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<Previous Message Next Message> Tuesday, August 25, 2015 Functioning windmill "Spiritual Troglomorphism"
(Part 1) Listen to this message on your audio player. "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). Two weeks ago, on our way home from our bike riding weekend in the Grand Canyon area of Pennsylvania, we drove through the remote Nippenose Valley. We had never driven through this area before but in searching for variety on our ride home I decided to drive through it on PA Route 44. This is a closed, bowl-shaped valley surrounded by mountains; up over one mountain to get in and then back over another mountain to get out. It is a rich farming area with a lot of Plain people who reside there. I sometimes explore glancing backward; that is, I study an area where I've been after, rather than before, the visit. This is often due to my explorer tendencies that takes me off the beaten path! So I looked up the Nippenose Valley and among my findings was that in 2003 Luis Espinasa, an associate professor of biology at Marist College, discovered a new species of fish in a cave, a type of troglomorphic sculpin. Well, I don't know about our readers but troglomorphic sculpin is not a name I normally use so I had to look it up. Sculpin is a type of fish, but it's actually the word, troglomorphic, that prompts today's spiritual lesson. "Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an organism to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterized by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies and/or appendages." Two lines in this description jumped out at me; "living in the constant darkness of caves" and "reduced eyesight or blindness". That got me thinking Biblically how there is a parallel in the spiritual realm. I realize I need at least one more day on this topic so today we will primarily share a long selection of Scripture verses on this contrast between light and darkness:
Be encouraged today, Stephen & Brooksyne Weber Daily prayer: Father, we thank You that we no longer belong to the night or to the darkness. Instead You've turn our redeemed hearts toward that which is bright, full of life, truth, and power placing eternity's values in view. There is much that allures us to that which that which would engulf us in darkness again since the enemy is cunning, deceptive and persuasive. Help us to be stronger and wiser so that we are not prey to the devil's tactics, because we have put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Through Christ we overcome darkness through His marvelous light and it is in His name that we pray. Amen. Nippenose Valley: The region includes anticlinal karst Nippenose Valley part of the northernmost fold sequence of the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province. Nippenose Valley is uniquely bowl-shaped and consists of a doubly plunging anticline. According to a research paper from the University of Akron, the center has been eroded, exposing carbonate rocks in the valley. There is an average total of about 470 meters of Lower to Middle Ordovician limestone and dolomite underlying the valley. The Reedsville Shale is stratigraphically above them, and overlain by the ridge forming Bald Eagle Sandstone. The valley has been intensely karstified, as evidenced by the numerous sinkholes, springs, caves, and disappearing streams. Within a number of caves in this valley a new species of fish, a type of troglomorphic sculpin, was identified in 2003 by Luis Espinasa, an associate professor of biology at Marist College. (From Wikipedia) See here for location on Google map An article about the Nippenose Valley in Country Magazine. Last night we joined John Glick and his family for dinner, much of it coming from their garden. John is an Amish friend who has been reading our messages for many years at his work computer, and we finally met him and his family face to face. He was pleased to show us his 80 pound watermelon. Crimson Sweet watermelon (pictured) is famous for its high sugar content and great flavor. I wonder how many could be fed with an 80# watermelon. We walked out to his watermelon patch and saw he has some good eating for several weeks yet! Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.) Are our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to consider making a donation to Daily Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support of its readers and podcast listeners. See here for more information on supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible. Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact. Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials) 1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only. 2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print. 3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.) 4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.) 5) Print! Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version. Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity." © Copyright 2015 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA |