TURMOIL, HORROR AND TRAGEDY

Almighty God, sovereign Creator, we thank-you for all of our blessings. Blessings from our birth to the present. You are a merciful God and we love you with all of our heart, mind and soul. Father, how do we process the huge turmoil of back to back hurricanes, earthquakes, shootings, the losses, the deaths, and the seemingly impossible recovery that has begun? We place our faith in You, we pray, we cry, and yet there is sometimes a remaining emptiness that defies the usual consoling. As we lean on You, Great Healer of the soul, grant us peace and light as we place one foot in front of the other. Help us to find Your solace as You see all, and know all, and shelter us under Your mighty wings. We ask this in the name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.

My Linda shared with me a discovery she made regarding the hurricanes that have wrought carnage over a wide swath of our section of this earth. The discovery was in the storm names; Harvey, Irma and Maria. The first letters of these cyclones, in the order of their landfall spells H-I-M.

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah found himself at the mouth of a cave as God passed by. We learn that God was not in that powerful wind. Nor was He in that powerful earthquake [Mexico], nor was He in the fire that followed. God used these mighty events to get Elijah's attention, and through him, the undivided attention of man. Through these events, Las Vegas included, our Father in heaven is speaking to us. I really recommend that we listen!

(Jer 17:9) "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

The heart, as with the tongue, can beguile or destroy.

(Mar 7:21) "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries...

Only our Lord knows what evil is to be found in the heart of a person like the man who killed so many innocent souls outside the Las Vegas Mandalay. The Lord rebuke you Satan.

(Jas 1:14-15) But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Now families grieve over the senseless loss of a son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife. This is evil in its purest form.

The earthquakes and the super storms are a wake-up call. Turn away from the idolization of earthly possessions, money, and self. Be reminded that we are the created. We create nothing, absolutely nothing is created by us. It all comes from Him. Everything. Even our very breath.

(Mat 6:19) "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

We are a hard-headed, stiff-necked people. Almighty God is talking. We all had better start listening.

Please pray for all those suffering loss from the storms, the earthquakes, victims and families in Las Vegas, and especially for those now left behind to grieve and mourn. Pray.

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?