Preparing for the Coming Quake- John Helm
by John Helm on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 8:14am.
Suddenly a 9.0 earthquake followed by a Tsunami and literally in the matter of minutes the immediate lives of thousands in the country of Japan, as they knew it forever changed.
In the following days more quakes and aftershocks are predicted throughout the land of the rising sun. Paralleling the shaking ground and the rolling waves will be the ripple of economic woe that now haunts the World at large. Will the World’s third largest economy which was beginning to show a small hope of recovery from recession, lose its momentum? Counting the cost this earthquake could become the world’s most expensive ever estimated at possibly $200 billion. Cost to insurance companies in the USA alone could be over 35 billion. The additional impact on the World’s energy demand is of grave concern. What will the affect be for me and you and the rest of the World? Who knows?
Displaced in the news by this natural disaster are the Middle Eastern regimes that are falling like dominoes and some of these are long standing alliances of this United States of America where you and me have comfortably avoided the difficulties of the World.
Last night while watching the breaking news I could not help but think of the words that Jesus spoke in,
Matt 24:6-8.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Joel Achenbach writing for the Washington Post Friday, March 11, 2011 said this:
“They have long been ready for the Big One in Japan. But when it arrived Friday, it was still surprising, still utterly devastating, and it left scientists around the world humbled at how unpredictable the heaving and lurching earth can be. Japanese geologists have long forecast a huge earthquake along a major plate boundary southwest of Tokyo, and have poured enormous resources into monitoring the faint traces of strain building in that portion of the earth’s crust. They have predicted in great detail the amount of property damage and the number of landslides such a tremor would generate. They have even given the conjectured event a name: The Tokai Earthquake. But the grinding plates of the earth move in mysterious ways, and Friday the largest recorded earthquake in Japan’s history — a stunning magnitude 8.9 on the short list of most violent events since the dawn of seismology — hit about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo, generating a tsunami that within minutes socked the coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island.”
What drew me back to this passage of scripture in Matthew 24:7 were these words, “and earthquakes, in divers places”
Now I am not at all a student of new testament Greek but when looking at the word “divers” as used in Matthew 24:7 the inference is this; not the place of primary location or the expected place but the secondary place.
I have been blessed in this country like no other. I have said and thought more than once should I not have anything to be thankful for (which I have many) I can thank God at all times for the place of my birth this great United States of America.
While the world has rocked and rolled with natural and man made disaster, like many I have had the good fortune to live in a safe haven. The bad stuff happens all over the world but I just don’t expect it to happen here. Yet all I have to do is think of the falling New York towers and hurricane Katrina to know the degree of our vulnerability.
The big one in Japan did not happen in the primary location but the secondary location, (“in divers places”) and according to the Washington Post article, when it arrived it was surprising, utterly devastating and humbling.
Could we be surprised, devastated and humbled in this great USA? Are we ready for the Big One?
Consider this according to Wikipedia,
“Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York just south of Peekskill. It sits on the east bank of the Hudson River, 24 miles north of New York City. The power plant provides up to 30% of the electricity used by New York City and Westchester County.”
According to related news sources it was initially built in 60’s to withstand a 3.0 earthquake but it has recently been determined that the ground that it sits on is prone to at least a 7.0 earthquake. A disaster this close to the economic mainframe of this great county could certainly bring this entire country to its knees.
On the west coast our California is the only area in the active “Ring of Fire” that has not recently experienced a major earthquake. Chile last year and New Zealand and Japan this year. How soon will the great shaking reach our shores?
Could we experience the unexpected? You should bet we can and it will likely occur the near future. Are we beginning to see the beginning of sorrows that Jesus spoke of in Matthew Chapter 24?
Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and for long the most prepared in this arena of disaster yet they now find themselves in a disaster dilemma.
How do we prepare? Well I am sure that there are a lot of natural things that we should do and think about. For emergency put back some water, canned goods, candles, flashlights with extra batteries, cash reserves and the list goes on but we are surely limited in our ability to prepare. Should the Indian Point Nuclear Plant that is only 24 miles from New York City go down; a flashlight, a bottle of water and a can of peaches may not be enough to afford survival for the millions affected.
Again my mind goes back to the One who spoke those words in the 24th chapter of Matthew. In the light of impending disaster Jesus said, see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
In the light of the trouble that we see unfolding before us there are a couple of things that are essential to our survival and they are reiterated throughout scripture.
One is our ability to hear and the other is our willingness to do.
In Luke 6:47-49, The same Jesus spoke these words:
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Jesus said the man (or person) that comes to him, hears him and does what he says is like a man (or person) who dug deep and built his house upon a foundation on a rock that could not be shook when the flood came.
Otherwise the ruin of the house is great.
My country Tis of thee, now is the time to wake up from your slumber, listen and do.
There is no doubt that there is a shaking coming to America. Is it not time to listen up to the One who is possibly doing the shaking?
Look at the words of the Apostle in Heb 12:25-29
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
KJV
The only thing that ultimately will not be moved and shaken is the Kingdom of God.
Unless we receive His kingdom we will be devastated and blown away with what lies ahead. In the kingdom there is a King and all else is in submission. Many have taken the grace of God as permission to live a sloppy and soft religious kind of life. But understanding the true grace of God leads us to serving God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
My daily Spurgeon Devotion does well here and here I end:
"Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
1 Corinthians 10:12
It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, "I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall." "I have fervent love," says another, "I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray." He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly to-day, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and His strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men's souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him; and when that happy day shall come, when He whom you love shall say, "Come up higher," may it be your happiness to hear Him say, "Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away." On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, "Uphold me according to Thy word." He is able, and He alone, "To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."
Should we temporally lose it all here we will certainly and eternally gain it all there.
Dear Lord,
May the Glory of Your Son for Whom You created all Things now Rise in Japan and all over this shaking World. Help us to hear and do what you say and be prepared for that day. May your abundant grace draw us to your abundant Love and forgiveness with the faith and wisdom to stand in these troubled times. Amen
.
by John Helm on Monday, March 14, 2011 at 8:14am.
Suddenly a 9.0 earthquake followed by a Tsunami and literally in the matter of minutes the immediate lives of thousands in the country of Japan, as they knew it forever changed.
In the following days more quakes and aftershocks are predicted throughout the land of the rising sun. Paralleling the shaking ground and the rolling waves will be the ripple of economic woe that now haunts the World at large. Will the World’s third largest economy which was beginning to show a small hope of recovery from recession, lose its momentum? Counting the cost this earthquake could become the world’s most expensive ever estimated at possibly $200 billion. Cost to insurance companies in the USA alone could be over 35 billion. The additional impact on the World’s energy demand is of grave concern. What will the affect be for me and you and the rest of the World? Who knows?
Displaced in the news by this natural disaster are the Middle Eastern regimes that are falling like dominoes and some of these are long standing alliances of this United States of America where you and me have comfortably avoided the difficulties of the World.
Last night while watching the breaking news I could not help but think of the words that Jesus spoke in,
Matt 24:6-8.
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Joel Achenbach writing for the Washington Post Friday, March 11, 2011 said this:
“They have long been ready for the Big One in Japan. But when it arrived Friday, it was still surprising, still utterly devastating, and it left scientists around the world humbled at how unpredictable the heaving and lurching earth can be. Japanese geologists have long forecast a huge earthquake along a major plate boundary southwest of Tokyo, and have poured enormous resources into monitoring the faint traces of strain building in that portion of the earth’s crust. They have predicted in great detail the amount of property damage and the number of landslides such a tremor would generate. They have even given the conjectured event a name: The Tokai Earthquake. But the grinding plates of the earth move in mysterious ways, and Friday the largest recorded earthquake in Japan’s history — a stunning magnitude 8.9 on the short list of most violent events since the dawn of seismology — hit about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo, generating a tsunami that within minutes socked the coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest island.”
What drew me back to this passage of scripture in Matthew 24:7 were these words, “and earthquakes, in divers places”
Now I am not at all a student of new testament Greek but when looking at the word “divers” as used in Matthew 24:7 the inference is this; not the place of primary location or the expected place but the secondary place.
I have been blessed in this country like no other. I have said and thought more than once should I not have anything to be thankful for (which I have many) I can thank God at all times for the place of my birth this great United States of America.
While the world has rocked and rolled with natural and man made disaster, like many I have had the good fortune to live in a safe haven. The bad stuff happens all over the world but I just don’t expect it to happen here. Yet all I have to do is think of the falling New York towers and hurricane Katrina to know the degree of our vulnerability.
The big one in Japan did not happen in the primary location but the secondary location, (“in divers places”) and according to the Washington Post article, when it arrived it was surprising, utterly devastating and humbling.
Could we be surprised, devastated and humbled in this great USA? Are we ready for the Big One?
Consider this according to Wikipedia,
“Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York just south of Peekskill. It sits on the east bank of the Hudson River, 24 miles north of New York City. The power plant provides up to 30% of the electricity used by New York City and Westchester County.”
According to related news sources it was initially built in 60’s to withstand a 3.0 earthquake but it has recently been determined that the ground that it sits on is prone to at least a 7.0 earthquake. A disaster this close to the economic mainframe of this great county could certainly bring this entire country to its knees.
On the west coast our California is the only area in the active “Ring of Fire” that has not recently experienced a major earthquake. Chile last year and New Zealand and Japan this year. How soon will the great shaking reach our shores?
Could we experience the unexpected? You should bet we can and it will likely occur the near future. Are we beginning to see the beginning of sorrows that Jesus spoke of in Matthew Chapter 24?
Japan is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and for long the most prepared in this arena of disaster yet they now find themselves in a disaster dilemma.
How do we prepare? Well I am sure that there are a lot of natural things that we should do and think about. For emergency put back some water, canned goods, candles, flashlights with extra batteries, cash reserves and the list goes on but we are surely limited in our ability to prepare. Should the Indian Point Nuclear Plant that is only 24 miles from New York City go down; a flashlight, a bottle of water and a can of peaches may not be enough to afford survival for the millions affected.
Again my mind goes back to the One who spoke those words in the 24th chapter of Matthew. In the light of impending disaster Jesus said, see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
In the light of the trouble that we see unfolding before us there are a couple of things that are essential to our survival and they are reiterated throughout scripture.
One is our ability to hear and the other is our willingness to do.
In Luke 6:47-49, The same Jesus spoke these words:
47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.
Jesus said the man (or person) that comes to him, hears him and does what he says is like a man (or person) who dug deep and built his house upon a foundation on a rock that could not be shook when the flood came.
Otherwise the ruin of the house is great.
My country Tis of thee, now is the time to wake up from your slumber, listen and do.
There is no doubt that there is a shaking coming to America. Is it not time to listen up to the One who is possibly doing the shaking?
Look at the words of the Apostle in Heb 12:25-29
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
KJV
The only thing that ultimately will not be moved and shaken is the Kingdom of God.
Unless we receive His kingdom we will be devastated and blown away with what lies ahead. In the kingdom there is a King and all else is in submission. Many have taken the grace of God as permission to live a sloppy and soft religious kind of life. But understanding the true grace of God leads us to serving God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
My daily Spurgeon Devotion does well here and here I end:
"Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
1 Corinthians 10:12
It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, "I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall." "I have fervent love," says another, "I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray." He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly to-day, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and His strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men's souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of Him; and when that happy day shall come, when He whom you love shall say, "Come up higher," may it be your happiness to hear Him say, "Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away." On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, "Uphold me according to Thy word." He is able, and He alone, "To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy."
Should we temporally lose it all here we will certainly and eternally gain it all there.
Dear Lord,
May the Glory of Your Son for Whom You created all Things now Rise in Japan and all over this shaking World. Help us to hear and do what you say and be prepared for that day. May your abundant grace draw us to your abundant Love and forgiveness with the faith and wisdom to stand in these troubled times. Amen
.
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