Hurricane Harvey is all the talk right now. Nearly all the inhabitants in Houston and beyond have been impacted by this huge powerful storm. The apathetic crowd who didn’t take this storm seriously suffered the consequences. Others prayed and cried out to God in their despair. Some may even have repented during the height of the storm. That may have been God’s intent in setting the hurricane in motion.
I’m reminded of this verse of Scripture, “As it was in the days of Noah so shall the coming of the Son of man be.” It rained and rained and rained some more.
Matthew 24:23 says, “But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
Are you beginning to see the parallel now?
God couldn’t just let this evil activity go on and He had to destroy that evil generation. But wouldn’t you know it, God in his loving mercy sent Jesus into the bowels of hell to save some of them before He ascended to the Father after His crucifixion (Ephesians 4:9). That alone should give us cause for hope in God’s mercy, but the next time mankind may not be so fortunate.
The Burning Man revelry took place in Nevada full blast over the Labor Day weekend. This modern day Sodom and Gomorra sexual extravaganza probably attracts as many people as were in the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorra at the time when God’s wrath fell upon them; a time when it rained sulfur hailstones of fire from heaven. Perhaps the angels of God were sent to pass judgment on this modern day event and monitored it the same way as Sodom and Gomorra.
The obsession with sex parties, football games and golf may have to be curtailed, for the time being, God forbid, and then what shall we do? We are undoubtedly “Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”
Could it be that God is showing us through so many visible signs that He is becoming weary of backsliders and enablers of wicked men in government and society? Storms like Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters serve to remind us that life is unpredictable. For some of us, the days of prosperity sermons, pretty sermonettes are over and some of us are even beginning repent and get real.
While there are many heroic deeds being done for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, there is always the criminal element to deal with. Some of these criminals even dare to have fund raising with no intention of giving the money to those who need it. Granted, there are some who are showing great heroics and are caring for their neighbors but I can assure you that they are in the minority. Some are even ripping off donors in one way or another through charities and fake foundations. Even the Red Cross gives very little toward the needs of the victims of such events.
Joel Olsteen, the multimillionaire pastor of Houston failed to open the doors of his church to
let the refugees from the storm take shelter until he was asked to . It’s doubtful that his flock will continue to worship under him. But maybe that’s a good thing since they apparently don’t go there to repent or seek God’s Face, but to prosper and feel good about themselves. And amazingly, while all of this has been happening, Louis Farrakhan of the Black Muslims appears to be repenting saying Jesus is His Redeemer! Maybe Joel needs to do the same.
We can go on like before ignoring the signs, but we can’t box in our Creator God and He will execute judgment wherever and whenever He wishes. He’s not interested in our devout church attendance or what degrees we possess. God wants us to be receptive to His instructions and admonitions.
Now, let’s talk about reality, the absolute reality of the uncertainty of life. The only thing we can be certain of is this: The uncertainties of life.
Today, we, here in South Florida are watching the track of what will become Hurricane Irma which portends to be a huge storm encompassing all of the peninsula of Florida and beyond so say the “experts” while other experts say that the storm may remain out in the Atlantic or possibly skirting New York, maybe even hitting that cesspool of sin.
Years ago I volunteered to help clear debris and feed the displaced during Hurricanes Hugo, Ivan and Andrew. I saw what was left in the wake of those hurricanes; it was a complete disaster. It is said that Hurricane Irma will become so strong that it will level everything in its path, but of course no one knows for sure.
Hurricane Irma is, as I write—gathering speed and power out in the Atlantic Ocean headed our way, with yet another storm (Jose) forming near the Cabo Verde Islands. As a matter of fact our governor, Rick Scott, issued a hurricane alert today about Category 4 Irma. I continue staying on top of this but may have to get out of Dodge before it hits. Better safe than sorry.
On another note, on Labor day I met and talked to a family of atheists from Denmark out at my mission station (the fishing pier). I asked them if they were Christians and they appeared to be uncertain. But it seems that Denmark is becoming an atheistic country, like the rest of Europe. The mother asked if we are still a Christian country and I had no ready answer as I see our country headed in the same direction as Europe. After talking a while, I gave them my two sided card and we said our goodbyes.
I also talked to Tony (the old Lebanese guy who has a pacemaker planted in his chest), about Christ and things that really matter. He said he had died for several minutes from a heart attack a couple of years ago and doesn’t remember a thing about any type of “near death” experience. Recently, Tony’s doctor asked him if he had money, and he does; the doctor then told him to spend all of it because he’s living on borrowed time. Tony’s a Catholic and so is content with his faith. I told him I would pray for him.
By the way, the Christian movie, All Saints never made it here. It seems to have stalled or faded away before it got this far. From what I understand this true story had something to do with a new pastor who was about to destroy a church building but was stopped by the congregants who happened to be Christian refugees from Burma. All Saints received a 5.9 out of ten on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an 89% likability. But what do they know?
If the storms of life threaten to undo you, get your life right with God through faith in Jesus Christ—better safe than sorry.
YBIC
Jim Towers
www.thepropheciesmovie.com and book and jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com.