የርሶ ብዕር አስተያየት ተሳትፎ ሕብረተሰባችንን ይጠቅማል ያሉትን አይንፈጉን ገንቢነቱ ቦታ ይኖረዋልና!

ማሳሰቢያ፡ ይህ ገጽ የተዘጋጀው የተለያዩ የኅብረተሰባችንን ሀሳብ ለመለዋወጫ እንጂ ለሚሰጡት ማንኛውም አስታየቶች በማንኛውም መንገድ ተጠያቂ አይደለም። ጉግል ድርጅትም ኃላፊነት አይወስድም። ኃላፊነቱ በሙሉ የአስታየት ሰጪው ብቻ ነው።



We are great full the participation of the following contributor for the following piece.


Volume II -- Edition VII -- July 1, 2010


                                                         Tragedies - God Oriented or Not


Have you noticed the catastrophes happening around the world and in our own country?  Tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and hurricanes have caused deaths, injuries, children orphaned, families members lost, and homes destroyed.


In our own country, 9-11 is not that far removed that we have forgotten.  Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida as 1000s lost their lives.  Lives and homes were destroyed in Hurricane Ike in Galveston, TX.

We have had recent floods in Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Tennessee that have taken lives and caused tremendous damage.  People have had their very existence changed and are forever affected.

Now we have the oil spill in the Gulf that has cost 11 lives.  It will affect the livelihood of folks for decades.  Even today, there is not an answer.

Businesses, employment, and the needs of the country will be affected for years as we seek to overcome the adversity.

Immediately following 9-11, we had many of the cloth who declared that the catastrophe was caused by an angry God.  I would never judge these recent events in our country, but I am wondering at what point will we evaluate these tragedies in context with a Holy God?

It was best said that God possesses the persona not to go where He is not wanted.  The greatest travesty we could experience would be to have Satan convince us to blame God for what happened.

How can we blame God when we asked Him to leave?

Turning Away From God

In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel observed other nations.  They determined that they could be better served with a king instead of an invisible God – "invisible" the key thought behind the overt reason.

The covert reason was that it would be better to answer to man rather than to God.  They saw God as severe.


They forgot that God had protected them and had established them as a nation among the nations.

They forgot that God had brought them out of slavery and that God had provided for them in the desert.

Man has continually forgotten God.  Samuel’s day is considered to have been between 1000 and 900 BC.  Before that, we had the Adam and Eve event in the Garden of Eden when man forget God.

There are numerous instances of man forgetting God recorded in Scripture leading to the New Testament.  The ultimate turning away was consummated with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Defining moments in our time have been the Supreme Court decision of Murray vs Curlett in 1963 allowing prayer (God) to be taken out of schools.

In 1973, the preciousness of life (God given) was decided by the Supreme Court in the Roe vs Wade decision to allow a woman to terminate her baby.

We are as guilty of forgetting God as our forefathers.  Yet we question God's existence when tragedies occur.

Turning to God

I have seen an escalation of man seeking to remove God. It did not just start with President Obama.  Although, it seems the process is increasing under Obama at an increasing rate.

However, w are seeing a sweeping move today with many crying out for God not to remove His hand from us and to keep us from evil.  However, in that cry, we do not have a commitment to include God.

2 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

The truth is so obvious that it has become oblivious to us.   What happens if we don’t turn from our wicked ways?  What happens if we don’t seek His face?  What happens if we don’t humble ourselves?  Is this why our land is facing such turmoil today?

Folks, this is a “God thing”.  These tragedies are not acts of God but instead God acting in our behalf by allowing us the freedom to make choices.  Even to make bad choices.

Kick Him out – He will go!  Ignore His presence – He will remove His hand!  HOWEVER, He will hold us accountable.  He is not to be mocked.


I would encourage us to pray fervently for ourselves and for our nation.  Click on In Touch Ministries and join with Dr Charles Stanley for 140 days of prayer for our nation.

 HOWEVER, do not just to pray…

We need to humble ourselves; we need to seek God; we need to turn from our wicked ways – then He will hear from heaven, will forgive our sin, and will heal our land and our church.

God bless…

Bob Hataway


What say you?