Tag Archives: Fahrenheit

Thriving in Adverse Conditions

The Landcare Research Center in New Zealand have recently made an interesting discovery.  According to Mark Smale and his survey team, several plants and vegetation living in the Taupo Volcanic Zone are thriving despite a soil temperature of 72 degrees Celsius.  In case you were wondering, that’s 161 degrees Fahrenheit.  The breaking point was found to be 80 degrees Celsius, where only thermophilic algae can survive.  This interesting find illustrates the fact that God has created living things can thrive in adverse conditions.

A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. His height was six cubits and a span.  He had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of bronze weighing five thousand shekels, 1 Samuel 17:4-6.

If you enjoy watching sports, there are certain contests, games and matches that are clearly a mismatch.  In the early years of Israel, no Jewish soldier could match the size, strength and supreme confidence of the Philistine warrior.  Goliath stood just under ten feet tall and was protected by 156 pounds of armor.  Day after day Goliath challenged members of the Jewish army to a duel but everyone ran and hid in fear.  During a visit to the front lines to see his older brothers, David witnessed Goliath’s daily rant.  While the odds were against this frail six foot tall shepherd boy, David possessed a faith which thrived under extreme circumstances.

David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel?  Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” – 1 Samuel 17:26
Today, the phrase David verse Goliath is over used and often taken out of context.  Faith without action is dead.  Victory is achieved through complete trust in the God given talents that you possess.  It doesn’t matter what others believe as long as you or your team know winning is possible.  If God has the power to create the heavens and the earth, why don’t more individuals turn to the Lord when facing adverse conditions.  The only thing missing in the lives of many individuals is a faith that thrives in adverse conditions.
by Jay Mankus

 

The Melting Point

Depending upon the compound or matter, melting points vary reaching 2500 degrees Fahrenheit for steel, 113 for wax and a mere 32 for ice to begin to melt.  However, if you referring to the melting point of individual’s, this fluctuates daily as each day provides various fuels to ignite or cool someone off before tempers flare.  Essentially, there is only so much a person can take before they snap, as the emotions inside boil over at, into and toward another soul who just happened to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

From a spiritual perspective, the melting point can also refer to depression, when someone has suffered so much heart ache that their desire for caring melts away like a candle without any more wax or wick.  Thus, a callous heart is formed, afraid to love or let love in, unwilling to be burned again.  King David eludes to this in Psalm 22:14, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax, it has melted away within me.”  When you feel that God has forgotten about you or passed you over in favor of someone else, you may reach a similar melting point.

This same factor can also be applied to spiritual fire, mentioned by a teenager pastor in 2 Timothy 1:6, a byproduct of putting into practice the gifts God has given you.  Beside anger and depression, applying your talents daily can provide purpose for individuals looking to grasp one of life’s certainties.  Despite what goes on around you, when you are in sync with God, the other things that use to bother you seem to fade.  Therefore, as long you know your part in the concert of life, Romans 12:6-8, you’ll be able to distinguish what note to play and when to play it according to C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.  Until you discover this balance, you just might reach your melting point.

by Jay Mankus