January
2005
Dear Ministry
Partner,
Many people are questioning where
God fits in the big picture of earthquakes,
tsunamis,
tornadoes,
and other calamities and "natural
disasters". Insurance companies exclude these events
— which they call "acts
of God", which further confuses the issue. (If God causes
every natural disaster, then God causes everything that ever happens
— and therefore no insurance company needs to pay for anyone's
loss under any circumstances, because they are all acts of God!)
Does God get mad at the people of Indonesia,
for example, and kick the earth in the middle of the Indian
Ocean to cause an earthquake and the resulting tsunami
tidal wave? If so, then He was only mad at the people who
live on the coast. Surely there was just as much sin in the big
cities further inland as the little fishing villages on the coast,
right?
To accuse God of being guilty of
everything that happens is to blame the righteous (which by default
excuses the unrighteous). Greek Theologian Costas Kyriakides said,
"God is always the fall guy. We incriminate Him completely
unjustly." The Bible does not teach that God causes
everything, and in fact is very emphatic that man "reaps
what he sows" (Genesis
8:22, Luke
6:31 & 38, Galatians
6:7, etc.). People — including religious leaders —
have always been confused about what is really done by God (John
8:42-45).
God created the world, and then said,
"It is good."
It was good in its original condition. Many creation scientists
believe there is ample evidence to state that the earth once was
covered by a perfect, uniform cloud cover which created an ideal
"green house" climate with no storms. This is the only
rational explanation why, for example, fossilized
plants have been found buried under the ice in Antarctica.
After God created the world, mankind
sinned, yielded our authority to Satan,
and took God's blessing and protection off of the earth. The Bible
clearly points out that many things changed as a result of the
Fall (the earth, the animal kingdom, and mankind — Genesis
3:13-19). So our problem is not God, but sin. And if God protected
mankind from the negative consequences of sin, He would effectively
protect sin — not a Godly thing to do.
God further clearly instructed us
that if mankind in any particular geographic region continued
in sin, the earth would "vomit him out"
of the land (Leviticus
18:28, 20:22). The most notable manifestation of this was
Noah's flood. As a result of sin, the earth is deteriorating and
destabilizing — and wherever God's special protection is
not on a people group, natural disasters are much more likely
and deadly. The United
States itself has experienced many increasing natural disasters
in recent years — earthquakes,
Mount
St. Helens volcano, the Mississippi
flood. 2004 had a record number of tornadoes
in one year (1,717 which significantly beat the previous record
of 1,424 in 1998) and record hurricanes
(there were 16 named storms in 2004 with an Accumulated Cyclone
Energy Index rating of 270 which has never been higher). Jesus
said that in the last days, "As
it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of
the Son of Man...the flood came and destroyed them all."
(Luke
17:26-27).
In spite of the winding up of God's
timetable moving toward the Great
Tribulation of the earth, we believers — God's children
— can be protected by our obedience and faith in God. The
testimonies I heard from the Indian Ocean tsunami included Tonya
Zunigha from El
Reno, Oklahoma. She was with a group of 11 people who all
planned to be on the beach that day in Thailand. She said, "For
one reason or another, no one [from our group] was there. I feel
like the Lord protected us."
And for a more supernatural example,
Focus on the
Family broadcast
a radio
interview with Pastor Dayalan Sanders who had a Christian
orphanage called Samaritan's
Children's Home right on the beach in Sri
Lanka. He said his wife happened to see the giant wave coming,
and alerted Pastor Sanders who called for all 28 children to run
to the boat they had tied up. He said it was a miracle they all
were in that boat in just 15 seconds, but there was nothing they
could do about the huge wall of water driving right toward them.
The only available time that Pastor Sanders had was just enough
to raise his hand at the 20 foot wave about to crash upon them
and say, "In the name of Jesus — I command you
to stop!" All 28 children, the 2 adult workers, along
with the Sanders saw that great wall of water slow down and dissipate
in front of and around their boat. As water went around them,
that great wave slowly melted down and floated their boat higher.
They were able to supernaturally navigate over the next huge wave
— with the boat floating so low in the water from so many
people on board that there was only 6 inches of sideboard showing
above the water.
God is able to save those who belong
to him. Just ask Noah.
God is faithful to warn His children, but we have to be listening.
"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today,
if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...."
(Hebrews
3:7-8). A minister I know once said, "Warnings are
given to cause people to change, alter their course of action,
or redirect their pathway. Warnings are given to keep you from
experiencing the penalty, the problem, the difficulty, or the
obstacle that is ahead. Warnings are also given to prepare you
for something that is yet to come. When you heed a warning, you
can benefit. You can avoid disaster." Psalm
19:11 says, "Moreover by them [God's words]
Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward."
(Psalm
19:11).
Before Mount Saint Helens erupted,
there were rumblings and tremors. The U.S.
Park Service warned all people to leave, but one older man
would not leave in spite of repeated warnings. That man died and
is now buried under many feet of volcanic ash. It is speculated
that even animals heed warnings better than humans. Many people
felt the tremor from the recent earthquake that caused the tsunami,
but hardly any fled. However, it appears that animals heeded the
warning and fled away from the coast line. CNN news reported that
Sri Lanka wildlife officials said that the giant waves which killed
over 24,000 people along the Sri Lanka coast did not kill a single
wild animal. The waves washed up to 2 miles inland at Yala
National Park, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife reserve
and home to hundreds of elephants as well as many other wild species.
But the Deputy Director, H.D. Ratnayake, said, "No elephants
are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit."
As an example of God's protection,
my grandfather H.C. King built a small lake cabin in 160 acres
of woods in north Texas
in the early 1960's. He had his pastor come out and dedicate the
cabin to the Lord. In 1966, one of the largest tornadoes on record
was bearing down right on that property. People in a nearby town
said the tornado was over a half mile wide and causing unbelievable
destruction. When it came to the fence at the edge of my grandfather’s
property, it lifted up into the air, flew over the 160 acres,
and came back down on the other side of the property resuming
its destruction. God is able to save what has been dedicated to
Him.
In 1989, Judi and I went along with
a large group of people from the church we were attending to a
restaurant to eat. Just as Judi and I were finishing our meal,
I told her I felt like we should leave. I could not explain it,
and the others were all very occupied visiting with one another.
I stood up, said goodbye to a few people near me, wrote a check
to pay for our meal, and drove off. The next Sunday, members of
the group told me that right after I left, 4 armed men came in
to rob the restaurant — and went table-to-table robbing
each of the people of their valuables where they sat. By obeying
the still, small voice of the Holy
Spirit, even when I could not articulate what I was feeling,
I was delivered from getting robbed.
We do not need to live in fear of
robbers, tsunamis, earthquakes, or tornadoes. Those are a natural
part of this fallen world around us. We just need to walk closely
with God, seeking His guidance, and heeding His still small voice
when He is speaking a warning to our heart. There is a potential
disaster coming — a day of judgement facing everyone —
and it is not the tsunamis that need to be concern #1. Each person
needs to have asked Jesus
Christ to be their Lord and Savior. Our eternal destination
is the most important event we need to be addressing. The multitudes
of every day potential calamities we face in daily life are what
faith in Jesus after salvation is for. He is able to save those
who have received Him and follow Him.
Saving Others for Eternity,
Dale & Judi Leander
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