This morning I stopped to get a cup of coffee and I overheard some people sitting at a table talking about hurricane Katrina and how she had done such destruction in New Orleans and in Biloxi, Mississippi. They were discussing how sinful these two cities are and that this was God pronouncing judgment on them. What was especially hard for me to take was the gleeful sounds of their voices and how one of them said, "Those homos and pervs got just what they deserved." Of course, if you know me, I could not leave that alone. I walked over to their table and asked if they all realized what they deserved. One of them spouted, "I guess you are one of them queer loving Democratic liberals." I simply said, "No, I am just a born again Christian who understands that without the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ I would be burning in hell."
I asked those sitting at that table a question that I would pose to anyone reading this blog and ask for your response.
"If God is pronouncing judgement on America, is it the sinner that he is judging, or is it the church, for not fulfilling the mission that Jesus gave to us?"
Think about this. Paul said, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without preaching?"
It sure is easy to sit in our safe "coffee house" environment and proclaim God's judgment on others who are suffering... but I wonder what we will do when his judgment is on us for being so negligent with this Gospel message we have been intrusted with?
4 comments:
How can we win the lost to Christ if all they see and hear from us us hatred and condemnation. While it is true that Christ hates sin, He still loves the sinner. Were these attitudes showing love?
Break up the ground first people if you truly want to plant God's love.
If Katrina was God's judgement on the individual sinner or in this case the sinners inhabiting a particular city, than we all deserve the destruction and terror Katrina has caused the citizens of Biloxi and New Orleans. We are all sinners who are redeemed by the overwhelming mercy and grace of our heavenly Father. Sin does not have a hierarchial nature. All sin is equal in the eyes of God. All sin grieves the heart of God. Whether it be a little white lie or the immoral acts that charaterize New Orleans, they are simply all sins.
I can certainly see what you are saying but is it not possible that this was judgement from God? I mean we read in the Bible all the time that God threw down on the people who disobeyed and were vile. So why not now?
Hi, Bill from PA,
I thought about this for a long time. I believe that God MAY have sent that hurricaine to "cleanse" that area. It is a definite possibility. God has done it in the past (Sodom and Gomorrah is one great example) God never changes so it is possible that He brought destruction in that area for whatever reason He wanted too...from one person's prayer to a whole church crying out or because He thought New Orleans needed a change.
If you are a believer, you naturally ask for forgiveness and humble yourself before God and like Abraham it was reckoned to him and us as righteousness. (Jesus plays a gigantic role in that process) But the unsaved don't care. So it is logical to expect that God may exercise his authority over that area.
Nothing happens without God's permission. He is running everything. It is our job to assess the reality of New Orleans and go to our church and push Jesus Christ into our neighborhoods so we are not the next to go. As far as people laughing about, let them go, their time is coming.
Please do not minimize God. God created death and destruction. He uses these to do His will on whomever He wants.
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