Re-post from Rapture Alert: "People wonder: Is God trying to get our attention?"

People wonder: Is God trying to get our attention?
by Michael G. Mickey
(1-2-06)

I couldn't begin to count how many times in my life I have heard someone make a comment along these lines, "It's enough to make you wonder whether God's trying to get our attention!"
A Yahoo News story dated December 23rd, 2005, reflecting on what has taken place in the course of one short year, opens with the following words - words I hope everyone wondering whether God is trying to get the world's attention will take into consideration:
"In the space of a year, a tsunami, an earthquake, brutal storms and floods have claimed more than 300,000 lives and cost at least 100 billion dollars in damage."
In the space of a year, as in ONE year! It's truly enough to make you wonder whether God's trying to get our attention, isn't it?
The tsunami of December 2004, you may recall, was triggered by an undersea earthquake so powerful news reports written weeks later quoted scientists as saying much of the earth was still 'ringing like a bell.'
A look at the US Geological Service's global earthquake activity list indicates there have been 38 earthquakes since 2006 started, at least as of the moment I'm writing this. Ten of the 38 have been 5-magnitude or greater quakes! Below are a pair of 2006 quakes in the news:
A moderate earthquake rattled Indonesia's tsunami-ravaged Aceh province on New Year's Day, as seen in a Fox News story.
A 7.1-magnitude undersea earthquake hit near Fiji in the South Pacific today, according to a Fox News story. Undoubtedly, there are many in the South Pacific who won't sleep well tonight, in spite of the fact no tsunami event is anticipated to take place as a result of the massive quake.
And then there was the Atlantic hurricane season of 2005 - the one that started in June of 2005 and, supposedly, ended November 30th. You remember that one, right? Did you know it still hasn't physically ended, after having set all kinds of records? Tropical Storm Zeta is churning out in the Atlantic right now, at least as I write this commentary! It's been well over a full month since hurricane season officially ended and yet it continues!
A Yahoo News story tells us other violent weather across the United States has brought a "tempestuous start to 2006", due in part to wildfires sweeping across Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico brought on by drought conditions. The story quotes Mick Cornett, the mayor of Oklahoma City as saying he fears that "the worst is yet to come" as there is no rain in the forecast. There hasn't been any significant rainfall there since October, according to the story. According to a Fox News story, authorities are now conducting house-to-house searches in burned-out towns in the region looking for victims.
As the southern United States burns with no let-up in sight, California is being drenched with floodwaters. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared seven counties in the San Francisco area as disaster areas and there's no immediate relief in sight. Forecasters are predicting there will be another inch of rain in the region in the days ahead, adding to the crisis.
In spite of the fact 2006 is picking up where 2005 left off, people still wonder whether God is trying to get our attention. I believe, in no uncertain terms, the answer is, "Yes! God is trying to get our attention!"
Jesus said, concerning the end times, as documented in Mark 13:8, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows."
He also told us, as documented in Luke 21:25, "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;"
As bad as 2005 was in terms of destruction and the loss of life, 2006 is off to a similarly tumultuous start. While there are those who would suggest the things I've documented in this commentary are commonplace in the world today, I would counter that they are indicative of a continuing pattern of bizarre, violent weather and powerful earthquakes, within all of which there is a message for a lost and dying world, at least for those willing to receive it. The message?Jesus Christ is coming soon!