Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
Hosea 4:1-3
Why does God allow tragedy? Why would a loving and gracious God let bad things happen? There are many reasons and sometimes there appears to be no reason. One thing for sure, God ALWAYS has redemption in mind. Salvation and redemption are the central theme of the scripture with Jesus Christ being the only subject and source of all redemption. As the Day of the Lord draws near, catastrophe will be a means by which God will attempt to draw men's attention from temporal, fleshly pursuits while turning their focus to their eternal destination. Increasing disasters near the beginning of the Time of Jacob's Trouble is an act of true love as it warns of the nearness of this event and is meant to be a warning that Satan's last ditch effort to deceive and destroy is near. It is an act of love to warn and an act of love to discipline. God is trying to turn men from their selfish ways and focus them on the Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
This year seems to be a year of signs that the Tribulation is near--even at the door. It is the costliest year worldwide for natural disasters and we still have four months left. MSNBC noted this in June that this year was record breaking. 2011 already costliest year for natural disasters - World news - World environment - msnbc.com Not only has it been the costliest for the world, but it is the costliest in the US as well. 2011 record year for US weather disasters: News24: Sci-Tech: News It has a record number of billion dollar disasters. List of billion-dollar U.S. disasters in 2011 so far | Earth | EarthSky
The scripture above should remind us of the start of this new year. In the first few weeks of the year animals were dying mysteriously worldwide. Do you remember? God, in love, is trying to draw men to Him. He says these things happen because there is no truth nor mercy in the land. Since Jesus is THE Truth, trying to remove Him from all aspects of public life is foolish. How many remember the dead birds in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Africa, Sweden, Japan, Canada, and Italy. Most of these events were never explained. Neither were the deaths of millions of marine animals explained. Do you remember the pictures from Portugal, Brazil, New Zealand, England, Vietnam, Canada, Qatar, Ireland, and elsewhere? What about the millions of fish dying in Arkansas, South and North Carolina, Maryland, Florida, California, and across the US? What about the death of 10,000 cows and water buffaloe in Vietnam. Not to mention the millions killed by fire, poisoned food, drought, flood, and other causes worldwide.
Irene's devastating floods seem to have allowed us to forget the record flooding in the Mississippi River and across the upper Midwest. Have we forgotten the most active tornado season ever? Do we remember the dust storm engulfing Arizona or the drought destroying Texas? What about the record flooding in Australia, China, and the terrible Mudslides in Brazil? Maybe the mudslides in Uganda last week or the unusual tornado in Puerto Rico two weeks ago have caused us to forget? Do you remember the 200 year record drought in Russia or China? Recall the flooding in Sri Lanka or the devastating blizzard across the US Midwest? Who can forget the Tsunami engulfing Japan or the maps showing radiation fallout crossing the Pacific? Did you see the reports of radiation in the Ocean near Japan just last week?
Then there are the signs that are in the heavens and the earth. Did you see the unusual coronal mass ejection pictures in February and June? What about the pictures of the super moon event or the longest lunar eclipse? Do you remember the pictures of the meteorite lighting up the Wisconsin sky or the weird green water in Goldstream, Canada? What about the unusual spirals in the sky spotted over Norway in March or the unknown object streaking through space that was photographed by the Hubble telescope in February? Do you remember the reports of the rapid magnetic polar shift that caused problems at a Florida airport? How about the unusual two sun pictures taken in China? Now there are conflicting reports and concerns about the approach of the nearing comet Elenin.
I have not even got to the earthquakes yet! There was the devastating 9.0 in Japan. The small quake in Virginia was only a tenth of a point from the largest on record for that state. Who would imagine seeing the National Cathedral or the Washington monument damaged by an earthquake? There was the awful quake that destroyed Christchurch, New Zealand and the large quakes in Argentina and Chile. The little quake in Colorado was a 100 year event. What a year!
I should close with all the civil and political unrest worldwide. Can you believe the March and August riots in London? What about the overthrow of the Egyptian government or Arab Spring? It seems that the sea of humanity is churning and that there is distress of nations. Have you noticed? It seems clear that this historic year is a loud alarm to cast your eyes upon Jesus! Truly, He is Soon2Come! Won't you ask Him into your heart and request the forgiveness of your sin today?
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Luke 21:28
No comments:
Post a Comment