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Recent disappearances

On September 24, 2010, the Iska River in Slovenia vanished overnight. Local residents reported hearing crashing noises in the night. Watch CBSNews.com’s video.

God has done this

Why was no one there when I came?
Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?
Is it because I have no power to rescue?
No, that is not the reason!
For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up!
I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish.

~ Isaiah 50:2 NLT

God is the all-powerful Creator of the Universe. He certainly can dry up rivers and lakes as He says in Isaiah 50:2.

I obviously wouldn’t know why these events are occuring, but I do have a theory.

The original earth as God created likely had vast reservoirs of subterranean waters. (Also see The Hydroplate Theory and Noah’s Flood.) God apparently will be returning creation to resemble the original creation described in Genesis 1 and 2. In reading through the book of Revelation you can see tremendous physical changes coming upon the earth as Jesus prepares to return. As far as I know, re-establishing the subterranean waters that had erupted during the Flood is not described directly, but could be possible. I recommend reading The Revelation Record by Dr. Henry Morris, founder of the Institute for Creation Research for a fuller understanding of the coming changes in the heavens and the earth.

Other disappearances

• March 9, 2011: New Zealand reservoir empties after Christchurch earthquake (video)
• July 14, 2011: River disappears after earthquake in Costa Rico
• May 2007: Chilean lake disappears
• May 20, 2005: Lake disappears in Russia overnight, apparently dragging lakeside trees down with the water
• June 11, 2004: 23-acre lake in Missouri vanishes in a few days

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This popular video (16 million viewers and counting) helps to underscore the need to have a relationship with Jesus, rather than trying to find God through religious practices.

For one quote of what Jesus thought of the religious leaders of His day, read Matthew 23: 26 – 28:

“You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of a cup, and then the outside will also be clean. You Pharisees and teachers are in for trouble! You’re nothing but show-offs. You’re like tombs that have been whitewashed. On the outside they are beautiful, but inside they are full of bones and filth. That’s what you are like. Outside you look good, but inside you are evil and only pretend to be good.”

Jesus loved the Pharisees and other religious leaders and many of them came to believe in Him after His resurrection. (Acts 6:7 CEV)

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“One act of thanksgiving, when things go wrong with us, is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.” ~ Saint John of Ávila

NOTE: This painting is in the public domain in the United States, where copyright terms are 70 years.

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Did you see this image on Bing.com today? It made me think of Psalm 115:

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness.
2 Why let the nations say, “Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens, and he does as he wishes.
4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.
7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.
8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.

9 O Israel, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.
10 O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.
11 All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.

12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and lowly.

14 May the LORD richly bless both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the LORD, but he has given the earth to all humanity.
17 The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
18 But we can praise the LORD both now and forever!

Praise the LORD!

~ Psalm 115 New Living Translation

NOTES:

• This image is copyrighted. “A worker walks across the Luang Pu Thuad statue near Ayutthaya, Thailand” (© Kozz Lig Demotix Corbis)(Bing United States on January 18, 2012)
• Luang Phu Thuat was a revered Buddhist monk, a real man, who is now worshiped. People buy amulets of the monk for good luck and protection.
• Bible verses about idol worship.
• Here’s some useful tips about Bing.com from one of my other blogs.

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Dietrich Bonhoeffer plaque

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.”

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

This quote today reminded me of a favorite article, “The evolution train’s a-comin’ (Sorry, a-goin’—in the wrong direction)” by Carl Wieland. Mr. Wieland explains through a train analogy how small variations in fish populations, for example, do not prove millions of years of evolution. Read more…

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Jan. 4: Report: Israel could take out Iran’s nuclear infrastructure ‘in two days’
Jan. 8: Deployment of thousands of U.S. troops in Israel, a start of war against Iran?
Jan. 11: Assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist (reminded us of Joel Rosenberg’s The Twelfth Imam).
Jan. 13: Israel’s concern for the safety of Israelis (even outside of Israel) after assassination of nuclear scientist

Opinions / Editorials

• On U.S. efforts control Iran by an embargo of their oil by a former Lebanese naval officer
• The Land-for-Peace Hoax by Caroline Glick – very interesting thoughts on what could (or should) happen if the Muslim Brotherhood takes over Egypt in light of a U.S.-backed treaty between Israel and Egypt

NOTE:

The image of the air craft carrier is in the public domain and is available on Wikimedia Commons.

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I tried starting a community on BlogFrog, but just was spread too thin, so I’ve returned to The Sovereign Facebook fan page.

I asked several friends to add links to the fan page any time they read an article on the internet about:
1. The end times
2. Creation
3. Current events, relating to 1 and 2

I’ll post about some, but definitely not all, of these articles on The Sovereign Facebook fan page. (I’ll also have more posts this coming year about God’s sovereignty and living holy lives on the blog.) So, the fan page will have additional content which may or may not be on the blog.

Please “LIKE” the Sovereign Facebook fan page and join in discussions there. If you see people commenting on links, join in the conversation, too! That’s what keeps people coming back.

Thank you!

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“Every merchant on earth will mourn, because there is no one to buy their goods. There won’t be anyone to buy their gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, sweet-smelling wood, fancy carvings of ivory and wood, as well as things made of bronze, iron, or marble. No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans. Babylon, the things your heart desired have all escaped from you. Every luxury and all your glory will be lost forever. You will never get them back.” ~ Revelation 18: 11 – 14 CEV

Unfortunately, slavery has been a part of human history for all time and in all places and, even more unfortunately, many people are unaware that slavery still exists and has grown to monstrous proportions. For instance:

• Thousands of slaves are trafficked into the U.S.A. every year!
• The majority of slavery is sex trafficking.
• For more, see Top Ten Facts about Modern Slavery

I remember learning years ago how widespread human trafficking had become; I was also reading the book of Revelation at the time. I noticed four passages in Revelation where slavery was mentioned matter-of-factly as part of life. (See above and Revelation 6: 14 – 16; 13: 15 – 17; 19: 17 – 19.)

So, as you can see, slavery is prophesied as a part of end-times culture, but we could, and should, still fight it as all people are created in the image of God! (Genesis 1:26)

NOTES:

• How you can be involved today online (use #HumanTrafficking from 9-10 EST for a Twitter chat tonight to learn more).
• Get involved long-term: Free the Slaves, International Justice Mission, and Half the Sky.
• A report from the International Justice Mission on some of their successes for 2011 and planned campaigns for 2012.
• This image was the official medallion of the British Anti-Slavery Movement championed by William Wilberforce in the late 1700s.

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To learn more about how helping girls and women makes a significant difference in many countries, read Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by award-winning authors, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. (It’s graphic and hard-to-read at times, but an important book for us so we are correctly informed about gendercide, human trafficking, and other issues.)

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“If Christ is not relevant outside the church, He is not relevant inside the church.” ~ Martin Luther (1483-1546)