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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What Does God Boast About?

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The cross stands today as one of the most hideous, cruel, horrifying instruments of death ever devised. It was hated by the Romans, loathed by the Jews, and feared by all who would stand against the Roman Empire and her Caesar. Yet in one the most seemingly twisted statements in all the Bible, we read these words:

But as for me, I will never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The world has been crucified to me through the cross, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14 HCSB)

For a moment, imagine that there are no religious overtone, no jewelry, no Christian culture, and no Jesus Christ associated with the cross. Hard to imagine? Then take that one step farther, suppose you knew a group of people that were coming to the area that were going to give a speech. This group was going to be at the local gathering house, and the subject was a man who had been sentenced to die for plotting against the state. He was executed on a cross as a traitor. What would you think? Cult? Subversive? Crazy?

Execution scene from The Last Mile. (Photo courtesy of FPC)

That was the world Paul was called to take the Gospel. Instead of sugar-coating the message, he "kicks it up a notch." He doesn't simply share the truth of what happened to Jesus, he said that his execution was grounds for bragging.

The Cross of Christ stands today as one of the most paradoxical of all symbols in history. It is at the Cross we see the perfect man become horribly mutilated . It is on the Cross we watch as righteous innocence becomes guilty filth. It is through the Cross we experience the love of God through the horrific death sentence of the Son of God. That is why we boast...because of what happened ...because how much God must love us ...because God did it for us.

What does God boast about? He boasts that His own perfect, holy, and dear Son would willingly take the sin of the world on his back and die as their substitute. That's reason to boast ...for us all.

Pastor Trey Rhodes

Watch this video that explains what happened to Jesus even before he went to the Cross. I have narrated T.W. Hunt's description of the his suffering leading up to the Cross. The illustrations, paintings, and photos will make you more thankful for what Jesus did for you. Also, share it on your Facebook or Twitter to let the world know what Jesus did for you. Thanks!

Heres What's Happening at Oceanside Church

Men's Morning Briefing - Continues Tuesday, March 19, Oceanside's men are meeting at Troubadours Coffee in Mount Pleasant. We will encourage, pray, and discuss the Bible and get our briefing on. See you at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning. We'll teach you how to get your morning briefing every day!

Candlelight Service - Sunday Night, March 24, 2013 7 p.m. Join us as we act out the last supper and participate in this traditional and simple service that will prepare you to seek the Lord whole-heartedly.

Easter Sunday - Nearly 80% of the USA go to church on Easter Sunday. Be sure and invite people to our exciting Easter Sunday service. Easter is early this year. It is on Sunday, March 31st.

 

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Motivated by the Dead: the Story of Marshall

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I really want to watch a relatively recent movie that has been called a sports movie that's not. In other words, it is about something much more profound than a sports team winning games. The movie is We Are Marshall. It is the re-telling of the account of 76 Division 1 football players dying in a plane crash, and the school's response to the tragedy. Here's a quote from a website that discusses the real life drama:

"The new players didn't know the story. They didn't know the magnitude of the tragedy," he said. "This was to help them understand the magnitude if this tragedy and what role they needed to play in the future to build the foundation for the future generations of Marshall football."

Lengyel said this was a "private moment" for the team, which traditionally happened at 6 a.m. before the first game of the year with only the team, coaching staff and team managers there.

McConaughey uses the phrase, "The funerals end today," but Lengyel said he had to make that known not only to the players but to the schools the team played. Each time the team traveled, the school would have a memorial for Marshall, but Lengyel said the team couldn't continue and grow under those conditions.

Read the actual story of Marshall's football team airline crash

The coach made sure that the Marshall football team had to remember the sacrifice, but couldn't dwell on the tragedy of the needless deaths every moment of every day.

So, how important is at that we remember those who died before us? To answer that, I need to tell you about some questions my daughter fielded in one of her classes at Charleston Southern University. Her class has been reading Fox's Book of Martyrs. Her classmates said that they didn't understand why this book is such an important part of Western literature (if somehow you don't know what this book is, you need to get a copy on your Kindle, tablet, or computer and read it). What is the point of reading it? After all, it's just tragic, horrible, depressing stuff about believers that lived many centuries ago. What good could it possibly do for us today? My daughter was incredulous. This is a book she's been read; she has also read, and had been taught from since a child. Now, here was someone all but thumbing their nose at its importance.

So, why is a "book of martyrs" important to Christians? What difference can it possibly make to us in 21st Century America? In the same way that we must never forget the attack on America on September 11, or the unprovoked surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, or the holocaust of the Jews before and during World War II, we must never forget the martyrs who died for their Lord. Even the Bible reminds us in Hebrews 11 that the world was not worthy of those who were imprisoned, tortured and many even died for the faith. There is a special place in the heart of God for those who were marytyred for Him.

With that in mind, I must ask myself, what is my motivation? Is it the living or the dead? In many ways, I believe it to be both. Read the words of 2 Corinthians 5, the Bible exhorts us all:

And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15 HCSB)

It takes death to brings us to understand our deepest motivation as Christians. That is meant in at least two ways:

1) Because Jesus died, we have no reason to live for ourselves. His example is that love in truth is always worth dying for. Remember from last week, God so loved, He gave..."

Read about Love and John 3:16 here

2) Because others have died for the Faith and are dying without the Faith, we must tell them that Jesus died for them, not as an example, but in order to reconcile us all to God the Father and to take our sins away. Theologians call that "imputation." This is a banking term that means to "place on one's account." That means that Jesus' death as the sinless, perfect Son of God allowed us to place our debt of sin on Jesus' infinite account (See 2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

Through death, we find life. In that, Jesus is our motivation, and in another way, they are our motivation. We live for Him because He died for them. We live for Him because they died for Him. Death is as much a part of life as birth. So because of that, the funerals will go on, but not in fear, but in hope that life doesn't stop with death. Death, because of Christ's resurrection from the dead, is now a conquered foe that holds no power over us anymore. No matter the circumstances, we can die in the Faith knowing real life has only begun.

Living for Him who died and is alive,

Pastor Trey Rhodes

www.MyOceansideChurch.com for our website

MyOceansideChurch.podbean.com for most audio messages

www.OCAnnounce.info for our latest updates on ministry and events

 

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