Another mass killing . . . Will I be next? That question is not far from most of us. We long for different days but, as we look around, seems like hand-wringing is the best we can come up with.

Make no mistake — what is going on is evil. There is no righteous cause involved. No one discounts the presence of evil, but any and all restraint seems to be slipping.

The Word of Almighty God speaks to this without apology; the answer is there.

In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, chapter 29, verse 18a, we read, “Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint.” Revelation means an open declaration from the Word of God.

There is revelation in our day, but it is mostly within the walls of our churches or in relative safe places.

We can be bolstered in our faith by finding like-minded speakers on the radio and TV, but who is a voice to the masses? Until we dare to leave our cloisters and step out from behind our tax-exempt government licenses, the church will remain powerless to turn this tide.

Every society has rules. We would hope it is the rule of law, but the law that should be ruling has been so distorted that basic morality has almost disappeared. Remember, when there is no open revelation of God instilled in the hearts of the citizenry from their earliest memory, the result will be people who operate without restraint. They have no moral compass.

Is there hope? There is always hope. But it is not going to come by getting a new sheriff or depending on somebody else. We must start where we are. We have influence. This current generation may not be turned around, but there is another generation coming up. Start a backyard Bible club. Take your neighbor’s kids to church with you. Volunteer in the schools. Speak truth, when you can, boldly but compassionately. Like somebody said, “Evil triumphs when good people do nothing.”

Almighty God is alive and cares more than we could know. Let’s turn to Him for courage and boldness leveraged with compassion, and proclaim Him and His Word unashamedly.

Dan Puckett works with road team operations at Life Action Ministries in Buchanan, Michigan.