Our loving God and the death of “innocents”
Ξ February 24th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
1 John 4:8 - He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
In my virtual travels around the web I often encounter atheists who have made it their mission in life to try to make our wonderful God appear as unattractive as possible in their attempts to cause believers to lose their faith and non-believers to avoid finding it. One of their favorite tactics is explaining the “unfairness” of God’s many judgments as depicted in the Bible.
These severely misguided individuals typically point to events like the great flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and insist that “innocent” people must surely have suffered and died along with the “guilty”, and that any God who would allow that to happen wouldn’t be a God they would be interested in serving even if He existed. Well, like I said, they are severely misguided…
The mistake they are making is that except for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (when He was living on earth in human form) there are no “innocent” human beings. Romans 3:23 says “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”… And that does means everyone. But you’re probably asking “What about small children and babies?”
While it’s true that infants and small children do not consciously commit sins, the corrupted blood of Adam still courses through their veins, making them sinners. This state of sin is inherited, not a result of any decision(s) they made on their own. And since the wages of sin is death, babies and small children are subject to dying a human death just like adults are. Thankfully, most of them end up growing up and living into adulthood, but many don’t for one reason or another.
But that sad fact is not the fault of God. When a person of any age feels the sting of human death, he/she is simply receiving the punishment that was levied on all of mankind after the fall of Adam. It’s a fate we all must eventually endure.
Like most people, I am deeply saddened when I hear of a young child dying from a terrible disease or due to some other type of misfortune because they will never have the opportunity to experience many of the wonderful things that God blesses us with during a long earthly life. And of course I’m always heartbroken for the child’s family.
But we also have to remember that God is love, and He ALWAYS takes care of His children. Even though a young child is a sinner from birth, because of His endless mercy God forgives his/her sins in the event that he/she dies before reaching the age of accountability. Countless babies and children who “died” at a very young age are already enjoying magnificent lives up in heaven, and many more will follow after them. And the good thing is they were spared most of the hardships and troubles that go along with living a long human life.
You see, we humans simply cannot comprehend the greatness of our amazing, supremely loving, and all-powerful God. His plans are not our own, and His reasons for doing the things He does are not for us to question. To us, it seems that taking an “innocent” to heaven prematurely is a bad thing, and it’s absolutely right for us to feel that way out of our own love, compassion and limited human understanding.
But from God’s point of view, calling one of His children home early is actually a blessing, affording him or her the rare privilege of getting to “skip” most of the bad things about life down here while getting a “head start” on enjoying the magnificence of life in His holy presence up in heaven.
Of course it still breaks our hearts whenever we hear that a child has passed away at an early age, and so it should. But we also need to understand that God knows what’s best for His children, and we humans are simply incapable of comprehending His tremendous love and endless fountain of mercy and wisdom.
God is love. He always has been, and He always will be, and we should never question His reasons for allowing things to happen that we don’t understand.
Automatically flushing toilets
Ξ February 20th, 2008 | → 2 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
One of my biggest pet peeves is the automatic flush toilet - you know, those toilets that have a little electronic sensor that tells the plumbing that you’re all done and it’s ok to go ahead and flush. Well, all too often you aren’t done when you hear that tell-tale swoosh, and things really go downhill from there.
The concept of automatically flushing toilets is a good one. In a perfect world it would ensure that a toilet never goes unflushed while allowing you to avoid touching a nasty handle in a public restroom. It’s in the implementation where the idea breaks down. Simply put, the sensors are easily tricked into thinking you’re done when you’re not, and fewer events in life are more disturbing than having a toilet flush on its own while you’re still sitting on it.
Now I can’t say that every model of every brand has a problem with pre-mature flushing because my experience with them is limited to the units you find in department store restrooms and the like, but I can say that virtually every automatic flush toilet I’ve ever used has left me feeling like my life was totally out of my control. I mean really, who wants to use a toilet that has a mind of its own?
Now, if they could just do something about those automatic faucets that turn the water off while you still have soap all over your hands!
Never host your website with your domain name registrar!
Ξ February 19th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Technology |
In my last post I told you about a great web hosting deal and it reminded me of Rick’s first rule of domain name registration and web hosting: Never, ever register your domain name and host your website with the same company!
I have been building websites for a number of years, and I learned early on the hard way that it is never a good idea to mix your hosting accounts with your domain registrations. Everything is just fine until you decide to move your site to a different hosting company, at which time all types of snakes tend to begin rearing their ugly heads.
All too often you’ll have a heap of trouble trying to change the DNS server settings to point to the new server because the registrar/host is upset that you’re moving the most profitable part of your business elsewhere. In other words, don’t be surprised if “glitches” arise during the transfer process, and don’t count on getting much help from the registrar to resolve them!
A similar and usually even more insidious problem often occurs when you allow the person or company who builds and hosts your website to also register and control your domain name. By now you should be able to guess what often happens when you decide to take your site’s hosting and maintenance business elsewhere. Yep, your domain name is held hostage, causing you to have to go to great trouble and expense trying to gain control over it.
I know of many instances where the rightful owner of a good domain name ended up having to simply abandon it (along with its inbound links and search engine rankings) and register a new one that was nowhere near as good as the original. As a matter of fact, I have a good friend whose Celtic Music group just went through that very scenario.
Now I’m not saying that every domain registrar, hosting company and web designer out there is up to no good - quite to the contrary. But I can tell you from personal experience that there are plenty enough bad ones to absolutely ruin your day if you choose to break the rule explained in the first paragraph.
If you wish to hire someone to build a website for you, the first thing you should do is register your own domain name, by yourself, listing yourself as the owner AND the “Administrative Contact”. I also recommend opening your own web hosting account, and then setting up a limited FTP account that the designer can use to upload and manage the various files.
Then once a week or so, use your own FTP program (I use an outstanding free one called FTP Commander) to download the latest files from the server to your local computer. Also, if you have a blog or some other site that uses a database, make sure you periodically download a backup copy of it as well. That way, should you ever decide to move your website to a different web hosting provider and/or switch web designers, you’ll already have everything you need in order to successfully complete the move.
Registering a new domain name is cheap and simple. I have used Godaddy, the largest (and in my opinion the best) registrar out there exclusively for many years with nary a problem. There are many good web hosting companies to choose from, but I think it would be a bit difficult to beat the deal currently being offered by Webhostingpad . Just my two cents worth…
The best web hosting deal I have ever seen!
Ξ February 19th, 2008 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Technology |
Many visitors to this site have blogs or websites of their own, and if you’re one of them please allow me to take a moment to tell you about the best web hosting deal out there.
Webhostingpad is currently offering an almost unbelievable deal. For as little as $4.95 a month you get a whopping 1,700 GB of disk space, 17,000 GB of bandwidth, and all the bells and whistles you could ever need or want for your blog or website.
They will even assign one of their professional webmasters to your account for a free consultation to answer your questions and help get your site up and running!
Would you like to set up your own Wordpress blog? Their Fantastico automated script installation feature will install it for you in about 10 seconds flat!
Want to host dozens of different websites to take full advantage of all that storage space and bandwidth? With Webhostingpad you can literally host all the domains you want until your massive server space runs out (probably somewhere around 2025 would be my guess).
There are just so many features and benefits included in this plan that I can’t possibly cover them all here. Click here to visit Webhostingpad and check it out for yourself!
The high cost of inkjet printer ink
Ξ February 17th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Pet Peeves |
This evening I did a little math and discovered that I pay approximately $108 for every ounce of colored ink that I use in my HP Deskjet 3910 printer. No, that’s not a typo, that precious ink really does cost a whopping $108 per ounce! You don’t believe me? Well, here’s the proof:
The 3910 uses the HP 22 colored ink cartridge which costs approximately $18 per unit. Each unit contains .17 ounces (that’s 17/100 of one ounce). Divide .17 into 1 and you discover that it takes just about 6 cartridges to hold one ounce of ink. Now, multiply $18 by 6 cartridges and you’ll see that the total amount I pay for a single ounce of colored ink is indeed $108!
Of course the other printer manufacturers are just as bad, and some are worse - I just happen to use the HP 3910 so I used it as an example. To add insult to injury, it’s often impossible to completely use up all of the ink that comes in a cartridge. Many inkjet cartridges these days have a little sensor in them that tells the printer that the cartridge is out of ink. The problem is, it often isn’t empty at all, even though the sensor says it is.
How do I know? Because I can shake some of my “empty” cartridges and feel and hear the residual ink sloshing around inside. Does the printer care? Of course not. If the sensor says the cartridge is empty, it’s empty - Period, end of story. Never mind all that ink sloshing around inside. I can almost hear my printer talking to me right now: “Just throw it out and buy a new cartridge if you ever want to print again, you cheapskate!”
Granted, there probably isn’t very much ink left when the sensor tells the printer that you need to spend another $18, but at $108 an ounce I should be able to use every single drop of that .17 ounces of ink.
I can remember a time when the cheapest inkjet printers you could buy cost around $300, but nowadays you can pick one up that is a heap better than those dinosaurs were for a measly 25 bucks at Wal-Mart. You see, a few years back the printer manufacturers realized that electronic items were constantly getting better and cheaper at the same time, a fact that would eventually make it pretty difficult for them to make any real money by selling the printers themselves.
The solution they came up with for this dilemma was both brilliant and devious: practically give the printers away and then sell the proprietary ink cartridges to match them for outrageous prices! And it has worked wonders for their collective bottom line.
So the next time you head over to your local computer supply store to pick up a new inkjet printer cartridge, bear in mind that you too are most likely spending $100+ for every ounce of ink that runs through your printer. Doesn’t it give you a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you’re helping the printer manufacturers resolve such a sticky problem with their business model?
Josh Turner’s “Long Black Train”
Ξ February 17th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Things I like |
Josh Turner has taken the world of Country Music by storm. In his young career he has already turned out several smash hits and built a fan base that rivals those of many seasoned Country veterans thanks to his friendly, down-home personality and an amazing voice the likes of which comes along about once in a generation.
Josh’s first big hit was the Country-Gospel tune “Long Black Train”, a strikingly beautiful song with a captivating melody and a powerful message that seems to resonate very well with Christians and non-Christians alike, especially given the state of the world in which we live today. In a nutshell, the lyrics explain that the ways of the devil are very enticing, but following him instead of the Lord will have serious consequences down the road.
But it also offers the message that God is a loving God, and if we repent of our sins and make the decision to follow Him instead of satan, we’ll be much better off, and much happier in the end.
The only line in “Long Black Train” that I take issue with is the one stating that the only destination for the devil’s train is “the middle of nowhere”. Quite to the contrary, satan’s train surely does have a destination, and everyone who succumbs to his enticements and climbs aboard will some day find themselves in the pits of a fiery hell, never to escape the eternal misery and shame.
That being said, I don’t think Mr. Turner had any ill intentions for including that regrettable line in the song. The overall message is a good one, and given its immense popularity and radio play, perhaps some people will be drawn to Christ by it who otherwise would not have been. And that is a very good thing.
The “Living Water” of Jesus Christ
Ξ February 15th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ Devotions |
John 4:14 - But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
When Jesus encountered the woman at the well in Samaria, he knew right away that she was in need of much more than just a pail of water. She had lived a life of grievous sin, and Jesus could tell that she was searching for a way out of what had become a miserable life.
As Jesus conversed with the woman, she came to the realization that this was no ordinary man. After all, Jews of the day simply didn’t associate with Samaritans, and when Jesus began talking to her she was quite taken aback. But what she didn’t realize was that Jesus wasn’t just any Jew, He was the very Son of God who would soon be willingly laying down His life so that all who believed in Him could be saved.
And His grace was certainly sufficient to save Samaritans as well as everyone else. This special man - God in the flesh - would soon be shedding His precious blood on the cross at Calvary for the remission of the sins of the entire world, not just the Jews.
When Jesus began telling her things about her personal life that he never should have been able to know, she had a true epiphany concerning His holy status. She quickly became convinced that this amazing man who offered her a drink from a very special well was indeed the Messiah, the Son of the Living God - the Saviour of the world.
Still today Jesus is offering everyone who will accept it a drink from the well of “Living Water”, a drink that will quench the most desperate thirst for forgiveness and redemption. Have you accepted a drink from that special well? Have you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour? If not, I urge you to click here to find out how you too can be saved and spend eternity in the glorious presence of our magnificent Lord!
It has happened once again…
Ξ February 15th, 2008 | → 1 Comments | ∇ My thoughts on... |
You would think we would have all learned our lesson after the horrific Virginia Tech massacre. But we didn’t, and it has happened once again. No…make that twice. Back to back campus shootings in Louisiana and Illinois in the timespan of a single week have left a total of 10 people dead. I wonder how many of those victims would still be alive today if at least one other person in those buildings had been carrying a weapon.
You would think by now our leaders would have figured out that banning guns on our nation’s campuses is a recipe for disaster. How many more people are going to have to lose their lives before we all come to understand that people should - and must - be allowed to defend themselves against the very real forces of evil that exist in the world today?
Sure, it’s a cliché, but it’s true nonetheless: Wherever guns are outlawed, only the criminals will be carrying guns. Do we really want our schools’ students, faculty, and staff living with the constant fear that they might well be among the next group of innocent victims facing a deranged shooter with no realistic means of defending themselves?
Keeping the same failed policy in place while hoping for a different outcome every time someone goes on a rampage is simply stupid and irresponsible. The first step in getting out of any hole is to stop digging. It’s time to do away with the ban on guns on our nation’s campuses.
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