Monday, March 14, 2011

The End of the World?

Let me start out with this blog will obviously be based on my own opinions and I do apologise if I ramble a little bit but here goes.

What The Heck! What is with all these natural disasters that are happening!?!
Is this is the end of the world?
I have never been one to make too much sence of the book of the bible Revelation, but there is lightning and thunder and all these horrible things that are predicted to happen before Jesus returns.

One thing I do know is:
There are many different characters of God
Many people view God as a Judging God disliking those who sin against him and they turn away thinking - thats too hard I wana just live my life.
Many Christians focus on the Father heart of God, the loving and caring God that will provide and protect us.
And even though these are characteristic's of God, i believe that we can't allow on own perspective to get skewed from what is real.
So today think about the Just God, the Majestic God, the Almighty God, the God that is capable to shake the earth to wake us up a bit.
Hello he says, he is there, don't turn away from him! That's just foolish! This is a time where we need this Almighty God on our side! Adore Him! Realise his power! Realise that he can actually use his power to make your life better!
What if you have been hit by a tragedy?
Well I believe God does allow tragedies to happen to his people too. Not because we haven't been good enough, but because he has a bigger picture in mind and he is moving you to a difference place in your life, new opportunities that you may not have faced on your own.
Something simple - every person you meet, you meet them for a reason, its not a mistake. And these tiny moments with these people build up moments that build your life (along with other things too of course) but you see what I'm trying to say. Gods got it all worked out and we have no idea! We just have to be obedient to him and life our life at its best.
I look at the news, especially over the last few weeks and it brings me to tears, I feel sorry for the peoples lives that may be lost or broken, and feel sorry for people that may loose things close to them.
But God tells us not to hang on to earthly things!
When I was listening to the radio this evening, I heard that a group of Australians in the army went over to Japan today to help. And that this is their 5th natural disaster mission this year. But this is what its all about people. This is an opportunity to bring people together in ways they have never had the chance!
This gives us the chance to stretch our faith. Gives us a motivation to pray more! (Because aren't we just so lazy sometimes!)

Today I asked my Grandmother why does she think that these disasters are happening?
And her response to me was "It is a reminder to people that life is very fragile, we need God to live and to survive, because this earth will not last forever."

Don't be ignorant and brush it off! You know you need God.
Don't let an issue of trust hold you back!
God is willing to be in a relationship with anyone anytime!
He is so amazing he loves each one of us individually!

Think about it.



A News article:
THE warnings travelled quickly across the Pacific in the middle of the night: An 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan spawned a deadly tsunami, and it was racing east as fast as a jetliner.
The quake struck Japan's east coast at 2.46pm on Friday (4.46pm AEDT), triggering a 10-metre tsunami in the city of Sendai.
After the quake, it took 45 minutes for a four-metre wall of mud to invade the coast of Japan, tearing up the local landscape and killing hundreds in its devastating path.
Giant waves carried away houses, cars and even light planes. Fires burned out of control. A ship was caught in the vortex of a whirlpool at sea. Tokyo was largely shut down.
A cooling system failed at a nuclear plant and radiation levels surged to 1000 times their normal levels, prompting calls for the evacuation of thousands from the area.
Worst hit was the Japanese city of Sendai where hundreds have been found dead and the toll was expected to rise sharply.
The tsunami sent shipping containers, cars and debris through the streets of Sendai and thousands of homes have been destroyed.
Gas was cut to 300,000 homes, more than eight million homes lost power and mobile and landline phone systems broke down.
The Japanese Government declared an atomic emergency evacuating thousands of residents living near a nuclear plant in Fukushima.
Tsunami waves hit the North American shores of Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and Mexico.
Tsunami warnings were issued for Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia but were lifted.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii measured a 1.5-metre tsunami crest at the central Pacific Midway Islands.
Boats were damaged by waves at Crescent City, California and a man was reportedly swept out to sea while taking pictures of the tsunami.
Australia's Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said contact had been made with all prefectures except Miyagi, where the danger and damage has been the greatest.
Communications in Sendai were severely degraded, the Foreign Minister said.
Soon after the quake hit, sirens blared in Hawaii, warning of a tsunami that swamped Hawaii beaches and pushed waves into hotel lobbies on the Big Island. The West Coast pulled back from the shoreline, fearing the worst. Residents were warned to stay away from beaches. Fishermen in northern California took their vessels out to sea and safety.
Docks were ripped from harbours in California and Oregon, and outside Brookings, Oregon, four people went to a beach to watch the waves and were swept into the sea.
All either got out on their own or were rescued. In Crescent City, California, the Coast Guard searched for a man who was swept out to sea while taking pictures.
In Oregon, hotels were evacuated and shops stayed shuttered in the northwest tourist town of Seaside.
But in the end, relatively little damage was reported outside Japan.
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie said the islands were "fortunate almost beyond words. ... All of us had that feeling that Hawaii was just the most blessed place on the face of the Earth today."
The AFP office in Mexico City says the tsunami from Japan's earthquake washed up in Mexico and Central America. The first waves did not cause any major damage but Chile, Ecuador and Peru were taking no chances and ordered evacuations of coastal areas and extra precautions for outlying islands.
In Taiwan, authorities said minor tsunamis reached the island's east and northeast coasts but they measured only around 10cm high, causing no damage. The alert was later lifted as no more tsuanmis were expected.
New Zealand's Civil Defence issued a tsunami marine warning, adding that no threat to land was expected as the tsunami arrived at around 6.23am (4.23am AEST).
Australia dodged the effects of the Japanese quake.
Tsunami warnings were extended to a number of areas in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and Latin America, including Japan, Russia, Indonesia, New Zealand and Chile. In the Philippines, authorities ordered an evacuation of coastal communities, but no unusual waves were reported.
Latin American governments ordered islanders and coastal residents to head for higher ground. Coastal officials from Mexico to Chile hauled boats from the sea, closing ports and schools and preparing to evacuate thousands of people ahead of the tsunami's expected arrival.
Thousands fled homes in Indonesia after officials warned of a tsunami. In Guam, the waves broke two US Navy submarines from their moorings, but tug boats corralled the subs and brought them back to their pier.
In the Canadian pacific coast province of British Columbia, authorities evacuated marinas, beaches and other areas.
Small tsunami waves hit the Philippines hours after the massive quake struck, but there were no reports of local damage or casualties, its chief state seismologist said.
Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology director Renato Solidum reported waves ranging from 30cm to one metre.
Residents in Indonesia's eastern areas - including Papua, Maluku and North Sulawesi - were placed on tsunami alert.
The quake impact was felt in places such as the Marshall Islands where disaster management officials downgraded an earlier alert to a "tsunami watch" and the Philippines.
Scientists said the quake ranked as the fifth largest in the world since 1900 and was nearly 8000 times stronger than one that devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, last month.
- with AAP, The Associated Press, Agence-France Presse and NewsCore
http://www.news.com.au/world/follow-japans-tsunamis-path-of-destruction-triggered-by-massive-earthquake/story-e6frfkyi-1226020295801

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