Strong and Courageous

On Sept 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene hit the panhandle of Florida. It did some damage, but the real damage actually happened in North Carolina. Having had several inches of rain before the storm hit and then circled the area, dropping almost 31 inches of rain. All of that rain caused mud slides in the mountains. By now you have seen the pictures and videos on TV or the internet. Many pictures have before and after shots. The after shots show nothing but mud and debris. It’s incredible. I heard one woman’s video about her experience. Their home was not bad, so they went to a friend’s house to help him. Her husband brought his excavator to dig out the mug, full size trees that were swept along with the mud and all sorts of other debris, anything that was in the way. They worked for several hours and decided to start to tear the drywall out. They soon found that it was too big of a job for 2 people, and they did not have many tools. Just then, 8 people with a church group walked up and said, “we need something to do, put us to work”. But they needed tools, then a man drove up in his truck full of tools. As they worked, they realized they needed another excavator to move more things, and no sooner were the words out of their mouths when a man came with an excavator. Her entire story of the whole day was like this. Then she started to cry. It wasn’t a cry asking God “why?” It was a cry of praise and thanksgiving. God was so incredibly faithful to fulfil their needs almost before they knew they had them. She said that every person there had “Jesus” t-shirts on. What an amazing outpouring from God’s people.  I know there are probably hundreds if not thousands of stories. It is very overwhelming.

Matt 24:4 “Watch out,” replied Jesus. “Don’t let anyone deceive you. 5 You see, there will be several who will come along, using my name, telling you ‘I’m the Messiah!’ They will fool lots of people. 6 You’re going to hear about wars, actual wars and rumored ones; make sure you don’t get alarmed. This has got to happen, but it doesn’t mean the end is coming yet. 7 Nations will rise against one another, and kingdoms against each other. There will be famines and earthquakes here and there. 8 All this is just the start of the birth pangs.

2 Tim 3 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

The Bible foretold many things before Jesus was even born that all came true. The Bible has proven to be the inerrant word of God. I believe that God gave us these prophecies so that we would not be caught off guard. We need to be ready. If you haven’t made your decision to follow Jesus, please do not wait. Tomorrow is not promised to anyone. He is waiting for you to come to Him now.

Lord, thank you for making it so easy for us to come to you. All we need is to give ourselves to you, follow and love you. There is no doubt that there are many people hurting all over the world, but when we have you, we can know that you are with us.

Deut. 31:6  Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Amen

Shirlene Peterson