He is sovereign over nations,

He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, Acts 17:26

He also blesses nations based upon their treatment of Israel.

“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you and in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed”  (Gen. 12:3).

“…for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye…” Zechariah 2:9

This does not mean that God punishes individuals for how nations relate to Israel.   PLEASE don’t hear that in what is being said. People who lost loved ones were not singled out by God. THEY EXPERIENCED NATURAL DISASTERS. But God is still in control over natural disasters. Nature has been subject to futility and is waiting for deliverance from the Lord too (Rom. 8:19-22). What we see is that God uses restraining grace over the forces of nature partly to reveal Himself to mankind. Paul tells us one of the reasons why:

“so that they should seek the Lord,” Acts 17:27

Natural disasters are part of how God raises and lowers nations so that people would look to Him.

Especially, as it relates to Israel, God speaks to nations. Our nation in particular, has been moving away from supporting Israel. Even the most liberal Jewish voters are starting to see the truth in it all.  We are constantly trying to force Israel into giving away land for peace.    Recently, our president was very discourteous to Netanyahu, demanding that Israel return to the 1967 boarders.    “Bibi” returned to America and in a “face to face meeting with our president explained why it simply was not going to happen”.   I immediately spoke to those around me to watch out for more natural disasters.  In less than 2 days Joplin was in ruins.     I am not a prophet.  I simply believe Scripture.      Could there be any connection between natural disasters in the USA and its treatment of God’s chosen people?    Does the evidence lean in that direction?    

So here are some examples:

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there have been 10 major disasters in the United States this year. On average, usually there are only about 3 major disasters a year. At this point, disasters are happening inside the United States so frequently that there seems to be no gap between them. We just seem to go from one major disaster to the next. Last year, FEMA declared an all-time record of 81 disasters inside the United States. This year, we are on pace for well over 100.  (from the Guardian UK).

Major “Acts Of God” That Coincided With The Timing of US Pressure On Israel To Give Up Land

October 30, 1991: President George Bush opens the Madrid Conference with an initiative for a Middle East peace plan involving Israel’s land.

On the same day, an extremely rare storm forms off the coast of Nova Scotia. (It was eventually tagged “The Perfect Storm,” and a book and movie were made about it.)

Record-setting 100-foot waves form at sea and pound the New England Coast, even causing heavy damage to President Bush’s home in Kennebunkport, Maine.

August 23, 1992: The Madrid Conference moves to Washington D.C. and the peace talks resume, lasting four days. On that same day, Hurricane Andrew — the worst natural disaster ever to hit America — produces an estimated $30 billion in damage and leaves 180,000 homeless in Florida.

January 16, 1994: President Clinton meets with Syria’s President Hafez el-Assad in Geneva. They talk about a peace agreement with Israel that includes giving up the Golan Heights.

Less than 24 hours later, a powerful 6.9 earthquake rocks Southern California.

This quake, centered in Northridge, is the second most destructive natural disaster to hit the United States, behind Hurricane Andrew.

March 1 to April 1997: The combination of PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat touring America, and Clinton rebuking Israel for not giving away her land for peace, coincide with some of the worst tornadoes and flooding in US history.

On the very day Arafat lands in America, powerful tornadoes devastate huge sections of the nation, ripping across Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Arafat’s American tour also coincides with the storms in the Dakotas, which result in the worst flooding of this century, in addition to weeks of major storms throughout the Midwest.

September 27-28, 1998:  Clinton meets with Arafat and Netanyahu at the White House to finalize the land deal in which Israel will give up 13 percent of Yesha. . Later, Arafat addresses the United Nations about declaring an independent Palestinian state by May 1999, while Hurricane Georges 110 mph winds and gusts up to 175. pounds the Gulf Coast causing $1 billion in damage.

At the exact time Arafat departs the US the storm begins to dissipate.

October 15-22, 1998: On October 15, 1998, Yasser Arafat and Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Maryland, to continue the talks begun in September.

The talks are scheduled to last five days with the focus on Israel giving up 13 percent of Yesha (Judah and Samaria). The talks are extended and conclude on October 23.

On October 17, awesome rains and tornadoes hit southern Texas. The San Antonio area is deluged with 20 inches of rain in one day. The rains and floods in Texas continue until October 22 and then subside.

The floods ravage 25 percent of Texas and leave over one billion dollars in damage. On October 21, Clinton declares this section of Texas a major disaster area.

May 3, 1999: This is the same day in Israel that Yasser Arafat is scheduled to declare a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as the capital.

The declaration is postponed to December 1999 at the request of President Clinton, whose letter to Arafat encourages him for his “aspirations for his own land.” He also writes that the Palestinians have a right to “determine their own future on their own land,” and that they deserve to “live free, today, tomorrow and forever.”

That same day, starting at 4:47 pm CDT, the most powerful tornado storm system ever to hit the United States sweeps across Oklahoma and Kansas. The winds are clocked at 316 mph the fastest wind speed ever recorded.

August 29, 2005: Israel’s Prime Minister Ariel Sharon completed the forcible eviction of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. President Bush supported Sharon’s evacuation from Gaza. He said: “I strongly support his courageous initiative to disengage from Gaza and part of the West Bank,” Exactly one week later, hurricane Katrina struck the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. 80% of the entire city of New Orleans was left under water. Many weather experts called this the worse hurricane and natural disaster that has ever hit the country.

  May 20, 2011, (Friday)  President Obama demands that Israel return to 1967 boarders,  The Joplin tornadoes strike by Sunday, May 22.

By Tuesday,  the death toll in Joplin had reached 124, making it the single deadliest tornado since the National Weather Service began keeping such records 61 years ago.

The tornado in Joplin brought the number of people who have died in U.S. tornadoes to 489 so far this year. The figure could escalate as rescue workers continue digging through rubble from Sunday’s tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

The deadliest tornado year on record is 1925, which had 794 deaths, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The number of fatalities so far this year is more than 8 1/2 times the average number for an entire year — 56, according to CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.

• Hurricane Irene, August 20-29. Over $7bn and around 50 deaths.

• Upper Midwest flooding. The Missouri and Souris rivers overflowed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. Damages: $2bn.

• Mississippi river flooding, spring and summer. Damages neared $4bn.

• Drought and heatwave in Texas, Oklahoma. Over $5bn.

• Tornadoes in midwest and south-east in May kill 177 and cost more than $7bn in losses.

• Tornadoes in the Ohio Valley, south-east and midwest on April devastate the city of Tuscaloosa, kill 32 and cause more than $9bn in damages.

• Tornadoes hit from Oklahoma to Pennsylvania 14–16 April. Toll: $2bn in damages.

• 59 tornadoes in midwest and north-east April 8-11. Damages: $2.2bn.

• 46 tornadoes in central and southern states 4 and 5 April. Toll: $2.3bn in damages.

• Blizzard late January paralyse cities from Chicago to the north-east. Toll: 36 deaths and more than $2bn in damages.

Perhaps God is serious about Israel!

sources:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/05/us-unprecedented-weather-extremes

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/do-you-now-understand-why-you-need-to-prepare-for-emergencies-this-has-been-the-worst-year-for-natural-disasters-in-u-s-history

http://jmm.aaa.net.au/articles/14210.htm

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/t/tenmajorevents.htm

http://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/natural-disasters-and-harming-israel/

Pastoral Thoughts on Rob Bell’s book
“Love Wins” and subsequent interviews

          Bell’s book “Love Wins” seeks to show that the Bible’s message is that God’s love wins.   His love trumps all His other attributes.  God’s love will keep most of us from going to hell.  His love will open the gates for those already there.  They may leave “their hell” whenever they choose, after all, the gates of heaven are always open (Rev. 21:25).   Also, you can rest easy because hell is really just the misery you have created for yourself in this life.  You only go to the hell of your bad choices.   In other words, don’t worry, its OK.  One wonders if the words of Peter don’t actually apply?

It’s a big deal because Rob Bell is considered a Christian Rock Star.  He is extremely popular with younger Christians.  Rob’s popularity transcends all denominational boundaries.   He fills auditoriums around the country with his talented, provocative, insightful, engaging talks.  Rob has done many short films called NOOMA videos which are played in most youth groups around the country.   This book will impact many because he is already well known and appreciated.

It’s a big deal because today’s youth is much more influenced by each other than they are by the authorities in their lives.  Many of our youth live out a kind of community where they are connected 24/7.  They tweet, facebook and text around the clock.  Without realizing it, they have followed a kind of FRIENDS mentality,  where life consists of me and my friends.    As a result, religious views are merely different flavors of ice cream.  You may like vanilla.  I like chocolate.  But we both like ice cream.  Churches really aren’t that different.  They all have truth.  Woe to the Church which says someone else is in error.  And if you are from the older generation, you just don’t understand.

It’s a big deal because Rob Bell denies the reality of hell and is deceitful about it.   Lisa Miller, religious writer from Newsweek repeatedly asked him if he wasn’t really a “universalist”, someone who believes that in the end everyone will be saved,  he said no.  So she asked the question a different way.  “Do you believe in a real hell?”  He said YES.  “Hell is all the bad choices you make and the misery you cause yourself”.  This same answer he repeated several times.  He knew she was asking about a place of fiery torment.  He should have been honest and said no, not the kind of hell you are thinking of.  Why does he feel the need to be deceptive?  No parent would accept such deceptive answers from a teen, why should anyone accept them from a pastor?
It’s a big deal because Rob Bell denies the reality of heaven.  He said heaven is not some place to which we go when we die, “some kind of evacuation”.  God brings heaven to earth and merges the two.  He says we should not be trying to help people get ready for an eternity in heaven, we should be working to bring heaven to earth.  God is not concerned about the next life, but about how you live now.  Lisa Miller tried again,  “So, assuming a person is a believer, where does he or she go when they die?”.   Bell says, “I watched a man die recently, and he was saying how wonderful this is. He died in peace. That is heaven!”.

     This brings us to a glaring weakness in Bell’s understanding of Scripture.  He confuses the Millennial Kingdom promised to the nation of Israel with eternity.  He quotes Christ who said, “Thy Kingdom Come”, as proof that heaven is on earth.  This kingdom is promised in the Old Testament to Israel.  It’s duration is revealed in the New Testament in Revelation 20.  Six times God tells us the Kingdom will be 1000 years.  Then at the end of the Millennium we receive the most dreadful scene in all Scripture.   It pictures an unhappy resurrection, no place to hide, God’s dreadful throne, judgment, death and torment and a lake of fire.

     Add to that one overlooked detail, the Devil is tormented eternally in the same location as the lost.
 

    Kind of ruins the whole point of Bell’s book doesn’t it?

It’s a big deal because this is an old heresy revisited.  Over 100 years ago liberalism spread throughout most of the denominations in America.  Most denominations never recovered.  Before communism killed 100 million people in the world, its younger sister socialism was very popular within Christendom.  Christian Socialism and the Social Gospel spread through most seminaries and church denominations.  It taught the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man, namely that “Christ’s Great kingdom will come to earth, the kingdom of love and light”.  This theological liberalism denied the sinfulness of man, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ, the inspiration of Scriptures and the bodily return of Christ.  Those who hold this view reason that if mankind is not radically sinful, no atonement is needed.  Jesus need not be virgin born, and need not be God. 

     So it looks like Bell is rehashing an old heresy.   He said that his views are nothing new.  He is on record denying the inspiration of Scripture (Christianity Today, Nov. 2004).  He has questioned the virgin birth.  He said, “if one day we found that Jesus had a father named Larry, I would still believe.”  His supporters protested that he never denied the virgin birth.  He was merely speaking hypothetically.  Their point is granted, but that misses the point of what he really implied.  He was saying that he believes the deity of Christ is not necessary.  While being interviewed by Miller, she asked Bell, “why did Jesus die?”  Bell answered, “to show us an example of love”.  He said nothing more.  It is not coincidental that Bell speaks so much about social justice.  All one needs to do is to listen to his message on How Jesus Came to Save Sinners.  After all, we are already forgiven, we just need to understand forgiveness.

     The Fundamentalist movement started 100 years ago to establish what is essential to the Christian faith  They listed the Five Fundamentals:

    ~The Virgin Birth,
    ~The Substitutionary Atonement,
    ~The Deity of Christ,
    ~The Inspiration of Scripture and
    ~The Bodily Return of Christ.

     Bell is on record denying at least four and maybe even all five.    So it is no surprise that Lisa Miller asked, “Aren’t you really just a main line protestant and not an evangelical?”.  Bell’s answer, “No, I am an Evangelical because evangelical means “good news”.  But Bell is wrong because the title “evangelical” originally described those who hold to the Fundamentals of the Faith.

It’s a big deal because Rob Bell is deceptive by making assertions in the form of questions.  People hear Bell throw out a question and assume that he is simply asking questions.  But he is making points, forming opinions and making assumptions through questions.  For those who are not inclined to be discerning, questions can be very misleading.  For example, the highschool teacher poses the question to his students, “Is America really that great?”.  In asking the question, the teacher has really said America isn’t that great and you should think about it.   Remember our first mother Eve was led astray through misleading questions.

It’s a big deal because through all this we are defining real love.  Bell says having a God who gets everyone saved is a better demonstration of love than having a God who loved so much that He sent His Own Son, to die as a loving atonement.  In other words, he thinks universalism is a greater demonstration of love than having Christ die for you.  But which is a greater demonstration of love?  Letting everyone off the hook or being a God who gives His only son for the redemption of His people?  Bell feels that a gospel message which contains both a God of wrath and mercy and a God of justice and love is not acceptable in today’s world.  He states, “this kind of gospel is the reason so many reject Christianity”.  He wants to change that.

It’s a big deal because one wonders, if perhaps, in the fires of hell there might be a place of unique scorn and hatred labeled “Mars Hell” for those led astray by Bell and his message of “don’t worry, it’s OK.”

Which is why I don’t drink Pepsi!

     The Hebrew behind the phrase ”consider your ways”  is loaded.  It reads “set your heart on your ways”.  God encourages them to take a focused, determined, fixed examination of their ways.  Clear out the clutter and think about your life.  Be brutally honest with yourself.  Are you really living the kind of life you know you should.  What corrections should be made before you stand before the Lord.  What activities do you really know you ought to forsake or start?

     The answer is found in the location of your search.  God wants you to look at your “ways”.  One’s ways do not refer to the places you go or the actions you take.  “Ways” refers to the character traits of your life which are behind your actions.  Your ways are the inclinations of the soul that results in actions.

     When is the last time you have really looked at the inclinations of the heart?  It was why Israel ceased to build God’s temple and it is why you do what you do.  

     You have my prayers as you begin to peel back the layers and “set your heart on your ways”.

The Gore Effect was first noticed during a January 2004 global warming rally in New York City, held during one of the coldest days in the city’s history. Since then, evidence has mounted of a correlation between global warming activism and severely cold weather.

A year ago a congressional media briefing on the Bingaman/Specter Climate Bill was cancelled due to a cold snap. In October 2008 London saw the first snow since 1922 while the House of Commons debated the Climate Change Bill. That same month Al Gore’s appearance at Harvard University coincided with low temperatures that challenged 125-year records. Tellingly, the average global temperature for each of the 366 days in 2008 was below the average for Jan. 24, 2006, the date Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” was released at the Sundance Film Festival.

Here are some other examples:

From The Salt Lake Tribune

A downtown protest of the climate change talks in Copenhagen became a victim of Wednesday’s snowstorm. “Not many people showed up because of the blizzard conditions,” said organizer Clea Major, an international studies student at the University of Utah. It didn’t take long for the six friends to pack up a bullhorn and posters they’d planned to use for their “scream-in,” an outlet for their frustration about the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks earlier this month to curb the pollution blamed for climate change.

Still, they chatted with a few passers-by during the commuter-hour protest near the Gateway, and explained that, blizzard aside, climate change is expected to bring chaos to the global climate, said Major.

She called Wednesday evening’s effort a success and possibly the first in a series. As for the snow, it’s not entirely new; a protest she attended last year in Washington, D.C., suffered a similar fate.

Or from climatedepot.com

Melbourne temps plummet in anticipation of Gore’s visit – July 9, 2009

Gore decries ‘global warming’ in bitterly cold NYC – December 2006

Gore delivers environmental message at Harvard – …with near 125-year record breaking low temps – October 2008

The ‘Gore Effect’: Gore speaks in Italy during ‘rare’ cold and snow – Dec. 16, 2008

GORE HEARING ON WARMING MAY BE PUT ON ICE – Mon Jan 26 2009

‘Largest public protest of global warming’ ever in USA faces DC March snowstorm! – March 1, 2009

Pelosi Snowed-Out of Global Warming Rally – March 2, 2009

Excerpt: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) had to cancel an appearance Monday at a global warming rally in Washington, D.C., that was hit by a snowstorm because her flight was delayed, her office told CNSNews.com. [...] A blizzard Sunday night and early Monday morning blanketed the nation’s capital with snow, causing events to be cancelled and delayed across the city.

‘Out With A Shiver: Global Warming Protest Frozen Out by Massive Snowfall’ – Fox News – March 2, 2009

Gore Effect Strikes Again: Global warming conference in Buffalo at -6 degrees – Buffalo News – February 5, 2009

‘Gore Effect’: Driving snow froze the hopes of organizers of “the biggest global warming protest in history” in Washington – March 4, 2009

First October snow since 1922 blankets London as global warming bill debated – October 2008

Global Warming Vote on Snowy Day in Washington – Senate committee debates expensive climate change bill snow blanket D.C. – December 2007

HOUSE HEARING ON ‘WARMING OF THE PLANET’ CANCELED AFTER SNOW/ICE STORM – February 2007

NOT AGAIN! DC ‘Snow Advisory’ Issued on Day of Congressional Global Warming Hearing – March 2007

Global warming activists urged to focus on Earth Day rallies and ignore snow as it ‘piles up outside our windows’ – April 17, 2007

No Joke! Cyclists ‘braved freezing cold temps’ to promote global warming awareness in New York – October 22, 2008

Global warming protest in Maryland frosted with snow – January 2008

Global warming rally in the snow – April 2007

Snow won’t dampen global-warming rallies – April 2007

Brrr. – Obama to global warming demonstrators: ‘This is probably not the weather to hold up those signs…it’s a little chilly today’ – October 28, 2008

Global Warming Awareness Walk Braves Snow Storm – March 2007

Climate protest cancelled ‘due to rain and cold’ – Nov. 23, 2008

Sen.Inhofe: “The ‘Gore Effect’ proves Mother Nature has a sense of humor” – Jan. 27, 2009

Global Warming Horror Flick Put on Ice Due to Cold Temps? – January 8, 2009

Will Mainstream Media Report Inauguration Day ‘Gore Effect?’ – January 17, 2009

Obama Talks Global Warming to Shivering Crowd – January 17, 2009

Thanks God!

Check out Larry Anderson’s views on this topic at American Thinker

Yep,  Darwin is quickly becoming the most influential force driving our world and culture.  “Darwin’s answer” is the engine that is driving much that is crazy in this world.  Through his theory, he answered the most basic questions of life: 

Where did I come from?,   Why am I here?,  Where am I going? 

If you realize that many people believe the answers are “from nowhere”,     ”for no reason”,     or to “no place”,    then you begin to understand what is driving politics, climate change, entertainment, investment and family structures.

We have lived in the long shadow of Augustine for a long time.  He taught that we live to glorify and find our satisfaction in God.  But, sadly,  the sun has perhaps already set on that worldview.  Darwin gave a different answer.  Since we come from nowhere, live for no reason and are going nowhere, then man’s ultimate goal is personal survival.   It is me against the elements and me against you.     It is no more blatantly obvious than in the life of Al Gore.  He is making millions trying to convince everyone else to stop living.  

Calvin followed and relit Augustine’s worldview:  We were created by God, for God’s glory and we are going to answer to Him one day for what we have done in this world and more importantly we are going to answer for what we have done about His Son.  You see God loves his Son and wants you to love Him too.  It is the crime of the century to not love him also.  O by the way, God will also treat you as His son if you repent and receive His salvation.

Today’s winner:  John Calvin,  

You might be surprised to hear this especially if you believe the myths that have been perpetuated about him. 

‘If the average American citizen were asked, who was the founder of America, the true author of our great Republic, he might be puzzled to answer. We can imagine his amazement at hearing the answer given to this question by the famous German historian, Ranke, one of the profoundest scholars of modern times. Says Ranke, ‘John Calvin was the virtual founder of America.”  

Dr. E. W. Smith says, ‘These revolutionary principles of republican liberty and self-government, taught and embodied in the system of Calvin, were brought to America, and in this new land where they have borne so mighty a harvest were planted, by whose hands? – the hands of the Calvinists. 

He didn’t become famous until he was 30. He had only 24 years of productivity. He died of over work. He left 58 large vols.,… .  As he lay in bed dying, he was still dictating his commentary on Joshua.  Beza urged him to rest. Calvin said, “Would you have the Lord to find me idle?” He suffered from terrible headaches, kidney stones, and malaria-like fever. The 16th-century doctors recommended to go horseback riding! Calvin writes a pathetic letter. He can’t sit on a horse for his bad hemorrhoids.

But what about the stories?  They are mainly told by enemies of God’s sovereignty.  No doubt you’ve heard the one about killing Servetus.

Calvin murdered Miguel Servetus. Wrong. To be sure Calvin did “rat him out” but only after the former showed up in Geneva, despite Calvin’s warning of what the civil authorities would do to him and then Servetus appeared in church.   

It was the 16th-century. … It was a crime against the civil code in most European cities and Geneva was no exception. If the Protestant cities had not treated heresy as a civil crime, the Roman authorities would have accused them of giving hospitality to heretics. They were condemned if they did and condemned if they didn’t.  

Let us praise God for the faithful work of John Calvin.