BoatUS Hurricane Center

This is a site I found last year which provides some of the best tracking coverage of hurricanes. Unfortunately, it looks like there will be plenty of use for it this year as well.

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online

Interesting (but also frightening) article out of the UK on implications of life-saving treatments. Here's the opening paragraph:

"The Government today intervened directly in a right-to-life case being heard at the Court of Appeal with a message to judges that giving patients the right to demand lfe-prolonging treatment would have "very serious implications" for the National Health Service."

Since my sister got married & moved to the UK, I've been following news over there a little more closely.

The article goes on to discuss the efficient use of resources in the NHS, which I'm assuming is the nationalized health system over there (or nationalised, if you are over there), and then says this:

"But the patient cannot require his doctor to offer him any treatment option which, in the doctor’s view, is not clinically appropriate or which cannot be offered for other reasons - having regard to the efficient allocation of resources within the NHS."

Now, I can understand and appreciate wanting to use resources wisely (some would call this stewardship), and also making sure that physicians are making recommendations on treatments, rather than patients. But from my reading it seems as though what's being said, between the lines if not outright, is that treatments need to be looked at not only from a health of the patient perspective, but also on a cost-benefit analysis to the organization (in this case, the national health-care system). And that is what frightens me.

Anne Rice gets Biblical?

Fascinating news item about Anne Rice's upcoming book. Best known for her vampire novels, Ms. Rice's new book is titled "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt." The interesting thing about it is that it claims to tell the story of Jesus' early years in his own words. One wonders if she'll have source material (none of it Biblical, since there is no record of that time), or if she'll just presume to put words in the Lord's mouth.

Blog Copyright Info

It looks like I need to have copyright info posted somewhere, so here it is. This may change or move if I find a better place for it.

Site contents © 2005 Matt Gumm. Thoughts reflected are my own, not my family, employer, etc. (I see this statement on most everyone's website, and I always think, well duh! Anyway...)

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Confident in Judgment

In our sermon this week, the pastor talked about our boldness before the throne of God. At first glance, it seems odd that we would have any reason to be bold before God as judge, particularly if we acknowledge that we are sinners. But when we come to understand the source of our boldness, then we are able to be bold, able to stand confidently, before the throne of judgment.

So what is the source of our boldness? One place we learn about it is Psalm 130. In vs. 3, the Psalmist asks this question: "If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" And rather than continuing on by reading his answer, we would do well to pause a minute and ponder this question. If the Lord kept track of sins, who indeed could face his judgment boldly? Many who currently ignore the reality of God's final judgment would do well to consider both this question and its answer.

But the Psalmist doesn't leave us hopeless. He continues on in verse 4 with this: "But with you there is forgiveness, so that you may be feared." Despite our guilt, the Lord forgives, and his purpose for forgiveness is so that we will learn to fear and respect him. Amazing!

He's still not finished, though. In verses 7-8, the writer completes his thought, telling us about the magnitude of his forgiveness:
"O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption.
And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities."

This great God, before whom none can stand with a clear conscience (because we are all sinners from the inside out), chose to provide an alternative to our own punishment; a payment that upholds his righteousness and holiness but also allows us to go free; a sacrifice so perfect that all of the wrath stored up by mankind for the Day of Judgment was poured out upon him, and by his blood we have been redeemed. This is the source of our boldness.

I'll close with a quote from an old hymn, "And Can It Be." I love how the words express this thought of boldness, and focus on the true reason for it.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior's blood!
Died He for me who caused His pain!
For me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

'Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

(All scripture quotations are ESV. See copyright page for full details.)

Coolest Bible Website of the Year?

I'm ready to nominate a site for website of the year, and it's only February. I'm pretty confident in my choice, however. Zack Hubert has created an online Bible unlike anything I've ever seen. It has the Greek New Testament (NA26/UBS3), LXX, and will display parallel passages in KJV, NASB, or ESV (as well as your own custom translation), a concordance of the Greek words; you can even hover over a word to get pop-up info (parsing and lemma info plus definitions). You must see to believe. Click here.

Favorite News URL

Hands-down, news.google.com. I've been using it for a few months now, and it fits the bill in many respects. I like it for several reasons.
1. It's broad, but narrow. It's like scanning major news publications for the latest news on certain topics. It isn't necessarily the most timely--breaking news is better at one of the major news agency, but hunting down 3-5 stories on an item that happened a day or two ago is no sweat.
2. Keeps me up to date with the latest news on certain topics. Just like doing a Google search of the Web, the search engine brings back results. You can sort them by date or relevance--I use both at times. I have certain topics I search regularly (such as variations on "bible translation"), and I can see the latest news.
3. Great for news on othewise hard-to-find topics. We had a missionary over in the Ivory Coast, and trying to find news on what was happening was difficult, until I tried the Google search. It was great for keeping up to date with those events. Other current events I've used it on include the elections in Ukraine and more recently the tsunamis.

So there are a lot of things to like about it. Things I'm not as wild about:
1. Repetition. This is the biggest downside. You don't realize how broadly a news service like AP is distributed until you see how many different times the same headline pops up. On the regular Google search, they eliminate duplicates. This is a definite shortcoming.
2. Search Limits. This is the flip-side of the positive listed above. The same limitations of scope that prevent searches from becoming overwhelming also prevent them from reaching too far back. I suppose the most apropos analogy would be stacking up daily papers in your house to keep track of what was going on--it wouldn't take too long before they would get out of control. But at times this can be frustrating, when you are dealing with developing stories.
3. Inclusion of subscription/registration websites. This is more of a minor irritation, but it seems like many of the stories I'm interested in require a registration at the website. I could probably do it, but who has the time?

Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives (at least on a qualitative basis), so Google is my number one choice for news. (Did I mention they have multiple languages and countries?)

New Year's Resolutions

Click here to read the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards.

Were I to be able to fully keep even one of these all year, I would be a much better man. Nevertheless, I'm posting them as a reminder for me and for the edification of any who might chance upon them.