Hurricane Thoughts

The following thoughts were written and shared by a dear friend of mine--Cindy Tutsch. I was very blessed by reading them, and wanted to share them with as many people as possible--therefore I am posting her writings here. I pray that you will be blessed as well. Jesus is coming. If we keep our eyes on Him, we will never go wrong.

One of my own favorite quotes is as follows: "We have nothing to fear for the future except as we forget how God has led us in our past." E.G. White

Have a wonderful day--this is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! :)

Susan

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The day after the night Irene visited –and several days after the strongest recorded earthquake in DC

by Cindy Tutsch on Sunday, August 28, 2011 at 9:25pm

How do you wait for a hurricane? I’d asked God for protection, bought supplies, purchased, baked or boiled the requisite food to potentially last several days, filled the bathtub with water, checked my flashlights. Then I closed my windows, crawled into bed, and slept peacefully.

In the morning, branches and leaves littered my neighborhood, but my electricity was still on (buried cables). I took an early walk through my usual haunts, now eerily devoid of cyclists, joggers, and dog-walkers. Everything was still—even the birds were silent. It was a great time to walk and talk with God, praise Him for safety and the beauty of the morning, and reflect on the times in which we live.

The March 21, 2011 cover of Newsweek shouts, Apocalypse Now: Tsunamis. Earthquakes. Nuclear Meltdowns. Revolutions. Economies on the Brink. What the #@%! Is Next?

As Christians, we know what is next. More disasters, one following the other with rapid succession, (Matthew 24), a loss of religious liberty (Revelation 13) and a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation. (Daniel 12:1) And then? And then?

And then, angels will fill up every inch of the sky. Heaven’s trumpets will sound, the dead will rise, and best of all, we will see Jesus! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! We’ve sung about Him, prayed to Him, written books about Him, drawn pictures of Him—but now we will see Him, face to face! What a day that will be! I want more than anything to meet Him with joy, with my family, with my friends, with my neighbors.

So, in the meantime, who is causing all these calamities? Is it God, bringing judgments on a planet that has largely rejected Him? I don’t believe that these disasters are caused by God. Here is an intriguing passage from the book The Great Controversy:

“ Satan works through the elements [the weather] also to garner his harvest of unprepared souls. He has studied the secrets of the laboratories of nature, and he uses all his power to control the elements as far as God allows. When he was suffered to afflict Job, how quickly flocks and herds, servants, houses, children, were swept away, one trouble succeeding another as in a moment. It is God that shields His creatures and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. . . Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favor and prosper some in order to further his own designs, and he will bring trouble upon others and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them.

While appearing to the children of men as a great physician who can heal all their maladies, he [Satan] will bring disease and disaster, until populous cities are reduced to ruin and desolation. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hailstorms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest, and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint, and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more frequent and disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. "The earth mourneth and fadeth away," "the haughty people . . . do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." Isaiah 24:4, 5.

And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils.” –The Great Controversy, 589,590

There’s more—and I invite you to read the entire chapter 36, titled The Impending Conflict, in The Great Controversy, which can be accessed at https://egwwritings.org/ If these ideas are new to you, I’d encourage you to approach them with an open mind. If these ideas are not new to you, but you have rejected them long ago, I invite you to re-consider, as we see the biblical prophecies fulfilling before our very eyes. And if these ideas are part of the fabric of who you are, determine by God’s grace to be faithful to Him, whatever the price.

How do you wait for a hurricane? Prepare, and trust. How do you wait for the coming of Jesus? Prepare your heart, and trust in your Savior. Here’s one of my absolute favorite texts regarding The Wait:

“Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for He is faithful.” I Corinthians 1:7-9 NLT

Oh, we may lose our earthly lives. There is no promise that we will live to see Jesus come. But our eternal lives are safe, if we accept Him as Lord of all our heart. (I John 5:13) And really, eternity is what matters most. This world, sick as it is, will soon pass away. The good news is, pain and heartache cannot exist in the atmosphere of heaven.

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus!

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Encourage One Another

Today I have been thinking about encouragement and praying for one another.

I had a comment made to me today by a friend, who told me that she didn't know if she would have been able to stick with her Bible reading except that she knew I was praying for her. She is in my Bible in 90 Days group, and after the program started her brother died--very, very young. Anyone would be discouraged at a time like that. It is completely normal. Yet at the same time, it is the very time when she needs God the most. Needs Him to carry her through this most dark valley. Needs to believe His promises that He has overcome death. That she will see her brother again in the New Earth, where there will be no more sickness or death or pain. (Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.")

I couldn't help but think of Luke 22:31,32 when she said that knowing I was praying made a difference. In this verse, Jesus is addressing Peter, and he says "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Jesus prayed for Peter. And Jesus prayed for you and me. He has told us to turn back and strengthen our brothers and sisters. Never underestimate the power of prayer.

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You can learn more about reading the Bible through in 90 Days at www.BibleIn90Days.org.

If you would like to have encouragement from a group of people who are also participating in this program, learn more at www.MomsToolbox.com

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 39--Who may live with God?

Would you like to live with God?

I would! There couldn't be anything better! As I was reading along in Psalms today, I found the "secret" to living with God. Want to know it? Go read Psalm 15. Or if your Bible isn't handy, it's short so I will share it with you here. . .

Psalm 15

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?

Who may live on your holy hill?

He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Isn't that beautiful? And I love how it concludes--"He who does these things will never be shaken." That's what I want. To stand firm. Even when there are tornadoes. Even if all is taken away from me as happened to Job.

Psalms is a beautiful book. I am enjoying reading through it and look forward to more wonderful gems. Feel free to join me in reading it--I would love to hear what treasures you find!

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 37--Friends

Hi Everyone!

After a long absence due to a family trip--I'm back! :) But since I just returned today and have much to do before sleep, this will be short--but I did want to share a couple thoughts. . .

Currently in my Bible in 90 Days program, I was reading in "Day 37" today, which happens to be almost the entire book of Job. Not always viewed as the happiest book in the Bible, I must confess. But there are so many good points to ponder from Job's story.

First of all, it is made very obvious that Job did nothing wrong. The Bible clearly says "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil." Job 1:1 God had richly blessed Job, for if you keep reading it also says "He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East." Job 1:2,3

He sounds like a great guy, doesn't he? Certainally the type you would want for a neighbor. He would always be honest and upright and helpful. And God greatly blessed him.

But when you keep reading Job's story, it soon looks like God is cursing him instead of blessing--and for no reason. Job hadn't sinned. He hadn't changed his mind about God. He hadn't lost his trust in God, he hadn't forgotten to pay an offering or to say his prayers one night. He hadn't slipped up in a diet and eaten something fattening. No, Job hadn't done ANYTHING wrong at all--he was still the same Job--upright and blameless. Yet his circumstances changed dramatically.

Reading the Bible story, we are let in to a behind the scenes picture--one where Satan is allowed to test Job, and the problems are coming from him, not from God. But Job didn't know this. Yet watch his actions. Does he complain? Well, yes, he laments anyway. Complain, not really. He does say that "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised." Job 1:21 Just read the story in the Bible and refresh your memory of all that was done to Job in Satan's test. In the very same day, in fact, at the very same time--one right after another, Job is informed that his oxen and donkeys were stolen, his servants killed, fire burned up the sheep and their servants, raiding parties stole the camels and killed those servants, and a mighty wind knocked down the house and killed his children--ALL of them.

Then, Satan inflicts boils on Job's skin so he is in constant pain. Finally Job's friends show up. And what do they do? Tell Job how sinful he must be and encourage him to just go ahead and curse God and die. Have you heard the expression "With friends like that who needs enemies?" Well, that's exactly what I was thinking as I was reading this story! Not only did Job's friends not help him any--either physically or emotionally--but they were discouraging him and telling him to do wrong!

I couldn't help but think of how important it is for us to be careful in choosing friends. And how even with being careful to choose wonderful, Christian, encouraging friends--we still need to ultimately cling only to God. All others will fail us. They are weak, sinful humans just like we are. But there is One who will never fail us.

Dear Father--I pray for You to use me as Your instrument. May I be an encourager, not a discourager. May I help hold up others, and not tear them down. Make me disappear, until only You remain.

The Bible in 90 Days--Day 21--Don't Feed the Giants!

Hello Everyone!

Life has continued to be busy over in my corner of the world, but as I work my way through each busy day I am still thinking over the mornings Bible reading.

It has been awhile now, but around a week ago I was reading in 1 Samuel chapter 17, which contains the well known story of David and Goliath. I'm sure you are familiar with the story yourself. Israel's army was camped in the Valley of Elah, with the Philistines on one hill and the Israelites on another. The valley was in between the two armies, and every day Goliath would stand in the valley and shout to the soldiers of Israel, ridiculing their God, daring them to come and fight him.

The Israelite soldiers were terrified, and rightly so. Goliath was HUGE, over 9 feet tall. He was covered with armor such as none of them had. And he was coming to kill them. Was the danger real? You bet it was! This was not a figment of their imagination, and it was only too real of a possibility that pretty soon they--to use a term of today's language--would be toast!

But into this very same situation comes David, just a young man. Reality has not changed. Goliath is still there, big and scary as ever. But David chooses to look at something else. Instead of looking at how big the Giant was, he looks at how big his God is. And when he comes against Goliath, he states these faith-filled words:

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Goliath wasn't even dead yet when David was making this statement--didn't he stop to think that this could make Goliath REALLY mad at him? No, he didn't! Same giant. Same problems. Different direction of view.

Makes me wonder. Where am "I" looking? Whatever we want to get bigger, we give attention to and feed. Whether it is our children, a kitten, garden plants, or anything--if we give it attention, and feed it, it is most likely going to grow bigger. So, if I am giving attention to all my problems, they are of necessity only going to grow bigger--at least in my mind they will be bigger. Soon they will fill every nook and cranny, and life will seem bleak indeed! They are GIANTS, and I am scared of them. . . Or I can choose instead to feed my faith. To focus on how big my God is, and how whatever my problem is, it is not a problem for Him.

Don't feed the Giants. Instead, feed your Faith!