Asian Earthquake
& Tidal Wave

Colin Melbourne English Missionary in S.E.Asia

© 05-08 Born-Again-Christian.info

The media describe this horrendous natural disaster as an 'Act of God', but is it? Is He to blame for the destruction? How should Christians respond to these events?

Signs of The Times

Almighty God in the Flesh described the final days before His return, Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven. Lk. 21:10-11 NIV

You are privileged to live in the most exciting, and dangerous, period of world history, but there is only one way to survive it: You must be born again. Without a genuine spiritual union with God through Christ you will perish eternally, both in flesh and in spirit. If you think this is a hard place, imagine what eternity in Hell without hope of redemption will be like.

Christ said that believers should not be afraid of those who after killing your flesh can do no more, but rather, 'Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you fear him'. Lk. 12:5

Don't you love it? No sweet-tongued, ear-tickling preaching from Christ, just the Absolute Truth through and through. So we do fear, or reverence God, above all calls on our lives, and we have peace like a river, prepared for whatever He allows Satan to throw at us. In order to prove our faith is genuine and bring glory to Christ.

Immunized by The Word

Are you ready for more wars, more earthquakes, and deadly plagues? The recent Sars and Bird Flu scares are mere dress rehearsals. HIV-Aids takes out the sexually immoral, and sadly many 'innocents', but the Avian Flu virus has already spread to pigs in China, and will soon produce another lethal human flu virus that will decimate millions of people around the world.

No vaccine or 'clean-living' will protect you, there's only one antidote: You must be born again. The Living Word and Spirit of God will keep you from all harm.

When you dwell in the shelter of the Most High,

You will not fear the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. Ps. 91:8

Tsunamis in The Bible

God wiped out mankind, except Noah and his family, because the earth was full of violence.

Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become. For all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. Gen. 6:11

And He did, The Flood wiped out every living thing on the face of the earth. (Gen. 7:23). Even the highest mountains were covered by water for five months.

Killing is Satan's Work

Have Noah's descendants walked with God in righteousness as he did? Not at all, the brief history since The Flood shows mankind becoming ever more depraved and murderous. The last century has been the most violent by far, and things will get worse, not better. More people have died in wars during the last 100 years than did so since Creation until then. And this despite God coming Himself to show us what love, life, and righteousness really are, and offering them freely to everyone who believes.

No wonder the Holy Spirit proclaims a dire warning,

If anyone does not love the Lord: a curse be on him. Come, O Lord! 1 Co. 16:22

Are you blessed or cursed?

Noah's Ark and God's Ark

How we yearn for sinners to repent and come into The Ark, who is Christ. Sealed in by the Lord, safe and secure. Outside are millions of perishing souls, swept away by sin, never knowing the comfort and power of Christ's love. Trusting in religion, churchiness, and idols, doomed to stand before a Holy God in their own filthy 'righteousness' and be judged according to what they have done. What a terrifying prospect!

Act of God?

Approaching 300,000 were killed in the Indian Ocean earthquake and tidal waves. We are appalled at the heartbreaking scenes of bloated corpses, orphaned kids, and grieving parents. Cholera, Dengue fever, and Malaria run riot amongst those left behind, and people rage at God.

A poor Indonesian mother who lost all eleven of her children cried, 'Why me?'

The media describe this horrendous natural disaster as an 'Act of God', but is it?

Is He to blame for the destruction? Of course not.

God said, The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Jn. 10:10, Lk.19:10

Has Jesus Christ, Almighty God in the Flesh saved you yet? Are you safe in the loving Carpenter's Arms, or wide open to every onslaught of the devil? Don't waste a second; come into The Ark now before the door is shut tight forever.

No, this is not God's doing, it is Satan's work. God did destroy the earth in Noah's dispensation, and He will do so by fire in the next, but you live in the dispensation of God's Grace. Take care that you do not refuse so great a love, and fall under God's Judgement.

Christian Response in the End Times

The heart-wrenching scenes of devastation from Indonesia to Africa will become increasingly familiar in these final days before Christ's return. It is wonderful to see spontaneous practical help arising, and official aid agencies will do the best they can. But there is a far greater need, and this is the perfect time to meet it.

This is not an Act of God, but it is an act of god, meaning the 'god of this world': Satan. (2 Co. 4:4) Sinners are in desperate need of salvation, liberation from sin and Satan's power, only the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ can deliver them from eternal peril. Christians can be busy with practical help, but always pointing to the source of the problem: sin, and the solution: Christ Sacrificed for the sins of the world.

This is the perfect time for evangelism, not only amongst the victims, but everywhere. Onlookers know it could easily have been them, they are asking the questions only Christians have the Answer to.

'Why is all this happening?' 'What is it all leading to?' 'How can I be safe and secure in this frightening world?'

Tell them, challenge them, give them the message of Christ. Ask them if they are ready to face God. What will they say when they give account of their lives to the Almighty. Would they like to be certain of a place in Heaven? Don't hold back in these perilous times. It's marvellous to pluck a drowning soul from the deep, but it is divine to save a soul from Hell.

Christians! Take heart; don't be afraid when you hear news, of wars, famines, earthquakes and signs in the heavens that cause your heart to be anxious. Your redemption draws near. Jesus is coming soon. Be busy and alert, holding out the Word of Truth, and walking in Christ's love and righteousness.

Remember the words of Christ,

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will feint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. Lk. 21:25-28

Indonesian Gospel Tracts