Random Ramblings from the Resident Raptor
Insight from the Journey across the Sky
“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. Matthew 24:42
- Image by videocrab via Flickr
Television stations across the U.S. began broadcasting Friday June 12 exclusively in digital, and millions of unprepared Americans scrambled for a signal.
Despite a year-long effort by the government, broadcasters and cable operators to warn people of the digital-TV switch, about 2.8 million households remained completely unprepared, according to Nielsen Co. Older Americans were more prepared than the national average, Nielsen found, but younger people and African-American and Hispanic households continued to lag behind.
Most Americans weren’t affected by the digital switch because they subscribe to cable or satellite TV services, which weren’t affected. An estimated 20 million U.S. households relied exclusively on free, over-the-air TV a year ago and had to either buy a new digital TV or get converter boxes for older TVs.
Procrastinators flooded call centers with requests for the government coupons. Nearly 31 million coupons had already been redeemed, but requests for coupons continued to pour in. On Thursday, the day before the change-over date, the government received 319,990 requests.
The switch was originally scheduled for February but was postponed to June 12 after Congress and the Obama administration worried millions of Americans weren’t ready. For those who were not ready their televisions went black. They could no longer receive a signal, there was no longer any communication between their television set and the broadcast towers. They had run out of time.
When it comes to television not meeting a deadline is not the end of the world but there is a coming change-over that is exactly that… the end of the world! Will you be ready? Will you be prepared? Will you heed the warnings? Or will you, like so many analog television users, be left behind?
Take some time to contemplate that question because this is not the first time warnings were sounded and people refused to heed them. Even when it meant a possible loss of life. I recall Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of that disaster. Although warned well in advance of landfall, many New Orleans residents did not prepare to evacuate the city and suffered enormous hardships once the storm reached land. Perhaps they too thought the storm would be delayed, or someone from the government would come along and carry them to safety. That did not happen and they had to weather the storm on their own. Some even refused rescue when rescue finally arrived.
Human nature being what it is, we all have a tendency to put off until tomorrow what should be done today. I am guilty of waiting until the last minute to get certain things done. I surely can find other things to do when it comes time to do the things I dislike doing. Of course some of my procrastination is planned and purposeful, like waiting till the last minute to pay taxes. J Anyway there are some warnings that should never be ignored, and the one warning that is a matter of life and death is the soon coming return of our Lord and Savior Jesus.
His first trip to this “third rock from the sun” was to bring the message of salvation to everyone who would heed his call, His next trip is not going to be so pleasant. He is not coming to die again on a cross but to bring judgment to those who have yet to react to the salvation message sent over 2000 years ago. Just like in the days of Noah, when all the wickedness the people were engaged in finally reached the point where God said enough was enough, He sent judgment from heaven to deal with the problem.
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. Matthew 24:38-42
It just seemed like another day, things had remained much like they had for many years and even though Noah was building a huge boat, and warning of a soon coming flood, most people apparently did not take Noah seriously. They thought he was out of his mind. They paid no attention until it started to rain, and than I am not sure they gave it much thought until the water started to rise and not stop.
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