The material immediately below is taken from the volume, REFORMED MEANS MISSIONAL: FOLLOWING JESUS INTO THE WORLD.  This volume was compiled by the WRF and will be published by New Growth Press in mid-August, 2013.  New Growth's website is here - http://www.newgrowthpress.com/

On June 26, 2013, in a highly contested ruling upheld by a narrow majority of justices, the U.S. Supreme Court essentially ruled against the constitutionality of enforcing heterosexuality as inherent to legally-protected marriage rights. In other words, states are now legally allowed to recognize same-sex marriages (though the decisions Wednesday stopped short of demanding states to recognize same-sex marriages).

You may call me paranoid, but I don’t like this one bit:  The Guardian newspaper released a report on June 6 that the National Security Agency secured a judge’s authorization in April to compel Verizon to hand over millions of phone records. Not of suspected terrorists.   Of ordinary Americans. 

The photo is horrifying because we know what is going to happen.  On Monday, April 15, eight-year-old Martin Richard stands behind the metal crowd barrier looking out at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, watching for his dad.  Beside him, standing on the rail is his younger sister, and behind him is his mom.

Since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, we have been much tormented and anguished--and so we should be.  Other mass shootings have followed. 

It seems as if these horrors are happening everywhere and with disturbing frequency.  They are actually rarer than we feel, but perception becomes reality.