(Romans 8:21)In the
coming days you are going to be reading emails, hearing on t.v. and radio, how
the devastation to New Orleans and the gambling dens on the Mississippi Gulf
is God's judgment on those areas for their gross wickedness. Actually, it
would be very easy to make that case on the surface. The problem is, it is
not true!
New Orleans has long been one of the premiere hotbeds of satanic activity in
the nation. Satanic religions and the practice of witchcraft and the occult
have been part of New Orleans since its earliest days. Of course New
Orleans is well known the world over for the infamous French Quarter and
Bourbon Street which plays host each year to Mardis Gras. Drunkenness,
sexual sins of all kinds, and general debauchery are a big part of what New
Orleans is all about.
Just down the coast on the Mississippi Gulf you have a wide assortment of
major casinos that have brought millions of people to that area each year.
Just like many go to New Orleans to party, people come to the Mississippi
Gulf to gamble away their money, enjoy the R and X rated Las Vegas style
entertainment, drink excessively, engage in illicit sex, and make choices in
that environment they would never make otherwise.
However, let me warn you NOT to fall into the trap of believing that
Hurricane Katrina was some form of judgment by God on these areas. Could
God have stopped this great storm from happening? Absolutely! We know
nothing happens apart from God allowing it to happen. Having said that,
Hurricane Katrina was nothing more than fallen nature at work. Let me
assure you of something. When God is ready to unleash His judgment on this
nation for its gross wickedness, nobody will have to ask the question if
this is God's judgment or not. It will be on a scale so large there will be
no doubt what is happening.
There will be no way to accurately count the dead. The damage done will be
in the trillions and it will simply devastate the US economy. The TV,
radio, and print journalists will be at a loss how to even cover what is
happening because of the magnitude and unprecedented horror it will bring to
not just a few cities and an isolated area, but to the entire nation. My
friend, when God's judgment falls on this nation there is going to be no
doubt God Himself has spoken.
Hurricane Katrina was nothing more than an act of fallen nature. One of the
questions I get very often is why God allows tornadoes, hurricanes,
lightning, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, and other acts of nature that
destroy billions of dollars of resources each year globally, and take
thousands of lives. An understanding of this requires an understanding of
the consequences of man's original sin in the Garden of Eden. As I have
shared on many occasions, man was created to live and never die. He was
placed in a perfect environment, free of germs, disease, and the acts of
nature that we have in our world today.
At the time God created this environment we lived in there were NO
tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, typhoons, floods, earthquakes, or other
acts of destruction by nature. These acts of nature are often referred to
now as acts of God. That is a very misleading statement. God does allow
these acts of nature to occur but these were NOT His intended actions for
the environment He created man to live in. A consequence of the fall of man
due to sin was a fall of his environment.
The good news, however, is found in Isaiah 35 where it speaks of the
restoration of nature to its pristine condition and beauty. Adam and Eve
were thrown out of the Garden of Eden and forced to make their way in this
now fallen creation. They were created to live in a beautiful and perfect
environment. Now they and their descendants would have to get along in an
imperfect and hostile one. However, there will come a day very soon when
Christ shall return in a twinkling of an eye, and wipe out all sin from
this world. Nature will once again be restored to its perfect beauty and
free of the destructive acts we face today.
As you know, one of my goals each day is to take our unseen faith, and
translate it into the very real world we live in today. I do my best daily
to make our faith come alive, real, and practical in the day-to-day lives we
lead. Understanding that nature has fallen just like man and that due to
its fallen state is capable of great destruction, we must use every tool
God has given us to protect ourselves. God has given man great wisdom over
the years in the ability to predict and follow the patterns of weather that
can lead to destruction and loss of life. While we cannot stop these acts
of nature, we can be prepared for them.
I love you and care about you so much. While we cannot change the fact our
environment has been cursed by sin, we can use modern resources to help us
be aware of its potential dangers. God has much work for each of us to do
in these last days, and helping us be aware of, and not fall into the traps
of sin this world is infested with, is part of what He has called me to do.
While nature has fallen from its created perfection just as man has, one day
both will be restored to its original beauty and glory!
