By Apostle William K Korir
Our time tells it all! Mathew Chapter 24 is as fresh as though Jesus spoke about it yesteday; even though he spoke these words about 2000 years ago; before anyone ever though about you being born. Jesus saw today as he address his desciples. Just look around you and see all that is happening and you will understand what I am saying. To refresh your mind, please read the following words of Jesus in book of Mathew chapter 24.
"Signs of Christ's Return
1(A)Jesus (B)came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.
2And He said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, (C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."
3As He was sitting on (D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of (E)Your coming, and of the end of the age?"
4And Jesus answered and said to them, "(F)See to it that no one misleads you.
5"For (G)many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.
6"You will be hearing of (H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
7"For (I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be (J)famines and earthquakes.
8"(K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
9"(L)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and (M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10"At that time many will (N)fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
11"Many (O)false prophets will arise and will mislead many.
12"Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold.
13"(P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
14"This (Q)gospel of the kingdom (R)shall be preached in the whole (S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come".
I believ you are now familiar with what I was saying to you.All the words spoken of by Jesus Christ of Nazareth is happen almost daily. We watch the events happening in our living rooms; disasters, famine, deaths, wars, rumours of wars and so on and so forth. The worst is yet to come! The world nations are now thinking of converting food to create energy for driving engines. this will impact negatively on the already strained food supply chain in the world markets. Africa will suffer more as it will face the challenges of meeting the demands for food grains for their citizens. Coupled with skyrocketing prices of farm inputs such as fertilizer; many farmers will not apply sufficient quantities of fertilizers during planting and this will lead to poor grain production. The continents which largely rely on maize grain/corn will face an uphill task in feeding their citizens. The diversion of food grains to make biofuels is likely to exarcebate starvations for many a people accross the world, thus leading to food shortage.
We have often heard people speak about biofuels. What are biofuels? So many people ask.
Biofuels are any kind of fuel made from living things, or from the waste they produce.
This is a very long and diverse list, including:
wood, wood chippings and straw
pellets or liquids made from wood
biogas (methane) from animals’ excrement
ethanol, diesel or other liquid fuels made from processing plant material or waste oil
In recent years, the term “biofuel” has come to mean the last category - ethanol and diesel, made from crops including corn, sugarcane and rapeseed.
Bio-ethanol, an alcohol, is usually mixed with petrol, while biodiesel is either used on its own or in a mixture.
Pioneers such as Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel designed cars and engines to run on biofuels. Before World War II, the UK and Germany both sold biofuels mixed with petrol or diesel made from crude oil; the availability of cheap oil later ensured market dominance.
Ethanol for fuel is made through fermentation, the same process which produces it in wine and beer. Biodiesel is made through a variety of chemical processes.
There is interest in trying biobutanol, another alcohol, in aviation fuel.
Are biofuels climate-friendly?
In principle, biofuels are a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to conventional transport fuels.
Burning the fuels releases carbon dioxide; but growing the plants absorbs a comparable amount of the gas from the atmosphere.
However, energy is used in farming and processing the crops, and this can make biofuels as polluting as petroleum-based fuels, depending on what is grown and how it is treated.
A recent UK government publication declared that biofuels reduced emissions “by 50-60% compared to fossil fuels”.
Where are biofuels used?
Production of ethanol doubled globally between 2000 and 2005, with biodiesel output quadrupling.
Brazil leads the world in production and use, making about 16 billion litres per year of ethanol from its sugarcane industry.
Sixty percent of new cars can run on a fuel mix which includes 85% ethanol.
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75% of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
The British government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires 5% of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.
In the US, the Renewable Fuels Standard aims to double the use of biofuels in transport by 2012.
What are the downsides?
From the environmental point of the view, the big issue is biodiversity.
With much of the western world’s farmland already consisting of identikit fields of monocultured crops, the fear is that a major adoption of biofuels will reduce habitat for animals and wild plants still further.
Asian countries may be tempted to replace rainforest with more palm oil plantations, critics say.
If increased proportions of food crops such as corn or soy are used for fuel, that may push prices up, affecting food supplies for less prosperous citizens.
The mixed picture regarding the climate benefit of biofuels leads some observers to say that the priority should be reducing energy use; initiatives on biofuels detract attention from this, they say, and are more of a financial help to politically important farming lobbies than a serious attempt to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
There are few problems technically; engines can generally cope with the new fuels.
But current technologies limit production, because only certain parts of specific plants can be used.
The big hope is the so-called second-generation of biofuels, which will process the cellulose found in many plants. This should lead to far more efficient production using a much greater range of plants and plant waste."
Reader, I wish to take this opportunity to ask you to reflect on your past life and see if you are walking in the ways of the Lord. Many people have in the past ignored the warning that the world is coming to an abrupt end. When? My sincire answer is I don't know and to tell you the truth - nobody knows. You could refer again to the book of mathew 24 and the Bible tells us that when the WORD has been preached and spread to all nations for all to hear as a witness - then the end shall come! Jesus had given guiding factors that can safely guide us on what era we are living in. whatever is hapening around us is clear that we are just where Christ spoke about. Please therfore allow God to search your heart and see if their is anything that could hinder you enter heaven. Repent therfore from your sins and commit your life to Jesus to receice Salvation! and be counted among the Saints who are heaven bound(Psalms 139:23,24, Revelation 2:5; 7 margin)
There is more time for idling about! We are living on borrowed time!
