General

I first visited Joplin, Missouri in February, 1998. At the time it was a pretty Midwestern town of 40,000. For weeks I participated in Revive America seminars which saw scores of pastors unite, pray, confess their sins and seek God for renewal. One Sunday many churches closed their doors to worship together in a new found display of unity. At the end of the service we all signed a covenant together to seek God’s face for spiritual awakening in America.

In my journal, I recorded these words on February 19, 1998: “Joplin was a real highlight city–one of the best we’ve done in the past four years. God is really moving there–and I’ll never forget my time. May God’s vast awakening continue, to His glory alone.”

Today, thirteen years later, much of Joplin, Missouri lies in ruin–decimated by the most deadly tornado in America since 1950. The tornado’s 200 mile-an-hour winds caused hundreds of deaths, wiped out over 2,000 homes, and left more than 900 people injured.

I ache for my friends in Joplin–and other communities that have experienced these recent calamities. 

And I have a question: Is God to blame for these natural disasters?

Is it just me, or does it seem like the upheaval in nature has increased over the past few years? Maybe it’s just the 24/7 news coverage and pictures that make it seem so. First we saw photos of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Next was the Japanese earthquake and tsunami which caused a huge nuclear energy scare and greatly impacted the world’s second largest economy.

Then came the recent tornado season in the Midwest with over 1333 reported tornado through May  27–definitely above the average and causing destruction to thousands of homes and businesses.

And most recently many people have been washed out by the flooding of the Mississippi River and its impact on thousands of homes and millions of acres of land.

What in the world is going on?

Well, if you’re a secularist, you simply believe that it is all Mother Nature–a streak of bad luck in an overpopulated world–that probably has something to do with climate change or global warning.

But if you are a Christian who understands there is a God, there is a devil, there are accidents, and we live on a planet corrupted by man’s original sin, then the question goes much deeper. How do these four things play into the confluence of bad weather and the destruction that it brings?

I don’t profess to have a final answer. But I do believe we need to humbly pray and start asking some deeper questions about the apparent weather chaos. We can begin by admitting that weather is not just the random occurrence of natural forces. The most reliable book in the world–the Bible–makes it quite clear that there are a number of possible factors in weather patterns on earth.

First of all, the Bible is clear that the God of the Universe uses weather and physical events on earth to reveal truth and draw people to change their lives. In the 8th century B.C., God brought a vision through the prophet Amos “two years before the earthquake” (Amos 1:1)  during the reign of King Uzziah that spoke of the land being shaken by God (8:8), houses being smashed (6:11), altars being cracked (3:14) and even the Temple at Bethel being struck and collapsing (9:1).

As Stephen Austin writes, “The prophet’s repeated contemporary references to the earthquake is why it bears his name. ‘Amos’ Earthquake’ impacted Hebrew literature immensely. After the gigantic earthquake, no Hebrew prophet could predict a divine visitation in judgment without alluding to an earthquake. Zechariah says “Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah” (Zechariah 14:5). The panic caused by Amos’ earthquake must have been the topic of legend in Jerusalem because Zechariah asked his readers to recall that terrifying event 230 years later.”

The prophets said for centuries that God used famines, earthquakes, invading armies, and pestilence to bring people to repentance. This is why even insurance companies categorize natural disasters as “acts of God.” This is a valid, historical view.

As C.S. Lewis famously stated: “Judgment is a severe form of mercy.” When we don’t listen to God in our hearts, he uses environmental means to get our attention. The goal is always repentance i.e. a changed life and hope for the future.

Secondly. the Bible states quite clearly that the devil, Lucifer or Satan, has some delegated powers to bring physical calamities upon people. This was the case of the trials of Job whom God allowed Satan to sift to prove and strengthen his faith (Job 1:12-19). In this particular story, fire, invading tribes, and violent winds were used by the enemy to test and impoverish Job. In the end, God used Satan’s physical testings to bring Job to repentance and actually expand his prosperity (42:5-10).

Third, there we also know that we live in a world where accidents, both of man and nature happen to people in every culture. The world is no longer a Paradise, but one where “the whole creation groans and travails in childbirth” until it is set free from its fallenness (Romans 8:18-30). Thus many of the physical disasters and calamities we face might not be the direct hand of God or Satan, but simply the fruits of a fallen and imperfect world that are allowed by the Creator.

For example, no one knows what forms a tornado, but scientists agree on a few general points. The most common tornadoes come from rotating thunderstorms, called supercells. In a supercell, the updraft of warm air rotates counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, reaching speeds of up to 175 mph and forcing cool air to descend. The updraft can pull cool moist air — which would ordinarily fall from clouds — back up into the sky. The saturated air then condenses to form a rotating wall of clouds, typically toward the back of a cloud in rain-free zones.

With enough strength, the spinning effect creates a funnel, hits the ground and creates a tornado that can last several seconds to more than an hour. Damage can range from superficial, such as roof damage from a falling tree, to completely sweeping away a structure, leaving only the foundation.

Tornadoes are measured on the Fujita scale, created in 1971 by Dr. T. Theodore Fujita of the University of Chicago. It rates the twisters by intensity and area, grading them from weakest to strongest: F0 (Gale), F1 (Weak), F2 (Strong), F3 (Severe), F4 (Devastating), and F5 (Incredible).

The damage caused by tornadoes grows exponentially. An F1 storm can cause moderate damage, peeling tiles from roofs and pushing parked cars; an F3 storm will tear walls from houses and uproot trees. An F5 storm, the most dangerous and deadly, will carry cars through the air and damage even concrete buildings.

The deadliest storm in the U.S. was called the Tri-State Tornado; it swept through Missouri, Illinois and Indiana, killing 695 in March 1925. The biggest outbreak of tornadoes happened in April of 1974, when 148 tornadoes ravaged 13 states. In the end, 310 people lost their lives.

Joplin’s tornado was also an F5. 

Nature can be beautiful, but it also be brutal.

A final possibility for human suffering is the curse of human sin. Notice the graphic word picture in Isaiah 24:1-6: “Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. See how he is scattering the people over the face of the earth. Priests and laypeople, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors–none will be spared…The earth dries up, the crops wither, the sky refuses to rain. The earth suffers for the sins of its people, for they have twisted the instructions of God, violated his laws, and broken his everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth and its people. And those who live in it are guilty.”

This possiblity involves God but stresses man’s part in the curse of creation. None of this scenario is God’s fault. It’s the direct result of man’s sin.

So why was there a devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri on May 22?  

We don’t know for sure, but it clearly could have been an act of God, or influenced by Satan, or simply involved fallen creation, and/or was a direct result of a curse because of people’s sins.

The people of Joplin–many of whom I know and love–need to be asking these questions. Humbly. Repentantly. Looking to God for clarity in a world where we see through a glass darkly.

If God is speaking, we had better listen to his correction. If Satan is on the loose, we need to bind him and cast him out. If we simply need to recognize our vulnerability in a fallen and cursed world, then we must humbly do so and move forward with his grace and help.

In all cases, we must rise up with compassion and help those who are suffering. Even when God disciplines, he also heals and restores through acts of compassion by his people.

In this world, we will probably never know the exact answer to these questions. But from our ponderings and prayers, we would be wise to give the same answer that Jesus gave when he was asked why a tower fell killing eighteen people.

He replied, “Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, and I tell you unless you repent you will also perish” ((Luke 13:4-5).

Humility.

Repentance. 

If we don’t start there, in the future, we might just lose much more than a home or business. We could lose our soul. 

America and the world: We need to pray, repent, and seek God about what is happening. That proper response just might lead to both personal and corporate revival.

Nothing’s small when you’re talking about 38.5 billion dollars. But when it’s in the context of 3.6 trillion budget, it’s just one week’s worth of spending–or slightly over one half of 1%.

That’s the essence of the recent budget deal reached between The Republican House and Democratic- controlled Senate and White House that was hammered out before midnight on April 9.

They agreed to cut last year’s “missing” budget by 38.5 billion dollars or less than one percent.

Big deal.

Does it take much courage to whittle less than 1% from your personal or family budget?

I don’t think so.

On the other hand, for the first time in recent memory some courageous leaders took on the government behemoth and actually shrunk its voracious appetite. Is this truly a beginning of some necessary fiscal courage that we desperate need in the United States of America?

Before we answer that question, let’s analyze who might have won the recent budgetary prize-fight.

Carl Cameron. leading political reporter for Fox News, in an article entitled “Who Won the Shutdown Showdown? It Wasn’t Even Close” had this analysis:

“While Republicans wanted to cut more spending in Saturday’s early morning compromise to keep the government open, they think they got the better of the deal.”

“Here’s why: HR1 [the House budget bill] was originally to seek spending cuts of $32 billion until Tea Party conservatives insisted on more than $ 60 billion. House Speaker John Boehner won more cuts than he originally sought and got the Senate to agree to votes to defund the health care reform law and groups like the nation’s largest abortion provider Planned Parenthood – votes Senate Majority leader Harry Reid said he’d ever allow to come to the floor. Back on February 3, Reid called $32 billion in cuts ‘extreme’ and ‘draconian.'”

“The history of offers on this bill goes something like this. Democrats first offered no cuts, then $4 billion, then $6.5 billion, then $33 billion, then settled at $38.5 billion. Boehner made numerous adjustments to his offer in recent days too, but started at $32 billion, then with a Tea Party push went to $62 billion, then dropped to $40 billion, then $38.5 billion.”

“Democrats claimed they met Republicans halfway after the $10 billion in cuts that already passed this year were approved. They settled late Friday night at three and a half times more. Boehner came in $8.5 billion higher than the halfway point between his high offer of $61 billion in cuts and the Democrats opening bid of zero cuts.”

“It was not a totally lopsided bargain. Dems have some silver linings. There were no votes on defunding the EPA or PBS and NPR. Democrats fought for and won a $2 billion cut from the Department of Defense, knocking the military appropriation for the rest of the year down to $513 billion. But the GOP had to be able to see this as a win in the end, because it is puny compared to what they want to do next.”

“House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s 2012 budget resolution proposes cuts of $5 TRILLION in the next 10 yrs. But the resolution is a non-binding roadmap for the committees to use as they approve tax and spending bills for next year, the resolution will never be signed into law by the president.”

“The next battle with consequences begins in a matter of two short weeks when the accumulated U.S. debt will be nearing it’s $14 trillion legal limit.  So Congress will have to vote to raise the ceiling so Uncle Sam can borrow still more money. The administration has said it will need to be raised between April 15 and May 31 or the U.S. could default and create a new fiscal crisis of unknowable magnitude. Fiscal hawks plan to demand strict, enforceable spending caps, triggers for across the board cuts, and austerity measures in exchange for raising the debt limit.”

“This short-term agreement was just a beginning.”

Amen–but an important one.

I agree with Cameron. John Boehner definitely won a clear decision over the Barack Obama-Harry Reid Tag team. In fact, I’d grade the fiscal prize fight this way:

• John Boehner – B+. He deserves a lot of credit for his bargaining skills, but only 60-100 billion would have eaned him an A.

• Barack Obama – D. He was clearly disengaged from the budget process and exercised little leadership. What he claims are “historic budget reductions” are only true because he raised the spending bar by 20% over the past two years–making the reductions a phony trophy to claim.

• Harry Reid – F. Undoubtedly, the worst Senate Majority leader in U.S. history. No wisdom–no guts–no leadership.

• Nancy Pelosi – F. She’s no longer leading the House of Representatives, but her failure to produce a timely budget last year clearly marks her as the worst Speaker of the House of all-time.

• Tea Party leaders-and-newly-elected officials – B+. Most of them stood firm on their pledge to cut the budget by sixty billion. Some did not–hence the B+. Still, their electoral success and pressure has temporarily halted the bloated growth of government.

One who did stand her ground was Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, a rising GOP star from the state of Minnesota. Here’s her vote report:

“Early this morning, I joined with 27 other Republicans in opposition to the continuing resolution brokered by President Obama and Congressional leaders. While millions of Americans expect Congress to make significant efforts to address our nation’s fiscal problems, the deal that was made leaves us with a paltry $36 billion in cuts and fails to defund Obamacare and Planned Parenthood. This continuing resolution is a disappointment and ignores the mandate given to us by voters in November. Keeping in line with my promises, I will continue to oppose any continuing resolution or budget plan that does not defund Obamacare or make significant cuts in government spending, and I will not yield in this effort.”

“Who won the budget negotiations of 2011? That’s a question people will be debating for some time.  For conservatives, the bill is a mixed bag. On one hand, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) negotiated Democrats into the largest dollar-for-dollar spending cut in American history. After pushing the President and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bite on the GOP’s initial plan–$ 33 billion in cuts–the Speaker upped the ante at the last minute and got them to agree to $5 billion more. By night’s end, the Left had accepted $38 billion in spending cuts.”

“But, as Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) pointed out, that’s a far cry from the $100 billion voters wanted. ‘Relative to the size of the problem,’ he said, ‘it’s not even a rounding error. In that case, we probably all deserve to be tarred and feathered.'”

Congresswoman Bachmann gets it. That’s probably why she’s a leading presidential contender for 2012.

The Heritage Foundation also has it right. They believe we need some courageous leaders who will change the culture of Washington, D.C. Here’s their take:

“This Congress was sent to Washington with a simple mandate from the American people: cut federal spending and get government under control.  Friday night’s budget compromise to avert a government shutdown embraced these principles, but also left plenty of work to be done. Congress has finally started cutting spending instead of running up the tab on future generations, and we hope the budget deal changed the culture of Washington. No longer should budgets be railroaded through Washington that increase spending and grow government. From here on out, the question should be: What can be cut?”

“One good thing to have come out of this process is that the debate has clearly shifted.  Though the details of the compromise remain murky, what’s clear is that the national mood is for cutting, and all the reformist ideas are coming from one side only. The liberal approach to the debate over the 2011 budget spoke volumes. Liberal Members of Congress foolishly said Republicans were trying to “kill women” and end cancer screenings. The pitch of their tirade showed how desperate they were to maintain the status quo spending environment. It didn’t work, and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Oh.) was in the end able to deliver a compromise deal that amounted to the largest spending cut in history.”

In reality, even one of the biggest spending cuts in history is merely a drop in the bucket. A handful of days of deficit spending. A rounding error. But this should merely demonstrate how much there is left to accomplish. America is still on a dangerous fiscal path. A cut of $38.5 billion will not change that. A larger one of $61 billion would not have changed that. Even one of $100 billion would not have changed that. The moral victories of the past are now merely small steps on the road to true Washington reform. The future fights over entitlement and budget reform will need to be measured in the trillions, not billions. And that debate begins today.”

April 9 was a small beginning of fiscal courage in America. But we need a citizenry who are willing to give up their addiction to entitlements and some truly courageous leaders to stop all deficit spending and enact a bold plan to pay off the fourteen trillion dollars of debt.

We can do it. We’re Americans.

But it will take a national spiritual awakening, much prayer, and some very courageous leadership to turn a small beginning into a hopeful ending of our national financial nightmare.

It’s been amazing to watch the budget debate on Capitol Hill over the past weeks. Republicans want to trim 61 billion dollars this year from the annual 1.5 trillion dollar US debt. The Democrats have been stopping them in the Senate, forcing an endless cycle of CR’s (Continuing Resolutions) that has lopped off six billion dollars here and there.

Unfortunately, the whole things is a farce. Sixty-billion dollars is not peanuts, but it is compared to 1.5 trillion. It doesn’t make a dent. Six billion in savings is simply the interest on the debt for a week.

So we’re playing games with America’s future–and the entire nation could crash if the games aren’t halted.

There’s only one answer for our tepid politicians: A Balanced Budget Amendment.

To see this need in the clearest terms, click here and watch a short video. It will put things in perspective for you.

There are some politicians that get it and have some guts. Newly elected Senator Mike Lee of Utah is one of them. Here’s a report from the Heritage Foundation on his efforts:

“Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) says he’s hopeful the ratification of a balanced budget amendment is realistic in today’s political climate — and touted the features of his proposal for such an amendment as well-suited to curb Congress’ spending addiction.”

“’It’s going to be an uphill battle,” Lee said on a Thursday conference call. “But public sentiment among voters makes this right for our time.’”

“The senator will need every ounce of that public support. The threshold to pass a constitutional amendment is high. Two-thirds of both houses of Congress must pass it, then three-quarters of states must ratify the amendment to make it law.”

“Lee has been working for weeks to generate support for his amendment among fellow Republicans. In the very near future, he’ll also reach across the aisle.”

“’At this point, I’m working almost entirely within the Republican caucus to garner support for this,” Lee said. “There will of course come a time when we will work aggressively to get bipartisan support. … That time will soon be coming.’”

“The debt ceiling debate might be that time. Senate Tea Party Caucus members — including Lee — have already said they’ll harness that debate to earn Democratic support for a balanced budget amendment, according to a Jan. 31 article on TheHill.com.”

“’The only scenario in which I can imagine not using the filibuster [during the debt ceiling debate] is if the leadership of both parties agree that as a condition of that they would first pass out a balanced budget amendment,’” Lee said in the article.

“As Lee sees it, a balanced budget amendment is the only way to lock the vault.”

“’I’ve come to believe it’s going to be difficult or impossible to get back to constitutional spending until we stop giving Congress unlimited money from which to draw,’ he said.”

“Lee’s amendment would require that Congress develop a budget each year in which outlays do not exceed revenues — and it would also restrict spending to 18 percent of gross domestic product. Congress could not circumvent the limitations of the amendment without the support of a two-thirds supermajority in both houses.”

We desperately need a balanced budget amendment to rescue us from ourselves. One blogger stated it very clearly.

It comes down to the biggest financial choice of our lifetime.