Dear Diane and Doves -The comments regarding "judgment from God" with respect to the Colorado fires beg for Biblical clarification. While I have no contempt or judgmental attitude toward the people in Colorado Springs, I think we miss an important message if we say this is not judgment. If it is NOT judgment, then what might it be?We as an ostensibly Christian people have, in the civil and cultural arenas, largely repudiated God and His Kingdom. That's a fact we often bemoan. Accordingly, God has removed His protective hand of blessing from our land. We are reaping the results.What are we to think? That God has been unjust in allowing bad things to happen in Colorado, while letting those "really bad" people in San Francisco get a pass? I daresay the Christians in San Francisco would defend their institutions if the fires were there.The fact is that we have all, to some degree, screwed up. Additionally, it all belongs to God anyway, and He can do as He sees fit with His property. What is happening in Colorado and on the east coast will affect all of us in profoundly negative ways. God is calling! Will we hear Him?We know from scripture that judgment must begin at the house of God, so we should expect the "good guys" among us to be judged first. And if this is what Colorado Springs is getting, we can only imagine (or maybe we can't) what will happen when God settles His accounts with New Orleans, San Francisco and some of the other communities that tolerate more flagrant violations of God's Law.It makes perfect sense for God to judge sin where-ever He finds it, and the only thing that doesn't "make sense" is why a Holy God has waited so long. Mercy didn't make sense to Jonah, either, and there is still the remote possibility that Christians (and maybe even unbelievers) will look at their lives from a different perspective and realize that God is not judging us on a curve, that He has provided everything we need for life and godliness, and that we as a people have rejected Him. And then do something about it.The wholesomeness or sinfulness (public or hidden) of the believers in Colorado Springs is not the issue. No one can properly criticize or condemn them. I believe the rest of us will also have our turn in the woodshed. And if we don't repent of all known sin, make any necessary restitution, and be reconciled with God and our fellow men, something even worse will befall us.And very probably sooner rather than later. We're not going to placate God by leaving "under God" in the pledge of allegiance or going to "church services" more often.Best,Steve