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Don't Worry 10 - Count Your Blessings

It's been a while! Here's another way the Christian can avoid worrying.

10. Count your blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. (Johnson Oatman)

This isn’t one of my favourite hymns, but there is truth in what it says. Concentrating on God’s goodness and all that he’s done, helps us to realise how little we really have to worry about.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

We have wonderful blessings to look forward to in heaven, but even in this world we’ve known wonderful providences from God. When you’re tempted to worry, spend some time thinking about how good he’s been to you up to now (even despite, perhaps, your previous worries!)

Don't Worry 9 - Be Thankful in All Circumstances

Here's another suggestion for avoiding worry.

9. Be thankful in all circumstances

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. ... Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:17-20)

If I'm worrying then it's unlikely that I'm being thankful to God for his gracious gifts to me.  On the other hand, being thankful will help to drive out worry.

Monopoly Cards

A couple of days ago I searched the internet in vain for a complete list of the cards used in the traditional London version of the Monopoly board game. So, as a service to the public, here they are:

Community Chest Cards

Movement
Advance to "Go"
Go back to Old Kent Road
Go to jail. Move directly to jail. Do not pass "Go". Do not collect £200

Taxes, Fines, etc.
Pay hospital £100
Doctor's fee. Pay £50
Pay your insurance premium £50

Receipts
Bank error in your favour. Collect £200
Annuity matures. Collect £100
You inherit £100
From sale of stock you get £50
Receive interest on 7% preference shares: £25
Income tax refund. Collect £20
You have won second prize in a beauty contest. Collect £10
It is your birthday. Collect £10 from each player

Other
Get out of jail free. This card may be kept until needed or sold
Pay a £10 fine or take a "Chance"

Chance Cards

Movement
Advance to "Go"
Go to jail. Move directly to jail. Do not pass "Go". Do not collect £200
Advance to Pall Mall. If you pass "Go" collection £200
Take a trip to Marylebone Station and if you pass "Go" collect £200
Advance to Trafalgar Square. If you pass "Go" collect £200
Advance to Mayfair
Go back three spaces

Taxes, Fines, etc.
Make general repairs on all of your houses. For each house pay £25. For each hotel pay £100
You are assessed for street repairs: £40 per house, £115 per hotel
Pay school fees of £150
"Drunk in charge" fine £20
Speeding fine £15

Receipts
Your building loan matures. Receive £150
You have won a crossword competition. Collect £100
Bank pays you dividend of £50

Other
Get out of jail free. This card may be kept until needed or sold

Stem Cells

I have rather belatedly come across this perceptive post about the recent debate on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill.

This week, Britain's Labour Party made remarkable progress in securing the country's reputation as the most scientifically illiterate and morally obtuse hamlet in the Western world. At the urging of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, both houses of Parliament defeated amendments to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that would have outlawed the creation of "chimerical embryos."

... Whether from honest ignorance or blatant dishonesty, Brown attempts to convince the public that chimerical research is not only necessary but vital for biomedical research.

Since adult stem cells are "already being used in treatments for conditions including leukemia and heart disease," explains the Prime Minister, "scientists are close to the breakthroughs that will allow embryonic stem cells to be used to treat a much wider range of conditions, especially those affecting the brain and nervous system."

While it is true that adult stem cells have been used in treatments for over 70 diseases and [conditions], it is patently false that "scientists are close" to breakthroughs using embryonic stem cells. The question, as framed by Professor Sherley [from the Program in Regenerative Biology and Cancer, Boston], is not "How soon could human embryonic stem cells be used for cures?" but rather, "Could human embryonic stem cells ever be used for cures?"

Answer: "When the errant biological properties of human embryonic stem cells are considered, it is difficult to foresee them ever being used directly as cures in children or adults...figuring out how to use human embryonic stem cells directly by transplantation into patients is tantamount to solving the cancer problem."

In other words, embryonic stem cell research will start producing cures as soon as we figure out how to cure cancer.

And stem cells derived from cloned embryos are even less useful. Even the New England Journal of Medicine backhandedly admits that such research is likely to be fruitless, because the "technical difficulties and ethical complexities of this approach [cloned human embryonic stem cells] were always likely to render it impractical."

... In clinging to their willful ignorance, Brown and his Labour Party are attempting to deny the reality of bioethics and bioscience. But as Aldous Huxley once observed, "Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

The full article is here.

Don't Worry 8 - Do What's Right (However You Feel)

8. Do what is right however you’re feeling, including your everyday duties.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23-24)

Our calling is to work hard at whatever we’re called to do. Not only is this a command of Christ, but if we do it, then we’ll find it takes our mind off our worries.

You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time. (Pat Schroeder)

As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey. (Thomas A. Edison)

The Ants Are Coming

A flood of voracious ants is heading straight for Houston, taking out computers, radios and even vehicles in their path. Even the Johnson Space Center has called in extermination experts to keep the pests out of their sensitive and critical systems.

The ants have been causing all kinds of trouble in five Texas counties in and around the Gulf Coast. Because of their sheer numbers, the ants are short circuiting computers in homes and offices, and knocking systems offline in major businesses. When IT personnel pry the affected computers open, they find the machines loaded with thousands of ant bodies.

"These ants are raising havoc," said Roger Gold, professor of entomology at Texas A&M University in College Station. "They're foraging for food and they'll go into any space looking for it. In the process, they make their way into sensitive equipment."

The ants have been dubbed Crazy Rasberry ants after Tom Rasberry, owner of Budget Pest Control in Pearland, Texas. He first tackled this particular type of ant back in 2002. Since then, the problem has only escalated.

Rasberry said the ants have caused a lot of trouble for one Texas chemical company in particular. Not wanting to name the company, he said the ants shorted out three different computers that were running a pipeline that brought chemicals into the plant. The ants took down two computers last year and one in 2006, affecting flow in the pipeline each time.

"I think they go into everything and they don't follow any kind of structured line," said Rasberry. "If you open a computer, you would find a cluster of ants on the motherboard and all over. You'd get 3,000 or 4,000 ants inside and they create arcs. They'll wipe out any computer."

The Johnson Space Center called in Rasberry a month or two ago in an attempt to keep the ants out of their facilities. Too late. Raspberry said he's found three colonies at the NASA site, but all have been small enough to control.

'With the computer systems they have in there, it could devastate the facility," said Rasberry. "If these ants got into the facility in the numbers they have in other locations, well, it would be awful. I've been in this business for 32 years and this is unlike anything I've ever seen. Anything. When you bring in entomologists from all over the United States and they're in shock and awe, that shows you what it's like."

The Johnson Space Center referred all questions about the ants to Rasberry.

The ants, which are tiny and reddish, aren't native to Texas. Officials believe they came off a ship from the Caribbean, said Paul Nester, a program specialist with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service. They were first spotted about six years ago. Gold said in the last few years they've spread in a radius of about 50 miles. And now they're moving into Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country.

"Fifty miles might not seem like a lot until you realize they're moving into Houston," said Gold. "It could really affect a lot of people's lives."

A big problem here, noted Nester, is how quickly their numbers are multiplying.

A queen fire ant, long a problem in Texas, can lay as many as 1,000 eggs a day, he said. The Crazy Rasberry ants are thought to be as prolific. However, an ant mound normally has one queen. The new ants have many queens so they're able to multiply their ranks that much more quickly. They also don't go to the trouble of building ant hills. They simply nest under anything they can find -- a log, a tire or a pet's water bowl -- and then they quickly move on as they spread further into the state.

Nester said the ants swarmed into trucks at a shipping company, shorting out the radios and even the vehicles themselves.

Gold said the ants got into an engine compartment at a sewage treatment plant and shorted out the pumps so they couldn't move the sewage out. He added that they've also overrun a subdivision and caused a lot of electrical damage to houses there.

Part of the problem is that exterminators have found it nearly impossible to kill the ants. Oh, you can kill some of them - the first wave, maybe. However, there are so many more ants coming behind them, that the first wave falls dead in the insecticide and the subsequent waves merely walk on the dead bodies, keeping themselves out of the poison and safe from harm.

Gold warned people not to spray pesticide inside their computers and to simply call in the professionals to prevent mixing up poisonous concoctions or storing the potentially harmful partly used insecticides.

Originally posted on the Forum On Risks To The Public In Computers And Related Systems, quoting from IT Business.

Administration: Better than Tongues

Being something of a process-geek myself, and knowing something of the charismatic mind-set, I was amused by this piece from Team Tominthebox:

ST. LOUIS, MO - Riverside Spirit-Filled Assembly is fairly typical as far as charismatic churches go. If you attend one of their services, you will experience lively worship, Bible reading, testimonies, and a happy church family. You will see a choir, praise team, ushers, and several pastors. They even have Children's Church. Things will also be very well-organized.

There is one thing, according to the Apostle Daniel Morris, senior pastor at Riverside, that does make his church unique. Morris told TBNN, "As with most charismatic churches, we heartily believe in the second blessing of the Holy Spirit. However, at our church this does not take the form of speaking in tongues. At Riverside, our second blessing comes in the form of administration."

Fellow Apostle Samuel Baker informed us, "We take I Corinthians 12:28 very seriously. Paul writes, 'And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.' We believe the word of God is inspired and infallible. In our church, the Spirit always manifests Himself in administrative gifts."

When you first walk into the church, the leadership and organization stand out. From the moment you arrive on the scene in the parking lot, someone is there to assist you. You are immediately provided with a map, calculator, and pager. No questions are left unanswered. No detail is too small to be ignored. When we at TBNN attended Riverside for a service, we noticed that all aspects of the performance ran very smoothly. Even the puppet ministry and youth drama teams performed seamlessly.

According to Apostle Gregory Nixon, "When people first join our church, they appear a little confused and don't always know what is going on. However, after a few weeks they are filled with the Spirit and it is amazing to see what happens. They begin giving orders to people they hardly know. They begin scheduling meetings and forming committees. They begin organizing every little thing that they see. No matter what ministry they are a part of, all the details are taken care of. We may not be the most spontaneous church around, but we sure have a chain of command. No detail is too small for us. You should see our bulletins."

Apostle Morris admitted to one problem, "We do have a few people in our church who remain disorganized. We keep praying for them to get saved."

Please Stop

The RSPCA reported this week that some 7,300 pets were abandoned in the UK last year. This made headline news in a number of media outlets.

The Daily Mail, reporting on a recent inquest, rightly expressed horror that a baby girl was mauled to death by two Rottweilers.

But where are the headlines about the ongoing killing of our nation’s children?

Why isn't there more outrage about the way we treat our unborn? They are dismembered and poisoned, subjected to all kinds of humiliation and torture, before being killed.

Last Sunday, 27th April 2008, saw the 40th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act coming into force in the UK. It serves as a marker of a sad and appalling period in British History.

During that time, some 6,500,000 – six and a half MILLION – babies have been killed. In 2006 alone (2007 figures are not yet available) there were over 200,000 abortions. That's over 500 a day. Day in, day out.

Some 97% of these were because of potential "injury to the physical or mental health" of the mothers. This broad category, widely misused and misapplied, effectively means that abortions are more or less available on demand.

Today we hear the disturbing news that more and more 12 year olds are being given abortions.

And there are renewed calls to allow “abortion on request” by ending the need for doctors to give permission for a termination.

All this in the name of sexual freedom; all this because women (and men) are unwilling to control the way they behave or to face up to the consequences of their own actions.

When will the killing stop?

Night Crossing - Teaser 7

There are 4 people who need to cross a footbridge at night. The bridge can only bear the weight of 2 of them at once. They only have one torch between them and it is too dark to cross without it. If two of them cross together they have to travel at the rate of the slowest person. One of them takes 1 minute to cross, another of them takes 2 minutes, the third takes 7 minutes and the last 10 minutes.

What's the quickest way for them all to cross?

Hint

The easiest way of tackling this is to list out all the possibilities systematically.

Answer

Sorry, I'm not going to tell you the asnwer to this one! Suffice it to say that if you've come up with 21 minutes, that's wrong. It's possible for them all to cross in less than 20 minutes.

Flash Explosion

I'm not really sure what this is all about, but I enjoyed it anyway. Go to http://producten.hema.nl for the whole story.

40 Years On - Where Are We Now?

If you are in the vicinity of Childs Hill Baptist Church next Saturday (19th April), do come to what promises to be an informative and challenging talk by John Ling on recent trends in bioethics.

This year sees the 40th anniversary of the Abortion Act coming into force in the UK. Is 200,000 abortions each year in England and Wales too many?

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill (2008) looks set to legalise human-animal hybrids, fatherless children, saviour siblings and “family balancing”. Is this a step too far?

And what about the “old” topics like euthanasia, IVF, cloning and surrogacy?

What should Christians think about these issues? What should we be doing?

Dr John R Ling will tackle these questions. He will construct a robust bioethical framework based on principles derived from the Bible — leading to the proper response: principled compassion.

More details.

Avoiding Worry 7 - Help Others

Here's another suggestion to avoid worrying as a Christian.

7. Help Others

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2)

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:33-40)

Looking after the needs of others is not only another command that we should obey, it will also help you to take your mind off your problems and your needs.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

Inspired by Exiled Preacher, I have just written to my MP, Dr Rudi Vis, about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which is making its way through Parliament:

Dear Dr Vis,

I am writing to you about the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill which I understand is soon to be debated in the House of Commons.

Please will you consider voting against the proposals on additional embryo research and for any amendment that would lead to the reduction in the abortion limit?

The Bill raises some serious ethical issues and I find some of its aspects very disturbing.

Researchers should not be allowed to work only on the basis of what is possible in the laboratory without regard to ethical principles. The unique dignity of human life should not be undermined by allowing the production of human/animal embryos for the extraction of stem cells. This is especially the case now that scientists are discovering the potential of adult stem cells, culled from human skin. See, for example, http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/scientists-reprogram-human-skin-44173.aspx. Money should be invested in developing the benefits of this kind of research rather than in ethically questionable work on embryonic hybrids.

I am also very concerned about the proposals in the Bill regarding therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. These also represent a serious attack on the value of human life.

Regarding abortion, I find it incomprehensible that this country is not horrified that there are now some 200,000 abortions occurring every year. The Bill will give an opportunity for MPs to table an amendment reducing the abortion limit from the current 24 weeks. In specialised neonatal units, up to 82% of babies born prematurely at 24 weeks now survive. Added to this is a new appreciation of foetal sensitivity to pain.

The Christian Institute has a helpful set of resources on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill: http://www.christian.org.uk/issues/2007/hte_bill/index.htm.

Abortion Petition

Since 1967 there have been almost 7 million abortions in the UK, now 200,000 a year, with one in four pregnancies ending in abortion.

Please take the time to sign this petition that has been organised by a number of pro-life organisations.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, now in the House of Commons, provides the first opportunity for 18 years for changing the law on abortion.

Please sign the new petition at http://www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org/petition/ calling on Parliament to support amendments to reduce the number of abortions in the UK from 200,000 a year and to oppose amendments that would further liberalise the abortion law.

Praying must Stop?

According to a report in today's Daily Mail, Bideford Town Council has been advised to stop opening meetings with prayer.

The National Association of Local Councils has advised that the practice might fall foul of the Race Relations Act. It could even attract an action under the Human Rights Act. It said the practice, which is observed at many town halls, was merely an "old custom" which might upset councillors and members of the public of other religions.

How sad that this should happen in this country.

At least this doesn't seem to be the end of a story. The report says many councillors are outraged by the advice. While the local MP is quoted as saying, "This situation is proof of a disturbing tendency to try to use spurious legal arguments under the Human Rights Act, and equality legislation, to eliminate the Christian faith from the fabric of our public life ... I do not believe that there is any serious risk of a meritorious action under the Human Rights Act, or the Race Discrimination Act. The advice is quite simply misleading and wrong."

Apparently he has written to the Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears demanding "urgent clarification" for town and parish councils to know how to conduct their meetings without breaking the law.

So that's all right then.

Marriage and Suicide

In a report published yesterday, the Office for National Statistics shows that married people have a substantially lower risk of suicide than non-marrieds.

The key findings of the report are (emphasis mine):

• People who are married still have a substantially lower risk of
  suicide than those who are not, despite changes in marriage
  patterns over the last 25 years.


• Despite an overall reduction in suicide rates, there has been no
  narrowing of the gap in suicide rates between those who are
  married and those who are single or divorced. Rates for single
  and divorced men and divorced women were around three times
  higher than for married men and women throughout. For single
  women, the differential widened from just over two times to
  around three times between 1983 and 2004


• There was a small decrease in the differential between single and
  married men aged 25 to 44. Suicide rates were three times higher
  for single men in 1984 but two and a half times higher in 2004


• Among men aged 45 and over, the gap in suicide rates between
  widowed and married men fell from just over four times to around
  three times between 1983 and 2004. For widowed women, the
  differential was around two and a half times throughout

Avoiding Worry 6 - Be Spiritual

Another way of avoiding worry ...

6. Be spiritual rather than material

The present world view is basically existential - live for now and for what pleases you. But the Bible says:

(a) Store up heavenly treasure

The verses in Matthew 6:19-6:24 about storing up heavenly treasure act as prelude to the teaching about worry. The juxtaposition of this teaching with the teaching about worrying is surely not a coincidence - even though in many of our Bibles it’s broken up with sub-headings.

The main lesson of this is: we have to get our priorities right. If we’re always concentrating on ourselves - what we need, treasures on earth - then it will lead to worry; but if we look outside of ourselves - the needs of the kingdom and of others, storing up treasure in heaven - then we’ll be less inclined to worry.

(b) Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33)

Our main responsibility is to look to the needs of God’s spiritual kingdom, not our material needs. I would suggest that this includes: seeking to meet regularly with God’s people; praying for others; looking for ways to tell others about the good news of Christ; being kind to others; reading the Bible, meditating on what we read and seeking to put it into practice; seeking to live holy lives before God.

Should the Church of England be Disestablished?

I came across a thoughtful post from Exiled Preacher on this question.

Some extracts ...

... the idea of an established Church is alien to the New Testament. Under the old covenant there was no distinction between the religious and civil aspects of Israel's life. The nation was a theocracy - God's chosen nation, living under the terms of his covenant.

But all that changed under the new covenant. Now the people of God are gathered from all nations. The Church may be a theocracy under the lordship of Christ, but she is distinct from the State. The State has been ordained by God to restrain evil and preserve peace and order in society (Romans 13:1-7). But the Church has been called to carry out her Great Commission to preach the gospel and make disciples for Christ from all peoples. The State may use force to subdue law breakers and protect its citizens. The Church's only weapon is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God.

There is no sense in the New Testament that the Church should aspire to a position of establishment. Obviously, that kind of thing would have been impossible under Nero. But the apostles don't so much as hint that a State established Church would be in any way desirable. All they asked was that the State tolerated the existence and activities of the Church (see Paul in Acts).

The apostles would certainly have been outraged at the thought that the State could appoint Church leaders. But the Church/State distinction found so clearly in the New Testament was gradually eroded away from Constantine onwards ...

... Some would like to see the Church of England disestablished for secular reasons. They resent the intrusion of Christianity into public life. But that is certainly not my motivation. Christ's lordship is not limited to the Church. He is Lord of all. Christians should [act] as salt and light to influence the direction of their country. We can do that by scrutinising legislation, writing to [MPs], lobbying Government ministers and so on. It would be a good thing if more genuine believers entered politics to bring Christian values to bear upon the public square.

The fact that the Constitution of the USA forbids the establishment of a Church, does not mean that Christianity has no voice in public life over there. In fact it is a strange paradox that in England, with its officially established Church, Christianity is often banished to the sidelines. ...

Paradoxical Twins - Teaser 6

Peter and Allison are twins. Peter is Allison's older brother because he was born 34 minutes before her. But Allison's birth certificate records that she was born at an earlier time.

How is this possible?

Hint

This really happened — on 4 November 2007 in North Carolina. In Britain it would have had to happen a week earlier.

See Answer

Peter was born at 1:32am on 4 November. 28 minutes later the clocks went back an hour because Daylight Saving Time (equivalent to British Summer Time in the UK) had come to an end. Allison was born 6 minutes later, at 1:06am.

Full details: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2011296/