Love and Hope in the Face of Catastrophe

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A destroyed Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, OK

Last night, a tornado released the wrath of a fallen, groaning earth. With huge losses in life and an estimated billions of dollars in property damage, the state of Oklahoma and the people of Moore are reeling from this almost unimaginable destructive force. This horrible monster vented its anger as it slammed into this sleepy southwestern town as an unwelcome invader. It went as quickly as it came but not before bullying and tearing up the homes, neighborhoods, and schools of these unwary townspeople.

No one imagines that it could happen to them. It is unthinkable that you would be forced from your home and left out on the street. You can't believe that in a few short moments, you would be mourning the horrible loss of life or sent from your comfortable living room to an emergency room.

But, these things do happen. it seems much too often. So we have a choice to make. We can choose to react or we can choose to respond.

This is how some in our own country reacted:

And there were many more who were full of vitriole, hatred, and ridicule for both God and people hurting deeply. Many comments could not be posted on this blog, but you can type a search on your twitter account and you'll find some horrifying things that were tweeted. It really makes you wonder how atheists can have any moral leg to stand on after the kinds of responses you can read over and over in the twittersphere.

But, to be fair, I have to ask, how would I respond if it was me? My prayer is that it would be the kinds of testimonies that have already come out of this catastrophe. I would like to relate some quotes from CBS interviews taken right after the tornado. These quotes are from people who were there, survived, lost, and still looked ahead in hope. As one commentator announced, "These people are the backbone of this country."

MAN: My security isn't in the things I own. My security is in the Lord.

WOMAN: The last thing we lose in a situation like this is faith. We have to hold onto faith and trust God every moment.

MAN: You salvage what you can salvage. You thank God that he (sic) has another plan for you.

MAN: I'm a believer in Jesus, and by the grace of God, me and my children are alive, and our house is -- we can repair it.

WOMAN: We prayed that God would save our house. We also prayed that if God didn't, he would get us through, and he (sic) will.

MAN: By the grace of God, it's just amazing.

WOMAN: We know that God is good, and we know that there's people out there who are still alive, and we're gonna find 'em. (these are direct quotes recorded for us in this commentary)

I have to wonder, how can they say things like that? How can people worship their God in the face of such life-altering, heart-wrenching tragedy? You see, those who don't have a relationship with God, can't see Him move in what many would see as tragedy. Yet over and over again, those who are close to Him know they can trust Him. They understand that God never does anything outside of His character. He is a holy, loving, just, and merciful God. The only proof we ever need is the Cross of Calvary. It is in the Cross, we see and experience the greatest act of love and the greatest act of justice in all of history.

An actual picture of the mile wide tornado that hit Moore, OK

As I read these testimonies, i can only hope that I would have the same determination and attitude that these men and women have. Yet, these attitudes have been echoed by God's people through the ages. Listen to the words of a man that had everything and nearly everyone ripped from him by the same sort of unimaginable tragedy...interestingly enough partially caused by a huge wind storm:

Suddenly a powerful wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on the young people so that they died

What was this tormented father's answer? One that sounds incredibly similar to the testimonies of God's people we just read:

Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh. (Job 1:19, 21 HCSB)

God's love always permeates everything that happens, both good and bad. To the cynical who would dismiss and ridicule such a statement, I would appreciate them not just cursing the bad, but giving us hope in the bad. Where were they when these tragedies happened? What good can come out of hatred and riducule? How are they going to respond to tragedy that rips out the heart of humanity every day somewhere in our world?

Every one of us can choose to curse the darkness or light a light. In the face of tragedies like this, I want to willingly make a choice to hold up hope that can only found in the Light of the world, Jesus Christ. He alone can give us hope in the face of tragedy. He alone is true love incarnate.

Pastor Trey Rhodes

This is the next to last week for "Spiritual Simplicity: Doing Less. Loving More." See you Sunday morning at 10:30AM for another exciting message.

For more about what's going on at Oceanside Church, you can go to our announcement website:

www.OCAnnounce.info

To find out more about Oceanside Church, please follow this link:

www.MyOceansideChurch.com

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White Flag

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War is a funny thing. I doubt there has ever been any army that ever went into battle authentically with the thought in their mind that they would raise the WHITE FLAG of surrender. They actually thought they could win. Typically, you believe that somehow, some way, you will find a way to win. In battle, a white flag is not always raised. Sometimes there is a fight to the death. Even with insurmountable odds, they chose to keep fighting to the last man. We often immortalize their bravery in poems like "The Charge of the Light Brigade, " in broadway plays like "Les Miserables", and in historical movies like "The Alamo". But, the point of war is not to sacrifice, it is to win. Sacrifice might be the means to the end, but no one would sacrifice if there was not a sincere belief that their sacrifice would not make a difference.

Yet, as believers, we are called to surrender to our God and His will for us. Job understood this when He said:

Surrender your heart to God, turn to him in prayer, (Job 11:13 CEV)

It is in our surrender that we become so much more. We join God in what He is doing, and it that act of surrender that makes us more than we ever thought we could be doing it on our own.

Today I wrote this on FaceBook concerning Jacob's wrestling with God, found in Genesis 32:24ff:

The man that Jacob wrestled could have been either 1 of 2 beings: 1) an angel 2) the pre-incarnate Christ. We are told this by the prophet Hosea, "Jacob struggled with the Angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor. He found him at Bethel, and there He spoke with him." (Hosea 12:4 HCSB) It seems to indicate that this was an angel Jacob wrestled. To deal with an angel was to deal with The Almighty. But, when [the words] the Angel of the Lord is used, we normally associate him with the pre-incarnate Christ. Either way, the point is - you will lose when you wrestle against God's will. You see, God has a way of humbling you and letting you know who is in charge. He is God and you are not. It will be in your humility that God is able to do the greatest work through you. The deceiver (Jacob) became the father of many nations (Israel) once he submitted to God and lost. Isn't it time we raise the WHITE FLAG?

It is time that we give up. In case you haven't gotten to this place in your life, the battle cannot be won. The sacrifice has already been made through the Cross of Christ. We don't need this battle. God will win, and we will lose. When God wins, we all win!

As we close our "Strapped" Series, many of us have been struggling with how to deal with our financial resources. We have held our money so close to our hearts that we can't release it. We (and I'm including me) can't seem to decide to "live like no one else so we will be able to live like no one else." We can't put our minds around this idea that "We're going to give up things now that we love for things we love even more." As I said this past Sunday, no one who claims the name of Christ doesn't tithe because they somehow hate the LORD. It is because we have become so strapped that we can't get seem to get to the place of tithing. Let's get free!

That is why I tithe. I can't make it on my own with my money, so I've got to tap into the resources of God. My tithe is my WHITE FLAG of surrender to God. It is me telling Him that I put Him first place in my life. It is me saying, "I'm going to get rid of my debt and I need you to supernaturally help me with my bills." It is me saying, "I believe you will open the windows of heaven and pour out so many blessings that I can't catch them all" (Malachi 3:10).

Here's the deal, if I go to war with God, I will lose. Isn't it time you and I both surrender to Him? God can then start His best work in us, and truly the best is yet to come.

Pastor Trey Rhodes

Modern Family Series Begins this Sunday - From "Leave it to Beaver’s" Cleavers to "Modern Family’s" Pritchetts, TV producers have been offering us models of what the modern family is for years, but is that what it should be? Many of us have realized neither model works. Let’s be honest, all we really want is a family that works. Families may have changed, but God's principles about the family haven't. Join us at Oceanside Church for a real-life journey into seemingly revolutionary concepts that have worked for thousands of years, and still work today. The style of the modern family may have changed, but the way to have a great modern family hasn’t.

Valentine's Not Just for Couples Banquet - This Sunday night, February 10th 7p.m. Games, Dinner, Pictures for $5.

 

 

 

RVGC Video Game competition - 6 p.m. Friday Night February 22. $5 entry for Super Smash Brothers Competition. $75 grand prize. Total purse to be awarded, $150.

 

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