Random thoughts on a hot day, plus some news

A while ago someone kindly sent me a link to a website that keeps track of landslides. If you follow this blog for very long, you know that I often state that Jesus graciously answered the disciples' questions in Matthew 24:3 "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" by presenting a lengthy answer in the rest of Matthew 24.

In His answer, and also in many, many other New and Old Testament verses, geo-physical storms and changes are part of His warnings that the end will be near. Weather, earthquakes, volcanoes, celestial signs, etc. all indicate the end of the age. Though those things have always occurred since the Fall of man in Genesis 3, His constant use of the metaphor that the signs will be as birthpangs tells us that the majority of noticeable warning signs (and then actual judgments) will crowd the latter part of the Church age.

So being interested in end time warning signs, to see if the things happening are indeed unusual in number or type, I have a lot of bookmarks that immediately lead me to information about current news of meteor sightings, volcano eruptions, earthquake activity and the like. So I placed the landslide bookmark within that list...and then forgot about it.

Until a few days ago. I clicked on it...and was immediately struck by the number of rain-driven landslides and the disruptions they are causing. Wow! The first story on the top of the list was from June 30 and the opening lede goes like this:

"Yesterday more details emerged of the landslide incident on the West Highland line in Scotland that derailed a freight train. The incident came during the exceptional rainfall associated with thunderstorms that passed across northern Britain – a final hurrah for the wettest second quarter of the year on record in the UK."

Source Daily Mail

That is news I didn't know. Then today comes this news from the UK Telegraph:

"Flood warning: UK faces a month's worth of rain today. Today is forecast to be the wettest day of the summer so far with the UK facing a month's worth of rain in 24 hours, bringing a severe risk of flooding and chaos."

Flooding and chaos...chaos seems increasingly to be a component of weather forecasts these days, doesn't it?

Here is some other news for you today.

Another small earthquake shakes Johnson County (TX)
"Yet another minor earthquake shook Johnson County overnight. The 2.7-magnitude quake struck shortly before 3:30 a.m. between Cleburne and Alvarado, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No injuries or significant damage was reported. Generally, it’s tough to feel anything below magnitude 3. It was the fourth temblor in three weeks in the county and the latest in dozens in that area."

I saw that there was a small one in GA a few days ago too! In Deepstep, GA 66 miles from where I live, a magnitude 2.7 at 9:51 PM EDT on July 3. As a matter of fact, a few days ago, not July 3 but before that, I was sitting quietly at my table, reading the bible. The bookcase next to my table began to shake and the coaster skittered, making a jiggle on its notepad. A truck was not going by and a train was not going by and I do not live near a quarry and no one was using an auger or drill.  "Hmmm, this is an earth tremor," I thought. I discovered that about 50 miles away, a temblor had occurred at only 1.7 mile depth. Perhaps that was what I had felt. Though earthquakes happen in Georgia USA, I had never felt one. Now, perhaps, I have.

The Washington DC heat is the worst-ever heat wave for them. Well, SOMEONE has to turn up the heat on those politicians, I guess!

There is a mysterious disease that is killing children in Cambodia. I've been reading about it for a few days now. The issue with this disease is the high mortality rate. Only 2 of the 64 children who contracted the disease have survived. CNN has more.

An 8-year-old girl died of bird flu in Indonesia. Did anyone notice Drudge's hat-tip to threes in one day? Three children drown in river, three children die in capsized boat, three children electrocuted while swimming. All threes, all kids, all water based deaths.

Anyway, I read stuff like that and worse, in just the headlines, even, and I pray more fervently for the rapture so the children will be safe at last. Those in the womb, the neglected, the abused, the molested, the hungry, the enslaved...all safe!!!!

There have been fish kills in Georgia USA, South Dakota, South Carolina, Dexter MO, Delaware, etc. but in this case, unlike the fish die-offs in 2011 and 2012, the experts say that the excessive and successive heat has sucked the oxygen out of the water and the high temps are just too much for the fish. Which makes sense.

I hope you're staying cool today. I am, but it is a struggle. I went out to the Dollar Store for my weekly stocking up , this time choosing the store location a mile from me instead of 7 miles, because I wasn't also going grocery shopping at the same time. Even with that minor trip, which included the bank, veggie stand, and the Post Office, when I came home I was hot, cranky, sweaty, and hot. Did I say I was hot?

Ahhh, but the mercies of Jesus continue. He gave me my daily manna, and I have food and fresh fruit & veggies, a comfortable home, and pleasant days in which to study His word. Here is a great essay from Jesse Johnson. He is a DC pastor, who was affected by the terrible storms that occurred the other day in our nation's capital. He compares the inconveniences of that storm to the one that is coming that will be far, far greater. "Storms come and Storms Go". May it bless you and may we all have perspective in these perilous times that we dwell in His hand and He is in control.