27:04.400 And if you're just listening to this, you see that they're driving past this devastation.

00:27:09.960 Someone is recording from their phone everything that they are passing in this county.

00:27:16.320 And as you see those visuals, you hear these girls singing worship songs to God.

00:27:23.920 Here's top four.

00:27:24.500 With Thanksgiving, I'll be a living sanctuary.

00:27:32.060 So a little bit more about Camp Mystic.

00:28:01.520 This hits hard for not just Texas, but also the surrounding states who have been sending

00:28:06.840 their kids to this camp for a long time.

00:28:09.080 This is a very prominent and well-known camp.

00:28:12.220 We're talking like Laura Bush was a counselor there.

00:28:15.380 LBJ sent his daughters there.

00:28:17.380 It has been there for about 100 years.

00:28:21.140 And it has quite the legacy.

00:28:24.980 And I know some people are asking, why would a Christian camp be called Camp Mystic?

00:28:30.680 And it has nothing to do with its mission.

00:28:33.160 It does have Christian mission statements, Christian roots, and a Christian core.

00:28:38.380 They say that their mission is to provide young girls with a wholesome Christian atmosphere

00:28:42.240 where they can develop outstanding personal qualities, be a better person for being at Mystic,

00:28:47.420 let Mystic bring out the best in them.

00:28:49.160 And then, of course, grow spiritually, providing a Christian environment with opportunities for

00:28:53.100 spiritual development through Sunday worship services, daily devotionals, Bible studies.

00:28:59.000 And so you are probably going to see people paying homage to Camp Mystic and these campers

00:29:04.680 in a lot of places in Texas.

00:29:06.460 And even in Highland Park, a place in Dallas, they're wrapping ribbons around trees to honor these girls.

00:29:15.520 And so, I mean, this is a generational thing.

00:29:17.820 You're talking about mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers who all attended Camp Mystic.

00:29:24.360 And so if you're wondering, why are people talking about this so much?

00:29:27.420 This has really been like a pillar of Texas life for a lot of people for a very long time.

00:29:35.880 There are a lot of other camps in the region, too.

00:29:39.100 This is the heart of the Texas Hill Country.

00:29:41.260 It is very beautiful.

00:29:43.300 And that is why you have so many summer camps.

00:29:45.820 Now, not all summer camps at this time had campers there, but obviously Camp Mystic did.

00:29:51.940 They have about 750 campers there.

00:29:55.940 And so that is why you are seeing so much media attention specifically focused on them.

00:30:03.260 A little bit about this region for people who don't understand, how could this happen so quickly?

00:30:10.380 How could the Guadalupe River rise so quickly?

00:30:15.400 We're talking feet in just a matter of minutes.

00:30:18.400 Some people were saying it rose dozens of feet in just 45 minutes.

00:30:24.320 So, again, even if you're getting that flash flood warning, even if you are doing everything that you're supposed to do, they just didn't have time to get everyone out.

00:30:36.300 Obviously, a lot of people were saved and they did what they could.

00:30:39.860 But that is why you're seeing this devastation.

00:30:42.760 So you've got rolling limestone hills.

00:30:45.180 You've got elevations of about 1,600 to 2,400 feet.

00:30:49.060 You've got the Guadalupe River.

00:30:50.520 It's lined with cypress, oak, pecan trees.

00:30:53.460 This creates an ideal setting for outdoor activities, according to CBS.

00:30:59.400 But also the non-absorbent soil there and steep slopes contribute to rapid runoff.

00:31:06.780 And that is what increases flood risks.

00:31:09.200 There is a floodplain right there.

00:31:12.080 And some people are saying, why would you have a camp in this region when you know it is prone to flooding?

00:31:17.080 This is not the first time that this area has flooded.

00:31:19.220 Actually, there was a devastating flood that affected summer camps back in 1987.

00:31:24.080 And there was loss of life then, too.

00:31:26.000 But there has not been a flood like this.

00:31:29.660 This is like every 500 years kind of thing.

00:31:32.980 Obviously, Camp Mystic had been there for 100 years and hadn't gone through this kind of destruction before.

00:31:40.620 And so it's not like it was an unwise place for people to be camping out.

00:31:45.740 It was a very popular place for people to be camping out.

00:31:48.740 This kind of thing just could not have been adequately anticipated.

00:31:53.780 And, of course, in moments like this, people are going to politicize it.

00:31:57.760 They're going to say this is Texas's fault.

00:31:59.640 This is Republicans' fault.

00:32:01.080 This is Trump's fault.

00:32:02.400 There was some kind of policy or spending cut that caused the loss of life here.

00:32:07.580 And that is simply not true.

00:32:09.720 And so we're going to debunk some of that.

00:32:11.180 But first, I'll talk about Greg Abbott's response.

00:32:15.360 He's the governor of Texas and Trump's response as well.

00:32:18.740 Everything that I saw, Governor Abbott responded to this as quickly, as seriously as he possibly could,

00:32:24.940 allocated every single resource that he possibly could to rescue efforts, to clean up efforts,

00:32:30.100 to providing the resources that the state could in partnership with private companies like HEB,

00:32:36.920 other disaster relief organizations, to try to help as many people as possible.

00:32:41.560 I also love, in addition to the tangible help that he channeled to the region,

00:32:46.740 he declared Sunday, July 6th, as a day of prayer in Texas in response to the floods in the Hill Country.

00:32:52.260 He says he invites Texans to join me in prayer for the communities affected by this disaster.

00:33:00.060 He says in this statement, he urges the people of Texas to pause in reflection and prayer for their lives lost,

00:33:05.580 for those still missing, for the recovery of our communities, and for the safety of those serving on the front lines.

00:33:11.480 You know, I always see a lot of really cynical people in this time saying,

00:33:15.960 well, this is not a time for thoughts and prayers.

00:33:18.180 We have to do something as if your anger and your bitterness proves that you are more serious about helping people than those praying.

00:33:28.240 I'm telling you that the people most likely to pray are also the people most likely to help.

00:33:33.700 The people most likely to complain are the people least likely to help.

00:33:38.020 Okay, so I don't want to hear, well, thoughts and prayers don't help.

00:33:41.380 Actually, the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

00:33:45.800 Prayer does something.

00:33:47.040 How we square the sovereignty of God who exists outside of time and space and the actual power that prayer has is somewhat of a theological mystery.

00:33:58.900 And yet we understand that God commands us to pray, that he ordained prayer as a vessel through which he chooses to work,

00:34:06.300 and that it actually does something.

00:34:08.640 Now, thoughts and vibes, they don't do much.

00:34:12.460 Maybe you should be thinking about this.

00:34:14.320 Maybe you should be dwelling upon it until you understand what people are really going through.

00:34:18.860 But that in and of itself, empathy in and of itself doesn't do anything.

00:34:23.040 The question is, what is it going to compel you to do?

00:34:27.020 Praying is a great thing to do.

00:34:28.980 Now, there are also other things that we should do.

00:34:32.600 We've already talked about the rescue missions that are being put in place.

00:34:35.840 I will give you the specific resources that you can call, that you can donate to, that you can be a part of at the end of this episode to make sure that we are pairing our prayer with action.

00:34:47.300 But don't let anyone tell you that prayer means nothing.

00:34:50.400 And wow, what a blessing it is to have politicians that take prayer seriously, that will appeal to the power of God to try to help the people that they are leading in their state. 0.98

00:35:02.840 Some people scoff at this kind of thing and act like, oh, Republicans are so vapid and hypocritical. 0.95

00:35:08.160 They just use God to cover up their cruelty. 0.97

00:35:11.100 It is a huge, big and wonderful deal to have politicians that actually believe in the transcendent power of God.

00:35:19.220 So I'm just very grateful to governors like Governor Abbott for caring about prayer and for believing that prayer has the power that it does.

00:35:29.040 President Trump also posted on Truth Social.

00:35:33.360 This was on July 6th.

00:35:34.500 He said, I just signed a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, Texas, to ensure that our brave first responders immediately have the resources they need.

00:35:41.940 These families are enduring an unimaginable tragedy with many lives lost, many still missing.

00:35:46.560 The Trump admin continues to work closely with state and local leaders.

00:35:51.480 Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, was on the ground yesterday with Governor Greg Abbott, who was working hard to help the people of his great state.

00:35:58.860 Our incredible U.S. Coast Guard with their state first responders have saved more than 850 lives.

00:36:05.180 Thank the Lord.

00:36:06.160 We've got Representative Chip Roy from Texas.

00:36:08.740 He was talking to Fox News again.

00:36:10.780 So thankful for politicians who will genuinely praise the Lord as he is talking about a young girl who survived by floating on a mattress.

00:36:18.300 Here's Sop 5.

00:36:19.900 One of the little girls from our school, thankfully, praise the Lord, was found.

00:36:23.480 She floated on a mattress for three hours yesterday morning, and we just got the text notice that she survived and we've located her and that she's safe and sound.

00:36:31.740 So we're hoping for stories like that.

00:36:34.100 But obviously, we're deeply concerned about the remaining little girls that we've not found.

00:36:38.080 A lot of people have asked me if there is any validity to these theories about cloud seeding or weather modification when it comes to this flood.

00:36:49.480 And I don't know that we have time to get into all of the details because so much of what is being said or theorized right now is speculative.

00:36:58.580 Cloud seeding, which includes involving substances such as silver iodide to clouds to increase rainfall, is something that does happen.

00:37:09.380 These are regulated practices, but some say that these practices trying to change the weather, change the atmosphere, even if it is for the purported purpose of increasing rainfall in places that go through severe droughts in Texas, actually can have a negative effect.

00:37:28.640 And some people are speculating that that is what happened here, that cloud seeding, weather modification played a role.

00:37:35.980 We don't have any evidence of that right now.

00:37:38.420 We've got Congress people like Candace Taylor, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, saying that this is a problem.

00:37:45.340 This could have caused what happened in Texas.

00:37:48.780 Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a bill that prohibits the injection release or dispersion of chemicals or substances into the atmosphere.

00:37:58.100 We don't we don't know if that had anything to do with what's going on.

00:38:02.940 I would say probably not, considering that this is an area that is very vulnerable to flooding.

00:38:10.580 Yes, this flooding was really fast.

00:38:13.480 Yes, this rainfall was almost unprecedented.

00:38:17.300 But without more substantive evidence, I just don't know that this is the direction we need to go right now.

00:38:25.340 I'm not saying don't ask questions.

00:38:27.220 I'm not saying there shouldn't be independent journalism and reporting and investigation into things like this.

00:38:32.520 I don't think it's wrong necessarily for Congress people to wonder, hey, did this happen?

00:38:37.760 And is there anything that we can do to prevent it?

00:38:41.240 But for those of you who are going through tragedy right now, who are trying to process the human cost of all of this,

00:38:47.360 I would encourage you to not go down this rabbit hole right now, as I don't think it is going to have the best effect on you personally, spiritually, mentally, or your community or even the state of Texas right now.

00:39:03.840 It's just a lot.

00:39:05.460 And a lot of it is conspiratorial.

00:39:07.780 Not all of it, probably.

00:39:09.300 Like I said, cloud seeding is a real thing that goes on.

00:39:12.020 But a lot of people use moments like this to try to get followers, to try to get clicks, and to try to whip you up into some kind of panicked frenzy.

00:39:23.200 And I just don't know that that is the healthiest response right now.

00:39:28.680 And so more to come on that because people have asked me about weather modification and what is actually true and what is not.

00:39:35.760 And I understand that things like that really matter.

00:39:38.680 And so at a different time, we will get into this.

00:39:43.180 Okay, there's been a response by the Democrats, by many people on the left to what happened.

00:39:49.440 And the response has been not by all Democrats, not by all progressives, but by many prominent people to blame Donald Trump.

00:39:57.520 So we've got, for example, the Democratic Party, the official Democrats' X account says,

00:40:04.480 Reminder, the staffing shortages at the National Weather Service's San Angelo and San Antonio offices doubled under the Trump administration.

00:40:12.700 These jobs are meant to coordinate disaster response and save lives.

00:40:17.540 Rosie O'Donnell blames Donald Trump.

00:40:19.860 She says these are going to be the results we're going to start to see on a daily basis because he's put this country in so much danger by his horrible, horrible decisions and this ridiculously immoral bill that he's just signed into law.

00:40:32.320 As Republicans cheered, people will die as a result.

00:40:35.160 And they've started to already.

00:40:38.040 Okay, Rosie O'Donnell, I'm just asking.

00:40:39.800 You've got plenty of money.

00:40:40.820 Have you donated to the cause at all?

00:40:42.740 What are you doing?

00:40:43.600 That time that you spent on TikTok wrongly blaming Donald Trump for a flood that happened in Texas, people dying as a result of that flood, you could have been logging onto the Internet and donating to a worthy cause that actually helps the people that are hurting there.

00:40:59.160 But you chose not to.

00:41:00.340 Again, the people most likely to complain in situations like this are the people least likely to help.

00:41:05.500 The people most likely to pray in situations like this are also the people most likely to help.

00:41:10.260 Just remember that.

00:41:11.220 And then we've got a politician from Texas, Joaquin Castro.

00:41:15.060 I think he tried to run for president in maybe 2020.

00:41:18.720 He is spitting this narrative that there wasn't enough personnel because of cuts, thanks to Donald Trump, SOT 7.

00:41:25.120 When you have flash flooding, you know, there is a risk that you won't have the personnel to make that, do that analysis, do the predictions in the best way.

00:41:36.180 And it could lead to tragedy.

00:41:37.620 Not having enough personnel is never helpful.

00:41:40.120 All right.

00:41:41.060 This is simply not true.

00:41:42.360 I actually don't think it's wrong to say, hey, this policy caused this.

00:41:46.660 I don't think that that's always wrong.

00:41:48.060 There's a time and a place for that kind of conversation, whether it's wildfires in California or whether it is flooding hurricanes in Texas.

00:41:56.420 However, in this case, it is just not true.

00:41:59.500 It is deceitful.

00:42:00.720 It is a lie.

00:42:01.840 And we will get into that fact check in just a second.

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00:43:22.160 So here is the truth.

00:43:24.080 The Trump administration's DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, proposed significant cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

00:43:33.960 That's the NOAA, cuts to their funding and staff in 2025.

00:43:38.460 That did lead to over 500 job losses at the National Weather Service.

00:43:44.120 But the larger budget cuts, potentially slashing NOAA's funding by 25 to 30 percent, have not happened yet.

00:43:52.180 They're proposed to begin October 1st, 2025, the start of the next fiscal year, but are not even guaranteed until Congress approves.

00:44:01.120 So the 500 job losses at the National Weather Service, did that actually have an impact on what happened in Texas?

00:44:09.000 There is no evidence to that.

00:44:11.780 In fact, the job cuts were proposed, the funding cuts were proposed because of inefficiency, because of ineffectiveness.

00:44:18.120 And so in order to make the leap that those 500 job cuts actually somehow led to the disaster or the response there in Texas, like you would have to give me some support for that.

00:44:30.320 You would have to show me what those 500 jobs were, what those people were doing and how specifically they would have prevented this from happening.

00:44:36.820 The truth is, Tom Fay, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Union, said that both the Austin-San Antonio, located in New Braunfels, and San Angelo Weather Service offices, had adequate staffing and resources leading up to and during this disaster.

00:44:53.320 Actually, the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels said that they had extra staff working during these storms and that normally the office only has two forecasters on during calm weather, but they had extra people there that night.

00:45:08.920 Meteorologist John Morales said in an ex-post that recent budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service did not stop accurate warnings.

00:45:18.240 He says, I don't see any evidence that cuts to NOAA, NWS, cause any degradation in the anticipatory weather warnings ahead of this Texas tragedy.

00:45:27.740 Those local officials blaming NWS are wrong.

00:45:32.100 The NBC said the forecasting was good.

00:45:34.520 The warnings were good.

00:45:35.500 It's always about getting people to receive the message.

00:45:39.400 The Department of Homeland Security also responded to this claim that the National Weather Service didn't have adequate people to do their job.

00:45:47.780 They said that is absolutely not true.

00:45:50.300 And on X, and we can put it up on here, you can pause it and you can read it for yourself.

00:45:54.400 It's long.

00:45:55.100 And so I don't want to spend the time entirely doing that.

00:45:57.680 But the Department of Homeland Security went through the timeline showing exactly what the National Water Center and the National Weather Service did during that time to warn people, to rescue people, to make sure that people had all the information that they needed.

00:46:14.680 Now, a lot of people are also talking about climate change, that climate change caused this.

00:46:21.560 The Washington Post published an article titled How Extraordinary Rainfall Caught Texas By Surprise.

00:46:26.640 And they said that the flood occurred against the backdrop of rising global temperatures and surging fossil fuel emissions.

00:46:35.440 We have no evidence whatsoever that that is what caused this.

00:46:38.720 Just like I'm going to say, I have no idea if weather modification had anything to do with this.

00:46:44.420 We have no evidence whatsoever that climate change had something to do with this.

00:46:47.880 This is exploiting human tragedy to try to push policies that would give the government more control and you less freedom.

00:46:55.880 Now, unfortunately, there's just a lot of hatefulness out there, too, because Republicans are.

00:47:01.200 Yeah, because Republicans control Texas or Texas is a predominantly red state.

00:47:05.360 People seize upon this and they say, you know, this is what this state actually deserved, because not only is this state Texas, but yes, because this camp is predominantly white. 0.84

00:47:18.840 It served them right.

00:47:20.260 I am not exaggerating.

00:47:21.720 There was someone by the name of Texas pediatrician named Dr. Christina Probst. 0.66

00:47:28.740 She is part of a pediatric center called Blue Fish Pediatrics.

00:47:34.660 She said that the state of Texas, that MAGA residents got what they voted for.

00:47:42.520 So here is a post that she posted on Facebook.

00:47:45.140 And first, this was just posted on X.

00:47:48.460 And so I wanted to verify that it was actually this person who posted this.

00:47:53.620 But indeed, it is.

00:47:55.080 She posted on Facebook.

00:47:56.520 May all visitors, children, non-MAGA voters and pets be safe and dry.

00:48:01.480 Kirk County MAGA voted to gut FEMA.

00:48:03.620 They deny climate change.

00:48:05.340 May they get what they voted for.

00:48:08.060 Bless their hearts.

00:48:09.060 So as children are dying, as people are losing their lives, the first thing in this Democrat's mind is, well, they get what they voted for because they voted for Donald Trump.

00:48:21.280 Again, cuts to FEMA had nothing to do with this.

00:48:24.980 Blue Fish Pediatrics actually put out a statement in response to her hateful comment on Instagram saying that we do not support or condone any statement that politicizes tragedy.

00:48:38.540 Our practice exists for one purpose only, to provide excellent, loving, and respectful care to all children and their families.

00:48:45.260 And reportedly, that pediatrician has been fired, as she should.

00:48:50.760 And she should never be able to get a job. 0.86

00:48:52.840 She should never be able to see patients.

00:48:55.760 Again, this is one of those examples full of empathy and cruel as hell.

00:49:01.480 I mean, full of empathy and just full of hate and full of anger.

00:49:05.660 People who claim that they are so loving, they're so kind, they're so compassionate, they show that by voting Democrat, are so often unbelievably inhumane and brutal to those that they consider the outgroup.

00:49:18.160 Those that they consider the oppressor, not realizing that they have actually become the oppressor themselves.

00:49:23.720 This is certainly true of a former Houston City Board appointee who served on the Houston Food and Security Board named Sadie Perkins.

00:49:32.620 She is also known as the market manager of Freedman's Town Farmer's Market in Houston.

00:49:37.760 She claimed on TikTok Live that this camp is whites only.

00:49:42.340 And she said that we just need to understand the context of what's going on.

00:49:48.540 Basically, the underlying message here is that Camp Mystic, because it served mostly white families, it got what it deserved. 0.99

00:49:56.760 You have carved out an all-white, whites-only enclave in East Texas for your white children. 0.95

00:50:06.540 Yeah, I have a problem with that.

00:50:08.320 I have a big problem with that.

00:50:09.800 Once again, this is no shade to the girls. 0.87

00:50:11.660 I hope they all get found.

00:50:13.220 But once again, y'all have to understand the climate that we're living in.

00:50:17.540 They want you to have sympathy for these people.

00:50:20.780 They want you to get out of your bed and to come out of your home and to go find these people and to donate your money to go find these people.

00:50:28.000 Meanwhile, they are deporting your family members.

00:50:31.560 Meanwhile, they're setting up concentration camps and prisons for your family members.

00:50:37.040 And I need y'all to keep that in mind before y'all get out there and put on your rain boots and go find these little girls. 0.52

00:50:42.920 Okay, critical race theory and social justice ideology is an infection of the mind that actually blinds you to reality and morality.

00:50:51.600 Social justice is an impediment to actual justice.

00:50:55.180 When you see the world as black and brown oppressed and white oppressor, you are unable to execute justice.

00:51:01.800 Anyone who believes anything close to this should never be in a position of power or influence or be able to hold the job.

00:51:07.940 Really, because you are so unable to see things rightly.

00:51:11.860 You can't judge judiciously.

00:51:14.280 You have no discernment.

00:51:15.260 And unfortunately, there are people in the church, people that you follow, who in 2020 basically pushed this kind of nonsense.

00:51:22.280 Because of what happened to George Floyd, they treated black people one way, white people one way, a message of collective guilt and responsibility and condemnation of fragility to people who had less melanin.

00:51:35.860 And a message of no agency, no responsibility, no individuality to those who had more melanin.

00:51:47.280 That is a toxic mentality that is prevalent in our schools, that is prevalent in many churches, and that is prevalent in a lot of communities who have been told from a young age that everything that goes wrong in your life is because you are of a certain skin color.

00:52:02.980 I just saw this video of Whoopi Goldberg going around saying that America in the United States is just as bad for black people today as Iran is for women today.

00:52:15.660 Whoopi Goldberg, whoopi Goldberg, millionaire, actually believes that.

00:52:21.360 Don't think, I mean, and this is, I've been told this for years, that I should just latch on to or let go of my criticism of critical race theory, social justice ideology, race baiting ideology that I see so often even in the evangelical church.

00:52:39.300 And I won't do it, I won't do it, I won't do it, because it is evil.

00:52:44.020 This person, she got backlash.

00:52:46.600 Someone said, girl, you brought this upon yourself because now she apparently is, you know, she's receiving consequences for what she did. 1.00

00:52:54.080 All the associations that she had in the past are being forced to make these statements saying, yeah, we want nothing to do with this person.

00:53:00.340 And she responded on TikTok, consequences for what?

00:53:03.920 Maybe it was God's will to wash them little C words away. 1.00

00:53:08.660 So, like I said, this is showing the best of humanity and the rescue efforts that we have and the courage that we've seen and the very worst of humanity who just cannot, who cannot understand what it means for an image bearer of God to lose their life.

00:53:27.440 That a tragedy is a tragedy, that it doesn't have to be about beating down your racial or your political enemies.

00:53:35.860 Okay, here's how you can help.

00:53:37.640 There are a few different ways.

00:53:39.740 First, if you have any information about any missing people that we talked about today or that you're seeing on the news, call Kerr County Sheriff's Office.

00:53:48.020 That is 830-258-1111.

00:53:51.600 You can email floodrecovery at co.kerr.texas.us.

00:53:57.040 Officials do urge the public to contact these lines only with specific tips.

00:54:01.980 That's what I was saying earlier.

00:54:04.340 You can donate $50 to everylife.com.

00:54:08.060 Buy for a cause.

00:54:09.180 Every Life is a great company.

00:54:10.720 They're a sponsor to this show.

00:54:12.560 And they are donating wipes, diapers, other kinds of mom-baby supplies to the areas that have been affected.

00:54:19.260 There's a ministry called Remnant Ministry.

00:54:21.080 You can volunteer, donate, or you can offer a drop-off site.

00:54:25.980 You can contact John at 336-244-4700.

00:54:30.940 Southern Oaks Church is also a physical drop-off place, or you can donate online.

00:54:36.240 There are also places where you can donate online, like Convoy of Hope, Salvation Army, Texas,

00:54:42.460 Kerr County Flood Relief Fund, Camp Mystic Flood Relief Fund, Healing for Camp Mystic Girls and Families.

00:54:49.960 That is a GoFundMe.

00:54:52.900 So there are a lot of ways that you can help, that you can donate, that you can pair your very powerful prayers

00:54:59.800 with donations and with action and with help.

00:55:03.880 All right, let's get into the theological response to all of this, how we should be thinking about this as Christians.

00:55:10.760 First, let me tell you our last sponsor for the day.

00:55:14.540 Our last sponsor is Freedom Project Academy.

00:55:17.720 It's a fully accredited online school for children in kindergarten and high school.

00:55:21.640 The curriculum centers around Christian values, follows a classical Christian model,

00:55:25.420 free from state or common core curricula.

00:55:28.520 Pay attention, what is happening right now in New York City.

00:55:31.420 Where do you think that those voters learned that communism is a good idea,

00:55:37.920 that the guy that they voted for in the mayoral primary, that his policies would actually work?

00:55:44.680 They learned that in school, where in many of our major cities, kids are not becoming better thinkers.

00:55:50.720 They are not becoming more grateful Americans, but they are actually becoming social justice activists

00:55:56.860 who think that collectivism is the best system.

00:56:01.280 They learned that because of the dereliction of duty of their parents and because of the hardcore left-wing indoctrination in schools.

00:56:09.600 And if you want to combat against that, you need to raise kids who are critical thinkers, who are virtuous,

00:56:15.140 who are kind, who know really about the foundation of our country, the truth about capitalism.

00:56:22.880 And a great way to ensure that your child has that awesome education is by enrolling them in Freedom Project Academy.

00:56:30.560 They really have perfected online learning.

00:56:33.100 Go to freedomforschool.com.

00:56:34.800 Save 15% off all courses when you use code ALLY15.

00:56:38.240 That's ALLY15 for 15% off at freedomforschool.com.

00:56:47.600 Okay, so I'm going to be looking at my notes quite a lot in this segment,

00:56:52.160 just because I always want to make sure that I'm getting the scripture and everything right.

00:56:56.260 Oh, and quick pause.

00:56:57.780 Maybe you saw the comment, maybe you saw the note in the description of last Wednesday's episode

00:57:02.100 about infant versus credo baptism,

00:57:04.280 but I misquoted a few times one passage and left a really important verse out of that passage in Acts 2, I believe.

00:57:11.980 And I just wanted to apologize for that.

00:57:13.580 That was completely unintentional.

00:57:15.560 That was a mistake.

00:57:16.700 It was just not copied correctly into the notes and we did not realize it.

00:57:20.540 And so I just wanted to say sorry for that.

00:57:22.560 I really take seriously the reading, the handling of God's word,

00:57:26.600 and I would never intentionally misquote scripture.

00:57:30.440 So making sure that we get all of these passages correct today.

00:57:34.040 I want to answer and ask one difficult question.

00:57:37.680 Do kids go to heaven before they've made a profession of faith?

00:57:41.120 We don't know if all of these children had made a profession of faith if they had been baptized.

00:57:46.300 And so what does the Bible actually tell us about that?

00:57:48.760 The truth is, is that the Bible doesn't explicitly say one way or another,

00:57:52.080 but like so many things, we can look to the Bible,

00:57:55.440 look to the character of God revealed in scripture,

00:57:58.120 and look to the principles that we see throughout scripture

00:58:01.420 to give us the best answer that we can come up with.

00:58:04.640 What we know is that God is merciful.

00:58:06.460 We know that God is gracious.

00:58:07.720 We know that he is just.

00:58:08.980 We know that everything he does is right and wise and good.

00:58:12.320 And so we start there, that he is completely trustworthy.

00:58:15.440 We can look at passages like Deuteronomy 139.

00:58:18.140 As for your little ones who you said would become a prey and your children who today have no knowledge

00:58:24.440 of good or evil, they shall go in there and to them I will give it and they shall possess it.

00:58:28.760 Talking about the giving of the promised land to God's people.

00:58:32.620 Obviously, we are not ancient Israel today,

00:58:34.840 but we see there that God recognizes the state of helplessness of young children in Israel.

00:58:40.700 That is a quote from ForTheGospel.com.

00:58:43.280 That's Kosti Hinn's ministry.

00:58:45.700 And that God showed them grace and fulfilled a promise in them

00:58:49.420 even before they had done anything right or wrong.

00:58:52.640 2 Samuel 12, 23.

00:58:55.000 But now he is dead.

00:58:56.100 Why should I fast?

00:58:57.060 Can I bring him back again?

00:58:58.320 I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.

00:59:02.000 This is King David talking about his child who died.

00:59:05.140 And so he is saying, after I die, I will get to see him again.

00:59:08.420 I will get to go to him, but there is no way for him to physically come back to life.

00:59:13.540 And so it seems to me there that there is some hint of reunion with our children who die,

00:59:20.020 those of us who go to heaven.

00:59:22.060 Matthew 19, 13 through 15 just shows Jesus's deep love and care,

00:59:27.520 countercultural care and attention that he paid to children.

00:59:31.600 Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray.

00:59:35.000 The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said,

00:59:37.900 let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom

00:59:42.160 of heaven.

00:59:42.720 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

00:59:45.120 At this time and this culture, children were seen almost as less than human,

00:59:49.640 certainly in the pagan world.

00:59:51.340 They were not seen as possessing the fullness of reason and rationale.

00:59:55.700 So Jesus in this time, even against the protestation of his disciples,

01:00:01.140 declared something, yes, about faith.

01:00:02.820 Yes, about the kingdom of heaven, but even about the value and the worth of children.

01:00:09.480 And so while we don't have a hard and fast answer of what that actually looks like,

01:00:13.620 again, we can look to the mercy of God.

01:00:15.500 We can see the principles that are revealed to us throughout scripture about children,

01:00:19.600 God's care for children.

01:00:21.200 And I believe that we can hope for and believe in that through God's mercy,

01:00:27.660 these children who have not yet had the fullness of the capacity to be able to understand repentance.

01:00:36.320 And I don't think that there is one age that we can say that is,

01:00:41.420 but that God through his grace and yes, somehow through Jesus Christ,

01:00:46.020 because he is the only way to heaven, that children, that babies who die in miscarriage,

01:00:51.800 that children are able to go to heaven through Christ,

01:00:55.760 maybe in a way that we don't fully understand.

01:00:58.560 Now, here is another bigger question.

01:01:00.700 Why do awful things like this happen?

01:01:03.840 Why do terrible things happen?

01:01:05.380 Why do children suffer?

01:01:06.560 Let me tell you, as someone who has been a Christian for a long time,

01:01:09.220 this is the most difficult question for me to wrestle with.

01:01:12.660 And even though I know the biblical and apologetics answer to this, it is still tough.

01:01:17.480 It is hard for me to understand why children, why babies have to suffer horrible abuse,

01:01:23.640 horrible tragedy, why they have to be scared, why they have to hurt.

01:01:27.360 I have a hard time seeing the goodness and the light in it.

01:01:31.860 But all I can do is trusting God's goodness and mercy and know that his ways are higher than mine,

01:01:37.280 that his understanding is higher and better than mine,

01:01:39.940 and that I may not get everything, but I can trust that according to his word,

01:01:44.600 he is good and he is always up to something, both here and in heaven.

01:01:49.600 I always think of Genesis 37, the story that starts in Genesis 37 of Joseph,

01:01:54.600 who was thrown into the pit by his jealous brothers.

01:01:57.460 And then they devised this grand scheme to take him out of the pit and to sell him into slavery.

01:02:02.960 There was an Ishmaelite caravan that was going by. 0.98

01:02:07.300 They were going to Egypt and his brothers sold him into slavery to this caravan that was passing by.

01:02:14.960 And Joseph was brought to Egypt where he providentially served as a servant in the home of a higher up in the Egyptian army.

01:02:25.000 He served well there, but he was falsely accused by this Egyptian higher up named Potiphar of trying to rape his wife.

01:02:32.540 He was thrown into prison, but because God was with him, because of the favor of God was upon Joseph,

01:02:40.280 he was then brought to Pharaoh.

01:02:43.420 He interpreted dreams of Pharaoh.

01:02:45.220 He served under Pharaoh. 0.90

01:02:46.640 And then again, because of God's providence and favor, he was raised up to be a governor in Egypt.

01:02:52.580 And because of his place of leadership in Egypt, he was in a position to give resources, to give food,

01:03:00.320 not only to the Hebrew people during a famine, but specifically to his brothers who asked him for that favor

01:03:08.800 and asked him for those resources for their people who were dying of hunger.

01:03:15.160 And the amazing part about all of this, and I encourage you to read that story in depth if you haven't,

01:03:21.660 but the amazing part of that is that the caravan was already on its way before Joseph got thrown into the pit.

01:03:29.640 So before his jealous brothers threw him into the pit and devised this scheme, the caravan had already begun,

01:03:37.000 had already charted its path from where it had come from to Egypt.

01:03:41.260 So God's plan was already in place before it had even come into the mind of his brothers before he was thrown into the pit.

01:03:49.720 When God is doing one thing, he is doing a million things.

01:03:52.960 We cannot understand his sovereignty.

01:03:54.800 We can't understand his purpose.

01:03:56.860 Does that negate evil?

01:03:58.440 Does that negate responsibility for evil?

01:04:00.840 Does that negate the pain of what happens to people?

01:04:04.400 No, it just reminds us that God is always up to something.

01:04:09.120 And it's not just earthly redemption that he's after, but eternal redemption and salvation.

01:04:14.160 Because Joseph's story isn't just about God saving his people then.

01:04:17.980 It is a picture of how he is still saving people today through Jesus.

01:04:22.060 Jesus, who was also rejected by his brothers, both his blood brothers,

01:04:26.140 who according to John 7 didn't even believe his words,

01:04:28.980 and his Jewish brothers and sisters whom he came to save.

01:04:31.880 They demanded Pilate crucify him. 0.59

01:04:33.880 They demanded the release of the thief as they demanded Jesus be killed.

01:04:37.900 But actually, it wasn't just the Jewish people.

01:04:40.040 It wasn't just his blood brothers.

01:04:41.380 It was all of us.

01:04:42.600 Because all of us in our sin are reflected in their scorn and their demand for his crucifixion.

01:04:48.700 All of us, all of our sin demanded the price that was paid for it through Jesus' sacrifice.

01:04:53.820 Those whom he died for mocked him and were his enemies.

01:04:57.560 Yet he died for us.

01:04:59.320 That's Romans 5.8.

01:05:00.380 While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

01:05:02.860 Joseph was raised out of the pit of despair to be used as a vessel of salvation for his people.

01:05:09.260 Jesus was raised out of the pit of death to be salvation for all people.

01:05:14.920 Romans 8.28.38-39 says,

01:05:17.540 And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

01:05:23.860 For I'm sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

01:05:35.820 That's also verses 38 through 39.

01:05:38.600 I always think of an analogy that I read several years ago.

01:05:42.360 I think it was in Tim Keller's Reason for God that if our gap of understanding between a parent and a child is big enough for a child not to understand why they have to go through something difficult, why they have to eat their vegetables, why they have to have their broken arms set even though it's painful.

01:05:59.520 If our gap of understanding between two finite beings is that big, think about the gap of understanding between an infinite God and us finite human beings.

01:06:11.380 It's huge.

01:06:12.480 Even if he were to explain why we're going through something hard, why we're enduring such pain, such tragedy, we wouldn't be able to understand it and it probably wouldn't help.

01:06:20.980 In the same way, trying to give a detailed explanation to a child of why they have to go through this temporary discomfort probably wouldn't help them in the moment depending on their age.

01:06:32.320 God doesn't reveal everything to us all at once because he knows that we cannot handle it.

01:06:37.660 And so that is where faith comes in.

01:06:39.840 We have to trust in the gospel.

01:06:41.340 We have to trust in the hope that we have in Christ.

01:06:43.340 We have to trust that God is never doing nothing, that his work doesn't always make headlines,

01:06:47.800 that he is going to bring glory to himself.

01:06:51.440 And one day in heaven, he will reveal the tapestry of everything that has happened, the intertwining testimonies,

01:06:57.600 and how God used every event to claim ultimate victory, to win souls, and to work all things out for the good of those who love him.

01:07:07.240 There are a few verses that I think of, 2 Corinthians 4, 16 through 18.

01:07:11.020 So we do not lose heart.

01:07:12.580 Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

01:07:16.220 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

01:07:21.180 as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

01:07:25.320 For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

01:07:31.000 John 16, 33.

01:07:32.360 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.

01:07:36.440 In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart.

01:07:39.440 I have overcome the world.

01:07:41.960 James 1, 2 through 3.

01:07:43.220 Recount it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

01:07:46.740 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

01:07:51.140 Pray, hope, comfort, be with those who mourn, do what you can, be the hands and the feet of Jesus.

01:08:01.180 And I just want to remind you in this crazy world that this is our Father's world.

01:08:05.900 Don't let me ever forget that though the wrong seems off so strong, he is the ruler yet.

01:08:13.220 That is my favorite hymn.

01:08:14.880 We remind each other of the lyrics of that song very often.

01:08:18.340 We sing it a cappella for a thousand of us at Share the Arrows last year.

01:08:22.900 It reminded us in a very turbulent time that God is always, always on his throne and up to something very good.

01:08:29.740 And I want to invite you to Share the Arrows this year.

01:08:32.040 If you are a Christian woman, if you are a woman who is seeking, come to Share the Arrows.

01:08:35.940 I guarantee you it will be the best Christian conference that you've been to.

01:08:39.380 Not because of me, but because of the wisdom, the grace that God has given to the speakers

01:08:44.200 that we have very carefully chosen for this event.

01:08:48.320 If you're watching this, you can see the names of the speakers up.

01:08:51.200 Elisa Childers is one of them.

01:08:53.000 Ginger Duggarvolo is another.

01:08:54.420 Katie Faust, several others.

01:08:56.560 Francesca Battistelli, leading worship.

01:08:58.360 I'm telling y'all, it is going to be amazing.

01:09:00.200 We are, by the grace of God, going to have even more women than last year. 0.93

01:09:04.120 It's going to be incredible.

01:09:05.640 It's outside of Dallas, Texas on October 11th.

01:09:08.620 Go ahead.

01:09:09.400 Come on.

01:09:10.140 Sign up.

01:09:11.140 Make your plans.

01:09:12.200 You will not regret it.

01:09:14.320 Someone messaged me last year and said,

01:09:16.020 I walked out of Share the Arrows with zero fear of man.

01:09:19.200 Yes and amen.

01:09:19.940 That's exactly what we're going for.

01:09:21.760 Go to sharethearrows.com.

01:09:23.500 You can get your tickets today.

01:09:25.080 All right.

01:09:25.400 That's all we've got time for.

01:09:26.460 We will be back here Wednesday.

01:09:30.200 Bye.

01:09:30.660 Bye.

01:09:31.060 Bye.

01:09:31.800 Bye.

01:09:32.200 Bye.

01:09:41.720 Bye.

01:09:42.920 Bye.

01:09:46.060 Bye.

01:09:47.180 Bye.

01:09:48.080 Bye.

01:09:48.160 Bye.

01:09:48.640 Bye.

01:09:49.400 Bye.

01:09:50.560 Bye.

01:09:51.000 Bye.

01:09:51.440 Bye.

01:09:51.900 Bye.

01:09:55.280 Bye.

01:09:57.800 Bye.

01:09:58.340 Bye.

01:09:59.540 Bye.

Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - July 07, 2025

Ep 1214 ｜ Texas Tragedy： Facts, Heroism, & God’s Goodness

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