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This morning, we are again drawn to the book of Acts for our study, looking again at the sequence of events in the life of the Apostle Paul, as he is now a prisoner. This section of Acts, and the section immediately following, I would say, are reminiscent to me of another man of God in the Bible, and that's David. Here, Paul is hunted, plotted against. There are some who desire to take his life. Oh, how that parallels the occasions of the life of David.
I was thinking of a psalm as I was preparing to talk about Paul, a psalm of David, Psalm 56. You know, as we had studied in Acts 23:11, Paul had just been through three riots, all directed at him. Really, he escaped death three times. Now, he sits alone in the barracks, and the Lord Jesus comes to him in person in verse 11, and it says, "The Lord said, 'Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must you bear witness also in Rome.'"
The Lord comes in the middle of the night to a lonely, forsaken, discouraged, despondent, sad apostle and cheers his heart. You see the apostle sitting there, and all the world, it seems, is plotting against him. The Gentile world, which was so antagonistic toward him just from a pagan standpoint, and the Jewish world, so very antagonistic because he preached the Messiah they rejected. All of it is pitted against him and now, all of it arrived in Jerusalem because it's feast time, and it all manifested itself in the three riots that had just occurred. There he is in loneliness, and I thought perhaps he felt a little bit like David, who, as he ran for so much of his life from those who would murder him, penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Psalm 56. This is what he said and it could well have been the prayer of Paul.
"Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; the fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O Thou most High. What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God. Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle."
It was a custom in the East, when people mourned at a funeral, to catch their tears in a bottle and give them to the person they mourned for as a token of their affection and care. David says, "Catch my tears, God, as a reminder." Then he says, "Are they not in Thy book?" Are they not in the plan? Did You not know about them?
"When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise His word: in the LORD will I praise His word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto Thee. For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" In other words, he says, "God, You'll spare my life, I know You will." His confidence is in God.
This must have been the feeling of Paul, as the Lord had just said, "You're going to live, and you're going to go to Rome." He sat in the cell, and the plot was going on against his life, but his confidence was in God. Immediately, in verse 12, there is an incident that happens that allows Paul to know for sure that his confidence is well-placed in the God who will, in fact, deliver him.
Everything he has tried to do since he came to Jerusalem has ended in a riot. He tried to pacify the Jewish Christians and that ended in a riot. He tried to give his testimony of what God had done in his life to the Jewish crowd in the temple court and that ended in a riot. He tried to give testimony before the Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, and that ended in a riot. Now, he's a prisoner; his life is sought. Down in his heart, he doesn't feel it's time yet. He doesn't feel his course is done, he doesn't feel he's fought the good fight and it's over yet. That comes later. He still, in his heart, feels that he needs to go to Rome. He's expressed that to the Lord, and the Lord comes to him in the night and says, "So shall it be. You'll be in Rome."
So now he's cheered up, he's confident in God. Immediately an incident occurs that seals that confidence. It's two years from the time of the promise, in verse 11, to the time that he gets to Rome, two long years. That's a big block of time for a man with the kind of burning eagerness that this man had. But all through that two years, he never waivers. I think that's amazing. He never wavers, he never begins to doubt, he never begins to distrust God. God made a promise, he believed the promise, God immediately, in verses 12-35, sealed that promise with him. And from that promise and its seal, he had absolute confidence.
As I approached this text at the beginning of the week and began to read through it and tried to seek the mind of the Lord here, revealed in the text, as to what it is that we should talk about, I read the whole text and found the name of God wasn't mentioned. I found the name of Jesus wasn't mentioned. Nothing about the Lord is mentioned from verse 12 on. Nothing about the Holy Spirit, nothing about salvation, nothing about redemption, nothing about the Messiah, nothing about any Christian doctrine that is postulated anywhere else in Scripture. There is nothing about anything practical for the Christian life, there is absolutely nothing here in terms of actual doctrinal instruction.
I read all the way through it, and I always look for the things that may be the keys of doctrine in order to teach, but there weren't any. Immediately, I was reminded of a tremendous Scripture, and it's II Timothy 3:16. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable." I thought, "Alright God, it's profitable. You just show me how. How is it profitable?" I began to read it, to see whether the mind of the Holy Spirit reveals in this the profitable thing that I should be able to recognize and how clearly it should be there. I studied and perused it, and you know what I came to? I came to the fact that this has got to be one of the greatest illustrations in the entire New Testament of the providence of God.
Then I was reminded of a book in the Old Testament that doesn't mention the name of God, the name of the Messiah, the name of the Spirit, has no Christian doctrine in it at all, has no doctrine in it period, has no commands, has no instructions to holiness, has no nothing. It is simply a historical incident with no theological references whatsoever. You know what it is? It's the book of Esther. God's name isn't even in the book. There's no mention of anything like that.
You say, "What in the world is it there for?" It's there because it's one of the most graphic and complete illustrations of the providential care of God anywhere in all the revelation. It shows how God cared and brought about what He wanted to bring about through the circumstances that were going on. It doesn't even have a miracle in it. Did you know that? Do you know that God does things two ways, through miracles and through providence, and they're different? Miracle is when God breaks the natural strain, when God breaks the natural process to invade it in a supernatural way. Providence is when God gets His will done not by changing the natural, but by using the natural circumstances to accomplish what He wants to.
How many times have you read in the Bible, "God came down and did this," and that's a miracle. How many other times have you read that, "So-and-so did this, so-and-so did this, so-and-so did this, then they did this, and all of a sudden, it all worked out the way God wanted it." That's the difference between a miracle and providence. A miracle is God violating the natural world to invade it supernaturally; providence is God supernaturally using the natural to accomplish His will.
What you have in Esther is not a whole lot of miracles. There is nothing like the Red Sea opening up and them walking across, or the walls of Jericho fall down, you don't have any of that. You just have all kinds of interwoven circumstances as God works His will. He can do it through miracle or through providence. I thought of that song that we sang in the quartet, "I believe in miracles." I do believe in miracles, but I believe in miracles in terms of Scripture. Today, I believe in the providence of God. I believe we are living in the day when God is doing things through His providence. I don't see great, sweeping, supernatural invasions, but I see God's providence accomplishing His will. This is providence.
So we come to Acts 23 and see exactly the same thing: the providence of God. It is no less God, and in its purest sense, it is no less supernatural. It is the use of the natural events rather than the cessation of the natural and the invasion of the unnatural. For example, it is the difference between the Apostle Paul being stoned at Lystra and the Lord raising him from the dead. The Apostle Paul going to jail and the Lord has a very localized earthquake that only knocks the whole jail down - that's a miracle. Here you don't have any of that. God's name isn't mentioned, but all of the circumstances weave together to accomplish God's purpose. No less the divine work of God.
In fact, Dr. Ironside said, "God is never nearer than when we cannot see His face. He is never closer than when we do not hear His voice. He is never undertaking for us more than at those times when His own name isn't mentioned." God doesn't need to get publicity to do what He does, do you understand that?
So we see here what is a beautiful illustration of the providence of God. Of course, I immediately thought of those times when we, if we don't see a miracle, have a very difficult time trusting providence, you know? There's a whole gamut today of people who always want a miracle. "Do a miracle! Do a miracle!" We don't need a miracle, because God can accomplish whatever He wants to accomplish through providence, through the ordering of things in the way that He desires to gain His ends.
That's why Philippians 4:6 says, "The Lord is at hand. Don't worry about anything!" It couldn't be simpler. Hebrews 13:6 says, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me," quoting the Psalm. I love this passage, and you know the passage where He says, "Why are you worrying? Don't you know that I take care of the birds and I take care of the lilies?" He goes through that whole thing in Luke 12.
What I love is Luke 12:30. He says, "For all these things do the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you have need of these things." The world runs around saying, "I've got to have it! I've got to have it!" "Get off that kick," He's saying, "God already knows you need those things. So quit worrying about it." That's terrific. I like that.
He says, "If I take care of the birds and the lilies, do you think you're worth more than birds and lilies? For all these things do the nations of the world seek after. Your Father knows you have need. So, you seek the Kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you." Now I love this. He says, "Fear not, little flock. It is your Father's delight to give you the Kingdom. What are you worried about?"
You know, we say, "Oh, God, my need. Please, my needs, oh, I need this!" God's up there saying, "That's My delight! Here, here, here, here." It is the Father's delight to give you those things. "Fear not, little flock. Sell what you have, give it all away, provide yourselves bags which grow not old, a treasure in the Heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches neither moth corrupts, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Don't worry about stocking your stockpiles down here. God knows what you needed before you ever came up with the need. You say, "But He might not give it." It is the Father's delight to give you everything the Kingdom includes. Fear not, little flock. That's exciting, isn't it.
So what is he saying here in this reference to Paul? God is saying to Paul, "I'm going to take care of you. You're My sheep, I know your needs. You're sitting in a cell, you're upset, Jesus came, comforted you. There's a plot against your life, a murder plot. Leave it to Me, I'll take care of everything." That's exciting, as we see this murder plot unfold, to see the providence of God as He weaves together the circumstances to accomplish the protection of His child.
Let's look at it in four scenes: the plot formulated, found out, foiled, then the farewell. OK? First of all, the plot formulated. In verses 12-15, and we'll go to verse 35, the plan in the life of Paul is very much like the life of Jesus. Both were Jews, both were preachers of God, both were rejected by their own people, both had murder plots against them, both stood before a confused Sanhedrin, both were prisoners of Rome in Fort Antonia, and there are even other similarities. I thought back to Philippians 3:10, where Paul's prayer was, "That I may know Him, the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings." Paul knew the fellowship of the sufferings of Jesus like no man that ever lived. He almost went through the same sequence of events that Jesus did.
Verse 12. "And when it was day," that's the morning after the night in which Jesus appeared to Paul and the very day after he had given testimony to the Jewish Council, "Certain of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying they would neither eat or drink until they had killed Paul." Now here's the plot. Disappointed at having let Paul slip through their fingers, a group of these zealots determined that they were going to engineer a plot to kill him and he wouldn't get away this time. They were very serious about it; they were serious about it as indicated by the fact that it says, "They bound themselves under a curse."
The Greek is 'they anathematized themselves with an anathema'. They devoted themselves to destruction. This was not an uncommon thing. They placed themselves under a divine judgment, as it were, they invoked the vengeance of God. It would go something like this, if any of the other Jewish vows would be similar to this, this would be a typical one. "So may God do to us and more, if we eat or drink anything until Paul is dead."
Now they were serious; they wanted this man dead. The most stringent way they knew was to take this kind of a vow that bound them and sort of told everybody the seriousness of it. They invoked the vengeance of God if they didn't accomplish it. Of course, that's dumb, because God may or may not be involved in it. That's why Jesus said, "Swear not at all, don't do that. Don't say, 'God, strike me dead if I don't do this,' or, 'God do this if I don't do that.' Let your conversation be 'yes and no' and forget that." Jesus said, "Swear not at all neither by Heaven or Earth." But they were doing that, and they wanted to drag God into it and appear very holy. "We'll kill him or God strike us dead," feeling they were really going to defend God. They wanted God in on the murder plot.
It's interesting, I think, to tell you that technically, they could have gotten out of the vow. The rabbis provided absolution for those who just couldn't come through with their vow, which is interesting. But as with the case of Christ's murder, as you think about this, what becomes very amazing is that these people could be so violent, so upset, and so blatant against someone who hadn't done anything to them. He'd never harmed them, stolen from them, broken their laws. All he did was preach love and salvation, announce that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, whom they had rejected, came alive from the dead and back again through Paul to tell them they could accept Him as their Messiah even after they had done that, and He would grant them eternal life. All he did was give them a message of peace and grace.
You say, "Why would they react to such a man like this? Why not just say, 'Oh, well. Let him go.' Why so hostile? Why so violent?" Because of this, folks. To simplify it, they were the dupes of Satan. That's the simplest way to look at it. They had been so subjected to the power of Satan, by this time, existing so long in a false system of religion based on ego and hypocrisy, that they were Satan's tools. Satan wanted Jesus and the Gospel done away.
That's nothing new, is it? The rebellion began in Heaven, it continued on earth in Eden, and even when God began the plan of redemption to bring the Messiah, Satan still fought against it. He tried to destroy the Messiah's line, he tried to have Herod kill all the babies, he tried by tempting Christ, by killing Christ, by sealing Christ in the tomb. He tries continually in the Bible by trying to silence the preachers of Christ. He tries today by corrupting the Christians so that they lose the format and foundation of the right to speak. He never stops, and here were some tools. The handle that Satan used to turn them the way he wanted them to go was the handle of their own spiritual egos. They couldn't stand anyone who propagated anything that they didn't believe or that contradicted them, because it made them look bad in the eyes of the people. They were dupes of Satan.
So here they are, plotting against Paul. Paul, who had given his life to give them a message of love and hope and peace and salvation. Verse 13 tells you more about it. "And there were more than 40 who made the conspiracy." 40-plus involved. You say, "Why so many?" Well, apparently, they felt that the Romans wouldn't bring about Paul's death, they couldn't procure the death at the hands of Rome. They realized that they didn't want Paul in front of the people making another speech or he might wind up persuading too many of them.
So they saw they had to get rid of him. But they didn't want any one individual to bear the brunt, so they realized if they had 40 or more (and that's maybe an arbitrary figure, they may have called together all those who were interested) or if they had enough, no one person could be blamed for it. Plus, that many could accomplish it without Paul escaping. So they bound themselves by a blood oath, swearing to God that they would assassinate Paul or they would be willing to take the vengeance of God, knowing all the time that they could get out of it.
Verse 14. They weren't finished; they wanted more support. They came to the chief priest and elders. Now the chief priests of the Sanhedrin were the Sadducees. The Sadducees' party was the most antagonistic to Paul. Do you remember for what reason? Because Paul taught the resurrection and they were anti-resurrectionists. So these conspirators went to the leaders of the Sanhedrin, to the top guys, and said, "Look, we have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will not eat anything until we have slain Paul." Why would they bother to tell the Sadducees? Because they could get a hearing, someone to listen to them who would agree. They wanted to enlist the support of the Council.
It's interesting, I think, to just note the fact that the conspirators, the 40-plus, knew that the leadership of Israel was so morally rotten that they were willing to advertise a murder. Can you imagine taking a group of murderers up to the Supreme Court and telling them that you'd like their cooperation in a murder? Well, that's part of it. But they were not only the judicial heads of the country, they were the spiritual leaders. They were so corrupted that justice was corrupted and spiritual truth was corrupted to the place where they could be enlisted in a murderous assassination. They knew they'd get a hearing and had no fears that they would be prosecuted for such a thing as attempted murder or whatever.
No wonder, later on, when Paul is to be tried again, he appeals to be sent to Caesar rather than go back to the Sanhedrin. Verse 15. "Now, therefore, you with the council." What they did, they said to this segment of Sadducee leaders from the council, "You with the rest of the council, you signify to the chief captain."
This is a reference to the Roman tribune who was running the fort, and who had Paul as his prisoner. "You tell the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow as though you would inquire something more perfectly concerning him." That simply translates 'as though you would investigate more about the case.' They had had an investigation that ended in a riot, because the Sadducees and Pharisees started a fight. But he says, "You tell the chief captain that we want Paul brought down here.
Whoever the spokesman was tells this little group, "You get the Sanhedrin together to get the chief captain to bring the prisoner down and on the way down, before he comes near, we are ready to kill him." That's the end of verse 15. It was an ambush and the plot was formulated. You say, "Did the Sanhedrin agree?" According to verse 20, they did agree. The Jews have agreed.
You say, "I thought it said in verse 9 that some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party said that they found no fault in Paul?" Yes, but that, at the time, was for the sake of the argument, remember? They wanted Paul on their side in the debate with the Sadducees because he believed in resurrection and so did they. But apart from their struggle with the Sadducees, either they changed their minds or they were outvoted, because the Sanhedrin was run on the basis of a majority vote.
So the Sanhedren voted to cooperate and here's the plot. Forty men are going to assassinate Paul, the Sanhedrin is going to ask the Roman chiliarch tribune, the Roman leader of the 1000 men at Fort Antonia, to send Paul down to the Sanhedrin. On the way, he will be ambushed and murdered by those 40 men. But then we begin to see the wheels of providence move as the plot is secondly found out.
Verse 16. This is really a tantalizing verse, because it introduces to us something which we can't resolve, but which throws open all kinds of interesting things. "And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait," literally in the Greek, their ambush. "He went and entered the barracks and told Paul." Now isn't this interesting? Paul's nephew was in on the plot somehow.
Do you realize that the Bible says nothing at all about Paul's family? All we know is that his father was a Pharisee, because he made that statement earlier. We don't know anything else. We do know that in Philippians 3:8, he said that because of his faith in Christ, he had suffered, "The loss of all things." Most Bible teachers assume that 'the loss of all things' included being disinherited from his Jewish family, because from then on, you hear nothing at all about his family, nothing at all.
How, then, all of a sudden, does Paul's sister's son come to Paul's rescue? What is he doing in Jerusalem? Did he live there? Was he there studying to be a rabbi as Paul had been when he was a boy? Was Paul's sister really one who cared about Paul even though he had been disinherited? Had Paul's sister become a believer? Interesting to think about. I can't imagine the Apostle Paul not trying to convert his family, can you? I'm sure he gave it everything he had.
An interesting thing pops up in verse 16. "When Paul's sister's son heard of the ambush." The verb 'he went and entered the barracks', that arras participle there could be translated 'having been present'. It is possible that the boy was present when the plot took place. It is possible it means he was present at the prison, it is possible that it means he was present at the plot. It seems sensible to say he was present at the plot or he wouldn't have known the plot. Can you imagine how God worked the circumstances to have that little boy hanging around the conspirators to get the right message? Then he had the presence of mind to go and warn his uncle. That's what happened.
You can see that this is no less supernatural than if God had reached a big sky-hook out of Heaven and pulled Paul right up. I think it's interesting to add a point, and I'll take a minute to do that.
There is a word in Romans 16 that is translated in the English Authorized Version 'kinsman'. Sometimes, it means countryman, sometimes it means relative. It's an interesting thought, if you look at Romans 16:7, "Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, who are in Christ before me." That's interesting. The possibility is there. Then he says in verse 11, "Greet Herodion, my kinsman who are in the Lord," with another individual. Verse 21, "Timothy my fellow worker, or work fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen." It may have been that Paul did have some fruit in his own family. We don't know, but it's interesting to think about.
So the boy heard about the plot, and came to the barracks to tell Paul. Maybe the family was high class. You know, Paul had been a member of the Sanhedrin and his father was a Pharisee and a Roman citizen, the whole ball of wax, zealous for the law. It could have been that his father was a sharp guy, up there, and we don't know, it's possible that he could have been in the leadership of Israel. Whatever, the boy heard it, went, and told Paul about it. How exciting!
Can you imagine what Paul's heart must have started doing? Thump, thump, thump. Just a few hours before, the Lord had come and said, "You're going to Rome," and now, all of a sudden, the boy comes and tells about a murder plot against him. He begins to realize that God has warned him and that this is step one in the fulfillment of a promise. I can imagine he was so excited when that happened.
Verse 17. "Paul called one of the centurions, he called him over," one of the leaders of 100 men - that's what 'centurion' means. He said, "Bring this young man to the chief captain, for he has a certain thing to tell him. Take this boy to the chiliarch, to Claudius Lysias, the tribune, your commander and chief. He has something to tell him!" It's an important message.
Verse 18. "He took him, brought him to the chief captain, and said, 'Paul, the prisoner.'" Get used to that, that's what it will be from now until he dies, but the marvelous thing is that he always calls himself, "Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ." He never saw himself as a prisoner of any government, always of Christ. Paul, the prisoner, called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you." He said, "I'm bringing this boy because Paul the prisoner told me to bring him to you."
Verse 19. I like this. "The chief captain took him by the hand." That's interesting. You say, "What's interesting about that?" Why would a chief captain take a little boy by the hand unless it was to calm him down? I mean, you can imagine a little fellow in the middle of the Roman fort, just sort of shaking. So to calm him down, to pacify him, he took him by the hand and went with him aside, privately. He asked him, "What is that you have to tell me? What do you want to tell me?"
Now by this time, this guy is so absolutely inundated with material about Paul, but he can't resolve anything, so anything that even relates to Paul interests him. "What have you got to tell me?" Verse 20. "He said, 'The Jews have agreed to desire of you that you would bring down Paul tomorrow into the council as though they would investigate him more careful. They want you to bring Paul down tomorrow.'"
The messengers haven't even gotten to the chiliarch yet, so you see how God's timing is perfect. It's perfect. "But," he says in verse 21, "Do not yield to them." Here is a little kid commanding the Roman commander! You can see how God is superintending this thing. "Do not yield to him, for they will lie in wait for him." There is an ambush of more than 40 men who have anathematized themselves with an anathema." In other words, they have devoted themselves to destruction. They will neither eat nor drink until they have killed him, and they are now ready. "The whole thing depends on the promise from you to deliver the prisoner."
So the whole plot was found out; the scheme is out. The chief captain then let the young man depart and charged him, "See that you tell no man that you have shown these things to me. Don't tell anybody." Why did he tell him that? I think for two reasons; they seem obvious to me. One, he told him not to say anything about it because if the plotters knew that the plot was out, they would come up with another plot, if they were that bound to killing, right? Secondly, I don't think that the commander wanted an argument with those Jews, and I don't think that he wanted them to know that he knew their plot, because if they knew he knew their plot, and he wouldn't let it come off, then you would begin to see potential revolution and sedition.
Jerusalem and Judea were volatile; it was only a few years after this that the whole place exploded in a revolution. He knew the past history of what the other commanders had run into in that place and he did not want to butt heads with them. I think he just figured that the simplest thing to do is, "Let nobody know I know and just get Paul out of town. They'll never suspect that I got him out of town because I knew the plot, that I was only following the necessary procedures that I thought best. They won't take it as a personal effrontery." He was wise. So we see that the plot is found out.
Thirdly it is foiled. That is a good Simon McGree term. You can see again the providence of God. This gets exciting.
Determined to outfox the assassins, Claudius Lysias feels the pressure of Roman justice, and doesn't want to have on his hands the responsibility for the assassination of a Roman citizen, which could cost him his job and his life. He doesn't want to get into a hassle with the Jewish people because the political pot is already boiling. He knows that he has a very important man on his hands or there wouldn't be such a hassle going on. He knows the only thing to do is get this guy out of town and push the case upstairs to the governor. 'Upstairs' was down, really, because it was down to Caesarea, but it was upstairs in terms of who had the authority.
This is kind of reminiscent, too, of how they treated Jesus. Remember? Jesus went to Pilate first and Pilate pushed Him up to Herod. Here, Claudius Lysias, the commander, doesn't want to side. He wants Paul out of town, to protect his life and Claudius' position; he wants to turn him over to Felix and let him deal with it.
Man, really, to get him over to Caesarea, over at the coast, was smart because Caesarea was a Gentile-dominated town and a Gentile-dominated territory. There was less likelihood of a real problem, or revolution, or assassination. So he calls his forces in verse 23.
"He called to him two centurions." Each of those, of course, would be commanding 100 men. "Make ready 200 soldiers to go to Caesarea." So each man would take the 100 troops that were under him, and this is the heavily armed infantry.
The Roman armies moved in three parts. First of all, the heavy-armed infantry. These would be the guys with the swords and shields who could set up the defense - the phalanx - where they would line up with shields and this would be the front-line kind of thing. This was really an armed group. "In addition to that, 70 horsemen." This is the cavalry. It was important in Roman armies that they had the cavalry. The third thing, 200 of what the Greek calls 'graspers by the right hand'. 200 graspers by the right hand. It's translated here 'spearmen', obviously it would be difficult to say, "OK, all you graspers by the right hand, fall out." What it means is 'javelin throwers', men who carried the javelin. These are the light-armed troops.
Very often, as the army moved, the cavalry might be reconnaissance or flank troops; the heavy-armed would be out front, and the spearmen in the back, throwing these javelins. So here are 470 soldiers armed to the gills to escort one apostle out of town. You know, when the providence of God goes into action and God takes care of His saints, they usually go first-class.
So all the Roman army is grouped to get him out of town, and they're going to do it at 9 p.m., "The third hour of the night," verse 23 says. Get him out of town at night. That's how he left Jerusalem. He must have been amazed at all the folderol going on just to get him out. It was a stormy province; the simmering heat, which, nine years later, erupted in the revolution that ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., was already starting. Thus, Claudius Lysias figured he needed a large force. He knew that the whole of the populous in the temple ground had riled against Paul; he knew that this was a big issue, and he was afraid. He knew that Paul would be safe in Caesarea if he could get him there.
Verse 25. "He also wrote a letter after this manner." He wanted a letter to go to Felix, the governor. Oh, verse 24 says that they had beasts, or horses. They put Paul on the horse and brought him safely to Felix, the governor. There was a letter accompanying, and the letter is very interesting. What is interesting about it is this: Luke records for us this letter verbatim.
You say, "What is interesting about that?" Luke never read it. You know what I'm saying? This is a good illustration of divine inspiration. The Spirit of God told Luke, by the miracle of revelation, the words of that letter, and he wrote them down with his own hand. That's inspiration in the Bible. That's how the whole Bible has been written, by inspiration of God. Verbal inspiration. Incidentally, the letter was probably written in Latin, so the Spirit of God had to give it to Luke in Greek. But the Spirit does well at translation, believe me.
Verse 26. Here's the letter, and I want you to notice the letter. It's a very typical letter where the guy is writing to his superior and he pads his case.
"Claudius Lysias unto the Most Excellent Governor Felix [and we'll talk about Felix in our next study] sendeth greeting." Then he gets into it. Incidentally, we're not going to take a lot of time to study the letter, because all it is is a summary of the stuff we've studied for three weeks. He summarizes the events that have brought him to this place of sending Paul.
"This man was taken by the Jews." Remember, they took him when he was in the temple? He was worshiping there and they tried to kill him. "And should have been killed of them: then came I," isn't that terrific? Ah, Claudius to the rescue. "And should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman." Oops. Liar. No, he didn't know he was a Roman until he had already rescued him and strapped him on the frame to be scourged. Then he found out Paul was a Roman and panicked. He was going to torture Paul to get the truth out of him, and it wasn't until he had already begun the process of torture that he found out he was a Roman and called a quick halt. But, you see, when you write to your superior, you want to come off as class A stuff.
"So I came to the rescue with the army, having understood that he was a Roman," protecting his rights as a Roman. "And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council," I followed due procedure, I took him to the council. He did do that. He brought him to the Jewish Sanhedrin, and you remember the mess that occurred there: it all ended in a big fight.
Then he says in verse 29, "Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds." He gives a rather quick account of the interview with the Jewish Sanhedrin, from which he concluded this. "The whole issue is Jewish; it has nothing to do with Roman law. Nothing at all." And he was right. He is stating, in verse 29, the innocence of Paul. Again, do you see the parallel between this and Jesus? Five times, Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him." The same for Paul, he hadn't done anything.
You know what happens? If you go back in the history of Israel, you'll find that the leadership of Israel has been corrupted through the centuries. It has been corrupted so that, when Jesus arrived in Matthew 23:37, He said, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto you. How often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her brood and you would not. Therefore your house shall be left to you desolate." The history of Israel was the history of lifting up evil men and murdering good ones. They did it all the time. They did it up to Messiah, they did it after Messiah with Stephen, and they're trying to do it again with Paul. Israel's history has been the history of killing those that God has sent to them with His message.
He says, "I have nothing to lay to his charge. There is no accusation, I haven't been able to get one." Here is a prisoner without an accusation, really. He's got to deal with this carefully. Verse 30 is how he deals with it. This was really the key; notice this. Paul would never have been able to go from Jerusalem to Caesarea unless there was a reason. The normal reason would be because there was an accusation against him. Since there was no accusation, Claudius says, "I'm sending him for protection," and that's legitimate. So that's important.
"When it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell." So Claudius says in his letter, "I moved the whole thing to you; I sent him to you because there was a plot to take his life. I told his accusers to go to Caesarea and they would have a chance to accuse him there. I'm moving the whole case to you." Boy, he washed his hands. It was a smart thing to do; he saved his neck and his reputation, with both the Romans and the Jews, by acting wisely and cautiously.
So that's the letter. Paul, then, is taken to be brought before the governor, to be accused by the Jews, to be tried. That brings us to the last scene, the farewell.
Verse 31. "Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris." That's about 35 miles. The distance from Jerusalem to Caesarea is almost exactly 60 miles, and it was downhill for the first 35 and at the foot of the Judean hillsides was a little village of Antipatris. It was named for Antipater, the Roman.
So they came to this little village, and at that little village, verse 32, "They left the horseman to go with Paul and returned to the barracks." The 400 soldiers only worried about getting him down the hill. Once they got him to Antipatris, they were in Gentile territory pretty much. They felt that the 70 horsemen could handle him, so the other 400 came back to Jerusalem. That was wise, too, because he had to have his forces where they needed to be, back in the city. Plus, the fact that they hurried back would tend to cover up a little bit some of the caution that perhaps he may have taken.
So the soldiers, as it was commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. The next day, they left the horsemen to go on with him to Caesarea and the rest returned to the barracks. Incidentally, I might mention, it must have been a tremendous march. They must have pushed and pushed to get there in the morning. They say an army, at best, when moving at its fastest, moves about 3.5 miles an hour. To crank those 35 miles out in that one night, they would have had to push to their limits all through the night. Then, of course, the next day, they had to hurry and return.
Verse 33. "When they came to Caesarea and delivered the epistle [that is, the letter] to the governor, presented Paul also before him." So the 70 cavalrymen deposited Paul along with the letter explaining the case. "And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; 'I will hear thee,' said he, 'When thine accusers are also come.'" We'll stop there for a minute.
Now, he had to determine where Paul was from, because he had to determine who had jurisdiction. The Romans had divided their conquered world into various provinces over which there were procurators, or governors. Cilicia and Judea were considered to be in the domain of Felix, and that's what he wanted to determine so that he would know that he had jurisdiction. When Paul replied that he was from Cilicia, which is just north of the Judea area, he agreed that that was his jurisdiction. He says, "I will try the case when your accusers arrive."
In our next study, we'll see what happens when they do arrive: how the case is tried, and the most amazing responses of Felix. Let me show you the end of verse 35, it's really interesting. "And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall." Now, in the authorized version, that sounds very foreboding. The word in the Greek is 'praitorion'. It means the residence of the governor. He said, "Keep him in my house."
You say, "What's interesting about that?" This: do you know what the praitorion was in Caesarea? It was the palace of Herod. Herod had built a magnificent palace there, and of course, Herod wasn't really able to enjoy it to its fullest since he declared a day in which he was going to honor himself and God struck him and worms ate him because he didn't give glory to God. That's in Acts 12. So his palace was taken over by the Romans and turned into the house of the governor. You talk about first class, he had been escorted by 470 soldiers and now, he was going to room in the palace. God is taking care of him.
You can just imagine that Paul is there in the palace just praising the Lord for a promise given only the night before, and fulfilled already. It is the care of the Lord for His children. Do you see a miracle in the passage? Did you see a miracle anywhere? No miracle. No signs, no wonders, and no mighty deeds. Did you see God at work in His providence, ordering the circumstances, ordering the lives of the people, moving all the scenes and characters on the stage to accomplish His will?
Beloved, this passage tells me things about God even though God isn't mentioned. One, it tells me God is faithful. He keeps His word. Do you believe that? Peter said this in II Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise." I see a faithful God. He makes a promise in verse 11, and right in the morning He carries out the fulfillment of it. Paul is 60 miles closer to the promised destination in the first day. God confirmed that promise in his heart. God is faithful.
Second, God is caring. Did you see the care of God? Did you see how He takes care of His servant? He knows how much Paul can handle. He knew that it wasn't time yet for Paul to sneak out of town or to be dragged out of town or to be hustled through the Judean hillsides between the robbers and all the people that were lurking there and seditionists by two or three men, sort of scared and in the corner. He knew how much Paul had endured, and He knew it was time for Paul to go first class. So that's how he went.
People always think God wants everybody to be poor, destitute, and barely scrape by. No, God knows when you need first class. I remember coming home from a meeting one time, to give you a really silly illustration. I was so tired; I had never been as sick as I was. I got sick during the entire meeting. In fact, the church wouldn't let me come back to preach. I was flying from Chicago to Portland, and I was at the end of my tether. I had stayed all week in Chicago in a place that was not air-conditioned. It was 100 degrees every day with about 95% humidity, and I had the flu, and had to speak two or three times a day in an auditorium without air conditioning. By the time the week was over, I was wiped out.
I'll never forget, I just didn't think I could hack it. I knew I was going to get on that airplane, get squished in that preachers' economy section, next to a guy with a black cigar, you know? I mean, I had it all figured out. I got on there and the girl said to me, "I'm sorry, sir, there are no more seats left. We'll have to put you in first class." I said, "Lord, You know. You know." So I went in there, and they started feeding me, and they fed me from Chicago to Portland.
The Lord knows those things. It is His delight; fear not, little flock. I Samuel 30:6 says, "David was greatly distressed, but David encouraged his heart in the Lord his God." Amen. Let's pray.
We thank You, Father, for what You have accomplished in the life of Paul through Your providence as well as through miracles. We thank You for what we see in our own lives as the providence that You design guides us to the accomplishment of Your will. Thank You for the time we've shared together today. Teach us to trust You, to remember that You care. We remember the words of Peter, "Casting all your care on Him, for He cares for you," and to fear not, to be anxious for nothing. To know it's Your delight to give us all that the Kingdom involves. We thank You in Jesus' name, Amen.
This article is also available and sold as a booklet.
This sermon series includes the following messages:
Please contact the publisher to obtain copies of this resource.Publisher Information


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A day which will live in infamy
It's been known as "a day which will live in infamy," and the attack on the U.S Naval base on Pearl Harbor, located on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, on Dec. 7, marks an anniversary that most Americans will remember for years to come.Tensions had been rising between the United States and Japan during the 1930s. In the previous years, the battle over raw materials had escalated. Japan strived to expand upon China, with the United States threatening to halt provisions of iron, steel and oil. In 1940, Japan allied with Italy and Germany to continue their expansion, prompting America to place an embargo on aviation gas, scrap metal, steel and iron. Once Japan became successful in obtaining all of China (known at that time as Indochina), President Roosevelt added oil to the embargo list and closed off the Panama Canal for Japanese shipping.Negotiations were dealt, but both sides viewed war as an inevitable end. In late November of 1941, the Japanese began to dispatch aircraft carriers toward Hawaii and troops on the border of present-day Malaysia. American intelligence and military leaders, including Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and General Walter C. Short in command on Oahu, believed that attacks would take place, but somewhere in southeast Asia. Because of the reports from the available intelligence, Pearl Harbor was not on high alert at that time. Nothing was set in preparation of attacks, and few precautions were taken. And as on any Sunday morning, ships were lightly manned and many of the officers and crewmen were leisurely enjoying their weekend.The horror, however, began around 7:55 am Hawaiian time that Sunday morning, Dec. 7. The first assault from the Japanese consisted of dive bombers, torpedo bombers, high-level bombers and "Zero" fighters, in an effort to target the airfields and battleships. Completely caught off guard, the Americans struggled to defend their territory. An hour later, the Japanese sought to ruin other shipyard facilities and other ships in a second attack which lasted until 9:45 a.m. By that time, a majority of the American planes were wrecked in Oahu. Spared from the damage were the base fuel tanks and three U.S. Pacific Fleet aircraft carriers (Lexington, Enterprise, and Saratoga) that were not in the port.Equipment lost in the raid included eight battleships, three destroyers, three light cruisers, three smaller vessels and approximately 180 aircraft. The battleships Oklahoma and the Arizona were total losses, with the Arizona suffering from the fate of explosions from an air bomb that weighed 1,760 pounds. But the numbers pale in comparison to the lives lost that day. Various sources note that the American casualties range anywhere from 2,323 to 3,400. The Japanese forces only lost 27 planes, five midget submarines and fewer than 100 men.We know the rest of the story. The radio airwaves were flooded with the news of the attack. Shock resonated throughout the United States and the world. Then-President Roosevelt publicly addressed the nation and in a united front with Congress declared war on Japan. And men across the country volunteered to join the war effort, leading America and a slew of countries into the devastation of World War II.The air attack on Pearl Harbor and its aftermath have forever been etched in history's timeline. The shock and panic from the 9/11 attacks in 2001 seemed to mirror the events from Pearl Harbor. But even in the midst of today's war on terror, may we never forget the lives lost on that fateful December morning in Hawaii while we remember those who are still fighting for our freedoms today.

subset: commoncrawl


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FABULOUS TRILOBITE SPECIMENS from near the Canadian border in New York have now entered our museum collection. They are fabulous for several reasons:
1. They are preserved in sparkling golden pyrite.
2. They show intricate detail with legs, feelers, mouth parts, enabling fantastic study of these extinct creatures.
3. Their beautiful state of preservation is indisputable proof they were rapidly and catastrophically buried under muddy water.
4. They are the most beautifully preserved trilobites on earth.
We felt it was urgent to get these before the locally owned site passes under the "academic community", which usually means creationists get locked out. We are grateful to the supporter who put up loan funds to get these materials, but now is your opportunity to help pay him back. Since 99.9 % of trilobites are found without any indication of leg parts preserved at all, that alone makes these exceedingly rare, and exceedingly valuable. The average size of specimens from this area is only a centimetre, but we have picked up specimens 4 and 5 centimetres long in an absolutely beautiful state of preservation, and in some cases showing complete tops and bottoms of jumbled up trilobites in one mass of glittering gold.It also means the Creation Research collection is now amongst world leaders when it comes to quality of materials that we possess for study by creationists. This factor is absolutely vital in beating down the lies of the evolutionary camp about long slow fossilisation process proving the world is millions of years old and life evolved, therefore the biblical account couldn't possibly be true. We need your help with obtaining all such fossils; as we swap for fossils, pay for them outright, or send our researchers to excavate, collect and carry them back to our main collection
Specimens such as these continue to enable us to confound the evolutionists by proving that fossils don't take a long time to form. process.


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The Oak Ridge Wildcats came away with a win and a loss on their first trip to the Tri-Cities this weekend in the Science Hill Trojans Classic.
The Oak Ridge Wildcats came away with a win and a loss on their first trip to the Tri-Cities this weekend in the Science Hill Trojans Classic.
Oak Ridge saw four players score double figures on Friday as Nick Bradley and Isaac Merian led the way with 13 points each in the win 68-38 over Kingsport Dobyns-Bennett. The Wildcats defense engulfed the Indians (7-2), holding them scoreless in the fourth quarter and just eight points in the third.
"We played really well," Oak Ridge coach Aaron Green said. "They had just two field goals in the second half. We just shut them down defensively and rebounded well.
"Our bigs played really well. We talked about in preparation how their bigs were big and physical and they responded," he said
Saturday was a little tougher for the 'Cats as they fell to hosting Science Hill 69-64. Oak Ridge (9-2) was up five at halftime and extended their lead to 11 despite being without Kevin Steen and Rashad Gray. Gray was unable to go after an illness and Steen reinjured his hip in the first quarter. The two coupled with Rian Hall in foul trouble made the bench short against what coach Green said was "one of the better teams in the state.
"They shoot the three really, really well," Green said. "They made three threes in a row (in the fourth). That changed the game and gave them momentum. This is one of the rare times where our depth wasn't there."
Jaylin Henderson led Oak Ridge with 25 points. Merian had 13 and Hall had eight all in the fourth quarter. Steen had six in the first before going out. Science Hill's lone loss on the season came against C.I. Gibson of the Bahamas in a Freeport Thanksgiving tournament.
The Oak Ridge boys will return to action after Christmas in the Arby's Classic at Bristol's Viking Hall adjacent to Tennessee High School. The Wildcats face Virginia Episcopal at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Oak Ridge could get a rematch with the Trojans in the second round on Friday. Tournament games begin at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.
The Lady Wildcats face Jefferson County in the Fulton Christmas Classic at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Robert Holder can be contacted at (865) 220-5508.


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Solve the Division Riddle
Does division make your little dude say "yuck"? He might yuk it up instead once he finds the solutions to these riddles!Download All (5)
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What has eyes, but cannot see? If your child wants to solve this riddle, they're going to have to solve some division first!
Solve the Division Riddle #2Download Worksheet More info
To figure out the answer to this silly riddle, your child will have to solve a slew of division problems.
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This colorful division worksheet is brimming with valuable division problems, and it's got a funny riddle, too.
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After your child works through this slew of division problems, she'll come up with the answer to the funny riddle.
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If your child wants to solve this funny riddle, she'll have to complete a slew of division problems, first.
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This week in Island history
The news of 10 and 15 years ago is from the Jamestown Press. The news of 100 years ago came from the collection of the Newport Historical Society.
100 years ago From the Newport Daily News, March 16, 1909
Plowing for the early crops of peas and potatoes has become general with the farmers and market gardeners.
From the Newport Daily News, March 17, 1909
Town Clerk Severance has completed the work of indexing the records of the town council and court of probate between the dates of 1744 to 1857. This town has one of the most complete records of any town in New England.
The season for grass fires has arrived and heavy smoke at various points on the island and at Narragansett show some are in progress.
75 years ago From the Newport Daily News, March 16, 1934
(At the town council meeting it was determined that) the communication from the Rhode Island CWA, approving the Jamestown project of crushing and breaking of stone to be used in constructing roads and sidewalks, be received and placed on file.
From the Newport Daily News, March 20, 1934
The final result of the ping pong team match between the Republican club and the fire department was held last Monday at the Narragansett engine house. … The final score was 13-12 in favor of the Republican club. The contest has created much interest in town. Each night a large crowd has been present, cheering for their teams. Coffee and sandwiches were served at the close of the games.
50 years ago From the Newport Daily News, March 16, 1959
"Shamrocks and Shillelagh's" and the golden jubilee of St. Mark's Church, Jamestown, were witnessed by a capacity crowd in the Recreation Center last night.
From the Newport Daily News, March 17, 1959
The law firm of Roberts & Coffey of Providence has been retained by the Jamestown Town Council to prepare the brief for the "friend of the court" appearance of the town in the Commerce Oil Refining Co. appeal. The oil company is appealing the adverse decision received in the United States District Court.
From the Newport Daily News, March 21, 1959
The third rate reduction in a year for the Jamestown Bridge was ordered by the Jamestown Bridge Commission. (Twenty one commuter books, holding 12 tickets, were reduced from $2.50 to $2.20. The 16- trip one-year book, now costing $6, was reduced to $5.) … Publication of 10,000 state maps, to advertise the bridge, was authorized. … An advertisement in a sportsmen's magazine for three months at a cost of $60 was authorized.
25 years ago From the Newport Daily News, March 16, 1984
School Supt. Alfred J. LaMarche submitted his res- ignation to the School Committee Thursday night, ending his five-year tenure in the post.
From the Newport Daily News, March 19, 1984
St. Patrick's Day Minstrel Show was presented to a packed house Friday and Saturday nights at the Jamestown School gym. The show was one of the major events to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of At. Mark's Church.
15 years ago From the Jamestown Press, March 17, 1994
The Town Council hopes to discuss with state Department of Transportation officials their plans to upgrade a 1.4 mile section of roadway leading to Beavertail State Park. DOT wants to upgrade a portion of Southwest Avenue and Beavertail Road to include two 12-foot travel lanes with 4-foot shoulders from Narragansett Avenue to Mackerel Cove.
Town officials will seek a payback for nearly $12,000 in Newport Bridge tolls paid out over the past dozen years. … Available records going back to 1982 clearly show that the town has paid tolls for emergency vehicles with no reimbursements.
10 years ago From the Jamestown Press, March 18, 1999
In a special meeting held Tuesday, the Town Council voted to take a position on the proposed port plans for the land at Quonset Point/Davisville (QPD) as suggested by the QPD Liaison Committee. The statement of position … says that Jamestown "opposes construction of a large container port as proposed" … and goes on to say that the town "supports the expansion of existing businesses … ."
On March 28 the Bay Voyage will celebrate its 110th year of business.


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What is the meaning of respect? How can we establish a second home? Why should you volunteer or be sustainable? What are your passions and inspirations?
These are just a fraction of the questions asked and answered at Chapman, where involvement opportunities serve to enhance students' college life.
Get Involved
Our goal is to remove the phrase "I'm bored" from your vocabulary. Start a club you're passionate about. Join a sorority or fraternity. Participate in recreational activities or just hang out in the Student Union. It's all been developed for your enjoyment.
Give Back
Part of what makes students true Panthers is their desire to give back to their community. With that in mind, we have made this process as easy as possible. Through civic engagement programs, diversity and equity initiatives and Greek Life Fundraisers, you have the opportunity to improve the world around you.
Be a Leader
You are a Chapman student, which means you are a leader. To help you continue your leadership streak, Chapman's student life offers an abundance of opportunities. Be a part of the Student Government Association. Chapman Ambassadors or one of the many other leadership opportunities available.
More information on getting involved, giving back and being a leader can be found using the links on the left.


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Extensive Educational Programme for All Visitors to ATC Global 2013
Jan 10, 2013, 07:33 EST
LONDON, January 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
ATC Global, the principal annual Exhibition, Conference and Award Ceremony for the Air Traffic Management (ATM) Industry, today announced further details of its free-to-attend educational programme that will run alongside all activity taking place from 12-14th March 2013 at Amsterdam RAI.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130110/588440 )
The free educational programme of workshops and seminars will be led by industry experts and thought-leading organisations from across the air traffic management spectrum.
The workshop programme offers a comprehensive programme of free-to-attend sessions focusing on niche ATM subject areas of particular current importance. The programme will incorporate sessions on industry-wide issues, operational strategies and technical developments.
ATC Global 2013 will run the workshops over three days, key themes will include the challenges and benefits of automating the ATM system, writing ATM and Ground Standards for SESAR Deployment, new technologies and procedures to improve runway safety, Improving controller and operational ATM training and the challenge of developing space-based ATM services. The top-tier global aerospace, defense and information solutions company IIT Exelis will sponsor a session that will examine the provision of safe and immediate air traffic management services in the aftermath of natural disasters and during contingencies.
In addition, a series of seminars hosted by a number of suppliers from the ATM community will take place in the Seminar Theatre on the show floor. A mixture of case studies and best practice discussions will incorporate a number of topics, from integrated Video-Audio-Data recording and playback, Lidar-aided air traffic management to Business Intelligence as a new key to efficiency for ASNP's and SESAR validation exercises at CDG airport.
Every attendee, whatever their level or responsibility, will benefit from this engaging schedule which features experts from organisations such as EASA, IFATCA, EUROCAE, Snowflake Software, Thales, Azimut JSC and Intersoft Electronics NV.
ATC Global 2013 is the only neutral forum that continues to unite every stakeholder in the ATM market, small and large and regardless of affiliation, including Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), Governments, Civil Aviation Authorities ( CAAs), Regulatory bodies, Airports, Airport Authorities, Airlines, Training Establishments, Military, Consultancies, Industry Organisations and Associations, Manufacturers and Technology providers.
Now in its 23rd year, ATC Global brings together over 5,500 ATM professionals from 116 countries annually.
About ATC Global:
ATC Global has been uniting the entire ATM industry annually since 1990. It provides an independent and impartial marketplace for ATM businesses from every region, small and large and regardless of affiliation. It brings together the broadest range regulatory bodies, ANSPs, industry organisations and suppliers to establish and maintain meaningful partnerships.
The ATC Global conference agenda is set by an Advisory Board made up of senior decision-makers from throughout the industry, determining the right discussions for the whole of the industry. The conference and workshops examine a wide range of topics, with speakers drawn from all sections of the ATM community.
ATC Global currently holds its annual event at the Amsterdam RAI. It is a subsidiary of the global B2B communications and marketing provider UBM, now a finalist for the 2012 Haymarket Event Awards.
For further information go to http://www.atcglobalhub.com
About UBM Live:
UBM Live operates a number of market leading exhibitions, awards, websites/online products and publications in twenty different business sectors with offices in the UK, Netherlands, USA, UAE and Brazil. Our brands include CPhI, IFSEC, and Food Ingredients. Cruise Shipping Miami, Technology for Marketing and Advertising, International Confex, Informex and many more. UBM Live is part of UBM Ltd
For further information go to http://www.ubmlive.com
SOURCE UBM Live


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Be honest. How many bids are sitting on your desk at this very moment? Are you confident you'll win at least 80% of them? Besides a competitive price, what will be necessary to win each job? Most electrical contractors operate in a reactive sales environment. Every project opportunity is based on responding to a request for bid that is also received by all your competitors. Inexperienced contractors rely on low prices to win their projects, while more mature contractors realize price is only one of several elements necessary to win a job. Beyond the quality of your bid, you really want to move from this reactive sales environment to a more proactive position — one where you're driving the sales process, not your customer.
This article will walk you through the 10 questions every electrical contractor must be able to answer before determining whether he's ready to win — not just fight — the sales war.
What do you do best in the world? For a young contractor, this question may be impossible to answer. You don't have enough experience and, in all likelihood, are still struggling to find your market niche. Your best is defined by those projects that end successfully — more of a testament to your project management skills than industry excellence.
Mature contractors evolve through markets over time based on both market conditions and, quite frankly, luck. As one wizened contractor admitted, his firm started with an expertise in control wiring more than 40 years ago and moved into waste and water treatment plants. Now, as he reaches retirement, the company specializes mainly in interstate highway signage and lighting. In each market, his firm achieved a "best-in-the-world" moniker — and, when competition became too stifling, it evolved seamlessly to the next market.
Sales success is predicated on being able to answer the "best-in-the-world" question. After all, if you don't believe you're the best in the world, why should anyone buy your services?
Why do your customers buy your products and services? The answer to this question typically comes down to one of three reasons: to increase revenues, decrease costs, or mitigate risks. Because there is no other reason for a customer to buy, these three reasons form the basis of the value proposition.
Your objective is to wrap a quantitative value proposition around every one of your offerings. Energy conservation offerings and power utilization audits can immediately be tied to a reduction in operating costs. Long-term proactive maintenance and monitoring of electrical equipment can avoid electrical failures — a clear example of mitigating risk. And, in every case, you can calculate the impact of your offering in finite dollars.
For core electrical offerings (i.e., wiring a commercial building), the value proposition is often associated with delivery excellence, not price, as many contractors may think. While builders complain about project pricing, their greater concern is non-performance. If a contractor wins a project based solely on low price but is unable to deliver a quality end product, the builder faces a huge risk. Surprisingly, the value proposition most associated with core electrical contractor offerings is to mitigate customer risk.
What is the value of your offerings portfolio? While it would be unusual for any single customer to buy all of your products and services, it is plausible that many of your offerings would be of interest to a larger share of your customer population — if they only knew about them. The issue is that many of your service offerings are in response to a customer request — not proactively sold as a targeted offering.
Uncovering the value of your product and services portfolio requires an analysis of the last 36 months of customer records. Specifically, what did you sell to each customer, and what was the value of the offering? When you take a good look, it will become obvious you're delivering a high number of one-time offerings. You may also find that the amount you bill for each service fluctuates — a phenomenon that occurs with changes in competition, available work, and idle resources.
The objective of this exercise is to identify the full range of services that could be offered through your business.
What is your optimal revenue-per-customer value? Contractors have three types of offerings: assessments of current conditions (i.e., energy or power utilization audits); implementation offerings (installing electrical equipment to resolve outstanding issues found during an audit or responding to a request for bid); and maintenance offerings (monitoring newly installed equipment to ensure higher levels of efficiency). The combination of these services is referred to as the assessments, implementation, and maintenance (AIM) continuum, and serves as the basis for destination selling. For more information on this business model, read "AIM High" on page 42 of the January 2007 issue of EC&M.
Destination selling is the first step to moving from a reactive to proactive sales environment. Once you have captured a customer, it's your objective to continue the relationship by offering logical services that build on your initial project success. Once your current project is completed, you must decide: Who will maintain the infrastructure? Is there a value to the customer for periodic power utilization audits? Is there an opportunity to monitor the electrical equipment based on changing customer requirements? All of these services presume a customer need — prior to the customer requesting it.
Your optimal revenue per customer value is the combined value of AIM — the revenue that would be realized if the customer bought all the services on the destination continuum.
What percentage of the portfolio is sold to every customer? When you multiply your total number of customers by the value of your offerings portfolio, you're calculating optimal revenue potential (ORP). This is the total revenue you could realize if your customer and offerings portfolio were fully optimized. On average, electrical contractors are only achieving 6% of their revenue potential. Why is this performance metric so low?
Most contractors will find that 20% of their customers are responsible for approximately 80% of their revenues. In many cases, the contractor has acquired customers that, in reality, should never be customers because they are inconsistent with the targeted population or just too small for your services. The other explanation is that the customer base is comprised of a high percentage of ideal customer candidates but the contractor has been ineffective at selling a broader range of offerings.
Conversely, your portfolio of offerings may be too diverse. Are you attempting to enter several markets simultaneously? Trying to penetrate such diverse markets as alternative energy and low-voltage security solutions may be resulting in low success in both categories. Although this approach may be consistent with your strategic desires, a long-term level of limited penetration will wreak havoc on your resources.
The goal, obviously, is to increase your penetration into your optimal revenue potential. For many contractors, a simple increase from 6% to 12% can result in a doubling of revenues — without adding one new customer!
Who is your primary customer? On the surface, the answer to this question seems like a no-brainer. The customer is the entity that awards the project and pays your invoices. In a reactive sales environment, that would be correct. However, once your initial project is completed, does your definition of customer change?
If you're only involved in the bid environment, your definition of customer remains constant. However, as you evolve into a proactive sales environment, your answer may change. As you look into selling assessment and maintenance offerings, your customer might actually be the building owner or tenant instead of the builder.
Can you define your ideal customer? Your ideal customer is defined as the entity that will buy at least 80% of your products and services portfolio. Contrary to what many contractors believe, these are not always the largest customers in the marketplace but rather those entities that value your product and services continuum.
Finding your ideal customer characteristics forces you to once again go back to your customer history files. Identify five to 10 customers that satisfy the "80% bought" requirement or, at minimum, represent your largest revenue sources. What do these customers have in common? In most cases, you'll be able to identify 15 to 20 common characteristics across the customer sample that define your ideal customer.
Now, with this information in hand, evaluate your potential project opportunities. Do the remainder of your existing customers or those that you are actively pursuing have your ideal customer characteristics? If not, further pursuit of these opportunities is of limited value.
How long is your current sales cycle for a new customer? In the bid and proposal environment, the duration of the sales cycle is documented. But is this really the complete sales cycle? In reality, the bid request is the last step in a long and complicated sales dance.
It's in the best interest of contractors to have some level of influence on the development of every bid request. That way, when the bid is sent out, there are elements in the requirements that may be competitively swayed in your direction. This process of helping scope the requirements of any project is perfectly legal, but how do you accomplish this form of proactive selling?
Large firms use a process called "qualifications selling" — a fancy phrase that is a form of self-marketing. Using a professional sales staff, the large contractor begins the process of getting to know all of the components that comprise the customer. For example, if the work is for the government, the customer would include a variety of different agencies, including the end-user, building and maintenance, and procurement. The professional sales staff would develop relationships with each governmental agency and begin the process of extolling the specific qualifications of their firm. In the end, all aspects of the sales dynamic are covered, leading to higher levels of sales success.
Smaller contractors, on the other hand, do not have the resources to employ a professional sales staff. The key for smaller contractors is not to initially seek to win a large contract. Instead, you should sell a series of assessment or maintenance offerings that allow you "paid" access to the real customer contacts. Smaller offerings provide a low-risk way for contractors to establish credibility with a large customer, putting themselves in a competitive position when larger deals are bid.
Who owns the customer relationship? Electrical contracting is a service business that relies on labor as the basis for revenue generation. This business model is contrasted with a products business where revenues are generated primarily from the sales of products. This difference between services and products businesses is important as each employs a different sales model and subsequent customer management approach. In a real sense, it answers the question: Who owns the customer relationship?
In a products-based business, the sales force (a group of individuals that are divorced from the delivery or manufacturing process) owns the customer relationship. Think about your supplier relationships. These individuals are compensated on moving merchandise — the more the better.
Because of the nature of service work, electrical contractors rely on delivery resources to own the customer relationship. These people establish day-to-day contact with the customer and are in the best position to influence up-sell opportunities. From an initial sales perspective, electrical contracting firms must use sales professionals that have risen through the delivery ranks. It's the only way to appear credible to a potential customer.
Have you ever lost a deal on price? If so, you are to be congratulated! It means you've avoided the commodity pit — the environment where the more important aspects of your job were never valued. While many builders will accept low bids to keep their project costs down, the young contractor finds out quickly that winning the work comes at a high price — the downfall of business.
Mature contractors have figured it out. Sales success comes when you're able to elevate your bids from being purely price dependent to a level that incorporates real competitive differentiation. Remember, educated customers realize that quality, experience, and proven capabilities will mitigate the risk of every project. Price only reduces the potential profit exposure — a short-term view that is often never realized as poor quality leads to higher levels of expensive re-work.
By changing your focus from relying on reactive sales opportunities and moving toward a more proactive stance, you'll achieve higher win rates, increased revenue-per-customer metrics, and more control over your business destiny, winning the sales war once and for all.
Dawson is managing director of LTV Dynamics, an international sales management and business consulting firm located in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.


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Solving Equations- Distributive Property
Lesson 2 of 16
Objective: SWBAT solve equations that require using the distributive property.
Big Idea: Give a little love! Get kids to distribute to every term within the parentheses while solving equations.
Each day, students complete a warm-up that usually consists of spiraling the previous day's material, in addition to older material. Warm-up problems also sometimes extend lessons that students have encountered before to more unfamiliar contexts.
In this lesson, #3 provided a particularly rich learning activity.
A rectangle has a height that is five less than triple the base, b. Which of the following shows the perimeter of this rectangle?
Most students who chose the wrong answer chose "3b - 5." This provided a chance to talk about:
- close reading of the problem
- using a diagram to model a situation
- collecting like terms, including with negative numbers.
A task that has a bit of a "gotcha" element tends to stay in kids' minds longer, as long as there is a memorable and understood "aha" moment, which this task has. I love using this as a warm-up problem, particularly as the last problem.
Resources (1)
Play of the Day
Resources (2)
The homework includes questions related to this lesson, as well as spiraled review. I also provide answers to the problems on page 2.


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Apple's newest mobile operating system, iOS 5 is available for download today. iOS 5 brings a collection of new features to old iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads.
There are over 200 new iOS 5 features, which will change the way you use your iOS device. If you have an old iPhone, iOS 5 will help you get ready to upgrade to an iPhone 4S, or it will help you get another year of use out of an old phone.
Apple has made the upgrade process pretty straightforward. If you haven't already done so, you should be sure to prepare your iPhone for iOS 5.
Once you start the iOS 5 upgrade process, you shouldn't stop. Typically upgrading right when the software is available is slower due to a large number of people updating. If you are updating your iPhone, be sure you can be without it for the duration of the upgrade.
iOS 5 is a free upgrade, and works on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod Touch 3rd generation, iPod Touch 4th generation, iPad and iPad 2.
Prepare for iOS 5
If you haven't already read, 5 Things to Do Before You Upgrade to iOS 5, I suggest you give the list a quick glance, but we will cover the essential steps below.
iTunes 10.5 – The first thing you need to do is update iTunes. You can do this by choosing Check for Updates in the app, or downloading iTunes 10.5 directly from Apple.
Follow the prompts to update iTunes to the latest version. This should take 5-10 minutes once the file is downloaded.
Backup – Backup your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad to your computer. To do this, plug in with a USB cable and allow the device to backup. If it does not automatically backup, you can right click on the device name in the left side of iTunes and choose backup. If moving to a new computer, be sure to transfer purchases to the computer for easy syncing.
How to Update to iOS 5
Now that you are ready, here's how to upgrade to iOS 5.
1. Click on your device's name in the iTunes sidebar.
2. This will open up Settings in the right hand area as shown below.
3. Click on the Check for Update button in the middle of your screen.
4. iTunes will now download and upgrade your iPhone to iOS 5. This could take some time. Do not disconnect from your computer or quit iTunes until the iOS 5 upgrade is done.
5. When the update completes your device will restart and you will be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID. You can sync to iTunes to bring back your apps and data if need be.
6. Do not remove your device until your apps have synced back, otherwise you will have to recover lost apps, which is painful.
That's all you need to do. We'll be showing off how to use iOS 5 soon, for now, learn how to use the Notification Center in iOS 5.
While the upgrade to iOS 5 happens, you can watch the iOS 5 overview video from Apple to see what you can expect in the newest iPhone and iPad software.


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In theater, each night of an individual production's run is different. When two different companies – seperated by both miles and years – perform a play, the separate interpretations magnify both flaws and strengths in their texts – and the differences in their productions become tools for gaining new insight into the multi-faceted fragility of this collaborative art form.
Having first seen Dublin By Lamplight when The Corn Exchange brought it to the Traverse Theater during the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, my second viewing was at the hands of Inis Nua, a Philadelphia-based company taking part in 1st Irish 2011 – a festival of Irish Theatre that spans New York City.


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Jennifer Forest Anders, M.D.
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Expertise: Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Research Interests: Pediatric Emergency Research; Fellowship Training
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Dr. Jennifer Anders is an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her area of clinical expertise is pediatric emergency medicine. Dr. Anders serves as the director of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is deeply committed to the education of residents and fellows to supply high-quality practitioners to serve ill and injured children.
Dr. Anders received her undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of Chicago. She earned her M.D. from the Mayo Clinic Medical School. She completed her residency in pediatrics and adolescent medicine at the Mayo Clinic and performed a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Dr. Anders joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 2005.
Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Anders was the department head of pediatrics at the Naval Hospital Great Lakes.
She is keenly interested in several areas of research to improve emergency care of children, including acute pain assessment and treatment, and procedural sedation. Her current research studies include prehospital and inter-facility transport of children with cervical spine injury, transcriptional biosignatures of febrile infants, an electronic stethoscope to assess children with respiratory disease, and an electronic intervention to improve care of young women with pelvic inflammatory disease.
Dr. Anders was recognized with the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association.
- Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship
- Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Departments / Divisions
Centers & Institutes
- MD, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (1995)
- Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education / Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (1998)
- Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago / Pediatric Emergency Medicine (2005)
Board Certifications
- American Board of Pediatrics / Pediatric Emergency Medicine (2006)
- American Board of Pediatrics / Pediatrics (1998)
Research & Publications
Research Summary
Dr. Anders' areas of research is related to improving emergency care of children, including acute pain assessment and treatment, and procedural sedation.
Her current research studies include prehospital and inter-facility transport of children with cervical spine injury, transcriptional biosignatures of febrile infants, an electronic stethoscope to assess children with respiratory disease, and an electronic intervention to improve care of young women with pelvic inflammatory disease.
Clinical Trials
The Role of Cerebral Oximetry in Pediatric Concussion Assessment
Technology Based Community Health Nursing (TECH-N) to Prevent Recurrent Sexually Transmitted Infections after Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Selected Publications
JF Anders and EC Powell. "Urgency of Evaluation and Outcome of Acute Ovarian Torsion in Pediatric Patients." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2005; 159:532-5.
JF Anders, RM Jacobson, GA Poland, SJ Jacobsen, PC Wollan. "Secondary failure rates of measles vaccine: A metaanalysis of published studies." Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 1996;15:62-6.
Activities & Honors
- Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps, 2002
- Emeritus Award, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, 1998
- Pastéur-Mérieux-Connaught Award, Seventh International Congress of Infectious Diseases, 1996
- Ambulatory Pediatric Association
- American Academy of Pediatrics


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Paraphrasing Practice
Practice paraphrasing, or putting another person's writing in your own words, with these cool paraphrasing worksheets. Kids read and paraphrase fun passages on science, history and more.Download All (10)
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Click on a worksheet in the set below to see more info or download the PDF.
Paraphrasing: Van GoghDownload Worksheet More info
Paraphrasing is an important skill for writing a research paper. Students can practice putting someone else's writing into their own words.
Paraphrasing: The Ohlone PeopleDownload Worksheet More info
Learning how use written sources—and avoid plagiarism—is important for any young writer. Practice paraphrasing with this passage about the Ohlone.
Paraphrasing: Sedimentary RockDownload Worksheet More info
Here's a chance for your child to practice paraphrasing, and have a quick geology lesson too! He'll re-write this passage using his own words.
Paraphrasing: Rosa ParksDownload Worksheet More info
Paraphrasing means putting another's writing into your own words. This is an important skill for middle school children to master.
Paraphrasing: The Gray WolfDownload Worksheet More info
Paraphrasing while avoiding plagiarism is an important skill to master. Help your child practice paraphrasing this passage about the gray wolf.
Paraphrasing: PhotosynthesisDownload Worksheet More info
The ability to paraphrase while avoiding plagiarism is important writing skill. Help your child paraphrase this passage about photosynthesis.
The set is continued below.
Paraphrasing: Annie OakleyDownload Worksheet More info
Paraphrasing is all about putting other people's writing in your own words. Your child will read about Annie Oakley as he paraphrases this passage.
Paraphrasing: The Nile RiverDownload Worksheet More info
The ability to paraphrase is a valuable skill! Help your child learn to put informational text in her own words, with this passage about the Nile River.
Paraphrasing: Asteroids and MeteorsDownload Worksheet More info
Practice paraphrasing a topic your little astronomer sure to interested in: asteroids and meteors! He'll rewrite this passage in his own words.
Paraphrasing: BeethovenDownload Worksheet More info
Practice paraphrasing without plagiarizing, an important skill to learn in middle school. Your child will learn about Beethoven as she paraphrases this passage.
Want to download this whole set as a single PDF?Download All (10)
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Integrates specialized features to highlight, write,
encircle and zoom in the features.
Permits slide changing with just a swap.
Consumer SolutionsView details
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Nimble effectively replaces mouse and keyboard and does much more. Use windows, Play sports, control media and music, browse internet, give presentations and everything works even from a distance of 5 m.It uses Intugine sensor and three nimble devices to bring complete gesture control in your PCs.
Nimble is specially optimized for giving presentations in companies, schools colleges and similar institutes. You can give lectures moving around the room freely, without holding any bulky remote and change slides comfortably wherever you are, just by a swap of hand. It uses Intugine sensor and only one Nimble in your index finger to do it all.


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The launch of the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R has been a rocky one for Team Green. First there was the new that the ZX-10R's class leading power figures wouldn't be making it to the American market, as the Japanese manufacturer was honoring new EPA noise standards, which necessitated the Kawasaki ZX-10R getting its wings clipped by 750RPM and approximately 20hp. With this sort of impediment soon to become a common occurrence in the North American markets, the 2011 Kawasaki ZX-10R is just the first of many bikes likely coming to the Land of the Free with less power than its European counterparts.
The next big blow for the ZX-10R occurred just a few weeks ago when Kawasaki put a worldwide technical hold on the model, and asked for units already sold in the United States to be returned to the manufacturer. Kawasaki was tight-lipped on the actual reason for the technical hold, but rumors that a piston problem was the cause quickly emerged. Now releasing more information about the technical hold, Kawasaki says that its engine issue was not in the pistons, but instead was due to an intake valve seating issue was the cause of the non-recall.


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AICPA Comments on Proposed Single Audit Revisions
July 18, 2013
Members that perform single audits of federal awards should be aware that the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) sent comments to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on June 2, 2013, regarding proposed revisions to the rules for single audits of state and local governments and non-profit organizations; the OMB cost principles; and the federal administrative requirements for federal awards contained in Circular A-133. The OMB proposal represents a significant grant reform effort on the part of the federal government and is the second step in a multi-step process in OMB's federal grants improvement initiative that began in 2012.
In its comprehensive comment letter, the AICPA supported the overall direction of OMB's proposed rule (Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements) and the related proposed guidance document (Proposed OMB Uniform Guidance: Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements for Federal Awards). The AICPA also expressed appreciation for OMB's responsiveness to feedback provided by the AICPA in its April 30, 2012, comment letter on OMB's related Advance Notice, Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements; Cost principles, and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act).
Although generally supportive of the proposal, the AICPA offered 75 specific comments in its comment letter. The AICPA identified significant concerns in a number of areas including the future effective date, federal capacity and coordination issues, and a lack of clarity around certain changes to the cost principles, indirect cost rules, and time and effort requirements.
The AICPA noted that its comments are based on what OMB has proposed to date. Since the revisions to the OMB Compliance Supplement that are described in the proposals have yet to be developed and will have a "significant effect on the successful implementation of the audit provisions in the final regulations," the AICPA urged OMB to expose the draft revisions for public comment.
Going forward, the AICPA will continue to monitor this project closely and work to ensure that the final single audit rules are clear, efficient and effective.
More details about OMB's proposed revisions can be found on the website of the AICPA's Governmental Audit Quality Center.


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Lodima silver chloride photographic paper is now in production:
We have raised the amount of money needed for this second run of paper. and production of this new run is happening this month (October 2011). We are grateful to those who have already placed orders, which enabled us to have this paper made. And we are now offering those who have not placed an order yet to place one at the current prices. As soon as the paper is received here in the USA, due to the rise in the cost of silver and of paper, the prices will go up considerably.
Full details can be found here: http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/newpaper.html
The current prices are under the column: "pre-production orders."
Michael A. Smith


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Key Features:
- A captivating narrative. Fable: The Journey immerses you in a role-playing experience with a deep story line and compelling characters and creatures. In this action-packed adventure, you'll develop a bond with your horse through an emotion-filled journey that uncovers the mystery behind Theresa, who has appeared in all previous Fable games.
- Heart-pounding action. Thanks to the controller-free experience of Kinect, use your power to create weapons to obliterate your enemies, leverage spells to slow your enemies' attacks, or heal your horse. Pick up the virtual reigns and race against the clock in your horse and carriage, battle your way through a barrage of enemies and attacks, and collect items to improve.
- A new Albion. Built on the Unreal Engine 3, Fable: The Journey breathes life into the world of Albion with stunning graphics and vivid detail. Explore uncharted realms and learn more about the history of Albion.
More articles about Fable: The Journey


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Bengals draft RB Bernard, re-sign RT Smith
Bengals draft RB Bernard, re-sign RT Smith
The Bengals have turned the first two days of the NFL draft into an upgrade on offense.
They reached a deal with right tackle Andre Smith on a three-year deal Friday night, bringing their offense back intact from their playoff season. They then picked running back Giovani Bernard from North Carolina with the first of their two picks in the second round.
All this came a few hours after tight end Tyler Eifert - their first-round pick - arrived in town and started to learn the offense.
Smith was an unrestricted free agent looking for a big deal. When he didn't get it from somewhere else, he chose to stay in Cincinnati, which made him a first-round pick in 2009.


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The "FUJINON GF110mmF2 R LM WR" is a medium telephoto lens for portraits. With a focal length equivalent to 87mm in the 35mm format, it achieves a brightness of F2.0 when used wide open to deliver beautiful bokeh. The high resolving power of the area in focus and the rich bokeh unique to medium format fast lenses depicts portraits with a realistic three-dimensional feel. It features fast and quiet AF due to a linear motor, is dust and weather resistant, and is capable of operating in environments as cold as -10°C. The lens combines high performance and reliability as a professional work tool.
Learn more product detail about FUJINON LENS GF110mmF2 R LM WR on FUJIFILM.com
Swedish Photographer Jessica Wikström uses GFX 50S with Profoto B1X for portraiture
Swiss X-Photographer Jens Krauer documents Langstrasse in Zurich with the GFX
David A. Williams tells his hands-on experience with the GFX for his portrait works
German commercial photographer Thorsten Rother tells how he approached his project "Headshot"
Italian commercial photographer Sara Lando tells her experience with the GFX
X-Photographer Mindy Tan from Singapore captures nostalgic scenery of Singapore from the old days with the GFX.
Japanese Photographer Ichigo Sugawara visited Sakhalin to take portriaiture of Nivkh people with the GFX
Julien Apruzzese from France tests the GFX 50S and GF110mmF2 combo.
David Williams from Canada uses GFX 50S for portrait photography.
"Let's do it!" Inside look into NORDICA Photography shooting wedding photography!
Wedding Photographer David Stanbury from the UK tests the GF110mmF2 R LM WR.
Thorsten Rother shoots portraits with the FUJIFILM GFX 50S and the GF110mmF2 R LM WR