Skip to main content

Death, Taxes, and Tornadoes


“When trouble hits home things are a different story,” she told her friend as they stood staring at the aftermath of the mind-wrenching and gut-aching tornado that had just flattened their neighborhood. That same sentiment is expressed a thousand times a day in disaster-stricken and war-torn areas of the globe. It is easy for us to discuss our faith in God and His willingness to bring help and hope into our lives and to other people in times of peace. Why? Because the message is simple and it is attractive. But to the person or family who, in a moment, has lost all they ever worked for and in many cases, the life of a loved one, it is a different story.

It’s an age old question that has bobbed up and down for millenniums, like a goose peering precipitously, cautiously over a fence row always appearing in times of distress and quietly vanishing in times of ease. Somehow, we cannot get a firm grasp on why he appears when disaster or loss strikes. The truth is he has never vanished. Like death and taxes those geese have always been there. But somehow, we have become accustomed to the fact of death and we tolerate taxes, but we have a hard time wrapping our arms around sudden loss. Could it be that our biblical worldview of God makes us view God in the same way we view a lucky “rabbit’s foot?” As long as we have Him in the pocket all will be ok.
Jesus told the story of the Tower of Siloam in Luke 13:

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?
I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."
Luke 13:4-5 (NKJV)


 

Jesus’ point was that the disaster did not occur because of any ones sinful lifestyle. It occurred because disaster can strike at anytime and anyplace without warning. Those who are in its path will be affected. What is important is to have your house in order. We may perish in this earthly existence but we certainly do not want to wake up in Hell because we refused His offer of eternal life in Heaven.

You would think that if the question of “why bad things happen to good people” was going to be a big issue in the minds of humanity that Jesus would have just forthright addressed it in clear terms. But He did not because He knew that He Himself was the answer. You would think that when Elijah pronounced the famine that was to come upon Israel in the days of King Ahab (1 Kings 17, 18) that God would have protected Elijah from suffering, since he was a great man of God. But the scripture says Elijah suffered as well. You would think that when the Apostle Paul suffered with sickness and the thorn in the flesh that God would have delivered him, also since he was a great man of God. Instead Elijah was miraculously fed by the ravens to help him through the trial and Paul embraced the trials as God’s will in teaching him to be humble.

Jesus said, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33 (NKJV)

Death and taxes will surely come, and so will loss and disaster. My counsel is this, put away the rabbit’s foot that you view as God. Face reality, there is a heaven and there is a hell, and the earth on which we stand is neither. There will be trial here but there will not be in heavens eternity. Jesus is asking today, will you place your hope in Him? Take your eyes off of the things that surround you and do your best to be what He created you to be. For the things you cannot control, trust that God, indeed, has the answers.

God Bless
Bro .Mike

Comments

Anonymous said…
I needed to hear that today. The home education today is a little stressful. God is faithful and I will continue to walk in the path God has laid. Peace and Prayers, Angel
Anonymous said…
Great Message Mike, and in line with what we have been told "today is the day of salvation"

I loved reading this "What is important is to have your house in order. We may perish in this earthly existence but we certainly do not want to wake up in Hell because we refused His offer of eternal life in Heaven."

thanks for your willingness to highlight our need to be "ready"

I have loved this motto "take care of your body as if you will live for years, but take care of your soul as if you will die tomorrow"

keep preparing His Way ...

In Christ,

soundingthealarm
Tim

Popular posts from this blog

25 Reasons to Believe - In Jesus FREE EBOOK

FREE EBOOK click to download - When book comes up click down arrow on Upper Right to save a copy . A while back the Barna Group released a report titled, "Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church." 1  Under reason two, " Teens’ and twenty-somethings’ experience of Christianity is shallow" they write:  "A second reason that young people depart church as young adults is that something is lacking in their experience of church. One-third said “church is boring” (31%). One-quarter of these young adults said that “faith is not relevant to my career or interests” (24%) or that “the Bible is not taught clearly or often enough” (23%). Sadly, one-fifth of these young adults who attended a church as a teenager said that “God seems missing from my experience of church” (20%)."  If one takes a look at the modern church-scape I can see why. The gap between those pastors and teachers that are fired up about Jesus and those that do not preach all of th...

Fornication - The Acceptable Sin?

In the Bible there are several sexual sins that are categorized under the term,"Sexual Immorality." Not the least of these is, "Fornication." However fornication has become an outdated, and in many places, the acceptable sin in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. As a matter of fact, many do not even know what the term "fornication" means. Since the advent of the modern Bible translation, many have never heard of it. This article focuses on what the Scripture says about this out-of-control acceptable sin. Fornication is mentioned thirty-six times in the Bible (MT), thirty-two times in the New Testament. In almost all modern translations the word has been substituted with, "sexual immorality" and has come to mean any number of sexual sins. However, sin (missing the mark) is still sin and sin still separates a person from God. So why has this sin become so acceptable even in modern churches???? UPDATE : Here is a testimony of life...

The Bride of Christ Has Made Herself Ready!!

The Bible teaches of an upcoming Wedding Day that the Church should be on cloud nine over!! Rev. 19:7-9 states: Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come , and His wife has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!' " And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." The passage above speaks of two distinct events, the Marriage of the Lamb and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Both of these events are reminiscent of the ancient Jewish wedding ceremony where the Bride would become betrothed to her Groom and he would go away to build her a home. In the meantime she would wait anxiously for his return with shouts from his wedding party of "The Bridegroom Comes!" When the shouts were he...

Understanding Grace…without it no one can be saved!

Years ago as a pastor, I faced an issue concerning the topic of “Grace.” I had noticed some congregants who were taking Grace to the extreme and beginning to teach that since our sins were bought and paid for at the cross—all of them, past, present, and future—there was no need to strive against sin. Thanks to our Lord, this was noticed and the He quickly allowed it to be curbed. This heresy occasionally rears its head in Christian circles and indeed must be stopped before it becomes out-of-control. The good thing is that a proper understanding of Grace can arrest the heresy in its steps. Because this false perception thrives in loose living, many well-meaning Christians go completely to the opposite extreme and throw the Biblical teaching of “Grace” out altogether. That too is heresy. How should we approach it? Grace, as a doctrine, should always be presented in its entirety. By that I mean, a starting definition, followed by why it is important, and concluding with keeping it scri...

Guest post: Hind's Feet

Adrian Bateman, 2016          The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like hind’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. — Habakkuk 3:19 For most human beings the primary goal of life, after survival, is the pursuit of happiness. Indeed it’s one of an American’s “unalienable rights”. But what is happiness? The definition of happy is surely situationally derived. For the hungry it would be having enough food; for the homeless, a home. For the average person it might be having more time, more leisure, more friends, more comforts, more things. Ultimately, happiness involves the removal of obstacles and the correction of problems so that we might live a life without struggle. Or, at least, without what we view as onerous or unnecessary struggle. But this is not God’s definition of happiness. No. True peace—biblical peace, that deep inner peace which we cannot explain—is found only in the presence of G...