A 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Oregon yesterday.

The earthquake followed an intense week of seismic activity in which the “Ring of Fire” was rocked by sixty-nine quakes in just forty-eight hours. (The “Ring of Fire” stretches 25,000 miles clockwise around the Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to the southern part of South America.)

Whenever such seismic activity occurs in the region, journalists speculate that the “Big One” may be coming. This is a reference to an earthquake of 8-magnitude or higher that is expected to occur along the San Andreas Fault. Such a quake could strike San Francisco, Los Angeles, or other populated areas on the West Coast.

Seismologists say we’re overdue for such a disaster. One states, “There is a 99.9% chance that there will be a damaging quake (magnitude greater than or equal to 6.7) somewhere in California in the next 30 years.”

“The whole world lies in the power of the evil one”

If you don’t live along the California coast and think such warnings are irrelevant to you, consider these facts:

• Storms such as the Category 4 hurricane that threatens Hawaii today kill an estimated ten thousand people each year.
• Every state in America is at risk from tornadoes.
• Wildfires have burned more than 5.6 million acres so far this year.
• Floods cause $6 billion in damage annually in our country.

I live in Dallas, Texas, where we are at risk from everything on the list. Are you exempt from natural disasters where you live?

When such tragedies strike, people always want to know why the God who made our planet allows such calamities to afflict his creation. We can respond with the fact that our world is broken as a result of sin (Romans 8:22), remembering that there were no natural disasters in the Garden of Eden. We can also point out that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” (1 John 5:19), an enemy who “comes only to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).

But the skeptic is likely to counter: Why didn’t the God who calmed the stormy Sea of Galilee prevent the disaster that affected me? If he’s more powerful than Satan, why does he let Satan harm us? If “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), why does he allow tragedies that his omnipotence could prevent?

The bottom line is that God’s ways are higher than my ways, and his thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). If my mind could understand the Lord’s mind, either I would be God or he would not be.

But I do know one way he redeems natural disasters. It’s a life principle we can begin using today, whether the “Big One” is coming tomorrow or not.

“O God, you are my God”

Psalm 63 finds David “in the wilderness of Judah,” according to its inscription. We know of two times he was in this barren area: when he was hiding from King Saul and when he was fleeing from his son Absalom. The fact that David refers to himself as “the king” in verse 11 makes the latter calamity the more likely setting.

Imagine that you are an elderly man, running for your life from your own son. You’re in the desert with no circumstantial reason to believe you will ever return to your throne or even survive the night.

How do you respond to the God who allowed this calamity?

David prays: “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (v. 1). He can seek God in the present because he has experienced his omnipotence in the past: “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory” (v. 2).

His past experiences with God’s greatness empower him to trust the Lord with his future fears: “Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands” (vv. 3-4).

Note the pattern: Seek God in the present by remembering his goodness in the past and trusting him for the future. When we make disaster an invitation to faith and worship, others see our trust in our Father and are drawn to him. Such confidence may be our most powerful witness to a skeptical culture.

Consider an example.

#StandWithTheBible

Evangelist Greg Laurie recently concluded the twenty-ninth annual Southern California Harvest Crusade. This year’s event became controversial when a real estate company removed the campaign’s billboards from two malls, claiming that it received complaints and a “serious threat” about the billboards’ depiction of Laurie holding a Bible.

In response, Laurie staged the #StandWithTheBible campaign, encouraging Christians to take photos or videos of themselves holding a Bible and post them on social media. He also urged attendees to bring Bibles and hold them up each night.

The weekend crusade saw 100,000 people in attendance, 74,300 webcast views, and 267,800 Facebook Live views. More than nine thousand people made professions of faith in Christ.

What the enemy means for evil, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). This fact doesn’t explain disasters, but it redeems them in ways that far outlive the temporal calamities of this broken planet.

I don’t know if the “Big One” will hit tomorrow or ten generations from tomorrow. But I do know that we have only this day to be ready. And I know that the best way to be ready is to say with David, “O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you.”

Are you “earnestly” seeking God today?

NOTE:  In a world growing more openly hostile toward Christian values and beliefs, we must know how to “make a defense to anyone who asks.”

My prayer is that the new and just released volume 2 of Biblical Insight to Tough Questions can help with that. I’d like to send it to you to thank you for your gift and to help you “speak the truth in love” to tough questions.

I hope volume 2 will help you grow your faith and encourage you to engage culture with truth. To receive your copy, please click here.

Denison Forum

A plane landed without front wheels after gear failure. Flames ignited on contact. However, the pilot was able to bring the plane safely to a stop. All fifty-nine passengers and five crew members were unharmed.

This incident last Sunday in Peru underscores the intrinsic value of human beings. If the plane had been a test drone, its emergency landing would have generated little interest. But when a passenger plane nearly kills scores of humans, other humans instinctively take notice.

Meanwhile, the body of twenty-year-old missing Iowa college student Mollie Tibbetts was discovered yesterday. An illegal immigrant has confessed to killing her. We grieve viscerally the tragic death of one so young.

In other news, Paul Manafort was found guilty yesterday on eight counts in his fraud trial. Whatever we think of the verdict, we should note that a system of jury trial by our peers reflects an intrinsic belief in the value of our peers.

“America’s birth certificate”

Each summer, my wife and I try to visit an area with a unique history. This year, we chose Philadelphia.

We visited the Liberty Bell and noted its iconic message from Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants thereof.” We stood inside Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were ratified.

We visited the home of Betsy Ross and museums dedicated to aspects of colonial history. We stood at the grave of Benjamin Franklin, one of the most brilliant of a generation of truly brilliant men and women.

But the most moving experience for me personally was one few tourists shared with us.

We made our way to Declaration House, where we climbed the stairs to the second floor. There we stood outside the parlor that Thomas Jefferson rented in 1776. It was here that he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

This iconic document has been called “America’s birth certificate.”

“The only nation founded on a creed”

Jefferson declared: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” As a result, he added, governments “are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Continue reading Denison Forum – Plane makes emergency landing with no front wheels →

Last week it was reported that Malaysia repealed its “fake news” law.

This Asian nation is one of the first countries in the world to reconsider how to control this societal nemesis. But, aren’t you already wondering whether that story is also fake news?

Since Missourians live in the Show-Me State, I wonder how they’re dealing with this dilemma. Is seeing believing?

There’s a scam going around currently where people are called by someone claiming to be an official with the IRS. That “official” claims that the victim owes a bogus tax bill. Often, the victim is conned into sending cash through wire transfers or prepaid debit cards to settle a fake debt. The IRS has told the public time and again that they will not use this kind of tactic.

In an age when pictures are photoshopped, stories are spun, and anonymous slander is rampant, who or what can you believe?

Last week I received a notice by email that a well-known bank had sent over $1,000 out of my account to a named payee. The email asked me to verify the transaction by replying to the email.

Trouble is, I don’t have any accounts at that particular bank. Upon closer inspection of the email, the bank’s logo was not authentic, and the email address of the sender was in no way connected to that bank.

Now, more than ever, caveat emptor: buyer beware. Fake news is everywhere.

Fake news is not new

But, fake news is NOT new. In 1981, Janet Leslie Cooke won a Pulitzer Prize for an article titled “Jimmy’s World” written for the Washington Post. It was later discovered to be fake. After admitting she had fabricated the story, she returned the prize.

Continue reading Denison Forum – Is All the News Fake? →