Fire, Floods, Wind, Waves. . . Oh My!

Church, 

The West is on fire, Houston is only starting to think about recovery, and a hurricane is threatening Florida.  Many in the West, to include some in Utah, have been evacuated from their homes and watched them burn.  Wind and water have destroyed homes in Texas and will so do the same in Florida.  And let us not forget that Mexico was busted down by a massive earth quake. 

Hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes, earth quakes, floods, land slides, and much more.  Natural disasters happen. Church, when these things happen, it's important that we pray and point people to Jesus.  And we dig in and help our neighbors.  

We know how to pray, so let's pray.  I mean really pray.  Pray our faces off. 

How about pointing people to Jesus?  Did you know Jesus used a disaster to teach people about God and call them to repentance and belief?  He did not say the weather was because of some sin, but instead, used two 'in-the-news' events to talk about theology.  

In Luke 13:1-5, some people told Jesus about some locals who Pilate killed or hurt and put their blood in their sacrifices.  It was a horrific event, and the people were talking about it.  Some asked if this happened to them because they were worse sinners than others.  In his reply, Jesus discussed another current event--the collapse of a tower that killed 18 people.  (Wow, Jesus was speaking into the culture with contextual events!)

First, notice that Jesus did not say the disaster came upon them because they sinned worse than others.  That's not how it works, so when people say stuff like that, tell them the Truth.  Second, notice that Jesus says we're all sinners and without Jesus, we're all going to suffer the same fate--death.  The people under the tower rubble were not worse sinners, but they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

Finally, how can we help?  There are lots of ways to help those in need.  I'd like to encourage that we support Send Relief (an arm of NAMB) and Disaster Relief with the UISBC.     

Pray, point people to Jesus, and help your neighbor as God leads you. 

For the Kingdom! 
Pastor Bryan