Weather related news has been rather ominous the past couple of weeks...ranging from destructive and deadly floods in Central Texas and in other parts of the country, including New Mexico and NYC where subways were flooded out. There was a major earthquake in Alaska that triggered a tsunami warning (that never materialized I believe) and now torrential rains sweeping into the Gulf states as a new Hurricane season is underway.

I won’t lie – the story out of Kerrville, TX was hard to process reading how quickly the floods came and carried so many unsuspecting people away to their deaths. And yet the aftermath of that story will go largely untold as cleanup and recovery is underway... because for the most part, we’ve ‘moved on’. The masses seem to be overly preoccupied this week with the ‘Epstein list’ and the CEO who got caught with another woman at a Coldplay concert when their image was flashed up on the ‘jumbotron’.

It is just non-stop these days...the ‘flood’ of stories, allegations, conspiracies, innuendos and images that come at us. No wonder people are reluctant to wake up every morning and ‘turn on the news’. But it’s this idea or picture of ‘floods’ that I want to focus on today, as a follow up to my lengthier message from yesterday which asked if people are even interested in ‘truth’ anymore.

Let me say upfront here that there is a tendency for professing believers today to hone in on every news story that talks about natural or weather related catastrophes, from earthquakes to tornadoes and hurricanes, etc...and then are quick to sound the age-old warning, pointing to all these ‘signs’ that ‘we are living in the last days’. I used to think like that as well, years ago.

Friends...we have always had weather related disasters; and there has always been ‘wars and rumors of wars’, ever since the beginning of time. And becoming overly concerned with natural occurrences can be misleading...if you focus on the ‘natural’ event. Just maybe God is trying to suggest there might be more significant and impactful ‘events’ occurring in ...’another realm’, in a matter of speaking. Just hear me out on this, if you would, please.

After God flooded out the earth back in Noah’s day, do you recall the promise He made in Genesis 9:11? “Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” And yet...what did Jesus liken the ‘last days’ that would lead up to His imminent return? He said they would be ‘as the days of Noah’ (Matt. 24:37-39). He goes on to paint a grim picture of how people were simply oblivious to what was happening and then the ‘flood came and took them all away...so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” The reference in Luke 17:27 says the “flood came and destroyed them all”.

Jesus was rather intentional when using that word picture of a ‘destructive flood’ coming, but was He really suggesting ‘flooding waters’, as in swarming rivers of H2O along with tsunamis and hurricanes unleashing all this fury...or just maybe...was He ‘hinting’ at something else?

Look how often Jesus used ‘natural’ illustrations when teaching the masses that conveyed ‘spiritual truths’; truths I should add...that He only revealed to those who were committed to following Him. Maybe that is why He asked His disciples how would they understand any of the parables....if they did not understand the parable of the sower. (Mark 4:10-13). So what does He go on to do there after sharing that simple story? He ‘explains’ to them what those ‘natural’ illustrations were conveying, or what they ‘represented’. You can read there for yourself, for example, what the ‘thorn branches’ represented in vs. 7, then vs. 18-19.

Now, look how Jesus explained what those ‘birds of the air’ represented in vs. 3, then vs. 15. Who ‘comes immediately and takes the word from the hearts’ of those who hear the word of God?

Have you ever planted a fresh garden in the spring, only to have to reseed it because the night before, torrential ‘floods’ came and washed all the seed out? Yeah...pretty impactful illustration there. And who did Isaiah say ‘comes in like a flood’ (Isa. 59:19)? And what does this 'enemy' do? (1 John 5:19; Rev. 12:9)

And then, there was the ‘wrap up’ to His ‘Sermon on the Mount’ found in Matt. 7:24-29. Jesus shares the difference between how God compares a ‘wise’ man and a ‘foolish’ man, based on how they respond to His word. Might be a good ‘hint’ to apply to the story of the ‘wise virgins’ and the ‘foolish’ ones we read about in Matt. 25:1-13. The wise man not only ‘hears the sayings’ of Jesus...he ‘does’ them. And the ‘foolish’ builder...he ‘hears’ but fails to follow through and ‘do’ what it says. And how did James explain what that man does in turn? He ‘deceives’ himself (James 1:22). Footnote here: deceives = ‘deception’.

So what happens to both homes that these builders (Matt. 7:24) constructed, building on two different foundations? Both homes were subject to the same storms that brought ‘descending rains, and floods, and winds...that beat against both houses’. Luke 6:48 is even more descriptive when it says the river ‘beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it’ (one built on rock).

Yes, Jesus often used ‘natural’ examples to convey spiritual truths. Don’t get distracted with all the ‘natural occurrences’ unfolding these days; rather...ask the Holy Spirit to make clear, or ‘reveal’ to you what might be happening in the ‘spiritual realm’ if you are seriously hungering for ...’truth’. (Luke 10:21; 24:32,45)

I would submit to you that these ‘floods’ coming on the earth today that Jesus warns us of, and that will truly ‘test your foundation’...are floods of ‘distractions, divisions, & deceptions’ (falsehoods and lies) which I spoke about yesterday. And when these floods hit, it will be too late to ‘correct’ or ‘save’ your crumbling house if you have built it on falsehoods and ‘doctrines of men’.

What am I trying to suggest here? Be wary of all the distractions and lies filling the hearts and minds of people in this hour. You can spend way too much time trying to wade through the muck, seeking to ‘verify’ what is ‘truth’ or not, and yet, at the end of the day...how does most of it even affect your life personally?

I would submit to you that the only ‘truth’ that matters these days...and in this hour...is the truth of God’s word, and are you not only standing on it...but are you walking in it? Because if you don’t have a love for this truth and a heart ready...wanting to receive it, you are setting yourself up for some serious deception. And guess who will allow this deception to come flooding in? - God Himself! (2 Thess. 2:9-12)  More tomorrow, Lord willing.