24 Hour News - A Sort Of "god-like" View

With Twenty-four hour news, the internet, and the blogosphere there are people scouring the planet looking for stories to publish and pictures to take... of us... Everyone is watched, and everyone is vulnerable to have some gaffe, sin, or unguarded moment recorded for all to see.

This expansive information glut gives us a limited sort of “god-like” view of humanity. In the past our lives were private and local, open to the limited view of friends and family, and God alone who sees it all. God has the unique collective view of everyone that no king or magistrate in years past could even begin to possess. But now we are exposed to a barrage of information about the lives of others. And while there is much to be thankful for in the sights and sounds, most of the images are far from flattering.

I am one who believes the images have changed little through the years. We have always struggled with our sin. What shines in all this is the mercy of God. The more we see of ourselves, the more we see His mercy. How long-suffering He is and has been for all these years. It is His mercy and grace that sustain us or surely absolute justice would put an end to it all.

At the end of this year I thank Him for His enduring mercy to my family, my church, my country, and me. It is comforting to see the cool rains of His common grace mist the heads and shoulders of Adam's fallen children. God is amazing and His mercy endures to all generations. Thank you Father for your grace given so rich and free in this past year. I have no right to ask, but in Christ I ask for mercy in the coming year.

Lamentations 3:22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Blood Pressure - Can't Live Without It

The system that produces the pressure necessary to deliver blood to cells and then return the blood for re-oxygenation is one of the most complicated and vital systems on earth. Each individual human body has on average between 60,000 (96,000K) and 100,000 (160,000K) miles of blood vessels.

Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood against the walls of the blood vessels, especially the arteries. This system is complex but basically has five parts. The first is the pressure sensory system. The body has sensors throughout the system which keep the brain constantly aware of the pressure. If the pressure is too low or high the body, under the brain’s direction, can adjust to change the pressure. These adjustments help us understand the other parts.

The pump or heart can speed up or increase its blood output to increase pressure. The opposite will decrease the pressure.

The walls of the blood vessels in a healthy person can dilate or contract. This change in resistance may decrease or increase the pressure on the walls. The length and size of blood vessels also affect the pressure of blood flow. The longer the vessel the higher the resistance, so the circulatory system is engineered for size and length to carry blood at a pressure below the level that would rupture vessel walls.

The brain can send more blood to the kidneys which will increase urine output. Urine is primarily water that is removed from the blood. When the kidneys make more urine the volume of blood decreases which can lower blood pressure. When we loose blood our brain can slow the blood flow to the kidneys to increase blood volume and, therefore, blood pressure.

I am told that salt has an effect on blood volume in some people. It tends to increase volume and may increase blood pressure. The kidneys can also regulate sodium retention in the blood.

The concentration of blood sugar may change the viscosity (thickness of fluid) of the blood. The more sugar (think of syrup) the thicker the blood.

How would life exist for long without all of the above at the same time? The human circulatory system is a marvel of creation engineering. Our Creator, the Chief Engineer, is amazing.

All Men Seek Him

Mark 1:37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

Seek… what a glorious word! It is among my favorites. I consider myself to be a seeker… this means I spend much of my time seeking. So what exactly am I doing when I seek?

Well... the first principle is I must know there is something I don’t know. This knowledge of ignorance usually comes from asking questions about what I think I do know. To know that I don’t know is vital to learning and living.

The second principle is the recognition of my need of this knowledge or answer. If I see no need or value I will not move to the third principle which is:

I am willing to expend time, energy, and wealth to find what I do not now possess. This is the calculation of life. What am I willing to sacrifice to get the answers I need.

The forth principle is that I do it… I sacrifice what I must to gain what I don’t possess. I get up and do what I need to do… Only then am I seeking.

These people were seeking the greatest of all objectives: Jesus! What is there in this life that is right for us to seek which cannot be found in or provided by Him?

Is it correct to say that “all men” seek Him? In one sense I think so... He is the treasure-chest of all things right. He is or He holds the answer to every reasonable question. If we seek those things that are exclusively found in Him then it can be said we are seeking Him even if we don't know that the answer resides in Him.

But those seekers the disciples speak of in this verse already knew Jesus held the answers... that He was the answer... now they were seeking a personal relationship with Him. What a blissful day it is when I move from not knowing the source of an answer to knowing the source and moving toward it. It is like moving from darkness to light, from being lost to being found.

There are billions each day in this world who seek answers that only He can provide.

Charles Spurgeon "All Things New"

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Revelation 21:5

How pleased we are with something new! Our children's eyes sparkle when we talk of giving them a new toy or book. In this respect, we are all like children. Newness still fascinates the crowd.

I should not wonder, then, if the mere words of my text sound like a pleasant song in your ears; but I am thankful that their deeper meaning is even more joyful. The newness which Jesus brings is bright, clear, heavenly, enduring.

We are ready for a new year. We are glad to escape from what has been for many twelve-months of great trial. The last year had become gasping, coughing, and decrepit, in its old age; and we now lay it asleep. We hope that this newborn year will not be worse than its predecessor, and we pray that it may be a great deal better. At any rate, it is new…

But in some matters "the old is better." There are certain things that to change them for anything else would be to lose old gold for new dross. The old, old gospel is the newest thing in the world; it is forever good news.

In the things of God the old is ever new, and if any man brings forward that which seems to be new doctrine and new truth, it is soon perceived that the new dogma is only worn-out heresy skillfully repaired, and the new discovery in theology is only the digging up of a carcass of error which had better have been left to rot in oblivion. In the great matter of truth and godliness, we may safely say, "There is nothing new under the sun."

Let us go...

Mark 1:38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

This comment was made after Jesus left His bed “a great while” before daylight. He had spent the previous evening in spiritual close-quarters battle with the forces of evil. We are not told whether our Savior slept or not… but I think not. In the dark early morning hours he left the house for solitude.

Just as civilians often mistake war for romantic adventure while the battle scared soldier sees it in stark, cold, deadly images without romance or adventure, so the spiritual civilian sees the battle with evil in whimsical unreal images while the battle scared spiritual veteran, who has felt the breath of satan and seen the carnage of evil, bears a constant dark burden and sees the stark coldness of a war torn world. It will keep you awake at night… it will drive you to pray… it can make you wish at times that you were someone else doing anything else.

It is significant that Jesus could not even steal a few moments alone to pray and prepare. His sleepless, uneasy disciples must have heard Him leave the house, so they looked for Him... not wanting to be alone. When they found Him they said that “all men seek for thee.” Was there no place of rest in this war with sin? Not for this Captain, for wherever He went the war was there. But He would be nowhere else… this is what He came for and He would not retreat!

Hear the resolve in His words. If this past year has torn you... shaken you in your battle with evil. Take heart... your Captain will not stop advancing. If you're frightened or discouraged look for Him in those early morning hours... listen to His words of resolve: “Let us go...” Notice His use of the plural pronoun “us.” Mix His words of resolve with your own. Let “us” advance in this coming year, for this is why He has chosen us to be in this war with Him. And this long war is why He came. He is the Victor.