Crazy World of Animals

No laughing please!!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0f3n4tpvNrI[/video]

Casting anchor in the dark

If God should bring us into such a dark condition as that we should see no light from himself or the creature, then let us remember what he says by the prophet Isaiah, ‘Who is among you..that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?’—no light of comfort, no light of God’s countenance—’let him trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.; (Isa 50:10). We can never be in such a condition that there will be just cause of utter despair. Therefore, let us do as mariners do, cast anchor in the dark. Christ knows how to pity us in this case. Look what comfort he felt from his Father when he was broken, (Isa. 53:5). This is what we shall feel from himself in our bruising.The sighs of a bruised heart carry in them a report, both of our affection to Christ, and of his care of us. The eyes of our souls cannot be towards him unless he has cast a gracious look upon us first. The least love we have to him, is but a reflection of his love first shining upon us. As Christ did in his example to us, whatever he charges us to do, so he suffered in his own person whateer he calls us to suffer, so that he might the better learn to relieve and pity us in our sufferings. In his desertion in the garden and on the cross, he was content to be without that unspeakable solace which the presence of his Father gave, both to bear the wrath of the Lord for a time for us,, and likewise to know the better how to comfort us in our greatest extremeities. God sees fit that we should taste of that cup of which his Son drank so deep, that we might feel a little of what sin is, and what his Son’s love was. But our comfort is that Christ drank the dregs of the cup for us, and will succour us, so that so that our spirits may not utterly fail under that little taste of his displeasure which we may feel. He became not only a man but a curse a man of sorrows, for us. He was broken that we should not be broken; was troubled so that we should not be desperately troubled; he became a curse that we should not be accursed. Whatever may be wished for in an all-sufficient comforter is all to be found in Christ [Richard Sibbes[

Erasmus on books

Say what you like about Erasmus, and you likely won’t find me differing with other Reformed believers about him, but he had his priorities straight,  and puts some of us to shame that way!

Medical Ethics

That’s a term that used to have some real meaning; yet today, it’s mostly a term, at least as far as practicing it goes. Doctors (some of them) may still view the elective cosmetic surgery, such as implants, nose straightening and all the other fashion accessories that are freely available today, as much as the newest coat was a few decades ago, as somewhat immoral, at least in my country, where the health service is under budgeted and over stretched, but they are talked or pressured into being part of that world very often, with little real choice in the matter even if its going against all their principles and against the very reasons why they wanted to become doctors. Someone who has cosmetic surgery to reconstruct something after surgery, or to try and lessen disfigurements or scrars is a different matter altogether. The boob job brigade and others, who fit into the same catagory, the doctors aren’t really helping beyond their egos and self esteem. The laters types of genuine candidates for plastic surgery, the doctors are helping making life tolerable, with extenuating reasons why it would not be tolerable other then their egos, if the surgery was not available to them. The first tho, the elective plastics, seems very hollow, vaccuous, and pointless and nothing to do with what medicine was designed to do in the first place, and going completely and irrevocably against nature and against the Creation as created by God.

The newest study to come out today has created much talk here and controversy of how the new generations of anti-depressants do not really help the depression they are prescribed for yet psyche drugs are one of the biggest money makers for the pharmaceutical industry. Not only because of the cost of the drugs themseves, but the quantity they are prescribed in. More prescriptions–More money for the makers.

We here in England at least, get the Euthanasia bill being debated in the commons and House of lords every year now, of whether to legalize it or not. It’s only a matter of time before it becomes so. And one of the main reason its being pushed to be so, is to take away any blame that doctors could currently face who are practicing it unlawfully. People if sick, or elderly or both, are withheld food and sustenance even when able to take it, because the “carers” who withold it, know this will bring a quick end to that person. My own dad, who when dying of cancer, yet he had no pain and his quality of life was quite good, even so, (until he went into hospital that is, and caught one hospital bug on top of another) was put to death in the way described above. When I had a go at the doctor about it, at the hosptial of they were not doing anything to get fluid into him at least, all he could say was, “he’s an 88 year old man, with cancer, in a critical bed.” If I could have I may have leaped outta my wheelchair and lamped him when he said such a callous thing about a human life. Almost everyone belongs to someone and has loved ones. That 88 year old man in a critical bed, with cancer, was still my dad! But they didn’t budge, and my dad died, not of the cancer, but of lack of sustenance. He was murdered, as good as, and he wasn’t even in pain, so could they really try to justify that as the “kind thing to do”?

I myself am sick unto death, as a direct result of years and years of mis-diagnoses and being given drugs all that time, even tho I complained bitterly how ill they made me feel, but which are known to trigger porphyria if you have the gene involved. So, think before you leap. Don’t take doctors at their word, because trusting doctors and not finding out all the alternatives and the things that the doctors never tell you, for yourself, could literally cost you your life. And believe me, I know.

Medical ethics? Gimme a break!

Life saver!

Frog saves mouse from high waters!

Fathers of the Reformation

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn2sQRqS_p8[/video]

Wishy Washy Christians

David Brainerds greatest conflicts when he had tubercolisis which would ultimately take his life, and was a missionary to the Indians, was depression and lonliness. Many people take religion and belief very carelessly today, and play fast and loose with the liberty we have in Christ. Yet David Brainerd would have given his right arm, for many of the advantages those Christians have, the comfort they are in to practice their faith rather than compromising it in every minute way at even no real provocation to; their God given means to grow as Christians rather than remaining the spiritual pygmies they are, in spite of their often thinking themselves anything but; the support, companionship of other Christians to unbosom their souls to, and to help and support them through whatever trials, conflicts or afflictions come along. Brainerd knew and was aware of his weaknesses much the same as I am whilst living a very similar existence to that which he did. He had an agnoized spirit often, without any of the natural comforts or any of the above listed, same as myself. Those who profess religoin today, are often very irreligous. And yet David Brainerd struggled and suffered agony in his soul from the things that tormented him, in his afflictions. Those folks who take religion very carelessly today, if alive at the same time as Brainerd, would probably sound much stronger Christians than Brainerd, because they could make all the right noises in all the right places while Brainerd may have sometimes only been able to express only the agony within his soul, because of what he was suffering. Yet Brainerd was no wishy washy Christian, those who make all the right noises in all the right places while so easily betraying the cause of Christ, just because they feel like it or it suits them with no passion involved but only their liberty to sin with no care or thought to God, or their own souls, prove that external appearances or what comes out of the mouth, in times of prosperity, proves very little as far as commitment or strength of faith. YOu see I know that agony of soul that Brainerd suffered with, because my own existence is not dissimilar to his, I lack the same things that caused his torment, while also sick unto death, and yes so many wishy washy Christiains who have it all and all the chances in life to do well for God, and yet despise him for those gifts rather than using them for good, will always get my goat. As they have everything in the way of comfort and aids to be spiritual giants, that I do not. But their comfort allows them to speak all the right words when they need to, and words are easy for anyone, while actions always say far more. There are great Christians not in the same degree of affliction, there words always match their actions no matter what, but the wishy washy brigade, make me so indignant at them despising the good things God gave them, while I limp along, in want and often in agony of spirit because of that want, yet still not choosing to do the things I see them do to betray Christ. It makes me want to shout about the parable of the talents to them, that rather they will prize and cherish the good things God has given them, rather than throwing it all away, and perhaps along with it, their souls security.  They have religion yet remain very irreligious.

My spiritual conflicts today were unspeakably dreadful, heavier than the mountains and overflowing floods. I seemed inclosed in hell itself. I was deprived of all sense of God, even of the (existence) of a God…(BUT) this taught me the absolute dependence of a creature upon God the Creator, for every crumb of happiness. [David Brainerd]

Slippin’ thru my fingers

Music has always had signiificance in my life, I can often relate to a song when I can’t the world I live in, and yes, often they wreck me emotionally because it says something that’s inside me too deep rooted to ever say; sometimes one song seems to talk of bits of my fragmented life; this is one such song, a song that wrecks me, and I feel so deeply. I’ve often wondered what I feel is slipping through my fingers, was it when my life changed, at nine years old, to never take a normal course again? Was it my life and me as I was up till that point? I think its a bit of all those things, and more besides and that no one I know can really enter into my world as its far removed from theirs. But I still often feel, all those things are slippin’ through my fingers, and I watch them fall and are helpless to stop them.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkkVIvIePPY[/video]

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile
I watch her go with a surge of that well-known sadness
And I have to sit down for a while
The feeling that I’m losing her forever
And without really entering her world
I’m glad whenever I can share her laughter
That funny little girl

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what’s in her mind
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she’s gone there’s that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can’t deny
What happened to the wonderful adventures
The places I had planned for us to go
(Slipping through my fingers all the time)
Well, some of that we did but most we didn’t
And why I just don’t know

Slipping through my fingers all the time
I try to capture every minute
The feeling in it
Slipping through my fingers all the time
Do I really see what’s in her mind
Each time I think I’m close to knowing
She keeps on growing
Slipping through my fingers all the time

Sometimes I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers

Slipping through my fingers all the time

Schoolbag in hand she leaves home in the early morning
Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

Riches in Christ for even the poorest sinner

If there be any bruised reed, let him not make an exeption of himself, when Christ does not make an exeption of him. ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden,’ (Matt. 11:28). We are only poor for this reason, that we do not know our riches in Christ. In time of temptation believe Christ rather than the devil. Believe truth from Truth itself. Hearken not to a liar, an enemy, and a murderer. [Richard Sibbes]

The misery of Roman Catholicism

This applies to arminianism in general to some degree, but to Roman Catholicism above all.

A life of misery can come in many forms, but imagine if like the Roman Catholcs, you live always trying to atone for your sin, are punishing and depriving yourself of many good things to try and make amends; that you are constantly having to work your way to heaven, which is an oxymoron and an impossible task to do so in the first place and can never be achieved, so its a constant hard slog trying to do something for nothing, and if you under achieve you may lose your ’salvation’ tomorrow; when grace is denied, in favour of the power of ourselves, when resting on grace brings peace, and trying to do all the above, which you can never ever do, is exhausting, and gives no rest, no peace, no comfort. Just a constant sense of denying ourselves, because we put ourselves out of reach of the cleansing of the blood of Christ, and man in all his infirmities, is in charge of his own ’salvation.’