Mobile blogging
We live in a marvelous time. In my own brief life time we have gone from rotary phones on a a party line to cellular phones that allow one to call or be called over a vast portion of the world’s surface. We have gone from mail service that could take a week or longer to take a message from on end of the country to another, to email that can show up on another person’s computer, across the hall or half way around the globe, in a matter of seconds. Mimeograph machines had to have their templates painstakingly created by hand or on a type writer and each sheet of a multipage document had to be printed off separately and then each set had to be carefully correlated prior to handing out or mailing. Now one can type up, spell check, lay out and print, together with full color images or even high resolution photographs, multipage documents completely correlated and ready to be handed out or mailed. And that same document can be made into a pdf file which allows it to be sent via e-mail or posted to the internet so it can be downloaded. Such a document can be printed identically by virtually any computer and printer any where in the world.
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Health Care
Growing up on the edge of the Amazon rain forest forms the back ground for a lot of my ideas and thoughts. Having a father and uncle who taught us to be upright and self reliant helped too. We were our own first responders, capable of taking care of any thing common such as a cold, a cut or a fever and even some of the more “exotic” situations such as amoeba, giardia, subcutaneous fly grubs, sand fleas, hookworm and hepatitis A – to name but a few of the things we came across. When a health issue would come we’d use common sense and do what we could to take care of it. Medicine was readily available over the counter at that time. For common problems we had no need of a doctor to tell us “You’ve got amoebas again, take flagyl every day for a week and you’ll get over it.” After you or a family member have had amoebas a few times you know the symptoms and the treatment. Why spend money on a doctor and a lab when they’ll just confirm the obvious? Of course if you’re in a place where the lab technician can’t ID an amoeba to save their soul and the doctor won’t trust your knowledge and the pharmacy won’t sell without a prescription – you’re in a bind. That happened to my mom one time. Soon after we hit the U.S. she came down with classic amoeba symptoms. I’ve no idea how much they spent on doctor and lab – but the lab never could come up with a diagnosis and the doctor wouldn’t prescribe based on another person’s (especially a non-medical professional) experience. So she suffered until she got back home to Brazil, walked into a pharmacy, bought the medicine and was well in a matter of days. We took personal responsibility for our health and actions and sought medical attention when something beyond our capabilities came up.
Favorite Sins
Sin – the wedge that separates man from God. Ever since Adam and Eve went against God’s will there has been a great chasm between God and man. Through Jesus the Christ, God reached out to bridge that gap. And His grace allows us to come into His presence, cleansed by the sacrificial death and resurrection of His Son.
If we walk in the light then we learn to abhor sin. But as humans we all harbor varying degrees of attraction to sin. The big problem is that we also tend to have blind spots. We may say “I don’t smoke and I don’t chew and I don’t date the girls that do.” – but what about less obvious sins? What about that which we allow our minds to dwell on, taking comfort in “well, at least I didn’t DO it!”. And what about those thoughts and attitudes that do not reflect the mind of Christ?
Thoughts on Earth Day
Yesterday, April 22, 2010, “Earth Day” celebrated its 40th anniversary. There were celebrations around the world and all kinds of “Save the Planet!!!” messages on just about every major TV channel of every kind. Folks were bombarded with a message of “humans are the only thing wrong with the planet” and millions bowed at the altar of Gaia, the earth goddess. Read the rest of this entry »
When Justice Is Not Done
When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers. – Proverbs 21:15
Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts. Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph. - Amos 5:15
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. – Zechariah 7:9
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. - Matthew 23:23
Why is it that now evil doers do not fear the government, but the righteous do?
Thoughts On Tax Day 2010
“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” (Romans 13:6-7)
This is a day in which millions of Americans will be sending in their tax forms. There will also be a lot of groaning, muttering and complaining. There will also be a lot of preaching on how it’s our “Loyal duty” to pay the taxes. Few people I know would claim that we should pay NO tax. MANY people I know believe we are over taxed – and for wasteful purposes. Read the rest of this entry »
The New Testament Church
Much has been written over the years about “restoring the New Testament Church”. Much has been preached on that subject and many battles have been fought over the “right way” to accomplish that goal. There is no doubt that the church has drifted from her moorings over the two thousand years which span the current time and that of Jesus the Christ and His Apostles. In MY mind, the important question to ask is not “how many songs were interspersed with the sermon and Communion” or whether or not they used instruments to accompany their singing, but rather the question should be “What did the Church DO that made her the church?” To many the answer to that question is sought in the area of “praise and worship” or “religious ceremony”. Read the rest of this entry »
The “absolute” for an age with no absolutes
Just got this from a friend’s Facebook status. Fracis Schaeffer had a way with words and some great insight into the human condition.
“In passing, we should note this curious mark of our own age: the only absolute allowed is the absolute insistence that there is no absolute” – Francis Schaeffer
Men Of God
Yesterday I found an article linked from a friend’s Facebook status. It was entitled “Where Are All The Men?” I found the subject matter interesting and “clicked through”. It starts out talking about a Facebook page called “Praying People” and the fact that about 81% of the “fans” of that page are female. From there the author goes on to remark on the disparate numbers of women vs men in the church. This is a phenomenon I’ve noticed in churches, although not in the ones where we minister. Back about 1997 I took part in a city wide gathering of church leaders. When the deacons were asked to stand there were three men standing amoungst the crowd of women. Those three were men from our congregation, the rest of the city’s deacons (at that particular meeting) were all women. Read the rest of this entry »
It was a miracle!
We receive an attractive publication from a religious group called “Zion’s Hope.” It was apparently sent to us with the hope that we would subscribe and support their work. Strong appeals are made for financial support. In the current issue, explanation was given as to how adjustments had been made in their budget. “Miraculously,” it was said, their needs had been met.
Several years ago, it was common for congregations, including some congregations designated Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, to have “miracle” offerings. They would set a huge goal several weeks ahead, giving time for people to accumulate their offering. They could be stocks, bonds, insurance cash values, jewelry, used automobiles, etc., in addition to money. On the miracle day they would rejoice and praise God in some way for the accomplished miracle. Read the rest of this entry »
