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Will you open your Bible now with me to Philippians chapter 2, as we continue in our study of this great epistle. We have found our way to verses 12 and 13 of this great second chapter. And we began a look at these two verses last week. We will continue it this week, and we will complete it next week. The richness of what is in this tremendous text demands our careful thought.
You know, everything in life, basically, that is accomplished demands energy. It took energy for you to get out of bed this morning. It took energy for you to produce whatever you ate for breakfast. It took energy for you to get here by whatever means of transportation you took. Everything moves by virtue of energy. That's true in the spiritual dimension as well. And we've been looking at the question related to this particular passage: what is the energy that provokes sanctification? What is the energy that provokes a life of holiness? What is the energy that impels righteousness? What is the energy that causes fruitfulness? What is the energy that results in spiritual progress? And we've been looking at that very important question because that's exactly what the apostle Paul treats in these two verses.
You'll remember last week we suggested to you that there have been two answers to the question in part. Some say that the energy for spiritual progress is all God's. In fact, historically those people are called quietists. They believe that in effect the Christian is quiet in the process of spiritual growth. He provides, or she provides basically no energy to the process whatsoever and that the key is surrender, yield, die to self, mortify oneself, put your life on the altar. That we basically do absolutely nothing, it's all of God. There is also a group of people who came to be known as the Pietists who took the opposite view, in some sense, to the Quietists and they said, "No, spiritual progress is energized by the believer. We must be devout, we must be committed, we must be diligent, we must be," and here was their key word, "self and spiritually disciplined. It takes all of our effort to accomplish sanctification."
We noted last week that if we read only verse 12, we might think that Paul was a Pietist. If we read only verse 13 we might think he was a Quietist. So, we'll read both and we'll see the truth. "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." That sounds somewhat like the Pietists: work out your own salvation. It's up to you, he seems to be saying. Then, in verse 13 he says, "For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Verse 13 sounds just the opposite. It sounds as if it is all God, willing and doing whatever He wants in you.
Now, having read those two verses and considered the two opposite views, we might conclude that this is a rather complex issue to resolve. And that is not the case. Paul resolves it very simply. He says in verse 12 it's all you, and in verse 13 it's all God. What he doesn't do is harmonize it. Very simply, it takes all that we are and all that God is. Simply, it demands that I make commitment of my life daily to the service of Jesus Christ with every faculty that I possess, and at the same time all that is accomplished within me is the work of God. The answer is: it's all of us and it's all of God.
We shouldn't be surprised to find this mysterious paradox in the matter of sanctification; we find it in a lot of other ways as well in the Scripture. If we go back, for example, to the matter of incarnation, we are struck with the mystery of the fact that Jesus Christ was Son of Man, fully man, and that everything He accomplished in His life He did as man. He spoke with a voice of a man, He walked with the feet of a man, He did miracles with the hands of a man, He thought with the mind of a man, He saw with the eyes of a man, He heard with the ears of a man, He felt with the heart of a man. And yet, at the same time, He was all God. He was the God-Man, the unfathomable union of deity and humanity with no loss to either. We are not surprised also to find the same mysterious paradox in the matter of inspiration. We understand, for example, that Philippians was written by the apostle Paul. It's his vocabulary, it's his heart, it's his mind, it's his thoughts, it's his reasonings, his logic, his passion, his concern. It's all of Paul, and yet every word is inspired by the Holy Spirit. How can it be? But it is.
We have the same situation as we think about salvation. Salvation demands turning from sin and embracing the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation demands an act of the human will in which the sinner repents, places faith in the persona and work of Christ. And yet, it's all of God who chose Him before the foundation of the world and effected that salvation through sovereign grace. We find the same thing in the perseverance of a believer. We are eternally secure because we are held with Christ in the hand of God, because God has so designed it that no one can bring an accusation against us, God will not hear it. No one can condemn God's elect. It is God that justifies. It is Christ that stands for us. And yet though it is all God in terms of our security, it is all us in terms of our perseverance. And the Bible says that if we are not faithful to continue to the end, we shall not inherit eternal life. It takes all of us and all of God, and therein is the divine paradox repeated in many, many different ways.
And so, when we come to this matter of sanctification or spiritual life, we are not surprised to find out it is all of us and all of Him. We also shouldn't be surprised because this is not the first time such a truth has been said in Scripture. First Corinthians chapter 15 might be a place to start, looking at a couple of other passages briefly. Listen to this, 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 10, Paul says, "But by the grace of God I am what I am," and he's speaking spiritually there, speaking not only about his salvation but his spiritual development. "By the grace of God I am what I am at this moment, as a Christian, as a teacher of God's truth, as a called apostle, I am what I am by God's grace. And His grace toward me did not prove useless. God has made me what I am."
Now, that would sound at first like Paul was a Quietist. But then he says this, "But I labored even more than all of them." In other words, there is a reality here that he is what he is because God made him what he is, but he is what he is because he worked harder at it than anybody else. And then, he closes the verse by going back to where he started and saying, "Yet not I but the grace of God with me." I am what I am because God's grace made me this way, but also because I labored more than all the others. In other words, he is saying I have reached the level of spiritual development that I have because of God and because of my own effort.
Look with me at Galatians chapter 2 and here we find Paul giving testimony again to the same thing. He says this in verse 20 of Galatians 2, a very familiar text, "I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me." Now, this is a favorite verse of the Quietistic view, the Keswicks, the deeper life, the higher life folks. I have been crucified with Christ therefore I'm dead. When you're crucified, you die. So, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. In other words, Paul seems quite Quietistic at this point. He is, in effect, saying, it's not me' it's Christ. Whatever life I live I'm dead to it, Christ lives it.
Then, having said that he says this, "And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me." In the first half of the verse he said I died, Christ lives. In the second half he says but I live, Christ living in me. And again, if you read only the second half you might conclude that he was somewhat Pietistic. The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith. He doesn't live and then he does live. It's none of him and it's all of him. In Colossians, as he gives us insight into the direction and ultimate goal of his ministry in chapter 1, he says in verse 28 that his objective in ministering was to admonish every man, to teach every man with all wisdom that we may present every man complete in Christ, Colossians 1:28, Paul's goal in the ministry to present men to the Lord complete. Then, verse 29, he talks about the energy. "And for this purpose also I labor, I work hard." A very strong verb, having to do with intense effort. It could be read, "For this purpose I make maximum effort, striving, agonizing according to His power which mightily works within me." The same marvelous, somewhat mysterious balance. It's all of me; it's all of Him.
Maybe I can give you an illustration to help in your understanding. In your mind's eye, go back to Exodus chapter 14 to Moses. You don't need to turn to it. Just think about it with me for a moment. Pharaoh's army is behind him and the Red Sea is blocking his path. Pharaoh's desire is to destroy the children of Israel and the Red Sea will prove their drowning, if they move into it. But Moses was so confident, though he was in that trap, so confident that the Lord would give victory to him and to the people of God that in verse 13 of Exodus 14 he shouts to the people, and this is what he says: "Don't be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." Don't be afraid, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. That was great faith but that was bad advice. Sorry Moses, you got it half right. Good for that kind of faith, bad advice. Because the Lord immediately shot back from heaven and said this, "Why are you crying unto Me? Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to go forward." I like that. It's not stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. It's what? Go forward and see the salvation of the Lord. God was going to give the victory, and He was going to give it in such a way that no one could deny that it was Him who did it. And in such a way that it could never have been done with any help from man, but He wasn't going to do it until the Israelites moved forward. What an analogy that is. Because that is precisely what Paul is saying to us here in the spiritual dimension. It isn't stand still and see the victory of the Lord. It isn't yield, surrender, let go let God. It's move, and see the victory of the Lord.
So, we conclude that there are just two points in these two verses. Point number one, verse 12: the Christian working out. Point number two, verse 13: God working in.
Let's go back to our first point which we introduced last time. In verse 12, Paul says basically that the Christian is to work out. In fact, the major statement of verse 12, the main verb and the main idea, is found at the end of verse 12, "Work out your own salvation." That is a present-imperative; that means it's a continuing force command: continually be working out your salvation. That is a mandate. Please notice, he is not saying work at your salvation. He is not saying work up your salvation. He is not saying work for your salvation. Salvation is a gift of grace not of what? Works. You're not working for it, you're not working at it to improve it, you're not working it up, you are simply working it out. And we noted last time, rather in great detail, as we studied that phrase, that what he means is to produce on the outside of your life that which has been planted on the inside, to make visible in your conduct that which is true of your redeemed nature. What God has worked in by way of salvation, you are to work out by way of sanctification. And notice, please, that he says, "Work out your own salvation." And that, by the way, is emphatic in the Greek order here. Work out your own means without me, apart from me, apart from my help. For that matter, apart from anyone else's help. There's a definite individuality in this command.
We also noted that the concept of working out your own salvation speaks of salvation in its dimensional reality. That is to say that we have been saved, we are being saved and we will be saved. There is yet a future dimension of salvation which has not yet come to pass, that full and final salvation which we will experience in the redemption of our body in the glorification when we meet Jesus Christ and become like Him. So, he is saying work out your salvation with continuity in the sense that you are working out and on to the final form of your salvation. So, we noted that he had both things in mind as we looked more closely at the terms here. Work out continually until you reach the full final expression of your salvation. He is here calling for maximum effort. The concept of work out means to give intense commitment to. He is calling for great effort.
And so, we concluded last time that we as believers must give the maximum effort to the matter of spiritual progress, occasionally beating our bodies into subjection, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:27: boxing, warring, running, racing with endurance. It takes all our effort, the effort of all of our faculties. And that is why the apostle Paul in Romans 12 says that we are to present our bodies living sacrifices and we are to allow our minds to be being transformed so that we may know and do the will of God which is always perfect. It demands the fullness of effort. The very fact that the New Testament is replete with commands to the believer assumes that the believer has both the responsibility and the resource to respond.
As I am often prone to do, I was reading last week a biography of a great man of God, it happened to be CT Studd, a portion out of his life. This man was a very gifted and unusual man who made great sacrifices in going to the mission field in a very primitive time. And one night when he and a colleague were staying in a very dilapidated facility, a very uncomfortable place and it was very cold and they had not the proper warmth, it was hard to sleep because of the discomfort that was there, his colleague awoke in the middle of the night to find CT Studd sitting up, somewhat shivering in a blanket that he had wrapped around himself, propped against two walls in the corner of this little room. And by candlelight, he was reading his Bible. And according to the biographer, his colleague asked him why he was so strangely occupied in the midst of a cold night, to which Studd replied with these words, "I felt something was wrong in my relation to the Lord, and so I am reading through the entire New Testament to check all the commands to me in case I have unwittingly violated any of them." End quote.
A rather serious approach, don't you think, to your spiritual life. Not exactly let go and let God. Here was a man so concerned about his spiritual life that he is propped up in a corner with a candle on a dark cold night, wrapped in a blanket reading the entire New Testament, if per chance he might come across some command that he has perhaps violated because there is somewhere a glitch in his relationship to the living Christ. That's the kind of devotion it takes to make a difference. That's what Paul had in mind when he said, "I labored more abundantly than them all." Yes, it is the grace of God; yes, it is a maximum effort. And what set CT Studd head and shoulders above other men of his age who name the name of Christ was not simply and only and isolated the grace of God, but it was the grace of God and the kind of devotion that keeps a man up all night reading the whole New Testament if he can find one thing that he may have violated that can enhance the fullness of his relationship with God. And so, God is calling on all of us to work out that which is in us with the greatest amount of diligence.
Now, I want to be very practical because I think Paul is here. And I want to give you the elements that will help you to do that, because he gives us five of them in this verse. Five things you need to understand that will assist you in working out your salvation with real diligence and faithfulness. Number one, you must understand your example. You must understand your example. Would you notice that verse 12 begins with a little particle in the Greek? It's translated "So then." But it's the little particle, hste. It is a particle used in the Greek language to draw a conclusion from a preceding section. And so, he is really pulling into those two little English words, "so then," everything that has been said from verse 5 through 11. So then, and what do we find before this? We find Jesus Christ back in verse 5. He is introduced there as the model of humility, as the model of obedience, as the model of submission. For it was Christ Jesus who didn't hold on to being equal with God. It was Christ Jesus in verse 7 who emptied Himself, who became a bond servant. It is Christ Jesus in verse 8 who humbled Himself, even to the point of dying on a cross. It was Christ Jesus who was thereby exalted by God, who was given a name which is above every name, which we saw is the name Lord, the sovereign name.
You see, it is Christ Jesus who is the model. And he says, "So then, work out your own salvation." What do you mean, "So then?" Just as you have seen the example of what a saved person is to be like, in the light of the fact that He was obedient, be like Him. In light of the fact that He was humbled, be like Him. In light of the fact that being humbled He was then exalted, count that promise yours. So, Paul is saying since Jesus Christ gave you the example of humble obedience to God, since Jesus Christ showed you what submission is, since Christ showed you the path of exaltation, then you are to follow His pattern. Be like Him.
And I don't need to tell you this, do I? That the substance of your spiritual dedication is really clearly defined in being like Jesus Christ. That's why Paul said to the Galatians that he was in travail, or pain, until Christ was fully formed in them. That's why John says if you say you abide in Christ, you ought to walk the way He walks. He's your example. So then, work out your own salvation so that in the process you desire and long and pursue Christ's likeness.
There's a second thing you need to understand here. You need to understand you're loved. You need to understand you're loved. Do you know why? Because in the process of endeavoring to work out your salvation and be all that you can be, you're going to fail. And I don't think it's whimsical that the apostle Paul happens to say in verse 12, "So then, my beloved." There was a patience in his heart that reflected the patience of God. There was a mercy and a grace in his heart toward the people he loved and served and called his children in the faith, a patience that was representative of the patience in the heart of God. There was a mercy in Paul that was the mercy of Christ. There was a grace in Paul that was the grace of Christ. And when he says to them, "my beloved," he was saying there's some space in my relationship with you, some space for your failure.
There was Euodia and there was Syntyche and they were fighting one another. There was obviously some pride in the Philippian church; else he would not have spoken of humility so strongly. There was some discord there and disunity. But in all of it, they were still his beloved. Not just once, but back in chapter 1 verse 8 he said, "I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus." This love that he had for them was a love that went from his heart down to into visceral area, as the Greek word would express it. He felt his affection. He affirms that they are his beloved again in chapter 4 verse 1, even as he speaks a corrective to them, particularly two women who were out of harmony, "Therefore my beloved brethren, whom I long for." There was deep affection. And in that love and in that affection was space for failure. And this reflects the heart of God.
Aren't you happy as a Christian that as you work out your own salvation there's some space? Aren't you happy that you are loved by God? And that within the framework of that love there is forgiveness, and there is mercy, and there is grace, and there is restoration? Aren't you glad that you don't serve the kind of God that the deities of paganism represent? Aren't you glad that you don't live under the bondage of fear to those deities who cannot be properly appeased because there is no grace? Understand you're loved. This is no abusive command. This is no indifferent military directive. This is the loving passionate heart of a pastor saying to his people, "I care about you. I understand. There's some room for failure," and thus does he reflect the heart of Christ. So, in working out your salvation, understand your example and understand that you're loved.
Thirdly, understand the place of obedience. Understand the place of obedience. He says in verse 12, "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed." Just as you have always obeyed. And therefore he identifies a pattern of conduct in spiritual life, very much like Ephesians 2:10 where he says that God has ordained us to walk in good works. See, the Christian life is basically a pattern of obedience. By the way, the word "obey" here is from the Greek verb hupakou, and the reason I mention the term is because we get the word acoustics from akou, it means to obey something you've heard. The little preposition hupo at the front means "under," having heard, put yourself under. So, it speaks of submitting to something you've heard. And he is saying basically, you have always had that attitude. You can go back to the 16th chapter of the book of Acts and you will find there that it says when Paul came to the region of Philippi, he preached the gospel and Lydia listened. She not only listened, but she believed, and it says the Lord opened her heart. And later on he preached, you'll remember, verses 32 and 33, the gospel to the Philippian jailer and his entire household, and they too listened and they too believed.
In both cases, as that church of Philippi was being born, there was obedience. You say, "In what sense?" They obeyed the word which they heard. And what is the word of the gospel? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. The word of the gospel comes and says turn from your sin and turn to Christ. Stop following self and follow the Lord Jesus. That's a command. We don't think of it as such, but it is. The gospel is a command, do you understand that? "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" is an imperative. When the Father said, "This is My beloved Son, hear Him," He was serious. God commands the world to hear Christ. Christ commands the world to believe. The apostles and the preachers command the world to believe on Christ so that any moment of salvation is a moment of obedience to a command.
We often talk about sharing our faith. We very seldom talk about commanding people to believe. We are doing more than sharing something, we are reiterating a command. "This is My beloved Son. Hear Him." Believe, repent, follow Me. That is precisely why the apostle Paul articulates apostleship as calling the Gentiles, Romans 1:5, to the obedience of faith. Faith is an act of obeying a command to repent and believe. And it then ushers one into a life of obedience so that most characteristic of a Christian's life is obedience to God, obedience to Christ. And thus, Paul says, you have always obeyed.
Sometimes your obedience is sporadic. There are times of disobedience for which you are glad that you understand you are loved, as we just noted. But nonetheless, our spiritual life is characterized by obedience. In 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, do you remember verse 8, where in speaking about the retribution that will come against the ungodly when Jesus returns from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire? Paul says, "He will deal out retribution to those who do not know God," listen to this, "and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." You see, receiving Christ is an act of obedience to a divine command. And in that sense, if there were no other sense, you always at salvation are acknowledging Jesus as Lord because you in believing are submitting to a command. And that initiates a life of obedience.
In chapter 3 of 2 Thessalonians and verse 14, it says, "If anyone does not obey our instruction," and Paul is there talking to believers and so we understand that though we were saved by an act of obedience into a life of obedience, it is possible for us to be disobedient. And that is why he says, "Just as you have always obeyed, I want you to do it much more," and we'll get into that statement next. So, we must understand that we are called to a life of obedience. That is the pattern of our life from the moment of salvation.
Do you remember what Peter said in 1 Peter? Just so we don't think Paul is the only one who gave this message. He says we are chosen, 1 Peter 1:2, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit in order that you may obey Jesus Christ. That's the heart of our Christian experience. We are called to obedience. That is why in the great commission we are told to make disciples by going and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have what? Commanded you. It's a life of obedience. Salvation is a command and all of obedience is articulated in Scripture as a series of commands. The very basic definition of our spiritual life is that we are under orders to obey a commander. To fail to understand that is to fail to understand the most basic element of salvation. It is an act of obedience.
So, if we are to work out our salvation, it requires that we understand our example, Christ, so we know what we are to be like; to understand that we are loved, that we have the space to fail and be restored again in grace; to understand nonetheless that we are called to obedience.
Fourthly, Paul helps us here in this matter of working out our own salvation by letting us know that we need to understand our personal resources and responsibility. We are very prone as sinners to blame other people for our problems, is that not true? To be self-justifying. So, he reminds us here that we are responsible because we have the personal resources for our own spiritual wellbeing. Simply stated, he says this very clearly, "So then, my beloved, just as you've always obeyed, not as in my presence," parousia, "only but now much more in my apousia." In other words, he says, "Look, I saw the pattern of obedience when I was there. I want to see much more of it now that I'm not there." The assumption here is that they need to do it on their own. That's why earlier in the verse, or later in the verse he says, "Work out your own salvation; you don't need me."
They loved him. Back in chapter 1 verses 7 and 8 it tells us that the bond of affection between them was very strong. They had, in fact, as we pointed out many months ago when we studied that section, a very unique relationship. They loved that man. There was never at that time, and perhaps never will be in the history of the church, a greater man of God than Paul. Certainly never a greater teacher of the Word of God because he was inspired in much of what he said which became a great portion of the New Testament, at least 13 letters. This is a unique man of God who could, if anyone could, build a tremendous dependency, and he did. There were some who said, as we noted in Corinth, "I am of Paul." You could become very dependent on his strength. You could almost lean on him to the point that if he moved, you fell.
But at the time he writes this letter he is incarcerated as a prisoner and he is saying to them, "In my presence you obeyed, much more you must now obey in my absence, you may not have me again." I saw it when I was there; I want to see more of it now that I'm gone. In fact, you should obey even more now that I'm gone, because you should have progressed to that point because of all that I taught you. And the point that I want you to understand is that they had the duty and the responsibility because they had the resources to work out their own salvation.
Sometimes you'll hear someone say, "Well, So-and-so is not a very strong Christian, but after all, look at the church they're in. So-and-so is not a very strong Christian, they don't get good teaching. Well, you know, So-and-so has got a lot of sin in their life but they've really never been exposed to good books, and have never had anybody disciple them." And I will say to you that I have met people in the remote corners of the world who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and walk in spiritual depth and maturity, and may be all but absolutely alone in a sea of paganism as missionaries. But their love for Christ is deep, consistent, and powerful. And their testimony is pure and clean. Why? Because they have in them the Holy Spirit of God. It is a great boon to be in an environment where your spiritual life is stimulated, but sometimes it becomes an environment where your spiritual life is artificially propped up.
People ask me the question all the time, "What do you think would happen to Grace Church if you left?" I suppose I would like to write back a letter and say, "You obeyed in my presence, now much more in my absence also." Because it's immaterial, really in a sense, who your pastor is. That time will inevitably come when I am no longer in that place. But, there is never a moment in your spiritual life when you are not responsible for the progress because you have the resources. You must understand that. And while you can count yourself rich for being in a stimulating environment, you can't blame any of your shortcomings on the absence of such environment. There are Christians around this world who couldn't even dream of this kind of spiritual support system, and yet who would put us all to shame in their devotion. It's a fine line between being a strength and becoming a support for your weakness.
And I understand that, and I understand how it's easy to become dependent on someone else's spiritual strength. But Paul won't allow it to happen. He says, "I want to see more obedience in my absence, even than I saw in my presence." You must be independent of your teacher. You must be independent of your pastor, your Sunday school teacher, your discipler when it comes to living your spiritual life.
Go back to chapter 1 verse 27 where he introduced this concept. He said, "Conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I may hear of you that you're standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel." Whether I'm around or not, that's what I want to hear. Why? Because you must understand that you have the responsibility and the resources for working out your own salvation.
So, if we as believers are going to work on the outside what we have in the inside and do it with continuity until the fullness of salvation is revealed when we see Christ, it means we have to understand our example, that is Jesus Christ. We have to understand that we are loved so we do not become despondent when we fail. We have to understand that we have been called to a life of obedience, and we have to understand that we have the responsibility because we have the resources for our spiritual development.
Fifthly and finally, there's one other thing I want you to understand, he says, and that is this: I want you to understand the consequence of sin. While there is space for you to fail, and be forgiven, and loved, you must also understand the consequence of your sin. And so, he closes the verse with this statement: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." The word "fear" in the Greek, phobos; we get phobia from it. The word "trembling," tromos; we get trauma from it. Work out your salvation with phobias and traumas. What is he saying here? He's saying that there should be a healthy fear in your heart of offending God. There should be a shaking. Tromos means a shaking. There should be a shaking when you contemplate the consequences of such an offense. This is a proper reaction. It's a proper reaction to our weakness and our inadequacy. It's a healthy anxiety to do what is right. Fear means godly awe, growing out of recognition of our weakness and the power of temptation. Did you get those two things? It grows out of the fear of our weakness and the fear of the power of temptation. It's a healthy fear that puts you on guard so that you don't stumble and lose your joy, so that you don't offend the one you supremely love, so that you don't violate your testimony to an unbelieving world, so that you don't negate your usefulness in the body of Christ and ministry there. Fear and trembling is a proper reaction to our weakness and the power of temptation.
God is desirous of that. In fact, I read you in Psalm 111 what is in Proverbs many times, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." But listen to what it says in Isaiah 66. This is from the Lord, "Thus says the Lord," verse 1, "heaven is My throne, the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me?" What are you going to do for Me? What are you going to contain Me in? What are you going to offer Me? What do I need that you can give Me? What do I want from you? "For My hand has made all these things, thus all these things came into being, declares the Lord." Then, He says this, "What do I want from you? I'll tell you what I want. To this one I look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit and who trembles at My Word." You want to know what I'm looking for? You want to know what you can give Me? You can tremble at My Word. Verse 5 says, "Hear the Word of the Lord, you who tremble at His Word." That becomes, then, really a title for a believer, a trembler at God's Word. Do you tremble at God's Word? Do you have a healthy fear of dishonoring Him because you do not want to dishonor the one you love, because you do not want to bring upon yourself chastening, because you do not want to injure your witness to the watching world, because you do not want to negate your effective ministry to the church? You see, working out our salvation is hard. It's hard for me. It's hard. And failure is very possible. And one of the things that retards that failure is a healthy fear: an awe, a respect of God. I'm not talking about the fear of being doomed, the fear of eternal torment. I'm not talking about an unending despair or despondency. I'm talking about a reverence that motivates.
Writing on the Proverbs, Wardlaw wrote these words and I think the paragraph is very instructive. He says, "This fear is self-distrust. It is tenderness of conscience. It is vigilance against temptation. It is the fear which inspiration opposes to high-mindedness in the admonition, be not high-minded but fear. It is taking heed lest we fall. It is a constant apprehension of the deceitfulness of the heart and of the insidiousness and power of inward corruption. It is the caution and circumspection which timidly shrinks from whatever would offend and dishonor God and the Savior." End quote. And Solomon said in a strange conundrum, "Happy is the man who fears." That's interesting, isn't it? Whatever kind of fear it is, it's the kind that makes you happy. It's a holy, healthy awe.
We, as those who name the name of Jesus Christ, who say we belong to God need to fear God. Fearing God simply means that I don't want to offend Him. And I know He is holy and as a holy reaction against sin, I don't want to do anything to offend Him, I don't want to do anything that cause Him to chasten me, I don't want to do anything to cause me to lose my testimony to the world. I don't want to do anything to cause me to lose my effectiveness to the church. And so, I live in the fear of sin. Why do I fear sin? Because I am weak in my flesh, because temptation is powerful, and because I don't want to offend God.
In order to have that fear, you have to do more than acknowledge that you're a sinner. In order to have that fear, your mind must be filled with a deep and settled conviction that sin is great offense against God. And if you really love God, it would be impossible not to repent, because you would have to repent if you had sinned against the one you supremely loved. You'd be compelled. And I guess we could say that a true Christian is the depth of genuine spiritual devotion not only hates his sin, but in a sense hates himself for his sin and says, "O wretched man that I am."
It's one thing to mourn for sin because it exposes you to chastening. It's another thing to mourn for sin because it offends God. It's one thing to be terrified; it's something else to be humbled. And God is calling us to have a holy fear of sin and to understand its seriousness.
So, how are we going to work out our salvation? Well, look at the example, remember your love, remember your call to obedience. Very basic. Remember that you're responsible because you have the resources within you and understand the consequence of your sin toward God, toward yourself, toward the church, toward the unbelieving world. With all that in mind, make a supreme effort to work out your own salvation. Now, let me tell you something, folks, that's all for today. That's only one half. You've got to be here next week when we talk about God working in you. Let's bow together in prayer.
Father, we have ringing in our hearts still the example of that dear missionary who sat in a corner, huddled in a blanket with a candle reading the whole New Testament in the middle of a dark cold night to find if there is one thing he had done to violate Your law. O God, give us that kind of zeal. Help us to know that the reason the apostle Paul was used so mightily was not just the grace of God, but that he labored more than all the rest. Help us, Lord, to be all you want us to be. And we await with such eagerness the next Lord's day when we can see the means by which this can happen as You work in us. And Father, do that work even now in every heart.
This article is also available and sold as a booklet.


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Nature Sculpture
The kids and I just made these great little nature sculptures I found at The Artful Parent (she found them at Write, Mama, Write!) I love this project for it's many varied steps. First the outdoor exercise-hunting and gathering objects of nature while pushing a doll stroller around the block. Then the indoor exercises-organizing your nature objects, molding and imprinting the clay sculptures, baking them and (optionally) painting them. One of my children was more interested in making worms and mustaches with the clay than with sculpting it, but that didn't detract from the fun or the success of the project. In fact, it helped give the grown-ups time to roll the clay.
We bought our Sculpey modeling clay at Target, but you may be more likely to find it in an art/craft supply store. It's very easy to use. First, you soften it by kneading it a bit, then roll it in golf ball or larger-sized balls, press it on your found objects (to a little less than 1/2" thick), peel objects off, place imprinted clay on baking sheets and bake at 275 degrees for about 20 minutes to harden them (See directions on box, as well). We haven't painted ours yet, but that leaves us an activity we can pull out when we need something new to do.
Try it!

subset: commoncrawl


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How to Become a 'Citizen Of The World'By Nancy Morgan November 9, 2009In the summer of 2008, then presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered an historic campaign speech in Germany. With the Berlin Wall as a back drop, Obama proudly informed the masses that he was not there as a candidate, but as "...a fellow citizen of the world." The crowd went crazy and the world rejoiced. Finally, the United States was ready to join the community of man. In what former U.S. ambassador to the UN John Bolton calls our first post-American President, Obama has bestowed instant cachet on the growing ranks of Americans who revel in the thought of being the first in their own social set to be considered cutting edge 'citizens of the world.' Especially since joining this community of global citizens confers upon them automatic (albeit, unearned) virtue, along with instant and unassailable moral stature. For those of you who just aren't with it, (like Christians, conservatives and a few Republicans) here are the latest, up to the minute, details on how to gain inclusion in this trendy and politically correct group. To become a 'citizen of the world,' you must first and foremost declare your support for the disenfranchised. Preferably in front of a camera in a very public forum. Just pick a group of victims upon whom you will bestow your empathy and support. The only caveat being that they reside in underdeveloped countries ruled by misunderstood men of good will like Uganda, or Cuba, or Somalia, or...well, you get my drift. Oh, and make sure everyone understands that these victims are only victims because of George W. Bush and/or America. Next, you must ardently advocate the spending of other people's money in order to help these poor victims. If you're one of the fortunate 'non-rich,' (meaning your income is under $250,000 and/or you receive a government check every month) then a straight party line vote for the Democrats, frequent letters to the editor and a catchy bumper sticker are strongly recommended. In addition, you must make yourself available for the occasional photo-op or rally, and vocalize your support for all of Obama's policies to everyone you know. (T-shirts are a very cool way to do this) If you're unfortunate enough and greedy enough to have an annual income over $250,000, your membership entrance requirements are a bit more stringent. The good news is, you can skip right over victims and concentrate on vital issues like global warming or the evils of capitalism. For all you rich guys out there, it's recommended that you use whatever influence you have to advocate for whichever policy Obama is currently trying to foist on the American public. Bumper stickers won't do it, guys. You need to atone big time. Not to worry, just contact DNC.org and they will give you a list of organizations you should support. And since you've made all that money on the backs of the poor, social justice requires that you give back some of your own money, instead of merely advocating the expenditure of other people's money. A list of approved recipient groups will be provided free of charge. It is recommended that you give early and often. ACORN is the most needy cause as of this writing. But whatever group you decide to donate your bucks to, rest assured, Obama is in the process of making those donations tax deductible. If you happen to be filthy rich and/or an elected official or head of a union, different rules apply. In order to be considered a citizen of the world, all you have to do is believe (faking belief is totally OK) in Obama's vision of utopia. You must believe, or at least profess to believe, that world peace is possible, that the earth is melting, that diplomacy trumps war and that America is the cause of all the world's problems. Other that that, the only real requirement is a constant and sustained effort to ensure that global governance trumps American sovereignty. Hat-tip: it wouldn't hurt if you make known that yours was one of the Swiss bank accounts the Obama administration recently forced the Swiss to disclose. That alone will ensure you are recognized by the right people. There you have it, fellow comrades. If you have followed the above steps, we want to officially welcome you as a new 'citizen of the world.' Take a load off. You are now eligible to engage in global groupthink, which means that you will never again be forced to make any moral, financial or life decisions on your own. More membership perks are already in the works, and you guys will be the first to benefit! Kumbaya.
Nancy Morgan is a columnist and news editor for RightBias.com |


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Volunteers are our most valued asset. Month after month individuals and groups from across our service area come to the Volunteer Center where they pack food for various programs that support those in need. Regardless of their specific task or how long they stay, they are truly making a difference for the 1 in 6 who struggle with hunger in our region. Below is a recap of the time they donated in August.
August 2017 Volunteer Summary


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Do you know of a picture, drawing, or other concise visual representation of the eight three-dimensional Thurston geometries?
I am imagining something akin to the standard picture (of a sphere, plane, and saddle) used to illustrate the three constant curvature geometries in dimension two. Of course, it takes more doing to illustrate representative three-manifolds, and there are more choices for natural examples, but I was surprised when I couldn't find such a picture. Another option would be to depict or indicate some of the geometries in less direct ways, for instance via the structure of stabilizers.


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For screen reader problems with this website, please call717-392-92927 1 7 3 9 2 9 2 9 2Standard carrier rates apply to texts.
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Product Weight (lbs.) | 59.5 |
HDMI Inputs | 4 |
Wall Mountable | Yes |
Screen Resolution | 4K |
Voice Controlled Assistants | Google Assistant |
Screen Size Class (in.) | 65 |
Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) (in.) | 64.5 |
Manufacturer Warranty | 1 Year |
Screen Refresh Rate (Hz.) | 120 |
Color | Black |
Optical Digital(Fiber Optic) Audio Outputs | 1 |
Number of USB Ports | 2 |
Display Technology | OLED |
Collection | A95K |
Color Finish Name | Titanium Black |
Smart Compatible | Yes |
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Shipping Depth (in.) | 7.88 |
Shipping Width (in.) | 62.63 |
Shipping Height (in.) | 38.25 |
Voltage | 120 |
High Dynamic Range | Yes |
Stand Width (in.) | 56.75 |
Product Depth With Stand (in.) | 11.88 |
Product Height With Stand (in.) | 34.63 |
Product Depth Without Stand (in.) | 1.75 |
Product Height Without Stand (in.) | 33 |
Dimension of TV with Bundled Camera (Without Stand) (W X H X D) | 56.88 x 33.63 x 2.25 (1.69)" (1,444 x 852 x 56 (42.8) mm) |
Dimension of TV without Stand (W x H x D) | 56.88 x 33 x 1.75" (1,444 x 837 x 43 mm) |
TV with Stand (Back Position Style) (W X H X D) | 56.88 x 34.63 x 11.13" (1,444 x 877 x 282 mm) (Including Camera) |
TV with Stand (Front Position Style) (W X H X D) | 56.88 x 33.63 x 11.88" (1,444 x 851 x 301 mm) (Including Camera) |


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Accomplishments and Acquisitions vs. Joy and Meaning- Marcello Recommends: The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown
If you find that a little relentless introspection can be just as good for your soul as a big bowl of chicken noodle soup from time to time, chances are you'll dig this compilation of quantitative and qualitative research via courageous story-telling.
After a pretty deep chat with my good friend, Miles Gilbert, a few weeks ago- he sent me the book, "The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who you Are – Your Guide To A Wholehearted Life."
The author, Brené Brown, doesn't hold anything back when she shares her real-life experiences and scientific data regarding courage, compassion and connection. Brown also touches on what I think is the key to personal fulfillment… the ability to define what "enough" means to you and how to avoid the trap of "comparison." Derek Sivers, the founder of CD Baby, wrote a great book called, "Anything You Want," that really drives home the "enough" concept. Derek's book is already in the Marcello Recommends book queue. Look for it here this fall.
Brown writes with brutal honesty. And not just in the 'I want the reader to think I'm humble'-kinda way either. She's an imperfect perfectionist who happens to be book smart, real-world wise, tenaciously curious and pretty damn funny too. -mp
Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite…
"I heard stories about the power of embracing imperfection and vulnerability. I learned the inextricable connection between joy and gratitude, and how things that I take for granted, like rest and play, are as vital to our health as nutrition and exercise."
"We don't want to be uncomfortable. We want a quick and dirty "how-to" list for happiness. I don't fit that bill. Never have. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to skip over the hard stuff, but it just doesn't work. We don't change, we don't grow, and we don't move forward without the work. If we really want to live a joyful, connected, and meaningful life, we must talk about things that get in the way."
"Mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy, and gratitude into our lives."
"I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration and faith."
"If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild an engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing- it doesn't matter. As long as we're creating, we're cultivating meaning."
Featured Quotes:
"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their beauty is revealed only if there is light from within." – Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"Joy is what happens to us when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are." – Marianne Williamson
"Comparison is the thief of happiness." –Laura Williams
"The opposite of work is not play. The opposite of work is depression." – Dr. Stuart Brown."
Connect with Brené on her blog, Twitter or Facebook.


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If you are a fan of veggies then this carrot mobile phone strap is just what the doctor ordered!
Dimensions: Length, Width & Height - 9.5 cm x 4.5 cm x 3.0 cm (3.7 in x 1.8 in x 1.2 in)
Made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
*As this item is made-to-order, please allow anywhere from a few days to approximately 1 week before it is shipped.
The surface of this item is delicate. Excessive handling/rubbing may cause the color to change.


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Keeping succession in the family
Part 6: You don't have to bet on just one number
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- Written by John Szold
Over the next few years, a wave of generational change already underway will accelerate in the nation's community banks. This series will explore common mistakes made in management succession plans, and how they can be avoided. For links to earlier installments, see the list at the end of this article.—Editor
Warren Buffet once observed: "Would anyone say the best way to pick a championship Olympic team is to select the sons and daughters of those who won 20 years ago? Giving someone a favored position just because his old man accomplished something is a crazy way for a society to compete."
Yet there I was, helping a banker client contemplate exactly that.
Who will lead "Pipik Bank"?
José founded Pipik Bank almost 40 years ago. Now approaching 75, he began to think about the next phase of his life and how a succession plan might be required.
José put forward his only daughter, Sofia, who had spent the past five years managing to both start a family and learn the business. (All names in this article are disguised.)
As I met with father and daughter, we were interrupted several times by the nanny tending to an infant in the next office, turned nursery.
Sofia made the point that because "Daddy" was the sole decision-maker there was no need for a formal succession plan. She promised to take care of his executive team, who had been loyal to him over the years.
Sofia certainly was willing to step into the CEO's role. We quietly wondered what would be done to prepare Sofia for the job and when José could decide to relinquish it.
Succession in the family-owned bank
Despite Buffet's disdain for the hereditary selection decision, I have seen many offspring whose 24/7 commitment to the business overcame other leadership weaknesses. The key is not forgetting the "planning" part of management succession planning, even if the "who" has been decided on.
In family-owned banks, succession and promotion decisions are often made based on family needs, not business needs. Remember, the family-owned bank is not just a bank, but a family asset, an investment.
However, even in these circumstances, succession planning is less a matter of a yes-or-no selection decision than about addressing developmental gaps to ensure a smooth generational transition. This is where an independent third party can provide the objective analysis and distance to support quality decision-making.
Even though the successor may have been chosen, there is no reason to skip other components of a succession planning process. Assessments, including psychometric testing, competency testing, and 360 degree evaluations, help determine where the gaps in the individual's strengths lie. Once weak spots have been identified, learning programs can be put into place to help close them.
For example:
• Weaknesses in delegation skills.
This can be shored up through formal training, and putting the family candidate into situations that help develop the skill.
• Experience in strategic thinking.
This can be gained through a combination of formal education in strategy (there are many good one- or two-week executive courses) and short-term assignments that require the application of the learning.
The key is to provide the coaching and follow up necessary to ensure that learning needs are met.
A single solution may not be necessary
Oh, and there is a fallback too. The candidate doesn't have to go it alone.
I sometimes recommend that staff be appointed to provide the missing pieces for the family member who is succeeding to the top role.
Sometimes it's as simple as inserting a strong admin person to help a disorganized executive. Other times, a chief of staff can provide the coordination required to handle multiple departments.
In Sofia's case, a versatile executive assistant helps her to juggle the competing demands of work and family.
Tagged under Human Resources, Management, Duties, CSuite, Community Banking,
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Parliament Increases Surveillance of Social Media
Perthshire, Scotland
Amid all the hoo hah of the recent US presidential election, I've noticed a worrying increase in the powers given to the authorities by parliament, in order to keep tabs on every citizen in the UK who has the ability to either use a smart phone, tablet, or computer.
These new laws allow the police, local authorities, and the security services to spy on the social media of any person they regard as a threat to national security, or in local authorities' cases, what we put in our ever increasing array of refuse bins.
These powers do not need to be judicially approved except in the instances of journalism, where there will be a hearing in front of a judge, to ascertain whether the authorities have enough evidence against said journalist to undertake surveillance of that person and to go through their computers or other electronic devices.
This might just be OK, but the problem is that the journalist who is the target of this intrusion won't know it's happening, because they will not be at the court hearing which is held in secret. Their computer and devices will be searched remotely!
This is extremely troubling and is another step in the huge amount of personal spying of innocent people by unaccountable civil servants and gung-ho police leaders.
At this very moment I or anyone with an opinion which isn't in tune with government thinking, will be under some type of surveillance.
There has hardly been a word of objection from anyone, because relatively few people know these draconian powers exist. As usual, the public is blindly ignorant of the reality of anti-terrorism legislation.
In this, what we jokingly call a democratic country, there are more CCTV cameras per head of population than in ANY other country on the planet. Not a single person is safe from the intrusive non-blinking lens of the spy camera!
If you think you are nice and safe and secure in your home, think again.
You are still being watched or monitored in one way or another.
Why do you think we are constantly being told we must have high speed internet access? Why are we being told that life isn't complete unless we have the latest smartphone?
These devices are used to make sure where we are at all times. Who we are communicating with and what we are communicating about. If "hackers" can infect our computers and smartphones without us knowing, then it follows that the government is doing exactly the same thing!
We are urged to get anti-virus protection, but how do we know that it isn't just another way to get information on which websites we visit and what type of goods we are buying online?
Apparently all these extra powers are to make us safe against the threat of terrorism.
Of course, this is utter bollocks! It's to make sure you or I aren't planning to attempt to overthrow the government of the day, or trying to get to talk to a human being at a power company.
The police and the security services are already over-equipped with powers to get information on the rest of the population, without the need for secret courts to curb press freedom or free speech. They do not need more. As we know, the more power given, the more power is abused.
We are monitored so much we take it for granted. Well, we shouldn't.
This horror has been creeping up on us since the Twin Towers' atrocities, even though the risk from terrorism is relatively slight.
Even during the darkest days of IRA terrorism, there wasn't the same insanity surrounding security. This strikes me as very wrong and very suspicious. Does the government want to look after us or just look at us?
We have to be aware, that from the moment we wake up and look at our smartphone, and until we finally close our eyes and sleep, we are being watched. And if I know anything about these people, even our snoring will be recorded! Every message received during the night will be checked for suspicious activity.
But when a leading politician is found to be cavorting naked with two young men he had paid for, nothing is done and, in fact, he is effectively forgiven by spouse and party and given a promotion! He would have been open to blackmail and extortion, but he shrugged it off as if it was an everyday event. Of course knowing him, it probably was!
You couldn't make this kind of thing up if you tried!
I don't have an answer to any of this without suggesting we revert to the stone age, and starting from scratch. We had freedom, real freedom for a few fleeting decades, until technology allowed the state to treat all of us as potential criminals and terrorists.
We have to fight this despicable descent into dictatorship and let these poisonous morons know, that we know, that they know, we know what they're doing!
For too long we have allowed people, who are public servants, paid for by taxes, to dictate who we can talk to, who we can meet, and who talks to us.
Open your eyes and take a look around, in a city centre, or virtually anywhere, and see for yourself just how many cameras are pointing down upon the people as they go about their daily lives.
We are all pictured dozens of times a day and probably thousands of times each year. It's too much. It's unnecessary. It's a disgusting intrusion into mainly innocent lives. We are told it will ensure our safely and our freedom, but that was lost a long time ago.
At this time of year, we remember the sacrifice of the millions of people who gave their lives for democracy and freedom from tyranny. I don't want to believe their sacrifice was in vain.
Think independently. Think freedom.
Follow The Party of Common Sense on Twitter, at @tpocs
Trump & Clinton Effect: Democracy Deliberately Destroyed
Vote Bollocks Or Water Buffalo
The Brexit Turkeys have come home to roost
Michael J Blair contributes political analysis to DDA, and he can be reached at: firstname.lastname@example.com. His Twitter handle is: @mmjblair
[Smile photo courtesy of Intel Free Press; greedy hands in laptop graphic courtesy of EFF; both images from Wikimedia Commons]


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Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists from the U.S., Europe and Canada are organizing a 10-ship flotilla to challenge Israel's economic blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Israel says the blockade is necessary to prevent smuggling of arms into Gaza. Hanging over the mission is the dark shadow of last year's flotilla that ended with an Israeli commando raid on a Turkish vessel and left nine activists dead.
The hub of this year's operation is Athens, Greece, where organizers accuse Israel of using diplomatic pressure to sabotage their effort.
Some 50 American activists of Operation USTOGAZA are holding workshops in an Athens hotel. Over a year of fundraising throughout the country, the group raised nearly $400,000 to cover basic expenses and lease a boat.
One of the most prominent American participants in the flotilla is Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple.
She gave her reason for taking part in a video on the group's website: "I actually love children and I love water, and I love trees, good food, and I love parents who are happy and children who are happy and all this wonderful life that has been completely disrupted and degraded by the Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people in Gaza."
The American vessel has been renamed The Audacity of Hope, after the title of President Obama's autobiography. But organizers won't reveal where it's docked, or when they'll set sail. They say Greek authorities have imposed administrative delays under pressure from Israel.
It's not just Israel that opposes the flotilla. Despite its opposition to the blockade, the Greek government has officially urged its citizens and Greek-registered vessels not to participate in the operation.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said aid should be delivered to Gaza only through what he called legitimate crossings and established channels — meaning through Israel or Egypt.
The Obama administration has also strongly urged U.S. nationals not to take part.
Ann Wright, a retired State Department official and former Army colonel, took part in last year's attempt to break the Gaza blockade.
"Israelis have been very clear: They intend to stop us from going to Gaza and will use force," Wright says. "We will not use force. We are unarmed civilian ships that are sailing for a political purpose: to bring world attention to what is going on in Gaza."
The Americans — whose ages range from the mid-20s to mid-80s — say their ship will carry only written messages and letters to the Palestinian people. Other ships, from Europe and Canada, will carry various goods, from medical supplies to school notebooks.
Activists see Israel's Gaza blockade as a human-rights violation, while Israel says it is aimed at preventing weapons from reaching Iran-backed Hamas militants.
Last year's attempt to break the blockade was intercepted by Israeli naval commandos and resulted in the deaths of nine activists.
The Americans in Athens have trained for their voyage by watching graphic videos of that raid. Richard Levy, a civil rights lawyer, took part in the nonviolence training.
"We put in a number of hours learning how to respond to that kind of an assault," Levy says, "and I guess most of us on the boat are sailing with the recognition that that is a real possibility and how do we best protect ourselves under those circumstances."
In another hall of the hotel, a group of women wearing T-shirts with the words "I am an unarmed citizen" and "Stay human" is discussing possible scenarios.
Medea Benjamin is the founder of Code Pink, a women's anti-war group.
"Some of us are Jews; we are certainly not against the Israeli people," Benjamin says. "Our idea is we are part of a historical movement that has deep roots in Gandhi, deep roots in Martin Luther King, deep roots in civil resistance movements throughout history."
The American activists alternate their training with song sessions — to the tune of "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," they've adapted the lyrics to their Gaza mission.
On Monday, the Israeli government said it would act with determination to stop the flotilla from reaching its destination, but, it added, with minimal confrontation, as far as possible, between Israeli forces and passengers.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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2. Deaths identified as Indigenous in either Census or death registrations in the CDE linked and unlinked data This approach, like the previous approach, is based on Indigenous deaths identified in either the Census or death registrations, but uses the Indigenous deaths identified in the CDE linked file plus those Indigenous deaths which were unable to be linked to a Census record. At the national level, there were 1,800 Indigenous death records available from death registrations for linking in the CDE study. This approach uses all of these Indigenous death records in the numerator to estimate the identification rate, as opposed to 1,327 linked records used by the approach above. Of the 1,800 records, there were 1,650 records on the linked file where the deceased was assumed to be Indigenous based on information from their death registration or Census records (table A2.1 above). The 473 (that is, 1,800 minus 1,327) Indigenous death records which were unable to be linked to Census records were then added to the 1,650 Indigenous death records to get the total number of Indigenous deaths available for analysis after linkage. The identification rate was then calculated as the ratio of Indigenous deaths prior to linkage to Indigenous deaths after linkage; that is, 1,800 / 2,123 * 100 = 85% for Australia.
Like the previous approach, this approach also produces life expectancy estimates which are biased as the identification of Indigenous status in the numerator and the denominator are inconsistent. 3. Chandra Sekar and Deming 'Capture/Recapture' model The ABS has explored the Chandra Sekar and Deming 'Capture/Recapture' approach to deriving identification rates based on the CDE Indigenous Mortality Quality Study data. The logic of this approach is that when a vital registration is incomplete, data obtained from an independent collection can be used in conjunction with the registrar's list to estimate (1) the total number of births and deaths in an area over a specified period, and (2) the completeness of registration. This method was originally applied in a health centre area near Calcutta, India to estimate total numbers of births and deaths and registration completeness for the years 1945 and 1946. The study used data collected from a registration system and an enquiry in the form of a house-to-house canvass (Sekar and Deming, 1949). This approach was also applied to data from a registration system and a survey in conjunction with the 1940 and 1950 Censuses of the United States and the Population Survey in 1969-70 to measure completeness of birth registration (Shryock et al., 1970). This approach was explored using the CDE linked file of the form:
The values a, b and c are observed and d is estimated as b * c / a on the assumption that the process of contributing to the rows is independent of contributing to the columns. An estimate of the total number of Indigenous deaths can be obtained as:
The identification rate for Indigenous deaths can then be estimated as:
where R denotes the total number of Indigenous deaths captured in death registrations and S denotes the total number of Indigenous deaths captured in Census. Identification rates and life expectancy at birth estimates based on this method are presented in table A2.4.
The underlying model is based on the following assumptions:
Assumption (i) is valid in this case though it is likely that the same family member could have provided information for some of the linked deaths/Census records. Virtually all deaths that occur in Australia are registered, but not all Indigenous deaths are registered as such. Similarly, some Indigenous deaths are misclassified as non-Indigenous in Census. Therefore, assumption (ii) may be applicable. The key problem for using this method to derive identification rates for Indigenous deaths based on the CDE linked data relates to the assumption (iv). As can be seen in table 3.3 of Chapter 3: Data linkage to derive Indigenous deaths identification rates, a significant number of deaths were identified as Indigenous in death registrations but were classified as non-Indigenous in the Census, and vice versa. Like the previous two methods, the 'Capture/Recapture' method maximises the number of Indigenous deaths identified by two sources, but disregards the misclassification of Indigenous status reported in Census and registration data. Thus Indigenous classification used in the numerator (deaths) and denominator (population estimates) are again inconsistent. 4. Direct method using identification based on the 2006 Census The CDE linked dataset was used to derive direct estimates of mortality of the Indigenous population counted in the 2006 Census. The method of estimation was a three stage process. Firstly, people who identified themselves as Indigenous in the 2006 Census were selected from the Census. There were 455,028 such people, comprising the denominator of age-specific death rates used for life table calculations. Secondly, only those death records for which Indigenous status was reported as Indigenous in the Census were taken from the linked file. There were 1,379 such records. The CDE study linked 2006 Census records with deaths that occurred from 9 August 2006 to 30 June 2007 for all states/territories (except for Victoria where death records were only available to mid-March 2007). As one full year of deaths are required to derive life tables, deaths were adjusted to account for this part year reference period before using them to compile life tables. Thirdly, age-specific death rates were calculated by dividing the Indigenous deaths by the Indigenous Census counts. These rates were then used to derive Indigenous life tables. No adjustments were made to the death rates to account for potential undercoverage of deaths, hence the method is referred to as 'direct'. At the Australia level, this approach produced life expectancy at birth estimates of 71.9 years for Indigenous males and 76.4 years for Indigenous females. These estimates are much higher than those derived after adjusting Indigenous deaths by the undercoverage figures obtained from the CDE study. No life tables were produced at the state/territory level as the number of deaths involved were small. This approach was intended to make Indigenous counts for deaths and for the population at risk (that is, Indigenous usual residents of Australians) consistent. However, this is not the case. Because of undercount in Census a proportion of death records could not be linked, as there was no corresponding Census record to link with. Such people are removed from the counts of deaths and from the counts of the population at risk. However, people whose information from death registrations or Census is not accurate enough to make a link are not included in the death counts, but it is not possible to remove from the Census count the corresponding count of people with unlinkable information in Census or what would have been unlinkable information from death registrations, had they died. 5. CDE-adjusted Indigenous deaths with further adjustments to age structure of deaths according to AIHW Indigenous Mortality Data Linkage Study Following the release of the discussion paper, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare provided preliminary results from the Indigenous Mortality Data Linkage Study to ABS. The study has linked deaths from the AIHW National Mortality Database to the AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database, the AIHW National Perinatal Data Collection, the Aboriginal Health Liaison Officer Dataset and to the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing Residential Aged Care Dataset for 2001-2006 to enhance identification of Indigenous deaths. From these data, estimates of Indigenous life expectancy at birth taking into account differential identification of Indigenous deaths according to age and sex were derived. ABS calculated age-specific Indigenous deaths identification rates for Australia directly from the AIHW data, which were applied to the number of CDE-adjusted deaths (these are the numbers of Indigenous deaths used to produce the ABS estimates in this publication) to obtain age-adjusted numbers of Indigenous deaths. These deaths were then used as numerators in the calculation of abridged life tables. For Australia, this approach resulted in life expectancy at birth estimates of 67.1 years for Indigenous males and 72.7 years for Indigenous females (table A2.5). It should be noted that the identification rates from the AIHW study relate to the period 2001-2006 while the number of CDE-adjusted deaths relate to 2005-2007. Nevertheless, the estimates derived from this approach are very similar to the ABS estimates for 2005-2007 (67.2 years for Indigenous males and 72.9 years for Indigenous females; table 1.1).
6. Direct method using deaths identified as Indigenous in AIHW Indigenous Mortality Data Linkage Study The AIHW provided estimates of Indigenous life expectancy at birth based on complete life tables using the average yearly number of deaths for 2001-2006 identified as Indigenous in the Indigenous Mortality Data Linkage Study. For Australia, this resulted in life expectancy at birth estimates of 67.1 years for Indigenous males and 73.1 years for Indigenous females (table A2.6). ABS also calculated Indigenous life expectancy at birth from these data, using abridged life tables, consistent with the methodology used to produce the ABS life expectancy estimates presented in this publication (abridged life tables were chosen as age-specific death rates for 5-year age groups were considered more reliable than those for single years of age due to the small annual numbers of Indigenous deaths in the states and territories). For Australia, this approach resulted in life expectancy at birth estimates of 66.7 years for Indigenous males and 72.6 years for Indigenous females (table A2.6). The small differences between these and the AIHW estimates derived from complete life tables may be due to the choice of method for approximating mortality for 85 years and over. Both of the above estimates derived from the AIHW Indigenous Mortality Data Linkage Study are consistent with ABS Indigenous life expectancy estimates presented in this publication.
References Sekar, Chandra and W. Edwards Deming (1949), On a method of estimating birth and death rates and the extent of registration, Journal of American Statistical Association, vol. 44, No. 245, pp. 101-115. Shryock H, Siegel J and Associates (1976), The Methods and Materials of Demography, Condensed Edition, Academic Press, New York. Document Selection These documents will be presented in a new window. |


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San Miguel del Bala is an indigenous community in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest on the banks of the Beni River, near Rurrenabaque. Its nearest neighbour is the Madidi National Park, which is world famous as one of the places on earth with the widest biodiversity. San Miguel is a small community of 32 families.
San Miguel is Spanish for Saint Michael. "Bala" means "bullet" or "cannon ball". The landmark is the 'shot hole' in the nearby Mountain range that is visible from the lodge.
Get in[edit]
San Miguel del Bala is only reached by boat 45 minutes up stream from Rurrenabaque. San Miguel is south of Rurrenabaque on the west bank of the Beni River, just outside of the Madidi National Park.
All visits to San Miguel del Bala must be arranged with the office of the 'San Miguel del Bala Community Eco-Tourism' in Rurrenabaque. The office is across from the Amasonas airline office. Tours can also be arranged by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com. You can also find operators in La Paz that offer a package to get to San Miguel del Bala. Some of these operators are
- America Tours
- LATE Bolivia
- Turisbus[dead link]
Get around[edit]
All tours to San Miguel del Bala are organized through the office in Rurrenabaque, where they will arrange comfortable river transport for you up to the lodge, where you can choose between a relaxed or active itinerary.
When you arrive to San Miguel del Bala Lodge your days will be filled with different activities (everything is optional) that let you experience the Tacana culture as well as the beautiful flora and fauna of the area. Depending on how long you want to stay, the lodge gives you plenty of options from hiking through a canyon with bats flying above your head to visiting the community of San Miguel del Bala, and see the everyday lifer its people. If you want more information on itineraries, contact San Miguel del Bala directly or talk to the tour operators that sell the trip from La Paz.
Discover the rain forest environment and the Tacana culture.
From a viewpoint, 50 m over the canopies, the visitors can enjoy clean views of the Bala Gorge, the Beni River, and nearby mountain ranges covered by rainforests.
With the lodge as the point of departure many trails lead through the rain forest allowing visitors good chances to see wild life. The paths are designed to teach visitors about ancient hunting techniques, medicinal plants and ecological processes in the primary and secondary forest. Other paths take visitors to a 'salitral' - a cave with mineral earth that attracts all kinds of animals, a refreshing natural pool fed by a beautiful waterfall, and through a 150-meter-long canyon, whose darkness, coolness, and humidity is perfect for the hummingbirds' nests.
San Miguel del Bala Lodge has expanded their operations to include spending a night in their comfortable newly constructed cabins inside the Madidi National Park alongside the Tuichi River. It is the perfect compliment to the incredible cultural experience you will have in the lodge's main site along the mighty Beni river.
Tours: Trekking through the forest, animal watching, mountain climbing or canoeing.
Participate in the daily life of the Tacana community, visiting a family in their house made of palm leaves and bamboo, processing sugar cane juice, working in the fields, making handicrafts or playing with the children.
Hide-away. Live without phone and internet in the quiet nature, comfortably lodged. And still close to things that you find in a town like Rurrenabaque.
Local handicrafts.
The restaurant in the lodge serves typical, international and vegetarian cuisine. The food itself is a cultural learning experience as the guide teaches you the different ways the Tacana prepare the bounty of the forest and rivers. Also learn the what foods were prepared for certain events within the community.
Enjoy rich natural juices made from fruit straight from the jungle. If you feel like a cocktail, alcohol can be bought in the restaurant.
San Miguel del Bala Eco-lodge, [1]. 7 comfortable cabins each with 3 beds, electricity and private bathroom, and a dormitory of 8 beds with shared bathroom. The cabins are scattered, giving the feeling of living alone in the rain forest. The Eco-lodge is owned and operated by the indigenous community of San Miguel del Bala. The inhabitants of San Miguel has have built the Eco-Lodge with the help of NGO's: CARE, Conservation International, UNDP, and Wildlife Conservation Society. In a traditional round-house there is an interpretation center with an exhibition about the Tacana culture.
The beds at San Miguel del Bala are custom made to be extra long for anyone who is tired of having their feet hang over the edge during their travels in South America, this is a much needed break.
San Miguel del Bala has added a new addition to its already impressive infrastructure, with newly constructed cabins within the Madidi National Park alongside the beautiful Tuichi River. These cabins allow San Miguel's guests to experience more of the flora and fauna the park has to offer. Depending on the length of stay clients can spend at least one night in these cabins.
Go next[edit]
Madidi National Park is nearby.


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Listening to music while practicing is something I see many martial artists do; especially those in boxing and MMA; I have seen it less in wrestling and judo. Is this because of the stereotypic groups that go to these styles, or does the style itself get support by listening to music?
Does it offer any effect, positive or negative?
Do fighters who are not absorbed in practice need music?


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Polo San Blas - Rose Gold
Heading to the waters and want a vibrant look? Our San Blas Polo's are named after the exotic island of San Blas, Panama. With the slim tropical polo, our San Blas polos will always provide you with a clear-bold look while envisioning a tropical excursion in the tropics.
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The Virginia Tech Foundation acquired nearly 4 acres along Turner, Gilbert and Barger streets, which was divided into three parcels. Construction on the nearly $60 million project, formerly referred to as the Turner Street Project, began in 2012 and finished in 2013. Through an agreement between Virginia Tech and the Virginia Tech Foundation, in association with local developer Bob Pack, two of the parcels were used for the mixed-use office and retail building and the parking garage. The third parcel will allow for future growth for the university.
North End Center
300 Turner St. NWThe North End Center is home to 10 Virginia Tech administrative departments.
Built in 2012-13 through an agreement between Virginia Tech and the Virginia Tech Foundation, in association with Bob Pack, a local developer, the site includes a 141,000-gross-square-feet building of mixed-use office and retail space and an 800-space parking garage.
The first floor of North End Center is leased for retail and restaurant space. The university leases the remaining floors from the Virginia Tech Foundation. That space includes the following:
- Controller's office
- Office of Sponsored Programs
- Department of Human Resources
- Office of Summer and Winter Sessions
- Office of Capital Assets and Financial Management
- Internal Audit Department
- Procurement Department
- Office of Research Compliance
- Office of Export and Secure Research Compliance
- College of Science
The North End Parking Garage, also leased from the foundation, provides parking for the building tenants and visitors, university faculty and staff, and visitors to the Center for the Arts.
Building History
- Originally Built:
- 2013
- Map Grid:
- Abbreviation / Number:
- Coordinates:
- 37.2335, -80.4205