Gambler

August 2023: China experienced a series of unexplainable events that, in their culture, are bad omens. https://youtu.be/qpjB-IXOGJk?si=L3EoAXOUxVPCtd4R

August 8, 2023: Maui, Hawaii suffered great loss from a devastating wildfire. https://www.britannica.com/event/Maui-wildfires-of-2023

October 2023: Hamas attacked Israel. https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-october-7-2023/

December 17, 2023: Lightning struck a statue of St. Peter in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the hometown of Pope Francis. https://catholicvote.org/lighting-strikes-st-peter-statue-on-pope-francis-birthday-internet-lights-up/

February 22, 2024: AT&T experienced major outages affecting 71,000 customers. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/t-verizon-t-mobile-customers-hit-widespread-cellular-outages-us-rcna139938

February 26, 2024: Texas fought the largest wildfire in their history. https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/02/28/texas-fire-map-2024/72774240007/

March 15, 2024: A tornado struck Ohio. https://www.newsweek.com/catastrophic-damage-deadly-ohio-tornado-photos-1879706

March 26, 2024: A bridge built by U.S. national anthem composer, Francis Scott Key, was destroyed when it was hit by a cargo ship. https://apnews.com/live/baltimore-key-bridge-collapse-latest-2024

March 31, 2024: Millions of AT&T customers are affected by a data breach that leaked information into the dark web. https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/at-t-says-a-data-breach-leaked-millions-of-customers-information-online-were-you-affected/ar-BB1kQtsr

April 2, 2024: A tornado outbreak in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Indiana left 275,000 people without power. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/03/1242453238/deadly-weather-states-tornadoes

April 5, 2024: New York experienced a 4.8 magnitude earthquake and lightning struck the Statue of Liberty. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/05/us/earthquake-new-york https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/a-bolt-of-lightning-strikes-the-statue-of-libertys-torch/1638224

There was a solar eclipse over the United States in 2017 (https://www.chapelhillumc.com/content.cfm?id=311&blog_id=223#:~:text=The%20time%20of%20the%20eclipse%20in%20Salem%2C%20Oregon,Salem%2C%20Oregon%20and%20ended%20in%20Salem%2C%20South%20Carolina.). The eclipse passed through several cities named Salem, which means “peace”. On April 8, 2024, there is to be a solar eclipse again. This time it is set to pass over several U.S. cities named Nineveh and crosses the path of the 2017 eclipse over a town called Little Egypt (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbJcwgVpFl0&t=21s).

If I was to say the phrase “Our pastor sucks”, that would sound extremely offensive! However, if I was to say “Our pastor sucks water through a straw in his glass”, the meaning is completely different and much less offensive. Context matters!

Many people know the Bible verse John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him would not perish, but have everlasting life”. However, not many know the very next verse, and I’d argue, one of the most important verses of the Bible. John 3:17 states, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (ESV). Our Lord told us in his word to us that he created the sun, moon and stars to display signs and seasons (Genesis 1:14). Why? Why does God want to give us signs? To warn us! If he really wanted to condemn us, he’d wipe us all from the face of the earth. He would be justified in doing that. Our sins have by far surpassed those of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. Yet, that is not his will. His will is that not one person should spend eternity in hell.

“Well, I don’t believe in hell. I don’t think a loving God would send someone there if he/she is a good person,” one might say. Might I remind us of one thing? Truth is not relative; it’s absolute. Gravity exists whether we believe in it or not. Quantum particles exist whether we believe in them or not, and hell exists whether we believe in it or not. Yes, God is good, but we need to be careful to remember he is also righteous, holy and just. His righteousness is beyond our ability to match. His holiness is beyond our ability to understand. His justice is more pure than we can fathom and in his great mercy, he laid out clearly the consequences of obeying him or disobeying him in Deuteronomy 28. We have no excuse. Still, he mercifully gives us signs to warn us.

How much of a gambler are you? If I’m wrong and hell doesn’t exist or a good God won’t allow his creation to go there, then what is the result? We spend an eternity in silence, nothingness, or we don’t even exist? However, if I’m right…if hell does exist and a pure, holy, and just God will leave us to the consequences of our actions, then those who don’t believe could spend an eternity in unimaginable depression, anger, torture, hunger, loneliness, darkness and horror. No parole. No out on bond. No early release for good behavior. So I ask again…how much of a gambler are you? Would you gamble eternity?