Hurricanes in the south, fires in the west, an earthquake in Mexico has brought a lot of questions like, "Is this the end of the world?" or "Is God punishing America?"
As I look at this situation, first of all, no matter why this is happening, our prayers and our support needs to be given to those who have been affected. But, as I look at this, I don't see this as punishment. I'm really tired of seeing all the people who are saying that the hurricanes in the south were God's punishment of homosexuals! If God were punishing the homosexuals, He would also be punishing adulterers and those who practice pre-, post-, or extramarital sex, which are just as much sin. God, though, has every right to punish us. A hurricane everyday would not even be unfair. As a nation, we have turned our backs on holiness and embraced sinfulness. We have taken the preciousness of life and made it a choice. Our nation has killed over 50 million people since Roe v Wade. Teachers, first responders, and military personnel do not make a liveable wage, why?. Because we do not have enough taxpayers. Roads are not taken care of, school buildings are in disrepair, why? Because we don't have enough taxpayers. So, if this is punishment, we certainly deserve it. Personally, I think that the fact that we can't do any of these things is our punishment. But I don't look at the natural disasters as punishment, I see the enormous power of God. This powerful God, this One who has the power to take everything I hold dear, all my possessions, my house, my family, MY LIFE, away from me in a heartbeat. I have no power against this God. I cannot stand against Him or stop Him. So I want to do everything I can to make this God happy. I want to Him to say, when my life does end, "Hey, you, yeah you. Come on in, you're ok. You made me happy." So I'm investigating , to find out what I need to do. Here's what I find out: this God left heaven and came to earth; He took the form of a man, His name is Jesus; He lived among us. and because this God is so holy, the one thing that has to happen for me to make Him happy is to be able to come into His presence and I can't do that if I have sin in my life. The problem is, I can't do anything to get rid of it; there has to be a sacrifice, a perfect, unblemished sacrifice. So God came from heaven to earth as Jesus. He lived a perfect life, no sin, ever, and because of that He was an acceptable sacrifice for me. All this took place, but how do I make Him happy? How do I hear, "Hey, you, yeah you. Come on in?" Jesus said God loves us so much that He came to earth (God the Son, Jesus) and that if we believe in Him, He would be happy. Ok, well, that easy enough; I believe in a god, because I hear about a whole bunch of them; you know, Buddha, Mohammed, and all the rest. But then Jesus said something else. Now, remember, I'm looking to make this amazing, awesomely powerful God, the One who can take away everything in a heartbeat, happy. So whatever He says is good enough for me and I'm going to believe Him. So Jesus said that He is the only way to make God happy. The only way I can get to be with God is through believing in Jesus. No one else. All the other gods don't mean anything; in fact they don't even exist! If I put my trust in anything else other than Jesus, I have no hope. To make God happy I have to believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He rose from the dead. By His sacrificial death He made it possible for my sin to be forgiven; nothing separates me from God the Father any more and by His resurrection from the dead he made it possible for me to live forever with this , awesomely powerful God! So it's not punishment, but a demonstration of His power. A demonstration that we all should seriously investigate. Thank you, Jesus, for the love that brought You from heaven to earth for me. Thank you, Father, for loving me so much that You were willing for Your Son, Your only Son, to take my place on a cruel cross, to die in my place. Thank You that I will hear, "Hey you, yeah you. Come on in. You have made me happy!"
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