http://firsttoknow.com/mudslide-washington-oso-photos/
A great tragedy befell a town
40 miles north of us, in Oso, WA. After
many days of steady rain a huge landslide of mud, rock, and trees along the
Stillaguamish River, suddenly let loose, and covered a neighborhood, including
slicing the road, route 530, in half.
Over 30 people were killed or are still missing. Search and rescue, the National Guard, dogs, and
many volunteers supporting the searchers have been working around the clock for
over a week. Donations have piled up and
hundreds of dollars in gas cards have been donated. Many have to drive an extra 50 miles to get
to work, as the road they usually commute on is gone.
In the New York Times Timothy
Egan complains that this slide could have been predicted here--http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/opinion/sunday/egan-at-home-when-the-earth-moves.html?action=click&module=Search®ion
I can’t imagine how it would
feel to abruptly loose your loved ones and everything you own. I expect most to be in shock for some time
before reality sinks in. Right now the
homeless are only concerned about having a roof over their heads, clothes to
wear, food to eat, and for the missing to be found. The funerals haven’t started yet. That will be another hurdle they will need
strength for.
Please pray that they all
will turn to our Heavenly Father. He is
the only One who can truly comfort us in such a time of loss. It will be a long road back but the people of
Oso and surroundlug areas will have help from many people and the
government. Alderwood Community Church
has a motor home that teams will take to the area for the searchers to have
coffee, sandwiches, and hugs, when they take breaks. Many other Christians are involved in
volunteering for search and rescue teams including our son-in-law. I hope hearts will be touched and that many
will be comforted with the knowledge of Jesus.
He can help if we ask.
You said, "Please pray that they all will turn to our Heavenly Father." Turn to our Heavenly Father how?
ReplyDeleteLamont Goodling
They would seek God in prayer. Lamentations 2:19 says "Pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands toward Him for the life of your children..." we can also include for the people of Oso.
ReplyDelete'seek God' for what reason?
ReplyDeleteIf we seek God He will help us. Psalm 50:15 says, "Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." We can ask God for our needs according to His will--like food, shelter, and clothing. We can ask for someone to come along side and help us in the way we need help. We can ask God to show us where we may be of help to others. We can ask God anything and He will answer in His timing.
ReplyDeleteGod caused the mudslide catastrophe, did He not? Why would one seek help from the same person/entity who caused the catastrophe in the first place?
ReplyDeleteLamont
God did not cause the mudslide. Human nature (no warning to those who didn't know about the last mudslide) and rain caused the mudslide. Jesus said that we will have trials and tribulations in this life but He overcame the world (John 16:33.) The catastrophe,I believe, was a messenger from Satan. God can make bad things work out for good.
ReplyDeleteCould God have prevented the mudslide if He so chose? Could he have intervened to stop it?
ReplyDeleteYes, God could have prevented the mudslide. He could have prevented the death of Lazarus but in John 11:42 Jesus explains that this happened to prove that God sent Him. God allows tragedy for a greater purpose than would have resulted if there was no tragedy. It is so that we will see His glory and that our faith in Him may grow.
ReplyDeletedid God see the mudslide happening (is He omniscient)?
ReplyDeleteYes, God saw the mudslide even before it happened:Job 28:24
ReplyDeleteFor he looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
1 John 3:19-20
By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything.
Hebrews 4:13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Isaiah 46:9
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done.
Matthew 10:30
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Psalm 139:4
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
Flyaway--
ReplyDeleteYou’ve said three principles about God:
God is omniscient (sees everything);
God is omnipotent (has the ability to intercede in physical, chemical, and biological systems and events as He wishes); and
God is benevolent (God does no direct harm, neither does He allow harm to happen if he has the ability to intercede).
Am I correct on this?
Lamont
You are correct on the first 2 but not on the third one. God will destroy His enemies. He wiped out all mankind except Noah's family. He struck dead Eli's sons. He struck Ananias and Sapphira because they lied. God gives us time to turn to Him but time will run out according to His will. We can't judge the families who have suffered from the mudslide because we don't know their hearts. The rain falls on the just and the unjust.
ReplyDeleteSo God is not benevolent, then.
ReplyDeleteGod is both benevolent and Holy. Jonah said, "I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love," But in Deuteronomy 32:35 we are told, "Vengeance is mine I will repay."
ReplyDeleteBut benevolent is not causing harm, or not allowing preventable harm to happen. You're saying God does both of these things, and so God is not benevolent. Unless you change the definition of benevolent.
ReplyDeletePerhaps God is benevolent only under certain conditions. What are those conditions?
Lamont
We cannot know the mind of God:
ReplyDeleteIsaiah 55: 9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.
Romans 11: 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways ! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR ? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN ?
I Corinthians 2: 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one. 16 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MINDOF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ.
Isaiah 40: 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales ? 13 Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD, Or as His counselor has informed Him? 14 With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding ? And who taught Him in the path of justice and taught Him knowledge And informed Him of the way of understanding ? 15 Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales ; Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.
Flyaway--
ReplyDelete"We cannot know the mind of God" is a conversation stopper. All we can do now is nod sagely or shrug our shoulders and move on to other things.
I would encourage you to read http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2014/03/why-i-believe-in-logic-and-reason-is-a-nonsense-statement/
especially his thoughts about 'deep reasoning.'
if you are then interested in thinking further about issues of
god's benevolence, let's continue.
(Perhaps fill-in-the-blanks: "God is benevolent only when ______." Or "God is benevolent except when ______."
Or if my definition of benevolence is not to your liking, what is your definition of benevolence?)
Lamont
Lamont—Thanks for your interaction. This has been the most activity I’ve had on my blog. But now it is time for me to get back to my real life—Bible study, prayer, being a wife, mother, and grandmother, and writing an occasional blog as God leads.
ReplyDelete