By: Denny

It happened while I was enjoying my morning coffee. Lucy and the dogs were still asleep. I had started the coffee maker, and while waiting for it to brew, I emptied and reloaded the dishwasher. I opened all the windows in the house to let in as much cool morning air as possible. In a few short hours I would be closing them and turning on the AC, taking refuge from the heat and humidity. We are headed for another week of record setting temperatures in the upper 90s and even 100 degrees. The air felt refreshing as I sipped my coffee ladened with almond amaretto creamer. Aahhhh! Don’t ask me why, but I recalled the old fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs that so many of us knew as youngsters. Each pig had built his house out of three different materials. The first used straw, the second used sticks, and the third used bricks. One day along came the hungry big bad wolf and decided he wanted pork chops for dinner. Of course, we remember how he huffed and puffed and blew down the houses made of straw and sticks causing those two little pigs to run to the third little pig’s brick house for refuge. In their secure place they began to sing, “Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?” The wolf couldn’t blow that house down and went away exhausted. On the way home he met Little Red Riding Hood going to grandma’s house, but that’s another story. In every kid’s fairy tale story, it seems a wolf was always mean, bad, and out to get someone.

2023 has been a year of natural disasters beyond what many would call normal. Fires have gobbled up millions of acres of forest lands in the U.S. and Canada, leaving nothing but a charred black desert-like landscape. The winds have carried the smoke thousands of miles, nearly choking out the everyday activities and making life miserable for much of the nation. Tornadoes have shredded so many cities scattering about houses and trees like toothpicks. Rains have inundated creeks and rivers creating monster-like flooding that shows no mercy to anything in its path. A recent rare hurricane hit Mexico and Southern California causing so much rain erosion that many communities found themselves knee deep in mud. Record setting temperatures have scorched much of the country for weeks on end. Hurricanes have slammed Florida and the Gulf Coast one after the other, barely allowing residents time to catch their breath and recover from the last one. Who could ever have imagined a wildfire on the island of Maui catching the whole population sleeping, off guard, wiping out a whole city, and claiming hundreds of lives. While watching the news media cover the aftermath of these events, they always interview a person who survived and didn’t heed the warnings and evacuate beforehand. In many cases the people will say, “We thought we were going to die.” “We didn’t think it would be that bad.” “We chose to stay and protect our home.” It amazes me how people have the mindset that they will be the exception. They fail to take refuge, or they take refuge in the wrong place.  Many have lost their lives by not being in a safe place of refuge.

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress; My God in Him will I trust. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 57:1 In the shadow of your wings I will make my refuge. These and many other verses talk about the Lord God being a refuge from the storms of life. He is the safe place to flee to for those who trust in Him. Those who abide in his presence have peace, though they may suffer tragedies and difficulties the same as everyone, their faith remains strong. The keyword is abide, which means: to continue in a permanent state. When Moses led the people into the promised land, God instructed him to appoint three cities of refuge. (Numbers 35) They were special separate cities designated as places of refuge for someone to flee to if he accidentally killed another person, without malice, anger, or forethought. Once there, he would be safe from the avenger of blood. However, to be safe, he must remain there until after the death of the High Priest, afterwards he could return home safely without fear of repercussions. If they had murdered someone intentionally and fled to one of these cities, he would not be safe, and could be put to death by the avenger of blood. What a perfect picture, type, and prophetic symbolism this reveals to us as Jesus Christ being our refuge. There is a deeper reality that many have not understood beyond the symbolism, Bible verse, or the word refuge used in a song. The exact moment when Jesus died on the cross, the huge thick veil in the temple that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from top to bottom. In the temple, the Holy Place is where the priests offered daily sacrifices for sin with the blood of animals, as God had commanded Moses. Only the High Priest was permitted to enter the Most Holy Place behind the veil once a year to intercede and make atonement for himself and the sins of the people committed in ignorance. He must enter with the blood of goats and calves and follow specific purification rituals, or he would die instantly. There were bells sewn into the bottom hem of his outer tunic (Exodus 28:33-35) and a rope tied around one ankle. If the bells quit sounding, they knew he was dead and pulled him out with the rope, because they dared not enter to get him. That whole dispensation and system of offerings could never take away sins but only covered them temporarily. Hebrews 10:3-4 But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. (Vs 11) And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. As John the Baptist was baptizing people in the Jordan River, he looked up and saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) Is it any wonder then that the religious leaders hated and plotted to kill Jesus. Many times, he would tell people their sins are forgiven. This infuriated the Pharisees saying, “Who can forgive sins but God.” They didn’t know he was God in the form of man. They thought they were doing God a favor by having Jesus crucified, but it was all a part of God’s marvelous plan from the beginning to redeem sinful mankind that they could not see. Their religious traditions had blinded their eyes and caused them to take refuge and trust in a systematic offering of animals and a strict adherence to the written Law that could not save them.

As the veil of the temple was torn that day several things happened simultaneously. Jesus became the High Priest who entered the Most Holy Place by the offering of his very own blood for the atonement of our sins. The curtain was torn signifying the tearing of his flesh, but more importantly, we now have direct access to God through Jesus Christ. From that day forward the old system of offering animal sacrifices for sins became obsolete and was no longer accepted by God. He had established a new covenant through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven and makes intercession for us as God’s eternal High Priest. Hebrews 9:12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood he entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 7:24-25 But he, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore, He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He ever lives to make intercession for them. Here is the little gem many people don’t understand about Jesus and His being our refuge. As I stated earlier, a person could flee to a city of refuge and was safe if he remained there until the death of the High Priest. Since Jesus is our eternal High Priest and lives forever, those who come to him by faith accepting His sacrifice, have their sins forgiven and are safe if they abide in Him.

You might ask, “Safe from what?” Yes, it is true that even followers of Jesus have lost possessions and lives because of natural disasters, and sometimes God does intervene on their behalf to save and spare them. However, there is a greater storm, or attack if you will, in the spiritual realm that many don’t see or believe. The Apostle Peter puts it this way, 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The devil is that avenger of blood who wants to kill you before you can come to Christ. Jesus alone is that spiritual city of refuge. Once a person accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior and they remain in him, the devil no longer has authority over them. As believers we need not fear the devil, i.e., big bad wolf, no matter how much he huffs and puffs and threatens to “blow our house down”. The Bible also expressly talks about “The Day of the Lord” which is yet to come. It will be a time of great disasters and tribulations on the earth that will catch many off guards and without refuge. God’s wrath and judgement will be poured out on those who have not previously sought refuge in Christ Jesus. They will be overcome by fear with no place to hide. Jesus came the first time as a compassionate savior, He will come a second time as a conquering king. Hear His very words, Matthew 24:36,44 But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Therefore, you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him. Now is the time, today is the day to prepare and build your spiritual house of refuge having Jesus Christ as your foundation. Spoiler alert: Church attendance alone without a personal relationship with Jesus, is not a qualifying foundation that will endure the coming storms. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; And the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. That sounds a whole lot like the tale of The Three Little Pigs. Which little pig are you?