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Good Morning,
I don’t know what races through your mind when you hear the fire whistle sound in downtown Libby. One man told me that every time he hears it or sirens racing out of the ambulance barn, or from the fire stations he stops and prays for the rescue workers and the victims alike. I wish I had the same response, but I don’t. I probably shouldn’t admit that to you, I am just being honest. Instead, when I hear the fire whistle I instantly think that I should either go outside and look towards the sky, or I should head to the basement. Now please understand there is a good reason for those two responses.
I grew up in Tornado Alley. There is a corridor that runs all the way through Kansas, Oklahoma and into Texas that bears that title: Tornado Alley. It came by the name quite innocently but at the same time quite deservedly. You see, each year as spring turns into summer the air heats up and the twisters drop from the sky. Any person that has spent time in that part of the country knows the signs of a dangerous sky. And we know the sounds as well. The most ominous of all is a loud whistle that tells you to find shelter as fast as you can. Thus my issue with the fire whistle - it sounds just like a tornado siren.
Now here is why I tell you that…though I grew up in Tornado Alley I am totally ignorant where earthquakes are concerned. Yet every year as winter is turning to spring I find myself thinking about them. Because not so very long ago there was an earthquake that changed my life. Changed yours too. We read about it in the Bible.

“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.”
Of course that happened the instant Jesus died on the cross. The events that followed have never ceased to capture my attention. Listen to this:
“the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people were raised to life.”
Three days later another grave would open and the body of Jesus Himself would emerge. Not just the body, but the spirit as well. In that one instance your life changed, so did mine. You see, that earthquake meant death no longer had a hold on us. We don’t have to be afraid any longer because our final enemy has been defeated. Death lost its hold on every Christian. The stinger was removed from the hand of Satan when we were granted eternal life. Doesn’t it just make sense that an earthquake would usher something like that into the world?
I wonder on days like today, Easter Sunday, if we shouldn’t run for the door posts or get under the table. Maybe, just maybe the right response would be to go outside and look at the sky. Jesus has promised that He is coming back for all of His children and I suspect that when he does, the trumpet call of God will shake our world once again.
With one foot in the doorpost and the other outside looking heavenward,
Phil