According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, there were 346 major natural disasters worldwide in 2015. More than 22,000 people died in these disasters and a staggering 98.6 million were affected in some way.
Natural disasters come in various forms including floods, landslides, heat waves, hurricanes, and earthquakes.
Read More sin, eternity, natural disasters, punishmentRead Reflect When life was difficult, when you felt all alone, when you weren’t sure what the next step to take in your life was, you trusted the Lord your God. Since then has God blessed you, has God brought you to a safe place? Are you still trusting in the Lord? Or have you […]
Read More trust, forgiveness, punishment, rejecting GodRead Reflect When one of my grandchildren is being disciplined, the parent often says, “(Name of child) … LISTEN TO ME!” When the parent says, “Listen to me!” it’s more than a hearing exercise. They expect the child to stop what they’re doing, make eye contact, give them their undivided attention, apologize, and clean up […]
Read More listening, warning, disobedience, punishment
Read Reflect There are two movements to the drama of the text: Jeremiah’s prayer and God’s response. Jeremiah’s prayer is one of desperation and anguish. He’s sick at heart and ready to call it quits (8:18). His people were distressed, depraved, and dislocated; with no hope of deliverance from God (8:19-20). All sense of consolation […]
Read More purity, punishment, judgementRead Reflect No, you’re not suffering from déjà vu. This passage is essentially another account of the events that were described in Jeremiah 39. What is new here is the description of the looting of the Temple. The Babylonians looted all the precious objects from the Temple. The silver and the gold could presumably be […]
Read More justice, obedience, God’s love, punishmentRead Reflect Ezekiel does some rather strange actions (4:1-8; 5:1-2) in presenting the prophetic messages. But full clarity of meaning does not come until Ezekiel verbally explains (5:3-13) his bizarre actions. The miniature city with the toy soldiers is none other than Jerusalem, which will be besieged by the Babylonians. The hair symbolized the inhabitants […]
Read More rébellion, consequences, punishmentGod is very patient in putting up with our sins. Often he does not allow the consequences of our sins to come upon us immediately after we have done something wrong (2 Peter 3:9-10). Yet that delay does not mean that a reckoning will not come. Even though the Lord is patient, there comes a point when God has had enough of the wrongdoings of his people.
Read More sin, consequences, repentance, punishment