Reflection on Mark 1:9-15

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Satan-Tempts-Jesus-GettyImages-463967715-5808f7b65f9b58564c318113

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1.9-15

Scripture

Straight away God’s Spirit made Jesus go into the wilderness.

Observation

Jesus is baptised by John. The Holy Spirit comes down on Him in the form of a dove, and the Father announces, “You are my dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”

Straight away the Spirit drives Jesus into the wilderness to be tested by satan for 40 days.

After this, Jesus commences preaching all through Galilee.

Application

Mark’s account of three separate incidents marking the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is very light in detail. He uses words like “straight away” and “immediately” to convey the sense that things are happening quickly. The coming of Jesus into the world is a catalyst that speeds everything up.

In the middle of this, Jesus goes into the desert or wilderness, driven by the Holy Spirit, in order to be tested by satan.

Being in the wilderness is no fun at all. It seems like the Lord is doing really exciting things; it’s all happening with conversions and miracles; and then nothing.

The test of the wilderness experience is this- will I stay faithful to God even when He seems distant, and there is nothing good happening?

The other gospels tell us the natures of the temptations by satan. They all come down to the enticement of making things happen by self-will rather than walking in obedience to the Father.

My worth as a follower of Jesus is not in my achievements for Him. He loves me even when I fail to perform well on Sunday morning, or when I don’t pray enough. He even continues to love me when I abandon His plans for my life.

Coming through the wilderness experience means hanging onto Jesus as if He is the most important thing in my life.

Prayer

Thank you Lord for the tough times. Even though I hate them I know that you use them to take me deeper with you. Amen.

Reflection on 1 Peter 3:18-22

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baptism.jpg

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Peter+3.18-22

Scripture

Those flood waters were like baptism that now saves you. Baptism is more than just washing your body. It means turning to God with a clear conscience because Jesus Christ was raised from death.

Observation

Christ died for our sins, an innocent person dying for the guilty. He did this in order to bring us to God.

Christ preached to the spirits in prison. These were the people who disobeyed God while Noah was building the ark.

The flood of Noah’s time was like baptism, in which God brings us safely to new life in Christ.

Application

Baptism, Peter tells us, is similar to Noah’s flood. We go through the water, dying to our old nature, and Christ brings us through to new life in Him.

Baptism is about death and life rather than cleansing the body. When we go under the water, it is as if we drown the sinful nature. We are lifted out of death to be united with Christ who reigns over all things.

In many Muslim countries where the punishment for apostasy from Islam can be death, the persecution of new christians often only starts after they are baptised. These people see that baptism is, in a sense, a cutting off the past life and an attachment to the new life in Christ.

While baptism in itself does not save us- only faith in Christ can do that- it imparts a great spiritual power that releases the believer to live the christian life.

Prayer

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of water baptism and its representation of the new birth in Christ. Thank you for setting me free from sin and death. Amen.

Reflection on Genesis 9:8-17

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noah.jpeg

Passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+9.8-17

Scripture

“I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.”

Observation

After Noah and his family emerge from the ark to a literally new world, the Lord makes a covenant with Noah.

The promise is that the Lord will never again send a world-wide flood to destroy all life. The rainbow will be the sign of this promise- both to the Lord and to Noah.

Application

We are not told of the emotional impact of the flood on Noah and his family. Seeing the destruction of every person and every creature in the world, apart from those on the ark must have been extremely distressing.

Now the Lord makes that promise to never again destroy the world by flood. The rainbow would be the sign of this promise.

The promise, together with the “reminder” of the rainbow, was a source of hope for Noah’s family as they set about living as the only inhabitants on the planet. None of them would have to go through such an ordeal again.

God doesn’t guarantee us freedom from tribulation. He does give us reminders of His love and signs for hope. Even in the darkest times of our lives we can look at a rainbow and find hope, or remember the other promises that God has given us.

Prayer

You Lord are the Father of all hope. Help me to trust you in the dark times of my life. Amen.

Sea Anemone Eats Bird

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You are here: Home › Blog › Anemone eats bird

Anemone eats bird

By Leonard Ho – Posted Feb 09, 2018 09:00 AM
We all know anemones can ensnare fishes, crabs, shrimps, snails, and most any organism that ventures too close to their deadly tentacles. But birds? There’s actually footage and scientific documentation of this phenomenon.

Scientists reported a Giant Green Anemone (Anthopleura xanthogrammica) consuming a nestling cormorant (Phalacrocorax sp.) in the journal, Marine Ornithology.  It is unclear whether the baby bird was alive or dead when it was captured by the anemone.  Either way, it’s certainly an unforgettable visual.

Author: Leonard Ho 
Location: Southern California

I’m a passionate aquarist of over 30 years, a coral reef lover, and the blog editor for Advanced Aquarist. While aquarium gadgets interest me, it’s really livestock (especially fish), artistry of aquariums, and “method behind the madness” processes that captivate my attention.

Website: http://www.advancedaquarist.com.

 
 
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Global Warming And Malaria

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From Watts Up With That

 

Remember when global warming was going to increase Malaria? Never mind…

 / 3 hours ago February 7, 2018

Remember these claims?

From Our World in Data, over the past 15 years, malaria deaths have almost halved. (h/t to Bjorn Lomborg)

In the visualisations below we provide estimates of the total number of deaths from the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2000 to 2015, and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), Global Burden of Disease (GBD) from 1990 to 2016. These estimates are notably different across various countries which affects the total number of reported deaths. IHME figures, as shown below, tend to be higher; they report deaths greater than 720,000 in 2015 versus only 438,000 from the WHO. Further information on the confidence intervals of WHO estimates, and a country-level comparison between these two sources is covered in our section on Data Quality & Definitions.

Malaria death estimates from WHO

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the WHO has published global estimates of the number of people that die from malaria. In these 15 years the global death toll has been cut in half: from 839,000 deaths in 2000 to 438,000 in 2015.

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