There's been a bit of speculation on the web these days about the meaning of all the relatively recent natural disasters. Many Biblically literate folk are referencing Christ's words in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 about the end of time. 

Matthew quoted Jesus as saying, Matthew 24:4-8 (KJV) "4  And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5  For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6  And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7  For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8  All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Likewise, Luke quoted Jesus as saying, Luke 21:25-26 (KJV) "25  And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26  Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken."

To what Christ said, I'd like to remind us of what King David wrote centuries ago in Psalm 29. Scripture clearly states that God is in control of all nature.

A psalm of David.

1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings[a];
    honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
    Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
    The God of glory thunders.
    The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
    the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
    he makes Mount Hermon[b] leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
    with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks[c]
    and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
    The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
    The Lord blesses them with peace.

​That said, most who know me, know that I usually do not see prophecies fulfilled by everything that happens. However, these days all the stuff going on has me thinking. Many posts from the internet (and the Weather Channel) note nature's unusual activity. One post even said this has been the second highest year for natural disasters! In an effort to check it out, I did a bid of surfing. I found and copied a series of natural events from a fellow who posted them on Facebook. Here's a summary.

Evidently there are, or have been, fires in California, Oregon, Washington State, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana, Nova Scotia, Greece, Brazil, Portugal, Algeria, Tunisia, Greenland, Siberia, and a portion of Russia. For sure there's been flooding in Texas. Also reported are record monsoons in India, Nepal, Pakistan. Bangladesh. It seems Niger and Sierra Leone have had floods and mudslides. Eurasia has been under a massive heat wave called Lucifer. California, including San Francisco, has had triple digits temps. Earthquakes shimmied and shook the American West. Tremors in Japan at 6.1 and in Mexico at 8.2 on the Richter scale presaged possible tsunamis. Volcanic activity in Yellowstone threatens if we take a swarm of 2,300 tremors seriously. Idaho shook and not with the Hokey Pokey. Record breaking hurricanes have been recorded. Irma and Jose, are or have been as dangerous as Harvey was, while Katia currently dumps her load on Mexico. NOAH lists at least one more hurricane forming in the Atlantic. Last, but not least, is the report of a record breaking solar flare.

This writer is no scientist, but I wonder if all the recent weather phenomena presage more than a year fraught with natural disasters. Dianne E. Butts thinks they are signs of the times.  She and other Prophecy experts may be on to something. Perhaps you'd like to check out her post. Here's the link to her website.
​https://biblepropheciesfulfilled.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-roaring-and-tossing-of-sea.html  

 You may now go back to your regular Internet activities.

When we can't sit for an hour and a bit
in a worship service
in an air conditioned building, on padded pews
when our tummies rumble
when the local eatery breakfast
stops serving at eleven.
Then how will we endure eternity,
an eternity of worshipping God?
Good grief, how long will we be in eternity
before we eat at the Lamb's wedding feast?
Eternity lasts, and lasts, and lasts
for an extremely long time
Hmm . . .
Maybe we should
consider the alternative.
Whew! Not a pleasant thought.
Sizzling . . . roasting . . . hot forever . . .  and ever . . .
always suffering in incredible heat.
Hmm . . .
I prefer worship here
in a cool holy space . . .
a Sanctuary,
our, Sanctuary . . . yours, and mine,
forever . . .
wouldn’t you? don't you? won't you? Will you?
Hmm . . .

Some Christians may say: "By myself, I can do nothing, with God, I can do anything!" It may be splitting hairs on a mule, but, my friends, there's a huge difference between God helping us to do what we want to do, and God enabling us to do what HE wants us to do. We ought not "do anything we want." "Doing anything we want" usually leads us into trouble. God never enables us to do our own thing. God never endorses anything outside HIS will. God never would advocate this, but God might allow it. The right statement is God enables me to do God's will, even if it seems impossible. End of rant.

My writer friend Michele Huey has posted something on her blog God, Me, and a Cup of Tea, that spoke to our current need of comfort in the USA and Canada. Both nations have been impacted either by floods (Texas and Gulf Coast) or Forest fires (Canadian Rockies). I pray you will be blessed as I was.
Here's the link.    https://godmetea.wordpress.com/2017/09/03/beyond-the-loss/

​Just deleted a post over on Facebook that someone found offensive. I find prejudice offensive. I'm Southern born. Lived in the South for most of my early childhood. Most of my relatives on my father's side come from Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, i.e., the deep South. My relatives pointed with Confederate pride to "Stonewall" Thomas Jonathan Jackson as our famous relative.

My Dad couldn't stand the bigotry he experienced as an olive complected, curly, black-haired boy. He left the South for NYC as soon as he gained admission to Parson's School of Design. Dad was a talented artist who worked on 5th Avenue in Manhattan in the midtown area climbing the corporate ladder to become an executive. He made something of himself despite being told he was "less than" his blond, blue eyed cousins.

In childhood, Dad took us back to the South to reconnect with our relatives, especially my grandmother who lived with her only daughter. I can remember being thrown out of a restaurant in the South when I (a brunette) walked in behind my Dad, but ahead of my redheaded Mom and blond brother. We were told "Your kind aren't wanted here."

Another time when we were thrown out, we were called "dirty Melungeons", i.e., mixed breeds.

As an adult, we went to Baton Rouge for the Special Olympics. My son ran in the 50 and 100 yd dash. He took a medal and the podium in the 50. On the trip home, my dark haired half-Italian husband and my two daughters and I used a rest stop in Georgia where free cola was offered for refreshment. There were two counters. One with a black lady behind it. The other with a white. My kids were clueless, as was I. My blond, blue eyed son lined up with his two sisters behind him. He was served as was my chestnut haired, green-eyed daughter, but my olive complected dark haired daughter was refused service, told to go to the other counter. Segregation had supposedly been abolished by then. Not. We've had a taste of being labeled "less than".

I remain unapologetic for stating in no uncertain terms that hatred leads to more hatred. If there are those who take offense, from this post, tough. Yes, not all who live in the South are bigots, but those who are tarnish the name of those who aren't.

I take offense at bigotry in all its forms.
​
End of rant.