Today’s Reading: Acts 2:20-21 (NIV)
20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Good morning!
Whenever I read about the blood red moon and no sunlight to light our way, I am reminded of a horrific event that occurred just twenty-three years ago. In April of 1986, a nuclear reactor exploded at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukraine. It was considered the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. Two people initially died at the explosion site, forty-six others died shortly thereafter, and thousands of others suffered and died due to the after effects of radiation. There was a fire a plume of radioactive fallout over a large portion of Soviet airspace; four hundred times the amount released than when a nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.
The radioactive plume drifted over parts of the Soviet Union, Eastern and Western Europe and North America. Parts of the Ukraine, Belarus and Russia were highly contaminated, forcing an immediate relocation of quarter of a million people to other cities. The overall clean-up cost of this disaster was estimated somewhere around $200 Billion dollars. This does not take into consideration the loss of human life and the pain and suffering of all who saw the blood red moon that day.
When we experience natural disasters, the unspeakable consequences of war, and even an unintended nuclear accident, it is a natural thing to turn and look up for the Savior. When there are no other explanations for human suffering and pain, we look to the One who suffered and died to save us all. Jesus Christ, God made man, willingly took upon Himself our guilt, shame and sin and He died and rose again, to conquer sin and death forever; thereby sparing us from an eternity spent separated from the Father’s great love. I imagine hell to be a place of eternal torment, where there is only darkness and the moon is blood red. Jesus came so that we do not have to face life’s disasters alone. He is here, right now, waiting for us to look up and cry out to Him through faith. The Apostle Peter repeated the prophetic words of Joel: “And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Disasters, mistakes, pain and suffering are all part of this life’s journey. Whose name will you cry out to save you? I pray that you will trust Jesus Christ completely to carry you through the days of your life and into the eternal light of the Father.
Grace and peace,
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
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