The preferred term for the recent California fires is "wild fires" even as the the "arson fire" investigations are ongoing.

A loving God isn't allowed to get angry.

     In 2013 the Presbyterian Church USA published a new hymnal. The committee that adopted the hymnal chose not to include the song "In Christ Alone". They found one line in the song offensive. The line reads, 'Till on that cross Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied." They suggested the line be modified to read, "Till on that cross as Jesus died the love of God was magnified." In another manifestation of flexible truth, the Chinese communist party keeps rewriting the parts of the Bible they don't like.  The story of the woman caught in adultery now reads,  "He who is without sin among you let him cast a stone at her." When his words came to their ears they stopped moving forward. When everyone went out, Jesus stoned the woman himself and said, "I am also a sinner."   The Chi Coms continue to appoint  compliant Roman Catholic Bishops to rubber stamp their lies.
    In a more subtle repudiation, those who suggest that the California fires might be a manifestation of the wrath of God's judgment on our sinful western culture are met with scorn. "Stuff just happens" they say, or does it? American evangelist Franklin Graham doesn’t believe the Los Angeles fire disasters are God’s judgement on the corrupt culture of Hollywood... “When storms like this come, it’s not God’s judgement. I don’t believe that for a second."  You would be hard pressed to find a preacher willing to call these fires part of the judgement of God on our Sodom and Gomorrah culture. Fearless preaching went out with the horse and buggy. No man can know the mind of God or guess at His ways but the Bible gives us abundant examples of cultures and kingdoms that have reaped the terrible wages of their sins. John MacArthur's sobering sermon When God Abandons a Nation is a true classic in this area. The wise men of America's pop Christianity would rather sell you a discount ticket to heaven than to come out with a strong call for the kind of daily widespread repentance and devotion needed to turn our country around. Historically the revivals that actually made a difference in turning the hearts of the people back to God were widespread and united diverse churches to preach the gospel across denominational lines. Leonard Ravenhill's classic book WHY REVIVAL TARRIES and his timeless sermons offer real insights which are widely ignored today, Ravenhill's lessons are easy to understand but the implementation is hard. Spiritual disciplines always begin with effective prayer and effective prayer always begins with the kind of faith that is in short supply in our short circuited minds. Pray for wisdom and the discipline to find it. -Bill Lami