Light It Up
It was raining hard this morning! There was a small creek forming on the lower portion of the property when I left; little streams starting to run down the side of the road; water collecting in small pools on the freeway with lots of spray and windshield wipers on high.
I think I have mentioned it before, but I love a good storm. Lightning, thunder, pouring rain or hail. I love a good storm. Aside from the devastation and destruction that can accompany a lightning storm, the sheer power of it reminds me of a Creator God and has always made me smile.
Answer: One-one thousand. Two-one thousand. Three-one thousand. Four-one thousand.
Question: What is the span of time between lightning flash and thunder boom.
I always thought it was approximately 1 second for every mile the storm is away from you. But, according to weather.gov, since you see lightning immediately and it takes the sound of thunder about 5 seconds to travel a mile, you can calculate the distance between you and the lightning. If you count the number of seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder, and then divide by 5, you'll get the distance in miles to the lightning: 5 seconds = 1 mile, 15 seconds = 3 miles, 0 seconds = very close.
There's an old expression that says lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, but at this location, not only does it strike the same place, but it does so over and over again.
What is lightning? In short, it is a natural electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground, or within a cloud, accompanied by a bright flash and typically thunder.
“Lightning usually carries more voltage than power lines and it can strike at any time and any place. Putting a kite in the air in stormy weather makes YOU a giant lightning rod and the lightning WILL find you. You could be seriously injured or even killed. Never use metallic flying line or Chinese kites as they are unsafe.” (source: udgamschool.com)
What do you need to make lightning?
According to nasa.gov, you need cold air and warm air. When they meet, the warm air goes up. It makes thunderstorm clouds! The cold air has ice crystals. The warm air has water droplets. During the storm, the droplets and crystals bump together and move apart in the air. This rubbing makes static electrical charges in the clouds.
Just like a battery, these clouds have a "plus" end and a "minus" end. The plus, or positive, charges in the cloud are at the top. The minus, or negative, charges are at the bottom. When the charge at the bottom gets strong enough, the cloud lets out energy.
The energy goes through the air. It goes to a place that has the opposite charge. This lightning bolt of energy that is let out is called a leader stroke. It can go from the cloud to the ground. Or, a leader stroke can go from the cloud to another cloud. No one is sure why lightning bolts follow a zigzag path as they move. The main bolt or stroke will go back up to the cloud. It will make a flash of lightning. It will also heat the air. The air will spread quickly. It will make the sound we hear as thunder. (Source: nasa.gov)
Do you have any idea how fast lightning travels? While the flashes we see as a result of a lightning strike travel at the speed of light (670,000,000 mph) an actual lightning strike travels at a comparatively gentle 270,000 mph. (Source: earthprofessor.com)
Worldwide it is estimated that lightning occurs 50 to 100 times, per second! But there is one location where lightning strikes go on for hours and hours and hours; big sheets of lightning, illuminating everything around. Does this happen one month out of the year? Two months? No. This location has lightning on average, 300 days a year. And, scientist say it's not like any other lightning anywhere else on the planet. It’s Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela and locals call it, The Never Ending Storm.
If you have internet, type the words Lake Maracaibo lightning, into a search engine and see for yourself. It really is spectacular.
The Bible says that when Jesus Christ comes a second time it will be just like that lightning and thunder: visible and audible!
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come. After He answered them, he turned to His disciples and said, “…The time is coming when… People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” Luke 17:22-25 NIV
I believe this message is critical. Jesus does not come back in secret. Make no mistake, when He comes, every eye will see Him. Revelation 1:7
1) Every eye will see Him, it is no secret.
2) We will be lifted off this earth to meet Jesus in the sky. He will not be waiting in the desert or the mega church or the hilltop. Jesus is coming in the sky.
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 ESV
by Jeanette Stark – Tuesday, November 1, 2022