HOLY WEATHER REPORT?

One thing I’m very sick and tired of is hearing from wacko Christian televangelists that this hurricane or that earthquake is God’s judgment against us for homosexuality, or abortion, or liberal politics.

Not only is this kind of claim not based on any sort of Scripture, the logical conclusions drawn from such statements are preposterous.

For example, does this mean that we can control the weather by being more or less Holy? Could we eventually eliminate hurricanes and earthquakes by our increased righteousness? Is that something that Jesus even hints at?

I also have to wonder, why doesn’t God throw a hurricane around for our sins of apathy towards the poor like He did to Sodom? Why doesn’t God smack Vegas with an earthquake for their sins of greed and prostitution? Why doesn’t God rain down fire from heaven on all of us for drunkenness, idolatry, pride, selfishness, adultery, and lies? Those sins are pretty awful, aren’t they?

Frankly, God seems to be much more bent out of shape about how we treat the poor than He is about anything else we do, or don’t do. [See Ezekiel 16:49-50; Matt. 25:41-46]

Yes, God can send judgment against whomever He wants, in any way that He wants. But, I don’t believe that these televangelists who pretend to speak for God are doing it right. See, the way it usually works is that God will speak to the prophet in advance of the judgment. Then He will proclaim what that judgment will look like, and He will provide a window of opportunity for repentance before sending that judgment against the people.

These American prophets are doing it bass-ackwards. They wait for the news to tell them what’s coming and then they point the blame on the group of sinners that they happen to like the least. That’s not how God works.

So, I don’t think we need to start worrying about how the sins of others might be affecting the weather or the tectonic plates. What we do need to be concerned with, as followers of Christ, is our own attitudes about our own sin. See, God says that the healing of our land is based on the repentant hearts of those “who are called by (His) Name”, not the filthy sinners downtown.

 

God says that, if the ones who love Him will humble themselves and seek His face, and turn from their own wicked ways, that then, and only then, will He turn and hear their prayers, and forgive their sins (not the sins of the heathen), and heal their land. [see 2 Chronicles 7:14]

The televangelists who love to point the finger and blame these disasters on others need to crack open their Bibles and start doing what it says. Otherwise, they might need to stock up on bottled water and canned food pretty soon.

We might need to do the same.

 And, whatever you, please remember to pray for those dear people caught in the path of Hurricane Sandy this week.

 

Our opportunity to shine as the Body of Christ with the compassion and love of Jesus is never more evident than in seasons like this.

 

 

-kg

THE HARDEST TRUTH

Once again Christian leaders in America have declared that God’s judgment is coming upon this nation because of gay marriage and the practice of homosexuality.  But God’s Word directly and specifically contradicts these people.

Even in principle, the idea that God would bring judgment upon our nation – or any nation – because of a single sin is erroneous. The sin of homosexuality itself doesn’t stand out as being the most offensive sin to God according to the Bible.

Sins like pride, rebellion, disobedience and a lack of concern for the poor are typically the sins associated with the fire of judgment falling from heaven to destroy a wayward nation.

Take Sodom and Gomorrah as an example. According to God Himself:

“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.” (Ezekiel 16:49-50)

So, according to God, the sin of Sodom was arrogance, over-eating, and apathy towards the poor and needy. They were proud people who flaunted their wealth and ignored the sufferings of their own people living in poverty on their streets.

Now, I do admit that this sounds an awful lot like a certain “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave”, so the idea that God’s judgment is coming upon our nation may be true, but not for the reasons so often cited by the ruling religious class.

You see, God appears to be mostly concerned with the behavior of the righteous when it comes to blessing – or withholding a blessing – from a nation. As God says:

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."- (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Do you see it? God speaks to those who are "called by (His) name" – that would be us Christians – and says that the healing of their nation is directly tied to their own lack of humility, their own lack of prayer, and their own unwillingness to seek His face.

Notice that God says nothing about “those sinners”. We do that. We say, “If only all those sinners over there would repent and become more like us the world would be a better place.” But that’s not the truth. At least, not according to our God.

God holds His own people accountable for the healing of their land. What He says needs to happen first is that we humble ourselves. That means we don't use statements like "If only those people would be more like us, everything would be wonderful". Humble people don't talk like that, or think that way either.

Next, he calls us to pray, and I would suggest that in this context what we need to pray for is our own hearts to be changed and softened and melted. We need to humble ourselves first, and then second we need to pray for forgiveness and repent of our pride.

Remember, "God opposes the proud, but gives Grace to the humble"- (Proverbs 3:34). That word “opposes” is defined as “goes to war with”. Wouldn’t you rather receive God’s Grace than go to war with Him?

God asks us to seek His face. This means that we remain humble, we stay on our knees, and we submit ourselves to Him and His perfect will for our lives.

God asks that those who are called by His name "turn from their wicked ways".  This means that – horror of horrors – it is OUR sin that is holding back the healing of America, not the sins of "those people".

If this is true, and if we believe God’s Word, then we have to admit that it is our sin, and our pride that prevents America from being blessed and healed and restored.

Simply put, the truth we don’t want to admit is that we are the problem, not "those people". We are "those sinners" who need to repent and humble ourselves and seek the face of God.

Let us pray.

-kg