Changes in weather show God is speaking

After 9/11, people from the world flocked to churches, looking for answers. But it was short lived. Churches were not prepared to give an answer to what had happened. After all, God is love and seemingly would not cause or even authorize such a thing to happen.

In 1972, David Wilkerson wrote “The Vision.” He shared what God has shown him concerning America’s future. We as a nation were walking away from God, pushing him out. Prayer, Bible reading and the Ten Commandments were no longer wanted in our schools, government and workplace. Religion was being confined to worship services. As a result, judgments would come, including a shift in weather patterns. When this happened we were to declare, “My God is speaking.” Never have we seen such a drastic shift in weather patterns, along with a sharp increase in earthquakes.

The Bible speaks of this in Amos 4:6-10: “Though I gave you…lack of food…you did not return to Me. I withheld the rain from you … but you did not return to Me. I struck you with blight, mildew and locusts…Yet you did not return to Me. Pestilence like that of Egypt I sent to you … Yet you did not return to Me.” God is saying, repent and come back to Me.

Repentance is to start with God’s people. II Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” In verse 13 God had said, “When I shut up the heaven and there Is no rain, or when I command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence upon my people, if my people who are called by My name…”

Insurance policies used to add a disclaimer saying they would not reimburse claims that were “acts of God.” Amos 3:6-7 says, “If there is calamity in a city will not the Lord have done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing His purpose to His servants the prophets.”

The church has emphasized the love of God but not His other attributes. Hebrews 12:5-6 tells us, “Do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him. For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” Jesus said in John 15:2, “every branch in Him that bears fruit He prunes every son whom He receives.” What can we do? I Corinthians 11:31-32 says, “If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged, but when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, so that we not be condemned with the world.” To judge ourselves we need God’s help in seeing our sin. The word of God is our authority in so doing.

King David said, “Seven times a day I praise You, because of your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:164). And in Psalm 19:9-10, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold.” In Isaiah 26:8-20, the prophet declared, “In the way of your judgments, O Lord we have waited for you eagerly…When your judgments are in the earth the inhabitants of the earth learn righteousness. Though grace be shown to the wicked, yet he will not learn righteousness.”

Dr. Don Brendtro has been in pastoral ministry for over 50 years, and is currently an elder at Summit Worship Center in Wasila. He also volunteers with Alaska Correctional Ministries as a prison chaplain.