Invasives, Non-natives, and Ecosystems
Published 8-13-2020 The rapid rise of human population has brought with it an explosion of new concerns for humanity. World population first reached one billion in 1804. On a graphic scale we had a roughly linear population for many thousands of years. Since 1804 the graph of human population has resembled an exponential growth curve.…
Read MoreIs God Indifferent?
The first and short answer to the title question is no. In fact, the Bible tells us that God loves us (1 John 4:19). More on that later. But I’m guessing that even in human terms, we don’t say we “love” something that we are indifferent toward, right? (Okay, I’m thinking in terms of we…
Read MoreOur Father
The Lord’s Prayer has been repeated hundreds, if not thousands of times throughout the lifetime of many Christians. But, if you’re anything like me, you haven’t spent much time really thinking about what you are saying. So over the next few months I’m going to take a journey of discovery, and drag you along with…
Read MoreThe Heart of Prayer
“It is one thing to say your prayers and another to pray.”[1] – J.C. RyleJ.C. Ryle issues a stern warning in his book A Call to Prayer. He says, “Words said without heart are as utterly useless to our souls as the drum beating of the poor heathen before their idols. Where there is no…
Read MoreTeach Us to Pray
“Lord, teach us to pray,…” (Luke 11:1) There can be no doubt that prayer is important in the true believer’s life. In fact, Martin Luther King, Jr. is supposed to have said, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” But many of us would echo the…
Read MoreFrom a Distance?
There was a very popular song some years ago entitled “From a Distance.”[1] The song detailed what the world looked like from a distance—everyone living in harmony, no one in need, no guns, no bombs, no disease, no one going hungry. From a distance, we are told, everyone is working together, playing songs of hope…
Read MoreInvasive Species Nightmare
Published 8-1-2020 While researching the topic of invasive species we may be overcome with the overwhelming complexity of the topic. For the most part ‘invasions’ possess unpleasant overtones. Invasions are usually unwelcome, be they military incursions, or the arrival of objectionable biological entities. Plants or animals not indigenous or native to our area could bring with them…
Read MoreFrom Wordless Groans to God’s Ear
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know…
Read MoreAnti-Fouling Agents
I ran across an article on the Internet explaining why ships are traditionally painted red below the water line. Well, it turns out the first reason is tradition. Early sailors would cover the bottom of their ships with paint mixed with copper—which gave that reddish color—to protect against barnacles, worms, seaweed and other organisms that…
Read MoreI Am the Truth
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) How many “truths” are there? It seems today that everyone has their own truth that they hold to be as valid as anyone else’s truth. The problem is, two contradictory things cannot both be…
Read More