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Posts Tagged ‘Natural Desasters’

People of The West Should Humble Themselves & Repent or Else be Destroyed

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on August 29, 2017

KEEP YOUR FINGERS AWAY FROM ETHIOPIA and HER PEOPLE

ITALY WILL BE NEXT

Two weeks ago, I felt something unusual when I read the story on the tragedy in which 11 people were killed by a falling tree during a religious festival on the portugese island of Madeira. Local reports said the 200-year-old oak tree had come crashing down on the crowd outside a church on the hills of the village of Monte, overlooking the capital of Funchal. Children were among the victims who were struck in an area where candles were being sold for the Festa da Senhora do Monte festival. The Festa da Senhora do Monte festival brings thousands of visitors from across the world to the island of Madeira and marks the Assumption, or entry into heaven of the Virgin Mary. Madeira in portuguese = Wood.

The hurricane struck between Corpus Christi, which is Latin for “The Body of Christ”, and Victoria, which is Latin for “Victory”. Harvey means “Blazing Iron”. Citizens of Corpus were told to evacuate and many heeded the warning (the Body of Christ was evacuated). In Revelation 12:5 we discover that the victorious Body of Christ will rule the nations with a rod of iron (see also Rev. 2:26-27) after evacuating earth to a place of safety as a ferocious dragon tries unsuccessfully to devour them (see here, here, and here)

What is interesting is that the hurricane comes from the golf of Mexico, stays in between Corpus Christi and Victoria (snatching up Christians, just thinking here:)) and goes back to the Golf where it almost disappears (‘dropping off’) comes back to the land and vanishes and continues it’s work with the left behind. The Lord is unique and amazing.

First The Eclipse, Now The Hurricane

This past Monday, August 21, 2017, God Almighty sent a sign of Biblical proportions as a warning to what history has dubbed “The Greatest Nation on Earth”.

Historically, solar eclipses are a sign of doom to the Gentile nations. We now know that the very same sign- a solar eclipse- was sent to the people of Nineveh to warn them- REPENT! Or be destroyed! The people of Nineveh heeded the warning- they were remorseful for their wicked ways. As a nation, the people of Nineveh repented of their wickedness. Because of their repentant hearts, God showed the people of Nineveh His Mercy and they were spared from destruction.

Monday’s eclipse was a warning to the people of America- REPENT! Or be destroyed! Unlike the people of Nineveh, who fasted to show their remorse, America chose to do the exact opposite- eat, drink, and be merry! All across the nation, many of the towns and regions along the path of totality threw viewing parties, organized “epic” festivals, and hosted a wide range of other public events and activities in celebration, from live entertainment, various exhibits, food vendors, and memorabilia vendors hawking their celebratory wares to a very unsuspecting public.

As usual, there are the mockers. While it is expected that the world will mock the God of heaven and earth, it is somewhat of a shock to realize that the majority of the body of Christ have no idea that the eclipse is a warning from God and a call to repentance. Even more disheartening is how the church, which is called to be salt and light to this depraved world, largely scoffs at the warning God has sent to this nation. Sadly, in many churches today, the heart of the Gospel message has shifted from sin and redemption to social justice. Second Peter 3 speaks very clearly of this, warning that it will be BELIEVERS who scoff at the notion that Jesus will soon be returning, choosing instead to “follow their own evil desires”. The overall mood in the church today is “come, Lord Jesus, but not too soon!” Others are mocking all aspects of Bible prophecy. Sadly, the disturbing truth is that the “blessed hope” of the Rapture has become the “blasted hope”.

Now that the eclipse is gone and all but forgotten, the parties are over, and America is back to business as usual. In what has now become the “new normal” in this upside down world we live in, evil is called good, and good is called evil. Just two days after the eclipse, the Washington Post published an article blaming Christians for all the woes in the country, all the while defending and cheering satan, claiming satan is the champion of ‘modern culture, science and secular values’.

This is the epitome of Isaiah 5:20: “How terrible it will be for those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute what is bitter for what is sweet and what is sweet for what is bitter!” How terrible it is for this country, for she brings judgment upon herself!

We know that God is not willing that ANY should perish, so, just as any good Father would do, He is warning His children. In His Grace, Mercy, and undying Love, He is pleading with humanity to stop all the foolishness. Things have gone on long enough, and His Mercy is nearing its end. Judgment is coming, and it’s coming swiftly and fiercely. While the nation as a whole is destined to receive judgment, 1 Peter 4 tells us that judgment begins in the house of God.

Unless you are living under a rock, you are probably aware that there is a massive hurricane hitting the southern coast of Texas. Do you realize that this hurricane appeared out of nowhere? With headlines declaring: “Hurricane Harvey Is Something We’ve Never Seen Before”… ‘You will remember this storm for the rest of your life’ , the real story begins: with 40 inches of rain pouring down, bringing catastrophic flooding to Southeast Texas, it’s an eerie reminder of “the days of Noah” when God judged the wickedness with floodwaters. While we know that God has promised never to completely destroy the earth again by flood, this historic storm has the potential to cause widespread destruction that would challenge citizens and emergency managers to the maximum degree. Sadly, there are still those who chose to stay and celebrate with “Hurricane Parties“… eating, drinking, and merrily watching the storm rather than using common sense and seeking higher ground. Isaiah 5:21 warns: “How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion, and clever in their own reckoning!”

God sent an eclipse to warn America, but she has not heeded His warning, so, just “as in the days of Noah”, He is sending a flood. He is starting with His house, warning the body of Christ to become battle worthy warriors, but she is captivated and ensnared in the toils of her love for wickedness, substituting darkness for light. The truth is, since no one is heeding His warning with the eclipse, His hand of judgment is now upon this nation, and His judgment has started in the body of Christ- Corpus Christi, Texas. Hurricane Harvey is striking at virtually the center of the nation, where the most church congregations in the US are located, and where the most megachurches in this country are found, which, just like the church of Ephesus, have forsaken their First Love- Jesus Christ. Body of Christ, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.” Just “as in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Will this judgment be enough to wake up the body of Christ? Or will He have to pour out more judgments upon our land?

many are invited, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14

Source

Stealing The Rainbow Posted by addisethiopia on August 4, 2013

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Posted in Ethiopia, Faith, Infos | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Hurricanes: Nature and Nature’s God

Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on October 31, 2012

The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.[Nahum 1:3]

The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they can’t speak. They have eyes, but they can’t see. They have ears, but they can’t hear; neither is there any breath in their mouths.Those who make them will be like them; yes, everyone who trusts in them.[Psalm 135: 15-18]

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, [Revelation 9:20]

My note: I was thinking about the above Bible verses lately – and this particular image which captivated New Yorkers exactly proves those words. The man-made collapsed crane which is now called, ‘Hurricrane’ is dangling over New York City – while real state tycoon, Donald Trump ‘could see the crane from his apartment window’. Coincidence? Can he see it now? Well, hopefully he is not going to fire someone over this – I assure him that King Kong was not there.

It’s of course, a horrible tragedy what we are witnessing in and around New York these days. Hurricane Sandy, which disrupted the lives of millions of Americans this week, is “a reminder of what the world really is like. Sandy is short for Cassandra, the Greek mythological figure who epitomizes tragedy. The gods gave Cassandra the gift of prophecy; depending on which version of the story one prefers, she could either see or smell the future. But with this gift also came a curse: Cassandra’s warnings about future disasters were fated to be ignored. That is the essence of this tragedy: to know that a given course of action will lead to disaster but to pursue it nevertheless.

The so-called superstorm flooded New York City and battered much of the East Coast. At press time, the storm had killed at least forty-three people and caused an estimated $32 billion in damages to buildings and infrastructure—figures expected to increase in the coming days.

While affluent people can usually insulate themselves from the ordinary effects of nature, we are all ultimately vulnerable, as New York Mayor Bloomberg rightly said yesterday: “I think people don’t understand just how strong nature is”.

Somewhere in the future, each of us has an inescapable appointment with irresistible force. For each one of us, the waters will someday rise, the winds spin out of control, the roof will come off the house and the power will go out for good.

May God have pity on the souls of those who died, and may The Almighty help the victims of those who were lost to move on and readjust their lives.

 

Nature and Nature’s God

While the lights went out across Manhattan tonight, and the city that calls itself the capital of the world was cut off from the mainland as flood waters thundered through its streets, many people around the world watched the spectacle and were reminded just how fragile the busy world we humans build around us really is.

Manhattan is one of those places where nature seems mostly held at bay. Except for the parks, oases of carefully preserved nature deliberately shaped by the hand of man, every inch of the city’s surface has been covered by something man-made. The valleys have been exalted, the mountains laid low and the rough places plain.

Those who live and do their business there pay very little attention to the natural world most of the time. It can be hard to get a taxi in the rain, and the occasional winter snowstorm forces a brief halt to the city’s routine, but the average New Yorker’s attention is on the social world, not the world of nature. What’s happening to your career, your bank account, your friendships and loved ones, the political scene and the financial markets: those are the concerns that occupy the minds of busy urbanites on their daily rounds.

Into this busy, self involved world Hurricane Sandy has burst. Sharks have been photographed (or at least photo shopped) swimming in the streets of New Jersey towns; waves sweep across the Lower East Side; transformers explode on both sides of the Hudson as salt water surges into the tunnels and subways. For a little while at least, New Yorkers are reminded that we live in a world shaped by forces that are bigger than we are; tonight it is easy to identify with the sentiments in John Milton’s paraphrase of Psalm 114:

Shake earth, and at the presence be aghast

Of him that ever was, and aye shall last,

That glassy floods from rugged rocks can crush,

And make soft rills from the fiery flint-stones gush.

Soon, though, the winds will die down and the waters recede. The bridges will open, the roads will be repaired, the water will be pumped from the subways and service restored. New Yorkers will go back to their normal pursuits and Hurricane Sandy will fade into lore.

But events like this don’t come out of nowhere. Sandy isn’t an irruption of abnormality into a sane and sensible world; it is a reminder of what the world really is like. Human beings want to build lives that exclude what we can’t control — but we can’t.

Hurricane Sandy is many things; one of those things is a symbol. The day is coming for all of us when a storm enters our happy, busy lives and throws them into utter disarray. The job on which everything depends can disappear. That relationship that holds everything together can fall apart. The doctor can call and say the test results are not good. All of these things can happen to anybody; something like this will happen to us all.

Somewhere in the future, each of us has an inescapable appointment with irresistible force. For each one of us, the waters will someday rise, the winds spin out of control, the roof will come off the house and the power will go out for good.

We can protect ourselves from a storm like Sandy by taking proper precautions; at the Mead manor we have candles, firewood and food stocked against the possibility that our power will go out. But one day, dear reader, a storm is coming which neither you nor we can survive. The strongest walls, the sturdiest retirement plans stuffed with stocks and CDs, the best doctors cannot protect us from that final encounter with the force that made and will someday unmake us.

Coming to terms with that reality is the most important thing that any of us can do. A storm like this one is an opportunity to do exactly that. It reminds us that what we like to call ‘normal life’ is fragile and must someday break apart. If we are wise, we will take advantage of this smaller, passing storm to think seriously about the greater storm that is coming for us all.

A grand and powerful woman I once knew died after two encounters with cancer and a devastating stroke took her from the realm of normal life into the storm tossed waters that surround us all on every side. She’d never been a religious woman and, growing up in a segregated South where so many churches and churchgoers defended a brutal system of institutionalized injustice and cruelty, she was always a rebel against the conventional piety and ritualized religious life she saw around her.

But late in her life when the winds around her howled and the dark waters were rising, she was driven to face the truth behind the illusions and the pretense, and told the person she loved best in all the world that “I’ve made my peace with God.”

That is something we all need to do. It involves a recognition of our helplessness and insufficiency before the mysteries and limits of life. Like the First Step in the Twelve Step programs, it begins with an acknowledgment of failure and defeat. We each try to build a self-sufficient world, a sturdy little life that is proof against storms and disasters — but none of us can really get that done.

Strangely, that admission of weakness opens the door to a new kind of strength. To acknowledge and accept weakness is to ground our lives more firmly in truth, and it turns out that to be grounded in reality is to become more able and more alive. Denial is hard work; those who try to stifle their awareness of the limits of human life and ambition in the busy rounds of daily life never reach their full potential.

To open your eyes to the fragility of life and to our dependence on that which is infinitely greater than ourselves is to enter more deeply into life. To come to terms with the radical insecurity in which we all live is to find a different and more reliable kind of security. The joys and occupations of ordinary life aren’t all there is to existence, but neither are the great and all-destroying storms. There is a calm beyond the storm, and the same force that sends these storms into our lives offers a peace and security that no storm can destroy. As another one of the psalms puts it, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Accepting your limits and your dependence on things you can’t control is the first step on the road toward finding that joy.

Via Meadia hopes that all our readers survived Hurricane Sandy with their lives intact and their property whole. And more than that, we hope that our readers will take the opportunity that a storm like this offers, step back from their daily lives, and reach out to the Power who plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Getting the right connection with the highest power of all not only gives you a place of refuge when the big storm finally comes; it transforms daily life and infuses ordinary occupations with greater meaning and wonder than you ever understood.

The world needs people who have that kind of strength and confidence. Storms much greater than Sandy are moving through our lives these days: the storms shaking the Middle East, recasting the economy, transforming the political horizons of Asia. It will take strong and grounded people to ride these mighty storms; paradoxically, it is only by coming to terms with our limits and weakness that we can find the strength and the serenity to face what lies ahead.

 

Source

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Posted in Curiosity, Ethiopia | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

 
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