Category Archives: Info

08/28/13

The Yes Behind God’s “No”, Parts 1 & 2

It can become so confusing when seeking GOD’s will for our lives. We want to pursue those things that appeal to our senses and egos. Yet, obedience is the key to joy and fulfillment in Christ. Our Father knows our needs and desires more deeply than we know ourselves. Lean on His wisdom when seeking answers to life’s questions.

credit: Pastor Anton T. Wesley

Charlene’s Source: youtube

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06/27/13

Are Plants Smarter Than People?

 

Are Plants Smarter Than People?

by James Robison

 

 

Plants seem to be smarter than most people, including many who profess Christianity. Trees, crops, flowers, and grass recognize the source upon which they must depend. They naturally turn toward the light, seeking it consistently and persistently to receive its benefits. They respond to water as their roots reach into the depths of the soil, however resistant it may be, in order to absorb every drop of life-giving water.

 

The Scriptures encourage those created in the image of God to be fruitful – like a tree planted by the river, extending its roots downward while spreading its leaves to the sun. The Psalmist said to the person who delights and meditates in the Word of God, “You will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither, and in whatever he does, he prospers.”1

 

Jeremiah wrote, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, for he will be like a tree planted by water that extends its root down to a stream and will not fear when heat comes, but its leaves will be green and he will not be anxious in a drought and will not cease to yield fruit.”2

 

If we are to be God’s vineyard, we must remain under the oversight and care of the true husbandman – the Lord Himself. If you want to see the most briar- and weed-infested field, just look at a cultivated garden that has been abandoned and watch what grows! The same is true of human beings who are not submitted to the ongoing care of the Vinedresser.

 

If a blade of grass diligently and consistently seeks light and water, why can’t people created in the image of God do the same? All of creation depends on the Creator, with the exception of those created in His image – both sad and tragic!

 

Scientists indicate that even house plants have some level of intelligence. A plant adjusts to varying conditions by processing information and reacting to it. According to science writer Robert Wright, “It has sensors that absorb information reflecting the state of the environment – where light is coming from, for example – and this information guides the plant’s growth accordingly. And so, too, with every other form of life that pursues goals under varying conditions (which is to say every other form of life).”3

 

The plant is a sophisticated machine. It persists toward a goal in varying conditions by processing information. Why don’t people?

 

We are challenged by God through the apostle Paul to be “deeply rooted and grounded in love,” which will enable us to sustain the abundant blessings fruitfulness so often produces. “We are to be firmly rooted and built up in Christ.”

 

Christians must also develop a desire to walk in the light of God’s truth and love, continually drinking the “water of the Word.” In this, we will experience cleansing and nourishment necessary to be consistent in all seasons, however blessed or challenging they may be. The droughts and dry times should drive our spiritual roots even deeper to absorb every drop of the water of life possible. Proverbs says, “The root of righteous yields fruit.” The fruit will look like Jesus!

 

Just as plants reach toward the light, we must do the same. May God give us a thirst for His righteousness and the abundance of fruit produced by the Holy Spirit. We can live continually overflowing with the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.4 If plants can be fruitful by consistently seeking light and water, surely we who are created in His image can do as much – and do it for the honor and glory of our great God and Father. “You are the light of the Lord. Now walk as children of the light.”5

 

 

 

1 Psalm 1:2-3 NAS
2 Jeremiah 17:6-8 NAS
3 Robert Wright, Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, New York: Vintage Books, 2000, page 312
4 See Galatians 5:22-23
5 Ephesians 5:8 NAS

05/21/13

Massive Tornado in Oklahoma+Latest Developments

A massive tornado ripped through the Oklahoma City area on Monday, leaving behind a horrific path of destruction.

“It is a barren wasteland,” said Shannon Galarneau, of her hometown of Moore, Okla. Her 10-year-old neice is missing, she told Yahoo! News. “Everything is leveled.” This aerial photo shows the remains of homes hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Okla., Monday May 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Steve Gooch)
Charlene’s Source: yahoo news+AP
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(CNN) — Dozens of people — including several children — were killed when a massive tornado struck an area outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, officials said.

At least seven of those children were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, according to a police official.

Early Tuesday, emergency personnel continued to scour the school’s rubble — a scene of twisted I-beams and crumbled cinder blocks.The tornado was estimated to be at least two miles wide at one point as it moved through Moore, in the southern part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, KFOR reported.

The preliminary rating of the tornado was at least EF4 (166 to 200 mph), the National Weather Service said.

Latest updates:

— President Barack Obama said, “Oklahoma needs to get everything it needs right away” to recover from powerful tornado that ripped through the Oklahoma City region Monday.

— Flags are expected to be lowered at the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday morning in honor of the victims of a massive tornado that struck central Oklahoma the day before, House Speaker John Boehner said.

— Out of the 51 deaths initially reported in Monday’s powerful tornado in central Oklahoma, 24 bodies have been transferred to the Oklahoma City Medical Examiner’s Office, the agency said Tuesday. An update from the medical examiner was expected at 11 a.m. ET.

Previously reported:

— New York’s governor expressed his sympathy for Oklahomans in the aftermath of the “horrific tornado” that swept through the Oklahoma City region on Monday. “Here in New York we know firsthand the devastation and pain caused by natural disasters, and in difficult times like these we, more than ever, stand with our fellow Americans,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement Tuesday.

— The storm system behind Monday’s twister and several on Sunday is threatening a large swath of the United States on Tuesday, putting 53 million people at risk of severe weather. In the bull’s-eye Tuesday are parts of north-central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma, and northern Arkansas and Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service.

— Oklahoma first and foremost needs donations to rebuild after tornadoes slammed the state, Gov. Mary Fallin told CNN on Tuesday.

— More than 40,000 customers remain without power Tuesday after a powerful tornado slammed the Oklahoma City region, a utility spokesman said. More than half of those customers were in the heavily damaged suburb of Moore, according to Brian Alford, a spokesman for Oklahoma Gas & Electric.

— Glenn Lewis, the mayor of tornado-ravaged Moore, Oklahoma, told CNN on Tuesday the rescue effort is continuing and “we’re very optimistic we might find one or two people.”

— Personnel have rescued 101 people from rubble in metropolitan Oklahoma City after a tornado hit the area Monday, Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management representative Terri Watkins said Tuesday morning. Watkins cited an Oklahoma Highway Patrol tally of rescues from all agencies.

— Some of the children killed at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, during Monday’s storm drowned in a basement area there, Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb told CNN Tuesday morning. “My understanding, this school … Plaza Towers, they had a basement. Quite frankly, don’t mean to be graphic, but that’s why some of the children drowned, because they were in the basement area,” he said. Officials have said the storm killed at least seven children at the school.

— The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office has been told to expect about 40 additional bodies, including about 20 children, according spokeswoman Amy Elliott. The official death toll of 51 will not rise until the bodies are processed, she said earlier. The current toll already includes at least 20 children who were killed by the storm.

— At least 145 people have been hospitalized in the Oklahoma City, hospital officials said. The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center received 45 children for treatment on Monday, according Dr. Roxie Albrecht.

— President Barack Obama will make a statement at approximately 10 a.m. ET after he is briefed on the aftermath of the Oklahoma tornado devastation, a White House official told CNN. The statement will be delivered in the State Dining Room.

— Obama signed a disaster declaration for Oklahoma on Monday night, a White House statement said. The declaration means federal emergency aid will supplement local recovery efforts.

— The president told the Oklahoma governor that the federal government “stands ready to provide all available assistance” as part of the response to a series of deadly storms that have struck the Oklahoma City area, including Monday’s devastating tornado.

— Queen Elizabeth II sent her condolences to those affected by Monday’s massive deadly Oklahoma tornado, saying on Twitter: “Our deepest sympathies go out to all those whose lives have been affected, as well as the American people #Oklahoma #tornado.”

— Pope Francis urged people to join him in praying for the families of those who died in the massive tornado in central Oklahoma on Monday, “especially those who lost young children,” he said in a tweet Tuesday.

— French President Francois Hollande expressed his grief over the casualties caused by the ferocious Oklahoma tornado and saluted the “mobilization” of citizens who tackled “this exceptional situation with courage and determination.”

— German Chancellor Angela Merkel passed along her condolences to President Obama over the casualties and destruction caused by the mammoth tornado that tore through Oklahoma on Monday. “The pictures of this catastrophe render us speechless and can only hint at the scope of the hurt,” Merkel told the president Tuesday.

– Pakistan and Spain issued condolences to the people affected by the deadly Oklahoma tornado. “We are particularly grieved over the loss of innocent children and their teachers who were buried under the rubble,” the Pakistan government said. The Spanish government said “the Spanish people, at these tragic times, feel even closer to the American people, and share their pain.”

Charlene’s Source: CNN+yahoo news

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