June 18

The Cause of Global Catastrophes

The executives of BP were on the hot spot this week as they tried to explain the worst environmental event in US history. At the same time tornados, floods and earthquakes are rumbling at all points of the planet. And who is the cause of all of this environmental wackiness? It is you and me, the common person. Part of the blame must be shouldered by man’s arrogance and hypocrisy (we take short cuts to save money, governments are incredible inept) but that is not the only cause. Hosea brings one more cause into play.... sin.

In Hosea 4 the prophet levels the charge....

The Lord brings a charge against the people living in the land;
“There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgement of God in the land.
There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery;
They break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. “
WOW if that doesn’t sound just like the USA.

Here is the result, the consequence of the sin. “Because of this the land mourns!!!!”

With God there is a connection between the spiritual and the physical. The land suffers when a nation departs from God. If we continue to read, we see this connection.

“Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away;
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.”

Verse 6 gives us our hope and our mission... “my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”

It is the knowledge of God that is the only hope for our future. That is why your commitment to reading the Bible every day is the best hope for America. As we read, we grow in the knowledge of God and the healing of the land. The message that we bring to the discussion of the environment is that we need more than a SMART car to win this battle. We need to live SMART lives, lives that are centered on God and his Word.

So the next time the wackiness of the environment comes up in a conversation, be sure to ask the person to join you in prayer for God to intervene in this crisis and our hearts to be turned back to him.

Friday .... accountability day is here.
RSVP to the Monday dinner.