The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Luke 3:15-16)
Though there has been fire and water surrounding us here in Colorado this past summer, we are safe and dry and blessed; it has not come near us. It causes me to think about that reassuring phrase in Psalm 91: "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you." It leaves us feeling incredibly blessed and grateful to our God that we have somehow been spared the terrible suffering of so many around us.
The fact that these "500-year floods" have happened on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement really struck us as significant. We attended a beautiful Yom Kippur service this morning in Denver and one woman who was rescued by air lift from her flooded home in Estes Park last night, got up and gave a powerful testimony. She spoke about watching the rain fall unceasingly since last Monday night and seeing the waters around her raise higher and higher until she knew they were in great danger. Finally, when she realized they may not escape the rising river, she said she heard the Lord instruct her to go out and stand on a high rock and blow her shofar as loudly as she could. After she did this she and her husband left everything they owned behind and made their way across fallen trees and debris, until they successfully climbed to safety where they could get airlifted out. Some hours later, meeting up with various neighbors who were also rescued, she tearfully told us how these neighbors spoke about the sound of the shofar: "It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard," they told her. "It gave us hope and courage and we sensed it was the Voice of the Lord calling us to come back."
That is what I believe this is all about, really. The beautiful land of Colorado has been scorched with fire and now immersed in water; it is, to me, the Lord's process of purification. I noted that the Boardwalk in New Jersey was immersed in water last year, and now destroyed by fire. Again, I believe it is a message of purification of our land, as well as a call to the people of this nation to repent and return to the God who has so abundantly blessed us through all our history.
Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. It is the day that the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices that would make atonement for himself and for the whole nation of Israel (read Leviticus chapter 16). It is a foreshadowing of Messiah's atonement for us, as he offered His own blood as a covering for our sins. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He enetered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. (Hebrews 9:12)
The news reports tonight warn of another 3" of rain over the rivers of our area in the Colorado Rocky Mountains tonight and tomorrow morning. Pray that the Lord will have mercy and lead many to safety. Pray that the spiritual sound of His shofar will awaken many to their need for a Savior, and cause them to turn to Him in the midst of these great trials. Pray that the people of this nation would enter into a true repentance as this time of "the beginning of sorrows" comes fully upon us.
Our God is a merciful and just God and I believe He is doing a truly purifying work in America because of our uncleanness. Our part is to submit to this purification in repentance and draw nearer to Yeshua with all our hearts and all our minds and all our souls.
