[Johny Joe Hold]

I admit sometimes I'm a skeptic about claims of God's intervention. Like the (Catholic) lady in Alabama whose house was demolished in a tornado but she claims God spared her life. Let's be honest here, people survive tornados and car cashes all the time. If she had prayed for the storm to miss her house altogether and it did, that would be an answered prayer.

Pat Robertson did this when a hurricane was headed toward his home city of Virginia Beach. He prayed to God that the storm move to other nearby cities where sinners lived and that's exactly what happened. Pat's prayer was actually answered!

Some may claim there is no harm in praying and that it might help. But let's not forget God meters of both rewards and punishment. God punished this lady for being a Catholic. Yes, she did not die but when your house is completely destroyed is it fair to call that a "blessing?" I think if people know they are not True Christians™ they should she keep their self serving claims to themselves.


Woman asked God to stop deadly Alabama tornado and He did - The Christian Post

[handmaiden]

Didn't The Lord allow Satan to knock down Job's tent or house or goat paddock with high winds or something? Seems to me this lady needs to ditch the Catholic idols and start praying to the Real Deal™.

Then she can expect Jesus to intervene on her behalf directly.

[Joanna Lytton-Vasey]

Originally Posted by Johny Joe Hold

Some may claim there is no harm in praying and that it might help.

I think, as Sister Handmaiden argues with her customary perspicuity, that these people need to get a grip on reality and stop praying to their fake lower-case god.

Also, I generally avoid bothering God with personal matters such as the destruction of personal property. Our Lord is a busy deity, and cannot be expected to concern Himself with trivialities. After all, we can always buy a new house.

[Isabella White]

Well, it's all so terribly interesting, but it may well be that the was sending the tornado to punish evildoers in the area.

Hosea 8:7 "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up."

If this is what happened, then it's a shame that the Cathyolick lady had her house destroyed; but, it sounds to me that she refused to see the grave error in worshiping statues -- despite repeated warnings.

Leviticus 26:1 "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the your ."

And, if she angered the , then she was being just as rebellious as Lot's wife -- meaning, she got what she deserved for disobeying Almighty !

Genesis 19:24-26:
24 Then the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven.
25 And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.
26 But Lot's wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

Now, if she had forsaken her idol-worshiping, child-abusing church, then things could have been so much different for her. For one thing, she could have joined in prayer with other believers, to pray for the storms to be defeated. And, she may have had a home to go to, afterward!

[MitzaLizalor]

It's also possible that a whirlwind was provided to bring up those who acknowledged Him into Heaven. Perhaps even a single person.

II Kings 2:11-12 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

What evidence do we have that this actually occurred? So often this criticism is advanced; invariably it's a smokescreen for selling mementos of deceased persons to obsess over but God explains what actually took place.

EVIDENCE

II Kings 2:13-14 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

Now explain to me, secularist or Romish heretic or new-age crystal aficionado, how could that happen if Elijah's mantle had not fallen? And how could it fall if Elijah were not sucked off by that whirlwind from the surface of the world God created for us to live in? It really is a no-brainer.

[Ezekiel Bathfire]

Originally Posted by Johny Joe Hold

Too Often it is Claimed "God saved my life."

This cannot be said too often. Who would think it likely that God would change His Perfect Plan for Mankind in response to the prayers of a sinner (Isa:44:20: He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? )?

But the greater point is that God sends what some call "disasters" in order to demonstrate his power. Jesus explains this in John:9 -

Joh:9:1: And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh:9:2: And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh:9:3: Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.


The Old Testament also has

Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
and
Amos 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?


A True Christian will praise God for everything!

[Cranky Old Man]

People who claim God saved their lives will all for sure burn in Hell.

Dying is the best thing that can happen to a decent white Christian American: You go to Heaven!

Those happy about living a while longer clearly already realize what is waiting for them: Eternal damnation in the fires of Hell!

Those people make me sick.

I cannot wait to die and go to Heaven myself but clearly God needs me here for a while longer to do His work. I suffer a lot but I know it is for Jesus so I don't complain.

[Johny Joe Hold]

Originally Posted by Cranky Old Man

I cannot wait to die and go to Heaven myself but clearly God needs me here for a while longer to do His work. I suffer a lot but I know it is for Jesus so I don't complain.

I know Jesus appreciates the suffering you do for Him, Brother Cranky. All of us here at Landover Baptist carry on in spite of the suffering we do in our work to counter Satan and condemn sin.

I keep hoping we will be joined by thousands of people anxious to help in our cause. Very few, it seems, care about their after life or that Jesus died for their sins. We must not lose hope, however, and keep up our efforts.

[MitzaLizalor]

Originally Posted by handmaiden

Didn't The Lord allow Satan to knock down Job's tent or house or goat paddock with high winds

Not only goats but humans too.

seven sons
three daughters.
seven thousand sheep
three thousand camels
five hundred yoke of oxen
five hundred she asses, and
a very great household

Job 1:18-19 While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house: and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.

All the servants were chopped up alive and the livestock carted off, apart from the sheep and the shepherds in which cases a jet of fire came down from the sky and incinerated them.

Originally Posted by Joanna Lytton-Vasey

Also, I generally avoid bothering God with personal matters such as the destruction of personal property. Our Lord is a busy deity, and cannot be expected to concern Himself with trivialities. After all, we can always buy a new house.

Job even got new sons and daughters!

fourteen thousand sheep
six thousand camels
a thousand yoke of oxen
a thousand she asses
seven sons
three daughters:
Jemima
Kezia
Kerenhappuch

Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job didn't request God to alter the way He's made the universe, although he did complain about his suffering. He did not, however, condemn God. If that great wind or those jets of flame had not burst forth, as God intended and as He knew would happen from the day Eve brought down a curse on all humans, Job would have been no better off than he'd always been. Perhaps some natural growth in resources but then with tornados and fire plumes striking unpredictably who knows how suddenly his balance sheet could collapse?

Job got back everything he lost, only better. After all, as the adage reminds us, more is more. More livestock, better sons, even better daughters. God explains:

Job 42:15-17 And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days.

Praise Jesus!

[Didymus Much]

Originally Posted by MitzaLizalor

Not only goats but humans too....All the servants were chopped up alive and the livestock carted off, apart from the sheep and the shepherds in which cases a jet of fire came down from the sky and incinerated them...Job got back everything he lost, only better...

Praise Jesus!

Even if you're a shepherd?

[Johny Joe Hold]

Originally Posted by Didymus Much

Even if you're a shepherd?

Mr. Atheist, I hope you might someday make amends with Jesus by studying the Bible and praying for forgiveness.

As for the shepherds, you need to understand God. God cares for leaders like Job. And, he cares for leaders like those of us True Christians™ at Landover Baptist Church. He cares little about what happened to Stage Door Johnnies like Job's first batch of shepherds.

[Dennis Lukes]

Originally Posted by Johny Joe Hold

Mr. Atheist, I hope you might someday make amends with Jesus by studying the Bible and praying for forgiveness.

That would be almost as big a score as converting Satan himself to Christianity. Think how pleased Jesus would be (Luke 15:7).

[MitzaLizalor]

Originally Posted by Didymus Much

Even if you're a shepherd?

Especially the shepherds. Not only had they greater responsibilities, to the tune of an additional seven thousand sheep, but as any pastoralist (such as Job) well knows so large a flock requires more skilled shepherds. The levers of their guild would be better adjusted, their skill sets would be improved and there'd be more of them. From Job's point of view, economies of scale would enable healthier creatures ensured by stronger profits from a well trained workforce who'd take pride in the prosperity of Job's operation to which they'd contributed professional expertise.

Mark 12:27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.

[James Hutchins]

As I understand it, God does not save anyones life. Mostly, He kills people for a multitude of reasons.

The person is bad and needs to go to Hell.

The person is related to someone who is bad and God wants to make an example of them by killing the related person (though often he mutilates them or damages the brain so as to make the damaged person a burden).

He does kill some to be able to move them to the front of the line in Heaven. If only I were that lucky!

God does let some people live as a precursor so others are aware of what to expect in Hell. Those of you that knew my mother in law can attest to that. I wonder what happened to her?
Why would God save anyones life? What is in it for Him? What really matters is the purity of a persons soul.

[Johny Joe Hold]

Originally Posted by James Hutchins

As I understand it, God does not save anyones life. Mostly, He kills people for a multitude of reasons.
The person is bad and needs to go to Hell.
The person is related to someone who is bad and God wants to make an example of them by killing the related person (though often he mutilates them or damages the brain so as to make the damaged person a burden).
He does kill some to be able to move them to the front of the line in Heaven. If only I were that lucky!
God does let some people live as a precursor so others are aware of what to expect in Hell. Those of you that knew my mother in law can attest to that. I wonder what happened to her?
Why would God save anyone's life? What is in it for Him? What really matters is the purity of a persons soul.

Well said, Brother James. This is the kind of practical thinking we need to bring people to Christ.