Archive for the ‘Earthquake’ Category

1 Jun

Scary times

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in Adversity, advice, Apostle Paul, Bible, Christian, Christianity, Climate, Culture, Disaster, Earthquake, Fear, Jesus, Oswald Chambers, peace, Prayer, Religion, simplicity, war. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. —Isaiah 41:13

Many people today fear a wide variety of things they see and hear around them. Fear is running rampant right here in America. Polls indicate that the majority of Americans now believe that their children’s lives will be harder than their own. They worry about unemployment and the economy. Many fear illegal immigration. Others are afraid to gather in public places for fear of violence. We see campus protests turn violent. School shootings don’t surprise us anymore.

On a cosmic scale we hear about giant solar flares that could destroy technology, pushing humankind back into the Stone Age. A large meteor or asteroid collision could destroy life on Earth.

In the natural world, we hear that a major eruption of a super volcano, like the one beneath Yellowstone National Park, could cause destruction and death on a planetary scale. Earthquakes and tsunamis in diverse places threaten millions of people. Climate change is blamed for killer storms, droughts, melting polar ice, coastal flooding, wildfires and more.

On the human plane, we read and hear about flesh eating bacteria, brain eating amoebas, and drug resistant bacteria and viruses. Abortion rights are a hot button topic that can trigger anger and rage. Some people hunker down in their homes, worried about riots, violence by and against the police, and other street violence. Others fear that computer hackers or scammers will steal their identities and wealth.  

There are wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and rumors of a global war that’s coming. Religious persecution is increasing around the globe. There is a growing wave of antisemitism right here in America. There are ample reasons for fear.

The Bible mentions two very different types of fear. The first is fear of the Lord. This fear is not associated with being scared. It is an awe and reverence of God and is to be encouraged. According to Psalm 111, fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and leads to rest and peace.

The second type of fear is detrimental. In the first chapter of 2 Timothy it is described as a “spirit of fear.” A person can be completely overcome by a spirit of fear, virtually frozen and unable to function. Such fear weighs a person down physically, emotionally and/or mentally.

Unfortunately, many Christians have succumbed to living with a spirit of fear. Some fear those of other religions and are reluctant to reach out to them in Christian love. Some fear those who are different from them culturally or racially. Others are hesitant to invite those in need into their lives for fear they might lose something or it might cost something. Some are afraid to leave the comfort of their homes and familiar surroundings in order to reach out to the needy. Others are hesitant to give of their wealth for fear they might later find themselves in need.

Many Christian fears boil down to a fear of losing something—possessions, comfort, safety, security. In Philippians chapter 3, verses 7-8, Paul describes how he has let go of the things of this world in order to focus on what is truly important:

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

One can’t grasp Christ’s outstretched hand while clinging to things of this world. As David tells us in Psalm 34, verses 4-7:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

You may be facing a health crisis, unemployment, divorce, a call to Christian service, or other difficult challenges. Don’t live in fear. Take the fears you struggle with today and give them to the Lord in prayer. Make this a habit. I will not tell you to “let go and let God” because it makes letting go of fear sound so simple. Instead, I encourage you to explore the Bible and learn what it says about fear. Read and believe!

Begin with Psalm 23. Then read Psalm 118. Other relevant Psalms include 27, 34, 46, 61, 91, 103, and 121. Once you have read these Psalms, locate a red letter edition New Testament and read every word spoken by Jesus. Then read Paul’s epistles. Become steeped in scripture. Do this and you will be well on the way to giving your fears to the Lord.

The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.   —Oswald Chambers

*All Bible quotes are ESV.

28 Sep

Fake News and False Prophets

Posted by Zachary P. Hubbard in Christianity, Earthquake, end times, Faith, Fake News, Prophecy, Religion, simplicity. Tagged: , , , , .

Flooded Road

Psalm 69:2 (ESV) – I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold;  I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. 

The past few weeks have seen a multitude of natural disasters.  First, Hurricane Harvey struck the Texas coastline, causing inestimable wind and flooding damage.  Hurricane Irma followed next, wrecking havoc in the Caribbean and the Florida peninsula.  Irma was followed by Hurricane Maria, which dealt another blow to the Caribbean, devastating Puerto Rico and still posing a threat to the US East Coast as I pen this blog entry.

On September 19, a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Mexico City, collapsing buildings, burying countless victims in rubble, and creating havoc in the city whose metropolitan area is home to some 21 million souls. Since the initial quake, Mexico City has been struck by multiple large aftershocks; there was a moderate-sized earthquake in the Los Angeles area; and another moderate quake occurred near Japan’s Fukushima power plant.  Fukushima is the place where a 2011 earthquake damaged three nuclear reactors, resulting in the cores melting down and releasing high levels of radiation into the Pacific Ocean.  It remains a tremendous hazard today.

The timing of these events has been a windfall for late night radio talk shows where prophets of doom warn about the end of the world.  Their latest doomsday message predicted the world would end on September 23, when a giant, hitherto undetected planet called Nibiru would suddenly appear and pass so close to the Earth that its enormous gravitation and magnetic field would cause a planetary disaster, ending life as we know it. Well, the September 23 apocalypse has passed and we’re still here.  

In 1992, radio evangelist Harold Camping predicted Christ would return in September 1994. He had based his prediction off numbers and dates found in the Bible. When this failed to happen, Camping made several adjustments to the predicted date, the last date of which was October 21, 2011. He attributed his errors to mathematical errors in interpreting Biblical numerology.  It didn’t happen!

Richard W. Noone, in his book titled 5/5/2000 Ice: The Ultimate Disaster, predicted the world would end on May 5, 2000 when Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn would aligned with the earth for the first time in six thousand years. Wrong!

A predicted apocalypse on December 12, 2012 also passed without incident.  That was the date that some believed the ancient Mayan calendar ended, spelling doomsday for mankind.  Didn’t happen—again!  

The Holy Scriptures are full of warnings about false prophets.  Jesus himself warns us of false prophets in Mark 13, which provides many details about the cataclysmic end times that will occur on Earth in the last days. Mark 13 ends with Jesus telling us clearly that not even he knows the day or hour when this cataclysm will occur.  Only God the Father knows when our world will end!

In truth, there have been many doomsday predictions for as long as mankind has been around; none have come to pass save the great flood that Jehovah warned Noah to prepare for. A direct warning from God–that’s something you can trust!

Unfortunately for us, false prophecies are rampant today, along with the ubiquitous fake news we hear so much talk about in the media.  This leaves Christians little remaining to believe in besides their Bible. So how historically accurate is the Bible?

It is very accurate according to Dr. Ken Boa. Boa is president of Reflections Ministries (www.kenboa.org).  His article, titled ‘How accurate is the Bible?’ originally appeared in the Winter 2009 issue of Knowing and Doing, the teaching quarterly published by the C.S. Lewis Institute. 

According to Boa, there are three lines of evidence supporting the claim that the biblical documents are reliable: 1) the bibliographic test, 2) the internal test, and 3) the external test. The first test examines the authenticity and accuracy of biblical manuscripts; the second deals with the claims made by the biblical authors, most of whom were eyewitnesses to the events they describe; and the third looks to outside historical confirmation of the biblical content. Boa explains very clearly how biblical evidence meets all three tests.  His article can be found at this link: http://www.cslewisinstitute.org/webfm_send/410.

1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 tells us, “Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good,” (ESV).  The Bible passes the reliability tests as described so succinctly by Dr. Ken Boa. Christians should rely on the lens of the Bible to examine everything we hear and see today.  It’s the only certain way to avoid being misled by fake news and false prophets. Which lens are you looking through, a worldview conforming to biblical truth or one conforming to the secular world?

For more on ‘Worldview’, see Bob Burney’s article at this link:  http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/worldview-which-lens-are-you-looking-through-11595738.html.