Friday, May 15, 2015
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I know about tornadoes. We had one go through our backyard when I was a kid. And then we moved to the East Coast, so I also got the opportunity to get acquainted with hurricanes. But there's one natural disaster I don't know too much about, and that's just fine - earthquakes! What I do know, I've learned from people who have been through them. Like Mike, for example, the man in the seat next to me on a long airplane flight. He had lived in Northridge, California until recently. You might remember that was the epicenter of a major earthquake in 1994.
Well, he told me that he and his family were lucky to be alive after that quake. And the day after, he was out in his backyard picking up some of the damage, and suddenly the ground started moving around him and he literally saw the ground moving in waves toward him. That was an after-shock and it was scary to see. And he summed up what he had learned from that earthquake in just a few words. He said, "Things you're sure will always be there - may not be."
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Quake Insurance."
Now, you may have never been through an actual earthquake, but you may have had enough upheavals of your own to realize the truth of that man's conclusion. Things you're sure will always be there may not be. Life's moving along pretty much as usual, and suddenly the ground starts moving underneath you. One sudden malfunction in your heart, one medical report, one driver's mistake, and suddenly things you felt like would always be there are moving.
There's a lot we don't control. It might be something that happens work, your job, your paycheck, your income; so many things. It may be a relationship that suddenly is in turmoil. We can't control so many things, and the waves of one of life's quakes come rolling at you, rocking your security, rocking your world.
It's not a question of whether one of life's quakes hits you. It's only a question of when, which means you and I need to be sure we're fully covered with comprehensive quake insurance. And it's available from the only One who cannot be rocked by the quakes.
Our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 8:37-39. This might be the best news you ever heard. After talking about many of life's most turbulent and destructive experiences, the writer says, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." This is a testimony of a man who's found a relationship that doesn't move, no matter what's moving.
He goes on to describe it, "I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Wow! The message here is that there is a love that is unloseable, unmovable, unconditional; a relationship that will sustain you when everything else is out-of-control. And there is only one love like that.
I learned that when my wife almost died of hepatitis years ago. There are some things that can separate you from the love of your life partner, the love of your children, your friends. But the Bible says, "Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
But this love is only yours if you've had the wall removed; the one that separates you and God. Once you've found Him, you will never be separated again. But you do have to find Him, and that's what Jesus' dying on the cross is all about; dying to pay for that sin that is what separates us from God. And that wall can only come down when you put all your trust in what Jesus did on that cross for you.
Here's the question, "Has there ever been a time when in your heart you've gone to that cross and said, 'Jesus, I'm putting all my trust in what you did here on this cross to tear down that wall between me and God. I'm yours.'" If not, let this be the day you do that.
You say, "Ron, I need to know more." Please go to our website. That's why it's there - ANewStory.com.
It's really true! Things you're sure will always be there may not be...except for one. Life has no quake so severe that it can touch the unshakable love of Jesus Christ for you.