BBD 06.05.08 What to do in a Storm

#1 · June 5, 2008, 1:25 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on June 5, 2008, 1:25 pm
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 150 countries.

Celebrating 10 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 715 new subscribers since January 1, 2008

06.05.08

What to do in a Storm

This is an update of a devotional that I wrote about ten years ago in June
1998. There is an enhanced risk for tornadoes in the United States today.

In Mark chapter 4 (vs. 35-41) the Bible tells us of the disciples and Jesus
being caught in a storm at sea. The disciples are terrified but Jesus is
sound asleep. In their terror the disciples cry out to Jesus, "Teacher, do
You not care that we are perishing?" Jesus "...arose and rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a
great calm."

Several neighborhoods in Hugo, Minnesota were devastated by a tornado on May
31, 2008. Jeff Janus believes that he was protected in the midst of that
horrific destruction. He was outside when the storm suddenly hit but he ran
inside because as he says he ".saw people's houses flying by." He only had
enough time to find his dog and cat and holding one in each arm huddled down
in a hallway. The bedroom doors were ripped off but somehow were gently
placed on top of him which gave him protection from the falling and blowing
debris. The doors protected him even though his home was destroyed. Jeff
does not mention praying but it is obvious that he was protected and it may
be that someone was praying for him.

Soon after I was married we were living in Oklahoma City in 1970 on
Northwest 34th street in a duplex apartment on the top floor. A tornado hit
one night causing damage to the south of us, passing over the top of our
duplex, and causing damage to the north hitting a motel. My mother-in-law
was staying with us that night and we were all three praying. We know that
God protected us.

On Memorial Day, the same day the tornado hit Hugo, Minnesota, we also had
to go to our storm shelter. We now have storm sirens in our town and they
were blown for the first time. Just before going to our shelter looking out
of our south window I could see two cloud lowerings that might have been
twin tornadoes. I could not see any rotation but weather reports were saying
that there was rotation in the cloud. Others in our area later reported that
they could clearly see the rotation. We were in our shelter praying when the
siren was sounded and I am sure that many others were praying too. Those
twin funnels went to the west missing us completely.

The next day I took Jeanie and a group of kids to a children's camp for the
week. By the time we arrived it was obvious that there was a bad storm to
the southwest of the camp. The storm appeared to be headed straight for the
camp. Of course, everyone was praying about this and when I arrived back
home and checked the radar the storm was severe but it appeared to be
stalled out. Over the next hour or so the storm began to turn away from the
camp and to dissipate. Again, I believe this was an answer to many prayers.

Over the years of living in tornado alley in Oklahoma I remember many times
of crying out to God to save me in the midst of storms. I have watched many
newscasts of survivors of tornadoes testifying of their faith and of their
prayers to God in the midst of the terror.

On Saturday evening, June 13, 1998 it was with a grim fascination that I
watched as tornadoes again made their way across our state. Through the
advance in technology the tornadoes were watched live. The tornadoes were
filmed through cameras on helicopters, spotter vehicles and live cams
stationed around the state. As the tornadoes invaded Oklahoma City they
skipped seemingly on a random basis from place to place. I watched with
fascination as a thin tornado twisted and turned and made a direct hit on a
thin sliver of a radio tower. There were only a few minor injuries during
this outbreak of twisters.

In the state of Oklahoma at that time there were only two 24-hour
contemporary Christian radio stations. One in Tulsa and one in Elk City.
There had been three, one in Oklahoma City also, until a week before the
storm when a decision was made to drop the station's Christian format. Was
it just a coincidence that one week later a tornado happened to make a
direct hit on their radio tower? Could it be that they not only dropped
their format but their prayers as well?

One thing is for sure and that is if you are in a storm ask for help from
the One who can help you. Whatever kind of storm you may be in whether it is
a natural phenomenon or storms that are financial, or emotional, or marital,
or substance abuse, or some other traumatic thing - when the storm comes ask
the Lord to protect you. That's what the disciples did and that's what we
need to do too.

Copyright © 2008. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi and Cody who are young boys with
cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they
will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org Streaming Videos of some of my
sermons are posted at: www.theburningbush.org/fbcswvideo.html

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 150 countries.

Celebrating 10 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more
than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

The Burning Bush Devotional

Welcome to the 715 new subscribers since January 1, 2008

06.05.08

What to do in a Storm

This is an update of a devotional that I wrote about ten years ago in June
1998. There is an enhanced risk for tornadoes in the United States today.

In Mark chapter 4 (vs. 35-41) the Bible tells us of the disciples and Jesus
being caught in a storm at sea. The disciples are terrified but Jesus is
sound asleep. In their terror the disciples cry out to Jesus, "Teacher, do
You not care that we are perishing?" Jesus "...arose and rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, 'Peace, be still!' And the wind ceased and there was a
great calm."

Several neighborhoods in Hugo, Minnesota were devastated by a tornado on May
31, 2008. Jeff Janus believes that he was protected in the midst of that
horrific destruction. He was outside when the storm suddenly hit but he ran
inside because as he says he ".saw people's houses flying by." He only had
enough time to find his dog and cat and holding one in each arm huddled down
in a hallway. The bedroom doors were ripped off but somehow were gently
placed on top of him which gave him protection from the falling and blowing
debris. The doors protected him even though his home was destroyed. Jeff
does not mention praying but it is obvious that he was protected and it may
be that someone was praying for him.

Soon after I was married we were living in Oklahoma City in 1970 on
Northwest 34th street in a duplex apartment on the top floor. A tornado hit
one night causing damage to the south of us, passing over the top of our
duplex, and causing damage to the north hitting a motel. My mother-in-law
was staying with us that night and we were all three praying. We know that
God protected us.

On Memorial Day, the same day the tornado hit Hugo, Minnesota, we also had
to go to our storm shelter. We now have storm sirens in our town and they
were blown for the first time. Just before going to our shelter looking out
of our south window I could see two cloud lowerings that might have been
twin tornadoes. I could not see any rotation but weather reports were saying
that there was rotation in the cloud. Others in our area later reported that
they could clearly see the rotation. We were in our shelter praying when the
siren was sounded and I am sure that many others were praying too. Those
twin funnels went to the west missing us completely.

The next day I took Jeanie and a group of kids to a children's camp for the
week. By the time we arrived it was obvious that there was a bad storm to
the southwest of the camp. The storm appeared to be headed straight for the
camp. Of course, everyone was praying about this and when I arrived back
home and checked the radar the storm was severe but it appeared to be
stalled out. Over the next hour or so the storm began to turn away from the
camp and to dissipate. Again, I believe this was an answer to many prayers.

Over the years of living in tornado alley in Oklahoma I remember many times
of crying out to God to save me in the midst of storms. I have watched many
newscasts of survivors of tornadoes testifying of their faith and of their
prayers to God in the midst of the terror.

On Saturday evening, June 13, 1998 it was with a grim fascination that I
watched as tornadoes again made their way across our state. Through the
advance in technology the tornadoes were watched live. The tornadoes were
filmed through cameras on helicopters, spotter vehicles and live cams
stationed around the state. As the tornadoes invaded Oklahoma City they
skipped seemingly on a random basis from place to place. I watched with
fascination as a thin tornado twisted and turned and made a direct hit on a
thin sliver of a radio tower. There were only a few minor injuries during
this outbreak of twisters.

In the state of Oklahoma at that time there were only two 24-hour
contemporary Christian radio stations. One in Tulsa and one in Elk City.
There had been three, one in Oklahoma City also, until a week before the
storm when a decision was made to drop the station's Christian format. Was
it just a coincidence that one week later a tornado happened to make a
direct hit on their radio tower? Could it be that they not only dropped
their format but their prayers as well?

One thing is for sure and that is if you are in a storm ask for help from
the One who can help you. Whatever kind of storm you may be in whether it is
a natural phenomenon or storms that are financial, or emotional, or marital,
or substance abuse, or some other traumatic thing - when the storm comes ask
the Lord to protect you. That's what the disciples did and that's what we
need to do too.

Copyright © 2008. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.

Prayer Requests: Please pray for Malachi and Cody who are young boys with
cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there and they
will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
in need of prayer - please pray for me.).

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-subscribe@welovegod.org Streaming Videos of some of my
sermons are posted at: http://www.theburningbush.org/fbcswvideo.html

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here
is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.

You can unsubscribe to the pure text version of the devotional by sending a
blank email to burningbushdevo-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-subscribe@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-unsubscribe@welovegod.org and then respond to
the confirmation email.