If you haven’t found out for yourself by now where to farm gold in WotLK, maybe this article will enlighten you at least a little bit. In this report, I will give you a few farming ideas, depending on the professions you have. So, here’s what you need to know.

Where to farm gold in WotLK as a miner

The best zone for miners in WotLK is without a doubt Icecrown. The rocky edges of this zone are full of Saronite Deposits and after mining in all the zones of the game, I can say that this zone is the best for Titanium Ore as well. Of course, to be effective as a miner in this zone, at least a flying mount is required.

Where to farm gold in WotLK as a herbalist

Sholazar Basin is definitely the best area for herbalists. Due to the high accessibility of this zone, you don’t even need a flying mount for this area. There are plenty of herbs in this green zone, but the one you should be looking for in particular is the Adder’s Tongue. This herb only grows here, and that’s why it’s a bit more valuable than the other common herbs in WotLK.

Where to farm gold in WotLK as an engineer

Thre are two ways to farm gold with engineering. The first one is via Zapthrottle Mote Extractor. With this tool you can extract Crystallized elements from Arctic and Cinder Clouds in the game. There are plenty of clouds in Sholazar Basin.

Also, since WotLK was released,engineering can be used as skinning, but only on mechanical mobs in the game. Best places to find mechanicals are Borean Tundra and northwestern Storm Peaks. By salvaging the remains of mechanical units in the game, you can get many valuable engineering parts, like Froststeel Tubes, Volatile Blasting Triggers etc.

An important tip for those players that want to rise engineering on their characters, as an engineer you can use a mechanical NPC in Dalaran as an auctioneer. In other words, engineers are the only ones that can access the World of Warcraft Auction House from Dalaran.

Of course, no matter if you’re gathering or grinding on mobs for their loot, you still need to involve the Auction House in the game to make money. So, for the players that are too lazy to level up their professions, Auction House trading is a viable solution. Therefore, a good answer to the question “where to farm gold in WotLK?” regardless of what class, professions, trade skills, gear or talent build, the best place is the Auction House.

One of the fast-rising stars of the Melbourne Storm is talented fullback Billy Slater. At this stage of his career, the promising 27-year-old has been compared to legends of Ruby League such as Dally Messenger. He is a force to be reckoned with in the National Rugby League (NRL) and his fan base doesn’t only include rugby fanatics hailing from NSW to Queensland but extends to the rest of the rugby-loving world. League pundits are impressed by his maneuvers on the field as well as the titles he has reaped throughout his stint with Melbourne which he is staunchly loyal too. Billy Slater is such a sought-after asset of the Melbourne Storm that an off-contract Slater creates a bidding frenzy among vying clubs just waiting to snag him away from the club and into their fold.

Billy displayed his interest in the sport at a young age of 4 by playing for the Innisfail Brothers Club in Queensland. His hometown is proud of their famous football hero that last year the local sports oval at Callendar Park was named the Billy Slater Oval. It’s an honor that no other 26-year-old in the history of the league has accomplished. Among Slater’s other achievements, carrying the try record scoring for Storm with 115 and being voted the best player in the world by winning the Rugby League International Football (RLIF) Awards and the Golden Boot Awards both in 2008 are also his career milestones.

For those who don’t have a passing acquaintance of the league and its roster of superstar players, the up and coming legend of the Storm just signed a new deal with the team and it looks like he’ll be sticking by and with them. Billy Slater is a formidable powerhouse who takes a game by the horns yet also knows how to be team player. Though he was responsible for a sloppy pass that lead to the victory of the Kiwis in the 2008 World Cup final, by no means is Slater invulnerable to mistakes, yet he is the kind of athlete that doesn’t let one snag define or ruin their game or the rest of their career. He has his share of critics and detractors from other clubs, but this just reinforces the fact that he is certainly a lethal figure when it comes down to separating the winners from the losers.

Slater has gone a long way from being a cheeky Innisfail junior footy to parade-worthy rugby league great. From ‘Billy the Pest,’ his exceptional skills and signature chip-and-chase technique earned him the title ‘Billy the Kid’ and the admiration of channel 9 veteran commentator Ray Warren while the rest of the rugby league world watched the captivating rookie dominate the arena and followed his flourishing career in awe. Today Slater is considered a poster boy of the NRL and his choice to stay until 2014 with Storm is inspirational not only to the rest of the players in the club but also to new raw talent that want to penetrate the team and play alongside this phenomenal athlete.

A flood is defined as an overflow of inland or tidal waters, rapid accumulation or runoff of surface water from any source, and a collapse of a land because of excessive erosion due to flood, mudslides caused by accumulations of water on the ground or underground. Any homeowner or renter should protect their property and purchase flood insurance.

Depending on your request, a flood policy can cover the dwelling with the content or just the contents. If you own a home, you should purchase both. If you rent the apartment or a house, you can purchase only the personal property flood coverage. A flood policy covers the property in the policy description against direct loss by or from flood.

Flood insurance is one of those additional insurance policies that nobody wants to waste money on, especially if the property is not located in the flood zone. Unfortunately, many homeowners are left with unpaid claims by their homeowner’s insurance, just to find out that flooding is not covered under their homeowner’s policy.

Purchasing flood insurance gives you peace of mind like any other insurance and needs to be purchased ahead of time. It is hard to imagine a street flooding in your neighborhood when it has not flooded in the last twenty years. It is hard to imagine flood damaging your personal property while in a drought.

Floods are very common in the areas prone to tropical rains and hurricanes and in areas where rivers absorb melting snow during spring. Flash rains after the drought cause floods mostly because dry land takes more time to absorb the rain. Old subdivisions with clogged storm drains are more prone to flooding. New subdivisions also can have clogged water drainage due to the construction debris in the street. A new subdivision in the area will increase possibility of a flood. A meadow or a forest absorbs the water very well. If we built a town covered in cement with buildings and streets, rainwater has nowhere to go and floods the streets.

We all think about purchasing this type of insurance when the tropical storm is pouring down or when the local river is swollen near our house, but that is not a time to purchase it, and no insurance company will sell you a policy when a hurricane is in the Gulf of Mexico or when you are evacuating. That is why flood policy becomes effective only 30 days after purchasing. Insurance provides coverage for unpredicted happenings. Knowing that a big storm is on the way which will cause losses and that is predictable.

Do you get excited when storms roll in so you can watch the cloud formations and lightning? Do you enjoy tracking storms and forecasting temperatures? Are you worried about climate change and the effects of future weather patterns? If you said yes to any of these, then meteorology might be a great hobby for you to investigate.

Having knowledge of how weather works will give you great appreciation for the impact it has on our environment and for the reasons weather and our climate changes over time. There are millions of amateur meteorologists that track storm patterns, temperature, rainfall, and more all from the comfort of their homes and for very little investment.

Getting up to date meteorological information has never been easier. From cable television channels to the online websites of your local weather station, you can easily find information up to date climate information and conditions. National websites like the National Weather Center provide a variety of tools and maps including radar, satellite, air quality, climate, water, and more.

To get started learning about meteorology, you should first try to familiarize yourself with the above maps and terms. If you are not sure what a certain map represents or how it relates to forecasting and meteorology, you can do some additional research by searching the internet or visiting your local library. There are also a number of weather related forums that are frequented by professional and amateur meteorologists that can be great resources. Also, the television weather channels can also good resources for acquiring knowledge on weather and meteorology.

Many enthusiasts also like to track the weather from their home in order to have current, up to date information on the exact conditions for their location. The local television station may be nowhere near you, so if you want a way track the actual atmospheric and meteorological conditions at your exact yard or location, you may want to consider a home weather station.

Home weather stations are useful for anyone looking for up to the second information on weather and storm conditions. Your basic digital weather station will give you information on indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity. You can also get stations that will give you statistics on wind direction, wind speed, amount of rainfall, wind chill and more. Many also allow for climate forecasting and prediction and give severe weather alerts when severe weather is forthcoming.

If you have an interest in nature and how the weather works and shapes the world, meteorology might be a great hobby or career for you. With so much information available, there has never been a better time to become a weather enthusiast and amateur meteorologist.

This guide examines the various timber doors around and the best ways to lock them. Doors are the first priority in securing your home. It is good to have a solid door but many (partly) hollow doors are of sufficient strength. If your wooden door is obviously of a very poor standard, you should think about a new door before spending money on deadlocks. A carpenter can install good quality deadlocks when a new door is fitted and this may save you money in the end.

Many homes have deadlocks fitted by the builders and require no additional locks. If you can lock your door on both sides, you have a deadlock. This will satisfy your insurance company requirements. The idea is that if a burglar enters through a window it is difficult to get your belongings out if the doors are locked on the inside.

If you have a locking doorknob (entrance set) and wish to make the door more secure the best lock is a deadbolt. Deadbolts have a longer and stronger bolt than an entrance set. The bold retracts inside the door when unlocked making the door very simple to use as it can be closed but unlocked. You are also less likely to lock yourself out.

If you have an old-fashioned night latch (Yale lock), the best replacement is a deadlatch. A Lockwood or Whitco deadlatch will usually fit in the hole the night latch has come out of.

Deadlatches lock automatically when the door is closed (as long as the bolt is not held back). The lock suits busy households where some people cannot be bothered using a key to lock the door from the outside. The double cylinder deadlatches a key lock on the inside so the door can either be left locked or unlocked on the inside. It is easier to lock yourself out with this type of deadlock.

In case of fire, or other emergency, you should be able to get out of your house easily, preferably without needing to find a key. If you feel you need to have your door key locked on the inside when you are home either leave a key in the lock or have a key where you can easily find it (even in the dark). Double cylinder deadlocks mean that if glass in or near the door is broken, a burglar cannot reach in and open the door from the inside as long as the door is locked on the inside.

Security doors and peepholes are handy as you can see who is at the door without letting them in. Security doors are good for fresh air but are not as secure as a good wooden door with a deadlock.

Double wooden doors, or French doors, are best secured with concealed bolts or locking bolts on the inside. If the door is used as an entrance, the side that usually stays closed needs to be very secure or the effectiveness of any deadlock will be compromised. The best deadlock for double doors is the Lockwood 355 as it locks both doors together.

When locking your home there is usually a trade off between security and convenience. Deadlocks need to be easy to operate so your home is both safe and secure.

A power outage can lead to many problems for both homes and businesses. Life support machinery, lighting, and heating systems can be instantly lost when a storm or a similar event takes out the main power. Let’s take a look at several of the reasons to use the generator:

Construction sites

A typical use for the generator is on construction sites where there are plenty of power tools to operate, such as industrial lights, spray guns for painting, nail guns, etc. Any remote or newly developed site isn’t likely to have access to the electric grid, so this will be the only way to get power.

Emergencies

Any homes or businesses that are located in an area that experiences heavy rain storms or other acts of nature that can take out the power will certainly benefit from a backup source of power. In the event of a power outage, the generator will make it a lot easier to stay independent and carry on as close to normal until the main electrical supply is back. Using the generator means it is possible to continue to eat hot meals, stay warm, and make sure the main appliances, like the fridge continue to run.

Also, with the increase in the elderly generation, there are more households that have the medical hardware in the home, such as the oxygen-producing machines which demand a constant source of power. Even a short loss of power can be very inconvenient, so the simple process of installing a generator can help to save lives in this type of situation. Additionally, there are many people who rely on electric scooters or a stair lift to get around which will stop working.

Farming

Farming is an industry that needs to continue to work at all times. In an effort to prevent a farm coming to a stand-still after a storm, the generators will ensure the essential electrical equipment is kept working. For instance, it will be necessary to keep power going to continue production, feed livestock, maintain the freshness of food supplies, and keep the lighting on.

Outdoor events

Beyond the ability to give an essential source of power in the event of an outage, the generators are a practical option for outdoor and recreational events, such as barbecues, garden parties, off the grip campsites and festivals. They give a constant source of power which is very useful to plug-in speakers, keep things cool, power fans and light up the area.

In an effort to reduce Retribution Paladin burst damage, the entire class has been reworked with the coming of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. In fact, many Ret Paladin abilities you were familiar with are either gone or have been drastically altered.

The main complaint against Retribution Paladins is that they could use Crusader Strike, Hammer of Justice, Judgment, Divine Storm, Crusader Strike all in succession and deal out tons of burst damage. If a players health dropped at that point, they could finish them off with a Hammer of Wrath and another Judgment, into a Divine Storm and another Crusader Strike.

In short, Retribution paladins had way too much burst damage. As a result of this, there are some major changes coming to this class in Cataclysm.

First off, Seal of Command and Seal of Blood have been removed. Players now have Seal of Justice and Seal of Righteousness as their primary seals, both of which seem to do less damage than their predecessors. As an aside, Seal of Justice now has a snaring effect, so Retribution Paladins at least finally have a legitimate way to slow down their enemies.

Additionally, now Paladins to have to generate something called Holy Power, which functions much in the same way as a Rogue’s combo points. Divine Storm and a new ability called Templar’s Verdict consume Holy Power in order to deal damage. Unfortunately, there are not many abilities produce Holy Power though, so players have to cycle through Crusader Striking for Holy Power and dropping an occasional Templar’s Verdict.

The Art of War now no longer gives Retribution Paladins an instant Flash of Light. Instead, Retribution Paladins get a free instant heal in Word of Glory. However, Word of Glory does not use mana; as you may have guessed, it also requires Holy Power.

Ret Paladins will have to choose between healing (Word of Glory) and their most powerful attack (Templar’s Verdict). Although they do have to pick between the abilities, Word of Glory is pretty solid. Three Holy Power will convert into over 6,000 HP restored instantly. Not bad for being a free heal!

Overall, the changes to Retribution Paladins are a bit of a wash. Ret Paladins got a huge boon in the snaring effect of Seal of Justice, and the class overall is a lot more polished now. The class now brings more to the table than just a huge damage burst.

However, at the same time, it lost that huge damage burst. That is what defined the class and made them wanted in PvP groups. Unless Retribution Paladins get some sort of Mortal Strike equivalent, I do not think they will see much success in 2v2 PvP. However, they will continue to do well in Battlegrounds and 5v5 Arena teams.

Strong tropical storm and hurricane landings usually mean power outages along with the obligatory wind and water damage. In such times the use of thermally insulated coolers can make the difference between extended periods of misery and being able to bide time with reasonable conveniences that include cool beverages, edible perishable foods, and safe medical supplies that would otherwise go to waste from spoilage. The choice among quality coolers that can perform the job well is between standard hard shell varieties and expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam-constructed ice chests. Here are six reasons why the foam cooler ice chest is a better choice than hard shell plastic or metal ones when the weather starts to get bad.

They Are Far More Economically Affordable Than Hard Shell Coolers

The brands of hard shell coolers necessary to match the performance of a superior thick-walled foam cooler of comparable size and volume can be very expensive, putting a serious dent in your wallet, and priced so that many people who are negatively impacted by the storm season cannot afford to own one that’s reliable enough to keep everything cold for extended periods of time. As a result, people in need end up with cheaper imitations that don’t do the job well, placing them at risk for prematurely melted ice, spoiled food, or even ruined medicines as they await help to come from outside the damaged storm regions.

A plastic or metal cooler that’s comparable size-wise and volume-wise to, say, an 85 quart foam ice chest will cost anywhere from two hundred to more than four hundred dollars, whereas the foam version can be had for around an extremely affordable fifteen bucks or so. That means for the amount of money necessary to buy the hard shell cooler, one can buy an entire stack of foam ice chests.

From a community benefit standpoint, this is much more practical, as a person can have a surplus on hand to store up enough goods for days and still be able to help others in need who are not as well-prepared or who may suffer damage that puts them in a bad way.

They Can Keep Ice Cold for Days Rather Than Hours

Anybody who has stood in line for hours in the hot summer sun after a major hurricane just to get a couple bags of ice knows the importance of immediately getting it into an insulated container to prevent thawing. One of the drawbacks of hard shell coolers is that they have to be “pre-cooled” in order to prevent ice from starting to melt immediately due to the heated inner surface temperature of the hard inner lining. In an emergency situation where ice is vitally scarce, a person can’t afford to waste it trying to cool down something that’s supposed to be keeping ice from melting.

Effective at Preventing Premature Food Spoilage

Perishable foods last a good deal longer in thick-walled, quality-constructed foam ice chests than thin-wall, cheap foam coolers, and just as well or better than hard shell coolers of comparable size and volume, especially when weighing the price difference between them. Food shippers use foam shipping coolers (ice chest thickness) to send temperature-sensitive food freight and perishable goods across country because they are tested and reliable.

Practical For Storing Medical Supplies

Thick walled foam coolers are tested and rated for cross-country shipping of temperature-sensitive medical supplies in combination with proper refrigerants such as gel packs that can be pre-frozen and used to maintain the proper temperature range. In post-hurricane situations when the power is out, ice can be used with care if there are no gel packs or gel blocks or no generator power to run freezers that can cool them down. Consult with the proper resources ahead of time to find out how long you can store specific types of medicines and what configuration of cooler, gel packs, etc. you should use to maximize efficient, days-long storage of vital medical supplies.

Reusable and Recyclable

The best quality thick-walled foam ice chests are built to last and keep on hand for years, but if you decide you need to discard one, then you benefit from its recyclability, whereas a broken hard shell cooler takes up as much or more volume space as a foam ice chest but is not recyclable. There are more than 200 recycling resources for eps foam in the United States alone, allowing you drop-off or mail-in service. If you would rather keep it for years, simply store it in a shady place out of the weather and it will be ready for use the next time a tropical storm or hurricane comes around.

Can Serve As Emergency Floatation Devices

As a last resort in what one hopes would be a rare case, foam ice chests can be used to save your life just in case you are caught in a storm surge of deep water or flooding. The expanded polystyrene content is very buoyant, able to help prevent a person from drowning if they can hold on effectively. Of course, you wouldn’t want the cooler to be full of food at the time because that would add a bunch of extra weight. In any case, the point is that they do float well and can be of use if a person is not wearing a life-preserver.

Why They Are A Better Choice For Hurricane Preparedness

For the price of a single high-quality hard shell cooler you can buy numerous thick-walled foam cooler ice chests that perform just as well, last for years, and have advantages that the metal or hard plastic one does not. You’ll be able to store more for emergencies because you’ll have more units available, plus position yourself to be helpful to those who find themselves stuck in a bind due to unforeseen circumstance. This is one of the rare times in life where what seems like a bargain really is a bargain that can’t be beat.

Satan is nothing more then God’s dog on a leash, here to do His bidding!

Remember Job?

But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. Job 2:10

Job never once attributed evil as being Satan’s evil, He saw only God IN all things. The only power God allows Satan to have is the power to suggest to those still focused on him that he still has any power!

What’s more, the whole purpose of the so called “attack” of the enemy on Job was for one “eternal” purpose, and that purpose is found here:

The Lord said to Job: “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!” Then Job answered the LORD: “I am unworthy–how can I reply to you? I put my hand over my mouth. I spoke once, but I have no answer– twice, but I will say no more.” Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: Job 40:1-6

When Job finally came to the end of himself, and the end of questioning God, (symbolized here by forcing himself to shut up by clasping his hand over his mouth) it was only then God spoke to him… OUT OF THE STORM!

In other words, the storm (who was God) was introduced into Job’s life for this purpose, and God used Satan as His convenient agent (dog on a leash) in using sickness, poverty, isolation, fear, and betrayal for His own planned purposes! In this case it was to bring Job to his absolute negative, so the positive power of God could fully occupy that barren and empty place, a much deeper place than before the storm!

The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Job 1:12

And in the dialogue between Jesus and Pontious Pilate: Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from (My Father) above… (John 19:11)

Job had to be planted in death, because like us, that was the only way he could discover Satan really had no power over him.

That is, with the exception of the power of the lie!

So what happened next?

Total and complete restoration, and just as an added bonus, God doubled everything Job had before his “storm” and gave him a long life to enjoy it!

After Job had prayed for his friends (comforters), the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died an old man and full of years. Job 42:17

Now does that sound like Satan is acting as his own independent entity? An entity which we have been led to believe is in some kind of eternal spiritual “tug of war” battle with God to see who ultimately wins control? Where we have seen God as the white dog, fighting Satan the black dog?

It sounds more to me like just a “created angel, gone bad.” The one we know as Satan, God’s own personal dog who… well just read the following…

Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death-that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. Hebrews 2:14-15

Conclusion:

Job was a man who loved God, did everything he could to be obedient to God, and he was a “good” man. And what does it mean the Job did not sin with his lips? Could it be that Job was trying to hold onto the image of how people saw him? It doesn’t say he didn’t sin, just that he didn’t sin with his lips.

His “goodness” identity was the very thing God saw that needed to go, and so he orchestrated a plan to bring Job, the “real” and “stripped down” version of Job directly into His presence.

And for 40 or so chapters, God uses Satan to take Job down, and in every possible way a human can be taken down, all so Job can see his goodness isn’t really that good. And if it’s not enough that Job loses his family, his stuff, and his health, God then sends his closest friends to accuse him! “Job, what are you doing, or what is it you should be doing that you are not?”

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do-this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. Romans 7:15-20

Like Job, Paul also saw himself as being good, and so God sent a storm into his life. And the storm, what we know as his “thorn in the flesh” opened his eyes to the one thing Paul had that could never be stripped away from him, the revelation of God’s power IN and through his weakness… a new awareness of himself and God which came to him by way of His abundant Grace.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?

If I must boast, I WILL BOAST ABOUT THE THINGS THAT SHOW MY WEAKNESS. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever knows that I am not lying. II Corinthians 11:23-31

So picture Job sitting in ashes, covered with boils from head to toe, he has lost his entire family, all of his riches, and now is about to lose the one thing Job needed to lose more than anything else, his identity! Job, who was honored by the men and women who surrounded him because of what He did for God and others, now sits as a sick, broken, empty shell of the man he was before his “storm!”

So what about us?

The only possible way humans can know for sure that God will never abandon them, and that His love comes without any performance based conditions, is when God is allowed (or in my case invited) to remove everything they trust in, take them to ground zero, and reveal Himself as the… All IN All!

I know since the day I asked God to bring me to the end of myself, way back in 1983, I have been to hell and back so many times I can’t count.

But through it all I have learned it is God’s hell, and not Satan’s!

Last April a grapefruit sized tumor was discovered on my kidney, along with a life threatening infection in my spine. This past week, Linda and I received news that we have been exonerated of all criminal charges (immunity and indemnity), false charges that have been hanging over our head for the past three years, charges that could have potentially landed Linda, myself, and her 27 year old daughter in prison for years, and left us completely bankrupt for life!

I am sharing this for only one reason.

God continues to use the numerous trials and tribulations of my life to create the illusion of lack, punishment, and abandonment! And it’s here where we start out seeing all of life, everything that pertains to our life with our natural eyes. But the truth is, once you lose it all… you realize it wasn’t yours to lose in the first place. There is a freedom in “losing to gain” that goes way beyond what we have been led to believe true freedom really is!

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a “loss” because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may “gain” Christ and be found IN him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith IN Christ-the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ-yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation IN His sufferings, becoming like him IN His death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11

Praise our God, all peoples,

let the sound of his praise be heard;

he has preserved our lives

and kept our feet from slipping.

For you, God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

You let people ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of (freedom) abundance. Psalm 66:8-12

FREEDOM… is just another word for nothing left to lose. (From the song, Me and Bobby McGee)

And Satan is nothing more than God’s dog on a leash, being used to bring us to that very place!

For most people the sight of a rainbow after a storm has come to symbolize peace, or maybe beauty. This is understandable because a rainbow is both beautiful and usually shows up during the peaceful aftermath of a storm. However, for the believer, the sight of a rainbow should bring to light much more.

Most everyone is familiar with the first rainbow we are going to discuss. This rainbow is found in Genesis. It is the rainbow that appeared to Noah after the flood. The scripture does a good job of telling us what this rainbow stands for. It is a symbol of the covenant God made with man to never again destroy the earth with water. So when we see a rainbow we can gain comfort that no matter how bad the storm was, or is, it will not destroy us.

The second rainbow is a bit more ambiguous in scripture. It is found in Revelation chapter 4. In this chapter John the revelator is describing what he sees around the throne of God in Heaven. One of the descriptions includes an Emerald rainbow. This rainbow is seen behind Jesus Christ on his throne. The representation here is the promised kept by God to place his appointed King to the throne. The fact that the rainbow is Emerald is also important because the Emerald is believed by most to be the stone on the Priestly garment that represented the tribe of Judah. Jesus is the promised seed from the tribe of Judah that was prophesied to set on the throne of David.

In order to see the third rainbow we must first learn a few things about rainbows.

1. Rainbows are seen when light hits water and is seen by a person at the correct angle. (about 42 degrees)

2. The water works like a prism splitting the ray of light into seven colors.

3. Because of the angle needed to see a rainbow it is believed that no two people see the same rainbow. If they both see a bow it is technically two different ones.

Okay, using Romans 1:20 as our based let’s unveil the third rainbow found in scripture.

Like everything else, it all starts at the cross. At the cross there were three men crucified. One rejected Jesus (the negative); one accepted Jesus (the positive). As the positive and negative met in the middle the great light of the world (Jesus) shinned bright. This light is seen as the true light after the storm Jesus had just went through represented by the cross its self. As we look at the sacrifices made by Jesus (the light) through the cross (the prism) we see salvation (the covenant).

History, along with the book of Revelations, shows us that there are seven identifiable church ages since Jesus on the cross. This is the rainbow of seven lights seen after the light of God is looked at through the sacrifices made on the cross. We all have a different angle as to how will see the cross which shows the individual relationship we must have with God. Just like you can’t see someone else’s rainbow, you can’t be saved by someone else’s experience with God.

For my last point I want to address an interesting fact about rainbows. Sometimes a second bow can be seen. This bow is not as bright as the first and the colors appear in reverse. Experts say that this second bow is not real it is just a false reflection of the first bow. This illustrates what Satan tries to do with us. He is not a creator, he is just an imitator. Satan takes what God has made perfect and tries to fool us with his false “look alike”.

So, next time you see a rainbow, along with the peace and beauty, let it also remind you that Jesus is on the throne and in control, and that God has sent his son as a covenant promise to you that you will live forever with him. If you see the second rainbow, be reminded that it, like Satan’s power, it is not real.

Now go let your light shine as a symbol to others of the hope that is within you!