Here's what I'm hoping...

Now that Sandy has made its mark... floods, fires, a blizzard, black-outs, 8 million people w/o power, food, water, subways shutdown, 19,500 flights canceled, a rising death toll, property damage estimated at over $20 BILLION, an impact on 20 states and Washington DC ... I keep thinking what a Divine opportunity this disaster has made available to The Church.

It's as simple as this: sooner or later, something was bound to drive America to its knees. Something would surely grind our billion wheels to a halt. Is this that, or a dry run?

Our God is a jealous God. We cannot continue in our sinful ways and expect no consequences. After all, we will reap as we have sown. We haven't been very wise. 

We've turned our back on our Creator (remember the Democratic Convention where God was booed?). 

We've formally declared our independence in writing and have foolishly excused ourselves from any dependence upon God. 

Our ridiculous affluence, including our nonsensical decisions to build expensive homes and resorts on the coast, are just the tip of the iceberg. 

The murder of 4500 babies every day make Hitler's extermination camps look like a picnic compared to our Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision which legalized abortions. 

Our government's slobbering love affair with same sex marriages, even though a close examination of history reveals how every nation that has ever failed embraced homosexuality just before its bitter end.

Has God removed His hand of blessing as a result of these and many other sins? Though I do NOT believe God is punishing us for things already forgiven and forgotten as a result of the crucifixion (it's called Grace), I am 100% on board with the idea we will reap as we have sown. We have NOT remained blessable.

So, here's what I'm hoping...

I hope Christians will sow money into the Salvation Army. This organization can do much more with money than you can. So, give. Eighty-seven cents out of every dollar goes directly toward helping people.

I hope Churches WEST of the Mississippi will head East to minister to those who've lost everything, and I hope wealthy Christians will cover the cost of their outreach.

I hope Christians in the 30 States that were NOT touched by Sandy will send teams to the 20 States that WERE impacted so that the rebuilding process can begin. Who better to assist those who are hurting than those who are Followers of Jesus? 

I hope communities nationwide will wake-up and begin to educate their citizens regarding the importance of disaster readiness. By the way, for some REAL training and expertise, I recommend everyone contact the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN) in Austin, Texas where 115 churches (and growing) are working together to train their Members in disaster relief. These guys are GREAT and other communities outside of Texas are now availing themselves of this resource, too.

Grace to us all in the days ahead.

Every blessing,

Michael Tummillo

Founder, The Church @ Work