The Haitian Earthquake: Where Was God?

An interesting post from http://www.ucg.org/ about the Hatian earthquake. To get this booklet for free click here , if you would like to donate to a charity click here and for more intesting posts like this click here..

The Haitian Earthquake: Where Was God?
A commentary by Ron Kelley

Posted January 14, 2010

The headlines speak of the horrific destruction and mounting death toll in the poorest Caribbean island of Haiti. A major 7.0 earthquake struck this already impoverished nation around 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 12. The death toll will be staggering, the suffering unimaginable.
The day after the earthquake, Reuters reported: "Television footage from the capital, Port-au-Prince, showed scenes of chaos on the streets with people sobbing and appearing dazed amid the rubble... The presidential palace lay in ruins, its domes fallen on top of flattened walls."
Why did God allow this to happen?
As we see heart-wrenching photos and video of this latest disaster, we are once again left to ponder the age-old questions: "Where was God? How could a loving God let this happen?" These questions seem to have no answer—but do they?
People like to think of themselves as masters of their own fate. They want to feel like they can control their own destiny. Try talking to survivors of a major natural disaster like an earthquake, and you'll get a different perspective. They have experienced absolute helplessness to control anything.
So where is God? If there is an answer to this timeless question, where is it? Why don't we know why God allows such unspeakable suffering to be inflicted upon helpless, innocent victims?
A place to find answers
God does reveal Himself to mankind in the pages of the Bible. We need to read it and understand that God does have a grand master plan for all humanity. The prophet Isaiah begins to answer these questions for us in Isaiah 59:1: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Some mistakenly think that this means that those affected by disaster must be more sinful than others. But Isaiah was describing all of humanity, as Jesus Christ made clear. In reference to the victims of disasters in His day, Jesus asked: "Do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:4-5).
The truth is that, starting with the famed episode in the Garden of Eden, people ever since Adam and Eve have chosen to live their own way, apart from God's revealed instruction and involvement in their lives. Romans 8:7 says humanity by nature does not want to live by the laws of God.
Sadly, mankind has chosen to abandon the laws of Almighty God that would bring us blessings, prosperity, happiness and protection from natural disasters. So He allows us to suffer the consequences of living our own way and also allows natural disasters to take their toll in human lives and suffering.
God pleads with mankind to reject going the way that seems right to us and instead open His instruction manual, the Holy Bible, and live by His way of life that will result in His blessings.
Ezekiel records this plea from God: "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'" (Ezekiel 33:11).
What can I do?
In Matthew 24:7-8, the Bible predicts that we will continue to see earthquakes, along with wars, famines and disease epidemics. It also says these are the beginnings of sorrows. What is God trying to tell us? Will we listen to His wake-up call? Could it be that God knows exactly what He is doing and is warning us to read His Book and find the answers to these perplexing questions?
You don't have to live in a world of doubt and despair. You can know that God truly is a caring, compassionate and loving God who has a plan that includes the hope of eternal life for everyone—including those helpless little children so tragically struck down in the devastation of this earthquake in Haiti.
Where was God and why didn't He prevent this latest disaster? Find the answers for yourself in our biblical study of Why Does God Allow Suffering?
There is hope. A new day is coming. One day soon, Jesus Christ will return to establish the government of God on this earth. Zechariah 8:5 speaks of a time when little boys and girls will play safely in the streets of the city. That beautiful world is our sure and certain promise from God.

Life Nets Calendar

I wanted to let you know about this link which is from the charity LifeNets, that is run by a UCG member Victor Kubik. You can print this out and visit his website http://lifenets.org/newsletter/ if you'd like!

Calendars here
2009 Calendar
2009 Calendar (higher rez)

Good News - When Does Life Begin?

If you haven't seen this link yet, you might find it interesting. There is an audio that you can listen to and some articles that you can read on this very timely topic from our own church's literature. I hope you find this interesting.

http://www.gnmagazine.org/radio/who-will-speak-for-the-children.htm
Who Will Speak for the Children?Abortion—who will speak for these children? When does life begin?>> Listen to MP3 audio Related Resources
What Is Your Destiny? Does life have a purpose? Does it have real meaning? Is life anything more than a brief span on earth, with nothing but eternity on either side of this physical existence? This is the question of the ages, a riddle that has challenged humans since they came to be. Why am I here? Why do I exist? This booklet will help you understand the incredible truth about your destiny.
The Abortion Controversy What are the facts about abortion? Is it really murder? What does the Bible say?
America's Child Sacrifice Child sacrifice is horrifying to even contemplate. Yet it remains with us, practiced millions of times every year.
Is Abortion the Answer to Unwanted Pregnancy? Many people today consider abortion to be a woman's right to control her body—specifically her reproductive rights. Reflecting this perspective, many countries around the world permit abortion. Yet there is also much dissent over this supposedly enlightened practice.
The Abortion Quagmire: Who Will Speak for the Children? Two unmarried teenagers agonize about the girl's pregnancy. Afraid to confide in their families, the couple manages to deliver the baby in a motel room. They wrap the newborn in plastic and throw her in a trash bin. They are convicted of manslaughter. If they had procured an abortion just a few weeks—or even a few days—earlier, they would not have faced a trial and jail terms. This is just one of hundreds of news stories appearing over the past few years in a nation mired in the moral quagmire of abortion.
The Abortion Controversy What are the facts about abortion? Is it really murder? What does the Bible say?

Hurricane Ike Relief

I wanted to let you know about this source if you wanted to contribute to Hurricane Ike relief. Of course, in the church, we do give tithes and offerings to our church http://www.gnmagazine.org/booklets/AT/, as well as have the Good Works program http://www.ucg.org/goodworks/and Lifenets http://www.lifenets.org/for us to give to. However, I did want to let you know about this opportunity if you are interested.

http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=usw_hurricane_ike_salem&JServSessionIdr012=4rl3zqgsx1.app26a


As the enormity of Hurricane Ike’s destruction sinks in, many are starting to feel discouraged, fatigued, and frustrated. Ike’s victims are hurting and need our help.Electricity is out for millions, meaning:» Food is spoiling» Water treatment plants remain contaminated» Heat and humidity test patience» Gas pumps won’t work -- even if a person can find a station that has gas.The lives of children and families are likely to be affected for weeks by the lack of power, refrigeration, and basics that are now hard to get. We must come to their aid as Ike storms across middle America over the coming days. Total relief needs will be staggering.We need your help to provide emergency relief like safe drinking water, food, and personal hygiene kits for evacuees and storm victims.
Please donate now:» $35 will deliver 250 pounds of food and water» $70 will deliver 500 pounds of relief supplies» $105 will deliver 750 pounds of critical relief items
Send emergency aid to families »




Choose your own amount »

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Feed The Children is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Donations and contributions are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

Kenya - UCG Good Works

I wanted to send this article about our brethren in Kenya. This is an area that was torn by war earlier this year, as the article points out, and is now a victim of drought. The link www.ucg.org/goodworks is a site that explains how you can help if you want to. Anyway, I thought you might find this interesting.

Peace Returns to Kenya; Members Face DroughtThe violence that troubled Kenya at the beginning of this year (leaving 1,500 dead and 600,000 homeless and/or displaced) has long since faded away. However, the rift among tribes continues below the surface. Only by allowing both rival parties to win (through a power-sharing agreement) was the bloodbath halted. Meanwhile, many of our members there have been impacted by a seasonal drought. Their crops failed and they have been unable to grow food or purchase it without assistance. World prices of food, seed, fertilizer and petrol have all skyrocketed, and Kenya's 20 percent inflation rate further compounds the situation. A Good Works project to assist the members there with supplemental food is listed on the UCG Web site at www.ucg.org/goodworks. During July Tim Waddle and his wife, Valerie, will visit the region. Some of the items on his agenda include leadership training, Festival logistics assessment and congregational visits. A meeting with leaders of a group that left WCG years ago and attended with another affiliation is also scheduled. They have formally requested to be part of United. Their additional numbers could potentially swell Feast attendance this year and may dictate a change of venue. Thankfully, a suitable site has become available at a price that would be considerably less per person than in previous years. —John Elliott

UK or Pakistan?

I wanted to send this article which shows the persecution that someone who converts from Islam can go through. The story is about someone in Britain, not thought of as a Muslim country, but you can click a link in the story to see what can happen to someone who converts in the Middle East. If you would like another link that shows how some fellow Sabbatarians had to move to flee persecution, click the link here http://www.lifenets.org/ukraine/crisis.htm. I hope you find this interesting.

"He endured similar threats in his homeland Pakistan, but never expected the same thing to happen in the UK"

If this is what Muslim converts to Christianity experience living in the UK, imagine what converts living deep in the heart of Islam must go through.

"Persecution threat to British Muslims who change their faith," from Inspire Magazine, July 9:
A growing number of Christians in Britain from a Muslim background are facing harassment and persecution, warns Release International. They include ‘Yasmin’, whose ex-husband planned to kill her. She’s been attacked in the street, driven from her home and was taken under police protection. Yasmin became a Christian after receiving a vision of Jesus during the difficult birth of her son. She tried to keep her faith a secret from her family, but eventually told her mother. “When my mother found out I had become a Christian she went to the local mosque and told them that I had gone crazy,” Yasmin told Release International, which serves the persecuted Church in 30 nations. “She went to get some holy water to heal me of my madness. A campaign was set up against me; people would come and bang on the door every ten minutes during the night.”Apostates, after all, are mercifully granted sometimes up to three days to return to the fold of Islam before being killed. And they say Islam is merciless!
The police set up a panic alarm, but finally told Yasmin they could no longer protect her and moved her into a women’s refuge.Yasmin relocated to another part of the country, but her ex-husband tracked her down and demanded custody of their children as he objected to them being brought up by a Christian.She says: “He continually intimidated and harassed me and hired someone to beat me in the street. Wherever we went there would always be a car following us and watching us.”Her son yielded to pressure and went to live with his dad. “He only stayed one night,” says Yasmin, “as his dad told him that he had arranged for someone to kill me and was pressing my son for details of the layout of our home - where the alarm was and where I slept.”
Yasmin went into hiding with her son and took out an injunction against her husband. The harassment stopped, but that was not the end of the trouble.“Everyone in the local Muslim community knew I was a Christian and didn’t want to know me. People would cross the street rather than greet me and often spat in my face. They tried to pressure me to leave town. But I had already been chased out of one town so I was determined not to let them intimidate me.”Yasmin is now working to support other Muslim background believers who are experiencing the same pressures and persecution. She tells her story in the latest edition of Release International’s Witness magazine, available from
www.releaseinternational.org
She adds: “One of the most difficult things about becoming a Christian from a Muslim background is losing your family. There are such tight family networks in our communities. If someone becomes a Christian then they are considered to bring shame on the whole family and the only response is to cut them out of the family.”Some Muslim background believers in the UK lose their homes, possessions and even custody of their children – a picture replicated in many nations around the world, where former Muslims may even lose their lives for changing their faith.Release International’s patron, Bishop Michael Nazir Ali has also been under police protection after receiving death-threats for expressing his concerns about some aspects of Islam in Britain. He endured similar threats in his homeland Pakistan, but never expected the same thing to happen in the UK.Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali says: “The story of the Church is a story of persecution. The blood of the martyrs has been, and is, and will be the seed of the Church.”Note: "martyrs" in a Christian sense. You know, those men and women who, rather than recant their faith, gladly suffered torture and execution, as opposed to the Muslim sense: being killed while trying to kill others in the name of your faith.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/
For further reading
http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64595883&referer=brief_results