Richard F. Ames

Just as there are physical effects for physical causes, there are spiritual effects for spiritual causes. There are unseen spiritual laws just as there are unseen natural laws. They affect human beings just as predictably. The degree to which we have internalized those spiritual laws determines the quality of our character, whether we reflect righteousness or sin in our attitude and behavior. Humans must be in harmony with the spiritual realm, and the spiritual laws of God. There is a cause for every effect.

On April 20, two high school students with pipe-bombs and automatic weapons murdered twelve students and one teacher, and then killed themselves. Schools are supposed to be a safe-haven for education and enlightenment, so the bloody violence shocks us even more.

As many facts came to light, one television reporter stated, "We now understand the how and the what, but we don't know the answer to WHY?" Yes, WHY did this tragedy occur? Both Newsweek Magazine and U.S. News & World Report magazine featured the probing three-letter word on their covers, "WHY?"

The world has been witnessing one of the worst humanitarian disasters since World War II. The Balkans crisis has exacted a tragic human toll. According to NATO Spokesman Jamie Shea, over 912,000 ethnic Albanians have been made homeless or driven from the province of Kosovo. They've been subjected to oppression, atrocities, rape and murder. What will be the solution to their problem? What can the world learn from this? Where is this tragedy heading? Is it the beginning of the prophesied Great Tribulation?