Tag Archives: God’s role in weather

Sending Blessings into a Deserted Faith

On March 2nd, 2010, the residents of Lajamanu, Australia must have felt like they dreaming when perch began to fall from the sky.  Located 400 miles south of Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, this remote desert town is several hundred miles from the nearest body of water.  However, on this day, a water spout likely collected these fish, sending them up into the atmosphere.  When the high winds finally died down, hundreds of spangled perch fell back to earth, most of them still alive.  This bizarre occurrence conjures up images of Jesus feeding 5,000 people in John 6:1-15.  Perhaps a similar weather system brought fish to the mountains of Israel after Jesus prayed.

According to Richard Shears, this might not be as far fetched as once thought.  Pliny the Elder wrote about storms that brought frogs and fish to the Middle East during the first century.  In 1794, near Lille, France, French soldiers witnessed toads falling from the sky during a heavy rain storm.  An unique weather front in Lake County, California brought 2 days of sugar crystals as big as quarters 60 years later.  Meanwhile, other reports include meat tasting like venison falling to earth over Kentucky in 1876, a Russia tornado raining coins from the 16th century and the most recent, raining blackbirds and pigeons over the skies of San Luis Opisbo, California during a 2 day storm in 1976.  Although, these events may not be entirely God ordained, it does give people hope that the Lord has the power to bring blessings into a deserted region.

 

The expression “all good things must come to an end on earth” is inaccurate, especially for those individuals who have not experienced or tasted goodness to this point in life.  Thus, misery loves company as the disappointed, failures and unfortunate revel in their negativity, suffocating anyone who wishes for sunny days ahead.  Maybe this is why the apostle Paul adds 1 Corinthians 15:33-34 to middle of his chapter on the resurrection.  If you surround yourself with doubting Thomas’, you will likely desert your beliefs.  Therefore, the best way to turn disbelief into faith is by coming to your senses, flee from sin and acknowledge the signs of a living God.  When this process is complete, the Lord has the power to send blessings into a previously deserted faith.

by Jay Mankus

Full Force Nature

 

In their original series Full Force Nature. the Weather Channel credits Mother Nature for these awe inspiring events.  The purpose of each 30 minute episode is to rebroadcast extreme weather conditions caught on film.  However, before the days of phone, ipad and video cameras, historians who survived nature’s full force recorded similar natural disasters.

One such phenomena took place around 1450 years before Christ was born.  According to Moses, an eyewitness, a horrific storm pounded Egypt in Exodus 9:13-32.  This passage reveals God’s anger toward Pharaoh as the Lord unleashes his full power, not holding anything back.  Based upon Moses’ description, lightning, thunder and golf ball sized hail pelted any animals, crops, homes or people who were unprepared.  If we are to take Moses at his word in Exodus 9:23-26, no storm can compared to this massive system sent by the hand of God.

Since God warned Egypt, those who feared God took immediate measures, Exodus 9:20, while the ignorant and skeptics were caught with their pants down.  Unfortunately, in real life, God get’s all the blame for destruction and Mother Nature get’s a pass except for the beautiful days.  Unless you consider the film A Year Without A Santa Claus when most people gave Santa the credit for snow on Christmas Eve.  My point is that you can’t have it both ways, either God created it, He allowed it to happen or scientific conditions for a Perfect Storm merged forming a super cell.

James, the earthly brother of Jesus paints an unique picture.  Like Pharaoh, James doubted Jesus, not able to comprehend God’s full force nature until some how his big brother rose from the dead. Acts 1:3.  This front row seat transformed his perspective of God in James 1:16-17.  James was deceived by the world, unable to grasp the truth until he was confronted by a ghost, a resurrected Christ.  Hopefully, you don’t have to endure an earthquake, hurricane or tornado before you become a believer.  May you share in the promise of James 1:18, passed on by an eyewitness to God’s full force nature.

by Jay Mankus