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Well we return to the eighth Chapter of Romans tonight, this monumental chapter, and I've entitled this brief little series If God is For Us Who Can Be Against Us? Borrowing that from verse 31, "What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who is against us?" And the implied answer to the question is no one, no one can successfully thwart the purpose of God for his beloved people.
And so we've been talking about security in an insecure world, talking about our true spiritual security. We've gone through verses 28 to 30. We have made it clear that God is causing all things in the life of those who love him and are called according to his purpose to work for good. That is primarily for their eternal good because whomever he foreknew he predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son that he might be the chief one among many brethren. Whom he predestined these he also called, whom he called these he also justified, and whom he justified these he also glorified.
God has a plan. The plan was to justify some people and then to glorify those people and in glorifying them conform them to the very likeness of Jesus Christ, so that Jesus Christ would be the chief over a redeemed humanity that were like him. That provides for him a population of redeemed souls who forever will love and honor and serve him.
Now with regard to these people whom God has foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified, with regard to these people whom he will conform to the image of his Son, he is causing all things to work together for their good. And that is to say, once God has determined who they are he will bring them all the way to their glorious end, so that nothing that happens in their lives can work for their evil. In other words, nothing can undo the plan of God. It sweeps from foreknowledge and predestination all the way to glorification. And I suppose that you could think that all that needed to be said about the believer's security has been said in verses 28 to 30, but that's not the case. In fact, there is much more. There is a crescendo that comes in the final portion of the chapter, actually beginning in verse 31 all the way to the end of the chapter that when it comes to the matter of security is often known as the hymn of security because of its great power and its great richness.
Verses 31 to 39 is our concern for tonight and it's a challenge, as you know, for me to sweep through that lengthy portion of Scripture. But it begins with where we have already been and that is what then shall we say to these things? What are these things? The matters of security, the purposes of God with regard to foreknowledge, predestination, calling, justification and glorification. What do we say to this plan of God that is conforming us ultimately to the image of his Son? What do we say to God working everything together for his will? What do we say to that?
We say this: If that is God's plan then nobody can stop it. That's what that verse means. That's exactly what that means. What is there to say in response? If God is for us then who successfully can be against us? And the obvious answer to that question is no one since God is omnipotent. Now the Apostle Paul anticipates that some people may have problems with this and they may bring up objections, but there may be some person, or there may be some circumstance that can stop the plan. There may be some person or some circumstance that can cause the purpose of God to be diverted. There may be some person or some circumstance that can cause us to forfeit the right to be seen through to the end. There are people who have always believed and many who believe even as we speak that this salvation, which is granted in Christ can be lost. I was painfully listening to a preacher on television this afternoon, it's a form of machisim that I inflict upon myself for reasons that my dear wife, Patricia, cannot comprehend. And he was bemoaning the foolish creatures, the unwise and the unbiblical and the less than godly preachers who tell you once you're saved you're always saved and in so saying misrepresent the truth of God. He went on to say you stop believing for a moment you've lost everything. There have always been objections to this. Still are, I suppose there will always be as these errors are passed down from generation to generation through certain denominations and associations and personal influences.
So Paul in a consummate way wants to address this objection that some person or some circumstance could cause the forfeiture of this plan. And first of all he wants to talk about persons and that is the subject of verses 31 to 34, persons. Is there some human person, let's start there, is there some human person who can cause us to loose our salvation by being against us? If God is for us who can be successfully against us? The who here we can refer to a human person. Is there some who somewhere who can interrupt the plan? How about the Judaisers who went into Galatia and assaulted the church and assaulted the believers and who told them no matter what they believed about Jesus Christ if they weren't circumcised and didn't keep the Mosaic law they weren't saved. They're always going to be people who want to assault our doctrine of salvation by grace alone. There are those people who
would do everything they could to disposes us of our salvation. The Roman Catholic Church thinks they have the power to do that by ex-communication. It takes people out of a state of grace and puts them into a state of damnation. And how about church disapline? Can a church in disiplining a person confronting their sin, putting them out, treating them as an unbeliever literally by the force and power of that act divest them of their salvation? Or have they been by their sin divested and the church is merely recognizing it? And what about myself? Do I have the power to forfeit my salvation by rejecting Christ, by denying what I once believed and stepping away? In other words, is there any person, a part of a religious organization, or a part of a religious influence, or even myself who can interrupt and end the plan of God that moves execrably from foreknowledge to predestination, to calling, to justification, to glorification.
Now you have around you people who would like to do that, your unsaved family, some of them might like to do that, sever you from Christ. Your professors at certain universities would like nothing better than to sever you from Christ, to destroy your faith in the word of God. The amoral culture would love nothing more than through the influence of their literature and their music and their media and their emphasis on style to divest you of any Christian convictions. Legalists would like you to reject grace alone as a way of salvation. The cults would like for you to reject Christ alone as a way of salvation and force you into some works righteousness system. Satan, believe me, he's a person. We'll talk about him in a moment along with his demons. They would very much like to divest you of your salvation. They tried it with Job. Satan tried it with Peter in Luke 22, and the messenger from Satan assaulted Paul as indicated in II Corinthians Chapter 12. There are those persons who would like to do that. And the question for Paul is if God be for us, or better since God is for us, who can be successfully against us. And we have been pointing out that that is answered no one, no one, because God is causing all things to work together for good to take us through that process to the ultimate glorification because from the very beginning his purpose was to conform us to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ who would then be the chief one over a redeemed humanity who would reflect his glory and honor and serve him forever.
So, if we say, no human person can do it, somebody will say will God can do it. God can stop the process in our case. God can change his mind. God can withhold us from salvation in its final sense. God can see us sinning. God can see us in an ungrateful condition, in a disobedient condition and God can take back the gift that he gave us. God can let us fall back. Well look at verse 32 because here Paul anticipates this objection.
He who did not spare his own Son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? Now this is an amazing statement, really an amazing one. It's a somewhat typical Hebrew argument. Arguing from the greater to the lesser. If God did the greater thing, that is, giving up his own Son, will he not do the lesser, that is giving us what we need to be sustained in our salvation? What we need of faith, and what we need of obedience and what we need of sanctification. It's a simple point.
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That was the big gift. He gave the best. He gave the most. He made the greatest sacrifice. We can only in a small measure comprehend the strangeness of the Father saying to the eternal Son, go down into the world, be surrounded by sinners and actually go to the cross under the animosity and hatred of those sinners and be punished for their sins. That is strange beyond strange for the Holy Son. That is a condescension that is incomprehensible and inconceivable. That is a sacrifice that is beyond our understanding, the supreme sacrifice that taxes our mental faculties to even comprehend. If Romans 5:10 is true we were reconciled to God through his Son, through the death of his Son, shall we not be kept by his life? In other words, God made the supreme sacrifice in order to provide our justification. Will he not then do what is lesser to sustain that to glory? That's the point and a great point it is. Look back at verse 32 just some elements of it, "He who did not spare his own Son," didn't hold him back. In fact I read this morning in Isaiah 53:10, "It pleased the Lord to bruise him." How amazing. It pleased the Lord to subject his Son to a sin-bearing sacrificial painful horrifying death. It pleased him? Yes, because God could look past the suffering and the pain to the glory that would come to the Son through that redeemed humanity. And even the Son who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross was able to see beyond that. So God spared not his own Son. Emphasis there on eddias, his own particular personal Son to make an emphasis of what a sacrifice this was. He didn't spare him, didn't hold him back, but delivered him, delivered him, totally gave him over. In Luke 22:53, Jesus put it this way, "When I was daily with you in the Temple, you stretched forth no hands against me. I was here every day. But this is your hour and the power of darkness." And at that time God gave him over to Satan and Satan used his weapon of death on him. And what Satan thought he was accomplishing he wasn't. He thought he was ending the life of the Messiah. The fact of the matter is the Messiah was offering himself for sin.
So the Father delivered the Son to the abandonment, to judgment that his justice required. This was God. When you ask the question who delivered Jesus to die? It wasn't Judas for money, it wasn't Pilate for fear, it wasn't the Jews for envy, it wasn't any of those, it was the Father for love. John Murray writes, "It is only as the ordeal of Gethsemane and Calvary is viewed in the perspective of damnation vicariously born, damnation executed with the sanctions of relenting justice and damnation endured with the host of darkness were released to reek the utmost of their vengeance, that we will be able to apprehend the wonder and taste the sweetness of love that passes knowledge, love eternally to be explored, but eternally inexhaustible." So he didn't spare his Son, he delivered him up for us all. For us all means in our place vicariously. The us is the same us of verse 31, "Who is against us." The same us that we find back earlier implied in verses 28 to 30, "Those who are foreknown, predestined, called, justified, glorified." It's all believers. And so the Father gives up the Son for us. His sacrifice is monumental obviously and then the question comes at the end of verse 32, "How will he not also with him, at the same time he's giving him up for us, freely give us all things? The point is if the Father didn't spare the Son but gave him up to the shame and horror of sin bearing on the cross, he certainly wouldn't fail to finish the work. I mean he wouldn't nullify the sacrifice of Christ by not giving us what we need to keep us saved. And that's why Ephesians 1:3 says, "We've been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus." Right? The one who gave his Son to purchase our salvation will give whatever he needs to sustain it to eternal glory. Will he not also with him freely give us, I love this, all things, all things necessary for our perseverance, all things necessary for our security, all things necessary for our eternal glory? So God is not going to condemn us, rather he's going to freely give us all these things. Freely. Is there any human who could stop this glorious salvation process? No. Would God himself stop it? No. If he already gave the gift of his Son, the greatest, at an immense and calculable sacrifice he'll certainly do less than that to keep those for whom he gave his Son. At this point somebody might say, "Well Satan can take your salvation away." Maybe we can't do it and maybe God won't do it, but Satan can do it. Cannot he sort of pull us out of this process, cause us to forfeit our right to its continuation. Well verse 33 is designed to answer that question. "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?" Verse 34, beginning of the verse, "Who is the one who condemns?" Same question really asked two times with synonyms. Now you tell me who is the accuser of the brother? Who is it? According to the book of Revelation it is Satan. Satan loves to go before God, as he did in the book of Job, and accuse the people of God. He loves to go before God and say I can destroy their faith. The only reason they love you and serve you is because you're so good to them. Satan is identified as the accuser of the brethren. That's what he does, Revelation 12:10. He likes to go before the throne of God all the time and heap accusations against us. He wants to condemn us before God reciting all the bad that he knows about us. And by the way, he cannot read our minds. He is not omniscient. He can only get reports observed by the forces of evil, the demonic hosts, who can observe our conduct. The primary accuser is Satan, and can't Satan go before God and bring a successful indictment? Can't we be legitimately condemned, legitimately indicted and accused? Well he answers the question. Who will bring a charge against God's elect, verse 33? God is the one who justifies. I would like to see that as a question so that it would read like this: who will bring a charge against God's elect? Shall God, the one who justifies? That's ridiculous. Satan can't make you loose your salvation. Satan doesn't have the power to do that. He tried with Job. He tried with Peter. He tried with Paul. He's probably tried with many of us as he has throughout all of history. He can't do it, so what he does is he goes to God and he recites an indictment. He becomes the prosecutor. And when he gets there and brings his accusations against us are they going to succeed? Is God going to buy into these charges? God, the one justifying us?
It's a very simple principle here theologically. God alone condemns and God alone justifies. And if God has covered us with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, if God has granted to us his own righteousness not ours, then no accusation can stand against us or one would have to find an accusation that could stand against God or against Christ with whose righteousness we have been covered. So there goes Satan into the presence of God, accusing us, listing all of the violations that we have made in our lives that he knows of, appealing to God to damn us for violations of his holy law, but God can't do it because all our sins have been paid for by Jesus Christ and his righteous life has been granted to us so that there is as Romans 8:1 says, "No condemnation for those who are in Christ." God wrote the law, God enforces the law, God judges all violators of the law, but once his judgment is satisfied no indictment stands. So God has declared us just by faith in Jesus Christ. No indictment can stand.
Well you say maybe if Satan appealed to Jesus it might be different. So in verse 34 it deals with that? Who is the one who condemns? Who is the one who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus? Is Christ Jesus going to condemn us? Who died, yes who rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God who also intercedes for us? It's an absolute impossibility. It can't happen. John Wesley wrote, "Bold shall I stand in that great day, for who ought to my charge shall lay, fully absolved from sin I am, from sin, fear, from guild and shame," as we heard tonight. What safety there is in our salvation? Christ Jesus? He died for us. Christ Jesus? He was raised for us. Christ Jesus he's at the right hand of God for us and he's interceding for us. That's what he's doing for us. Would it be Christ that brought us in and then send us out?
There's a four-fold protection here. Look at it in verse 34. First, he asks, "Shall Christ Jesus who died, shall he? He makes the point by emphasizing it as an absurdity. The point is that when Christ died he received the just condemnation that was due for all our sins. That's why he died. He was sinless and therefore did not need to die. And no one found any guilt in him, not even Satan. He died for us. He paid the penalty for our sin. The penalty was paid in full. He said, "It is finished." God was satisfied; therefore he can't condemn us because his death proves that he took our condemnation for all our sin. His death was the only condemnation you'll ever know and I'll never know.
So it's ludicrous to think that someone could go and read off a list of condemning indictments before Christ Jesus and get Christ Jesus to somehow disqualify us for final salvation, because he died for us paying in full the penalty for the sins that could be listed against us.
Secondly, in verse 34, he says, "What is more, or in addition, who was raised. Christ death blotted out our sins and God put his stamp of approval on that sacrifice by the resurrection. Paul made this point I think very clear in Chapter 4, verse 25, "He was delivered up because of our transgressions. He was raised because of our justification." God raised him from the dead because he had provided justification. That's a big subject we could go into in detail, but just in looking at it as an overview I think you get the point. Christ died paying in full the penalty for our sin. He rose again, the stamp of God's approval on his act, which justified us. The resurrection proves his sacrifice was complete. The resurrection proved that he paid the penalty in full and God was satisfied. When God raised Jesus from the dead he demonstrated that every demand of his holy law had been met, both in what is called the active and passive obedience of Jesus. The active obedience of Jesus, his perfect life applied to us. The passive obedience of Jesus, his sacrificial death in which he paid the penalty for our sins. There's not going to be any way that Satan can make some kind of appeal to God successfully. God has declared us just by the merits of Christ, not our own. There's not any way that Satan is going to be able to make an appeal to Christ because Christ rose again having died as a sacrifice for sin and therefore provided satisfaction for the law and righteousness for us. Further he says, "Who is going to condemn us? Is Christ Jesus who is at the right hand of God?" It's an echo of Psalm 110.1, "The Lord said to my Lord, the Father said to the Son, sit at my right hand." Hebrews 1 lays that out, that's such a wonderful passage, Hebrews 1:3 talks about when Jesus made purification of sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high because he had obtained a much better name than the angels inheriting a much more excellent title than they.
So when the Father seated the Son at his right hand on the throne the Father was indicating again his satisfaction for the work that Christ had done on the cross. Jesus Christ was so supremely exalted, so highly exalted that Paul says in Philippians, "He's given a name above every name." He was exalted as Ephesians 1 says, "To the right hand of God in heavenly places far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, every name that is named, not only in this age, but in the age to come, he's put all things in subjection under his feet and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."
And then he goes on to say in your word that in trespasses and sin but in Christ you have been made alive and the future that God has for you is one of glory. We are risen with Christ, we died with him, we rose with him and we have been exalted with him. We literally, according to Colossians 3:1, "Have been lifted to the heavens." This is a great verse. "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." The plan of God literally has us dying with Christ as he bears our sins, rising with Christ in inheriting his righteousness, and actually being exalted to the right hand with Christ as we take our place spiritually in the heavenlies and become the recipients of all spiritual blessing.
If that's not enough verse 34, fourthly says, "Whose going to condemn you? Christ Jesus who also intercedes for us? That's another absurdity. These are all absurd ideas. The one who died for us and fully paid for all of our sins is not going to listen to condemnation. The one who rose from the dead having offered a satisfaction for sin and gaining for us eternal life and righteousness is not going to listen to condemnation against us. The one with whom we are now seated in the heavenlies will not condemn us nor will the one who constantly makes intercession for us, and this is an ascendancy in this verse, now you get to the peak, he keeps on making intercession for us. Whenever an accusation comes to God from the enemy of our souls Christ advocates in our behalf. He is the lawyer for our defense. God is the judge, Satan is the prosecutor, Christ is the lawyer for the defense of his own, and he constantly intercedes for us.
In John 11:42 Jesus said to the Father, "I know Father that you do always hear me." "You do always hear me." Hebrews talks about he is a faithful and merciful high priest constantly interceding for us. He knows our weaknesses and our infirmities and he bears us to the Father and pleads on our behalf. So, Paul says, no human, not some false teacher, not some person from a cult, not some legalist, not some family member, nobody has the power to sever your relationship to Christ, not even you as a human. And God's not going to do it and Satan can't do it, and Christ wouldn't do it. There is no person. There is no human being, there is no demon, and there is none in the Holy Trinity that would do it. Say well, what about the Holy Spirit? Maybe he would get upset if we quenched him or grieved him. Well no. Back in verse 26, "The Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." The Holy Spirit living in us goes before the Father all the time interceding for us and he who searches the hearts, that's the Father, knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." God wills our continuance. Christ wills our continuance. The Holy Spirit wills our continuance and Christ from his right hand of the Father posture intercedes for us all the time, the Holy Spirit from within us intercedes before the Father all the time in an unutterable divine language, and the Father knows the mind of the Spirit and the mind of the Son and that they're in perfect agreement with his mind, which he has purposed and that is to take us all the way from foreknowledge to glory.
Not anyone, not Satan, not God, not Christ, not the Holy Spirit can altar this mighty work, the inexorable continuity of our salvation. On the other hand, somebody might say okay no person and that should be enough, but Paul really wants to make it clear. Somebody might say what about a circumstance? Aren't there some theoretical circumstances, some imaginable ones that could cause us to loose our salvation? So in verses 35 to 39 he addresses that. And here he wants to talk not so much about the persons who might condemn us or bring charges against us, or be against us, but the circumstances of life. So the who at the beginning of verse 35 is really a what. That little Greek word tis, t-i-s here is not referring to persons as it is earlier. In say verse 33 and 34, but it is referring to circumstances, things, because of what it says. It should read, What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? So the point here is this: are there any non-persons, any circumstances? What if the temptation is just too great? What if the trial is just too powerful, too overwhelming? What if we can't stand under the pressure? Isn't there some kind of an assault coming against us that could possible separate us from the love of Christ? I love that little term separate us. It didn't say separate us from Christ, separate us from the love of Christ, and there he puts us back in touch with the motivation. The reason he keeps us is because he loves us. The reason God saved us is because he loved us. It is the love that God has for us that binds us to him. It is the love that Christ has for us that binds us to him.
Verse 37 refers to him who loved us. Verse 39, again, nothing can separate us from the love of God. It is God who loves us. It is Christ who loves us and that embrace, that loving embrace holds us and against that, the power of that loving embrace there is no circumstance that can alter it. See your continuing sanctification, glorification is not founded on your goodness it's founded on God's election. It's not founded on your wisdom it's founded on God's call. It's not founded on your personal submission it's founded on God's justification on an otherwise obstinate sinner. It's not founded on your perseverance though that is what the Spirit of God produces, it is founded upon the power of God to keep you and what holds that altogether is undying love. John 13:1, Jesus looks at his disciples, John writes, "Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the max he loved them to perfection." This bond of love is so profound and so unbreakable that Paul asked the question: shall tribulation, Phillips says in the Greek, pressure, affliction, outward difficulty, accusation, rejection, bodily harm, persecution? The old Latin word meant flagellating, beating. Can literally your faith in Christ dissipate under physical or mental persecution, anguish, suffering, pain? And that's basically looking at outward difficulty. The next word distress looks more at inward difficulty. The word basically it comes from two Greek words that means to be squeezed into a narrow space, hemmed in, no way out, feeling compressed. Can you be in such constraint, such apparently inescapable temptation that it has the power to separate you from Christ's love? What about persecution? Deagman, abuse? What about famine? What about nakedness? What about peril, which means exposed to treachery or exposed to danger, gumintis or rather kindinas? The other one before that was gumintis. What about the sword? Death, that's what the sword means. I mean can any of these things do it?
Now let me just stop right here and say something. Paul is writing this but it is not theory, 'cause I could take you, if we had time, through a little bit of a brief look at the life of Paul and you would see that every one of these things was his experience, not occasionally, but most of the time. Most of the time Paul was experiencing tremendous outward rejection, sometimes actually bodily harm, stoned, shipwrecked, he was flagellated, what the Latin version of that word means. By the Jews who did it with whips and by the Romans who did it with rods. He knew the inward stress of being squeezed in and pressed in with apparently no escape. He knew persecution for the testimony of Jesus, the anguish suffered at the hands of those who hated the gospel. He knew what it was to go without food. He knew what it was to be inadequately clothed in a cold and damp place, to say nothing of that being his experience in a prison. He knew what it was to be in danger. He said he died daily literally. Every day he woke up he knew it could be the end of his life because there was so many plots to kill him. He knew what it was to await the sword. So Paul is not talking theory here. He is saying this is my life. This is my biography. Did the tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, threat of the sword separate me from the love of Christ? Not at all. In fact in II Corinthians Chapter 12 he said, and this is a great testimony, he says in verse 9 and 10, "I will boast about my weaknesses that the power of Christ may dwell in me. I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, many of the same words, for Christ's sake, for when I am weak then I am strong." Just the opposite happened. When those circumstances came into his life they didn't make him weak, they made him strong. They made him strong.
Paul says I've lives, verse 36, I lived Psalm 44:22. He quotes it. "Just as it is written for thy sake we are being put to death all day long. We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." He just threw in an Old Testament verse as the Spirit inspired him. This originally was a plea for God to deliver Israel in distress. Paul says I know what that's like. I know what those Jews must have felt when they cried out to God all day long asking to be delivered because they felt like they were just sheep headed to slaughter. I understand that, Paul said. I've lived it. And for your sake I've lived it. For our sake, just as they said, for your sake I've lived that. But when those kinds of things happen they don't make us weak, they make us what? Strong. It's in those times we could give you testimony after testimony to that effect. It's in those kinds of times that the real strength of God is manifest. So in verse 37 he says, actually no he starts out, "No, these things can't separate us because in all these things," and here's the principle that I just mentioned to you from II Corinthians 12:9-10, "in all these things we overwhelmingly what? Conqueror through him who loved us." We become HuperNikerman, Huper Nikerman means super conquerors. The word Nike is the word for conquer. We are more than winners. We are more than conquerors. We are Huper, super conquerors. Sweeping victory, overwhelming victory.
The trials, as we learned in verse 28, work for our greater good. The trials work for our greater glory because the more one suffers here, the greater the eternal weight of glory. II Corinthians 4:17 comes to mind, "Momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." So he says look, they do not have the effect of destroying our salvation. They have the effect of making us super conquerors because in those times of weakness we are infused with divine strength. Those trials work to our greater good. They work to our eternal glory. Then he goes back to the same basic motive, the same basic reason that it all holds together because of him who loved us. That is why the bond is eternal. God loves his own forever. Christ loves his own forever and thus brings us to glory.
Paul wrote this during a winter in Corinth and I don't think nor certainly the church at Rome who received this letter could know how short a time would elapse before they would stand in need of this comforting truth. Paul, himself, was eventually killed by a sword or an ax that chopped his head off. His readers in Rome were soon involved in a blood bath that would soak the sands of the Roman amphitheater as Christians were killed in a number of ways and some of the Caesar's even used them to light their parties in the garden, poured oil over them and made them human torches. It didn't matter what came. It didn't matter the extremity to which the suffering was taken. There was nothing that could separate them. Whether they were mauled by wild beasts, whether they were soaked in tar and burned like torches, whatever it was they were safe in the love of Christ.
You say well haven't there been some people who were involved Christians and they confessed Christ and they went away, they couldn't take the pressure? Of course! Jesus in the parable of the soils in Matthew 13 said some seed went into rocky ground or thorny ground, sprung up for a little while, choked out and died. But you have to understand those people were never real Christians. I John 2:19 is one of the most important and I think helpful verses because that question is asked so much. I John 2:19, "They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us they would have remained with us, but they went out in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. But you, you have the Holy Spirit, the anointed." There's always going to be people who hang around, look like Christians, disappear under pressure, but they are not of us and the fact that they left is proof of that.
So in a final crescendo in verses 38 and 39, Paul gives us a capstone, actually it's a capstone on the whole epistle to the Romans up to this point, and in particular the section on salvation, justification that started in Chapter 6, but really the whole epistle. Verses 38 and 39, it is a doxology. "I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created things shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." What a statement. You know it really is a hard thing for me to believe how someone can read that and come us and say, "Well you know you could lose your salvation." That's just unthinkable. Paul says, I am persuaded, confident declaration, Holy Spirit inspired, a settled conclusion, and absolute fact, and I am telling you folks these are things in many cases that Paul himself experienced. I am convinced that even death, the great enemy, the gates of Hades, can't separate you. And you remember Paul was stoned and left for dead, don't you? And I am convinced that not only death but not even life whatever it might bring with all of its dangers and all of its difficulties, you can stop right there Paul. If there's nothing in death that can separate you and nothing in life that can separate you, that's it. Right? You're either dead or alive. So what he's saying is there's no state of being in which you could ever be separated from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. No state of being! And further there's no spiritual being, no angel, no principality. Angel, perhaps referring to good angels, principalities probably meaning evil angels or demons, there aren't any holy angels that could say to God, hey God really caring for your holiness the way I do I just don't think he ought to be up here. And there is no demon who could successfully alter our eternal glory. Okay. There's no state of being and there's no spiritual being. That's enough for me, but Paul's not done.
Nor things present, nor things to come, nothing here and now in the age of time and nothing in the future in eternity. No state of being, no spiritual being, and no age, neither time nor eternity. No dimension of time and no dimension of eternity can ever separate us. And he says at the end of verse 38, no powers, no mighty works done by Satan or whoever. No mighty severing power, breaking the purpose of God, shattering the chain. And there's no height. It's an astrological term, hoopsma. That was the word used to speak of a star when it was at the zenith of its movement. Nothing way up there. And no death, bathas, that was used to refer to a start at its lowest point. That is to say from one end of the universe to the other, from one end of heaven to the other, there is nothing that can separate us. And then just to put one final statement that shuts the door and puts the padlock on nor any other created thing. And that's for the people who would sit around and try to think up something else. Nothing. So be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That love to us is in Christ and it's because we are in Christ that that love is unbreakable. It's not that we've become lovely. We are no more lovely now than we were when we were unconverted. It is that we are in Christ. Our sins have been atoned for. He paid the penalty. Our sins were laid on him. He took the full wrath of God. Justice was satisfied. His holy righteous life is imputed to our account and it's as if we were Christ. That's how God treats us because we are in Christ. And because we are in Christ Jesus, our Lord, God can fully and eternally love us. And so there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from that love.
One of the loveliest hymns, I'll close with this, testimony to this love was penned by George Mathison in June 6, in 1882. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1842 and as a little boy he had visual problems. He had partial vision. His sight failed rapidly and he was totally blind at the age of 18. In spite of the handicap of his blindness he was a brilliant scholar. He finished the University of Glasgow, graduated from the seminary there, became pastor of a 2,000-member church in Edinburgh, one of my favorite cities. I'll be over there in a few months to preach at a conference at the University there. George Mathison became one of the greatest preachers and pastors of his time in the late 1800's. He never married, however because his fiance left him just before the wedding when she learned that his progressive blindness would render him totally blind. She said I don't want to live with a man who is totally blind. Out of the pain of that experience he wrote a tribute to the love of God. You know it. It goes like this: O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee. I give Thee back the life I owe, but in Thine ocean depths its flow, may richer fuller be. This is the love that the Lord has for us, the love that will not let us go. Jeremiah put it this way. Jeremiah 31:3, "I have loved you with an everlasting love."
Father, the reminders in this passage of your grace are staggering to us. This is such immense love for us who are so unworthy. We thank you for a salvation that is secure in an insecure world. We thank you that all of the onslaughts of men and demons cannot sever this love. We thank you that there can never be brought against us a just indictment. There can never be brought against us a legitimate condemnation. There are no people and there are no circumstances from one end of the universe to the other, there is no condition of time and eternity, there is no state of being in life and death, there is no one and nothing that can ever alter your eternal love for us. We rejoice in that love that will not let us go. And all to the honor of Christ as we contemplate that this is ours because we are his and he is ours. What profound grace and goodness is this. We thank you in his name. Amen.
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BREAKING! Nick Responds To Jessica's Engagement: 'I Wish Her The Very Best'
Nick Lachey seemed less than excited to talk about his ex-wife's engagement during a call with reporters about his NBC reality show, The Sing Off!
If there was one thing Nick Lachey didn't want to talk about during a press call for the second season of his NBC show, The Sing Off Nov. 15, it was the news of Jessica Simpson's engagement to boyfriend, Eric Johnson — and he barely managed to mutter a few words about ex's good news.
"Uhh…I'm going to say what I always say, which is I wish her the very best," the 37-year-old performer said reluctantly, before quickly moving on.
To be fair, Nick seemed equally as unenthusiastic to discuss his own personal life, including his recent engagement to Vanessa Minnillo.
"All things have their appropriate time, but thank you," he said after being asked what took him so long to propose to the 30-year-old beauty.
He also said they haven't set a date yet for their nuptials. "We're still basking in the glow of our very recent engagement and enjoying that," he said. "Right now, we're just enjoying this experience."

subset: commoncrawl


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The mine as many of you already know, is fantastic. However, it is (amazingly) the first set I've purchased in 30 years of Lego-buying that has any kind of train track in it.
I'd love to expand the track that comes with the set but I am woefully ignorant about Lego trains. Is this track the normal one that Lego trains come with? Can you get curved pieces?
Any info would be great.


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Story of the day
Daily Overview, the Earth Seen From the Space
Started as an Instagram account and now turned into a book, Daily Overview: is a stunning and unique collection of satellite images of the Earth, derived from the wildly popular Daily Overview Instagam account.
Here's a selection of images where crops, fruit orchards, seas, parks, deserts and cities create geometric and architectural shapes in which man's impact on nature is unquestionable.
By FDL on


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DENVER (Reuters) - Colorado lawmakers voted on Friday to mandate universal background checks for all gun buyers in a state that has experienced two of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.
The measure passed the state Senate 19-14 and the state House 36-27, without the support of a single Republican member in either chamber.
The vote followed months of debate on gun control in Colorado, and came after legislators approved four other gun control measures on Wednesday.
The legislation now awaits the signature of Governor John Hickenlooper for final approval. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has indicated he supports universal background checks for gun buyers but has not said if he would sign the bill.
It was approved by both chambers of the Democratic-controlled Colorado legislature after last-minute amendments were worked out in a conference committee. Two Democrats voted against the bill, one in the state senate and one in the house.
"This bill as amended strikes an important balance between ensuring that the bill reduces the number of guns in the hands of criminals while allowing all law-abiding citizens to purchase the guns of their choice," state Senator Morgan Carroll said following Senate approval.
But Republican House minority leader Mark Waller said the legislation would not fulfill its stated purpose.
"If the goal is to enhance public safety, this bill won't do it. If a criminal wants to perpetrate a crime he can still get a gun," Waller told Reuters on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Colorado legislature approved a package of four other gun control measures, including a controversial ban on ammunition magazines with more than 15 rounds, which Hickenlooper has said he would sign into law.
Republican legislators have largely opposed the measures, and Waller earlier this week called Democrats "out of touch" with their constituents for focusing on gun control when more than 200,000 people in the state are out of work.
Passage of the bills could push Colorado to the forefront of a national gun control debate reignited by several mass shootings last year, including the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at a school in Newtown, Connecticut.
That followed a mass shooting in Colorado in July when a gunman opened fire in a crowded premiere of the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" in the Denver suburb of Aurora, killing 12 people and wounding 58.
Former University of Colorado neuroscience graduate student James Holmes, 25, has been charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder in that case.
Colorado was also the site of the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School, where two teenagers shot dead a teacher and 12 other students before committing suicide. Several of the guns used in that attack were bought at gun shows.
Following Columbine, the state closed a loophole that allowed firearms purchases at gun shows without a background check.
Other gun-control bills already approved by Colorado lawmakers include a measure to make firearm buyers pay for their own background checks and a ban on online certification for concealed-carry permits, both of which Hickenlooper has said he supports.
Another measure would bar gun purchases by people convicted of domestic violence crimes.
The Colorado legislature's action follows the passage in New York state in January of a sweeping gun-control law that bans assault weapons and magazines that hold more than seven rounds of ammunition, requires gun owners to register most guns with the state and requires universal background checks.
President Barack Obama has put forward a number of federal gun-control proposals following the Newtown killings.
On Tuesday, a divided U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee advanced to the full Senate a measure endorsed by Obama that would require criminal background checks for all gun buyers.
Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Mohammad Zargham and David Brunnstrom


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Top-tier talent, choreography trump story in 'One and Only'
You can hardly blame folks for humming a Gershwin tune or breaking into a time step as they make their way to their cars following a performance of "My One and Only."
Marriott Theatre's infectious revival of the 1983 jukebox musical is just that good.
"My One and Only"★ ★ ★
Location: Marriott Theatre, 10 Marriott Drive, Lincolnshire, (847) 634-0200, marriotttheatre.com
Showtimes: 1 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 4:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 6
Running time: About two hours, 20 minutes with intermission
Tickets: $40-$48; dinner-theater and New Year's Eve packages available
Parking: Free lot adjacent to the theater
Rating: For all ages
Note: People sitting in the first few rows may get splashed during "'S Wonderful."
The production has plenty going for it, beginning with George and Ira Gershwin's score (served up hot and jazzy courtesy of conductor Patti Garwood and her orchestra) and director Tammy Mader's sparkling choreography.
Then there are the winning performances from Andrew Lupp and Summer Naomi Smart, who are about as winsome a twosome as any musical theater fan could want. The combination is more than enough to put a smile on your face and spring in your step.
All that's left is the book. Unfortunately, that is what this confection, originally conceived for Tommy Tune, lacks.
The story -- which unfolds in 1927 and offers a gentle condemnation of the hollow pursuit of fame -- is silly, even compared to the frothy musical theater fare that dominated stages during the early 20th century. The whole thing feels artificial, with the mostly Gershwin standards ill served by the tale writers Peter Stone and Timothy S. Mayer have stitched together.
Lupp (Chicago's answer to Fred Astaire, with superior vocal chops) plays Captain Billy Buck Chandler, a flyboy determined to be the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo. In New York City preparing for his flight, he becomes enamored with Edythe Herbert (Smart, the dimpled dynamo), a comely swimmer who achieved fame swimming the English Channel and maintains it as the star of an aquacade show.
Against the advice of his trusty mechanic Mickey (another appealing turn by the consummate singing comedian Paula Scrofano), Billy pursues the urbane Edythe.
He gets help from the Reverend J.D. Montgomery (the ever sassy Felicia P. Fields), who ministers to lost souls by day and runs a speak-easy by night. She introduces Billy to Mr. Magix (Ted Louis Levy, who taps his way our hearts), a most debonair barber who advises the self-described Texas hick on how to woo a sophisticated lady. That upsets the plans of blackmailing producer Nicolai (a nicely villainous Roger Mueller), who wants to keep his leading lady for himself.
Also on hand are the New Rhythm Boys (the smooth-as-silk trio of Quinn M. Bass, Jarran Muse and Clinton Roane), a tap-dancing Greek chorus in white tie and tails who epitomize cool sophistication.
Frankly, the show all feels rather contrived, with scenes seemingly created to showcase exotic locales and glittering costumes (lovely work from Nancy Missimi, whose whimsical pageant wear and rainbow-colored mermaid outfits are delectable).
But Mader and her top-flight ensemble overcome those weaknesses. In fact much of the show's success rests with Mader's fresh, buoyant choreography and the palpable joie de vivre that animates every step this tireless cast executes.
A pair of tap dance spectacles bookend the show, which opens with a jubilant "I Can't Be Bothered Now" setting the devil-may-care tone that persists through "Kickin' the Clouds Away," which concludes the show with a Flo Ziegfeld flourish.
Smart's torchy rendition of "Nice Work If You Can Get it" reveals a voice that has deepened and matured since her breakout turn in Drury Lane's "Sweet Charity" four years ago. And Lupp's invigorating "Strike Up the Band" is so good you don't mind that the song doesn't fit the context.
Ultimately, a pair of delightful duets stop this show. The first is a splashtastic dance number featuring Lupp and Smart -- an endlessly enthusiastic, ever-agreeable pair -- who sing the breezy " S' Wonderful" while dancing barefoot in a cleverly conceived wading pool. The second pairs Lupp and the masterful Levy for a blisteringly brilliant tap showdown set to the title tune, during which Levy urged audience to reserve their applause, hinting there were bigger fireworks to come.
He wasn't lying.


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A narrative essay by – Heather Spoonheim
The drunken haze that I refer to as my 'first year in University' instilled within me three distinctly poignant lessons: that I did not want, in any way, shape, or form, to become a teacher; that one should never add water to a jar containing sodium just because there doesn't seem to be enough fluid covering it; and that statistics are the bane of the layman.
One Sunday afternoon when my informal Dr. Who fan club couldn't find a free venue in which to congregate, smoke, and watch our favorite show, I found myself sitting alone reading How to Lie with Statistics by Darrell Huff. It was a book that changed my life because, for the first time, I realized that mathematics could tell lies. Darrell Huff taught me that cold, hard, irrefutable mathematical reductions could invoke false beliefs, without need for any mathematical trickery whatsoever.
The problem is that math is amoral and unsocial; it just has no concept of right or wrong and it has absolutely no desire at all to communicate with us. If one wants to understand what math has to say then one must learn the language of math for, like all too many Anglophones, math simply refuses to communicate in the vernacular. You see, it isn't so much that math tells lies but, rather, that it speaks its own language and cares not what meaning we glean from its pronouncements. The misrepresentations conveyed by math are actually the result of our own shortcomings. Consider the following two statements:
Which one sounds like the better investment to you? If you are a layman of mathematics then you may be surprised to learn that both statements predict the same returns. This is an illustration of the rule of 72. The rule of 72 is a rule of thumb that aids in the prediction of doubling time. Essentially, if you divide 72 by the percentage of growth (72 divided by 7.2), the result will be the number of cycles (years) it takes for the original amount to double. If something increases by 7% per month, then it will double in roughly 10 months. If something increases by 10% per year, then it will take roughly 7.2 years to double.
This one little rule of thumb is critical for making decisions in today's world, yet few people are even aware of it. When newspapers report that inflation for the year was 3.6%, most people just shrug that off as some discreet and irrelevant economic statistic. Inflation, however, represents the amount by which prices have gone up in the consumer market. Although 3.6% inflation may seem irrelevant, the realization that your grocery bill has doubled over the past 20 years can be startling.
When I was a wee child, a bottle of soda cost 25 cents; now the bottle is made of plastic and the price is a dollar. For those not inclined to do the math on this one, either inflation has been greater than 3.6% during my lifetime or it has been more than 40 years since my earliest memory of pulling a soda out of a vending machine. You see, at an annual inflation rate of 3.6%, it takes 20 years (72 divided by 3.6) for the price of soda to double. After 20 years, that 25 cent bottle came to cost 50 cents, and after another 20 years it came cost one dollar.
The very concept of doubling time itself is a difficult concept for most people to grasp. The most powerful illustration of doubling time that I've ever heard involves a tale about a man who invented the game of chess for his king. The king was so impressed that he offered the inventor anything that his heart desired. The inventor, being mischievous as well as mathematically inclined, told the king that he desired a precisely determined amount of rice. He stated that he wanted one grain of rice for the first square on the board, two for the next square, and then three, and so on, for every square on the board. The king laughed at the inventor's seemingly paltry wish and granted that it should be so.
Now there are 64 squares on a chessboard, and after only 8 squares (1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 …) the king made a keen observation. The next number was going to be 256, and it so happens that 1+2+4+8+16+32+64+128=255. This, he accurately surmised, meant that each time the amount was doubled the result was one greater than the total number of grains that had already been granted. The inventor was kind enough to inform the king that this mathematical truth was going to play a big roll in the future of his kingdom.
By the end of the second row the court jester had taken several days to count the 32,768 grains of rice required for the 16th square. The king, becoming very concerned at the prospect of having to count so many grains of rice, asked the inventor if they could just start weighing the rice instead. The inventor agreed, and they determined that the 32,768 grains of rice weighed about 8 kilograms and so it was that they continued with the payments by weight. By the end of the 3rd row, the king was amazed to find that four carts had to be employed to hall in the 2,048 kilograms of rice required for the 24th square. By the end of the 4th row, however, things started looking grim for the king as cart after cart had to be driven into the castle for days in order to provide the necessary 524,288 kilograms of rice that were required for the 32nd square.
The king became furious as he pondered the toll impending on the second half of the chessboard, and he asked the inventor just how many grains of rice it would take to fulfill the entire contract. The inventor told the king that the number of grains of rice required for the 64th square would be 9,223,372,036,854,775,808. Since every time the amount was calculated for a square it would result in a number that was one greater than all the rice previously granted, the rice already granted by that time would be 9,223,372,036,854,775,807. The sum of the two numbers, he said, was 18,446,744,073,709,551,615 – or roughly 2 trillion metric tons of rice. The king seized upon the inventor and promptly cut off his head.
This little story about the rice and the chessboard has always stuck with me because of just how profoundly it illustrates the potential of exponential growth. Armed with this knowledge, and the rule of 72, one can actually begin to understand why so many economists and scientists are so preoccupied with studying trends. To this end, let us consider how short sighted the king's murderous rage might have been.
As the king had accurately surmised, every time the number was doubled, the result was actually greater than the sum of all the previous numbers. The inventor had also been kind enough to inform the king that this mathematical truth was going to play a big roll in the future of his kingdom. The trouble, though, was that the king had no idea what the inventor had meant by that and the poor sod's head was already rolling around the courtyard before the king had regained the presence of mind to ask for clarification.
The king called upon his barristers to find out if he was obligated by any other contracts that stipulated a doubling of payments and they assured him that he was not. The king then racked his brain to think of anything in his kingdom that had ever doubled. The only thing he could think of was the number of farms he had raided to keep his kingdom well fed. In the last year of his father's reign, the old man had raided 40 farms. After the old man died, passing the crown to the foolish chessboard king, it took 7 long years to increase that number to 80, and he remembered it well for he had thrown a big celebration to commend his knights on having doubled their efforts. It suddenly dawned on him that it had been about 7 years since that glorious celebration, and this year's plans were to raid 160 farms.
This didn't seem quite the same as the problem with the chessboard, however, for the raids had never doubled in one year. The king consulted with the court scholar on the matter, and the scholar assured him that the number of raids only increased by a little over 10% each year so their was certainly no reason to worry about a repeat of the chessboard fiasco. (Reminder: by the rule of 72, a 10% annual growth rate produces a doubling time of roughly 7 years: 72 divided by 10.)
Unfortunately, although the scholar knew about the rule of 72, and had recently witnessed how doubling values lead to exponential growth, he just didn't understand how such equations could impact something like farm raids. Since the king's father had raided 40 farms the year before handing over the crown, the king himself, raiding 10% more each year, had kicked off his reign with 44 raids. In the 7th year of his reign he raided 80 farms, and in year 14 he planned to raid 160. How then, might the next 7 years look in terms of raids? These numbers are illustrated in the table below.
|Period 1
|Period 2
|Period 3
As you can see, not only does the number of annual farms raids move from 80 to 160, but the total number of farms raided in periods one and two also doubles. Furthermore, with the number of annual farm raids predicted to double again, to 320, the total number of raids for period 3 (1699) is actually greater than for the 14 years previous to that period (424+849=1273). Although the number of raids was only increasing by 10% per year, the number of farms that the king would need to raid in any given 7 year period would actually be greater than the sum total of all farms he had ever raided before that period, in the entire history of his kingdom. At some point, perhaps in his great-grandson's reign, there simply wouldn't be enough farms in all of India to raid. If you don't believe this then please re-read the chessboard segment of this article.
In 1977, when U.S. President Jimmy Carter said that the world had used more oil in each of the preceding decades than had been consumed previous to those decades, in the history of the world, millions upon millions of people laughed openly. Hopefully the reader has gained enough from this article so as not to ever be moved to laughter by such ignorance, for even today, few people realize just how dramatically that consumption trend had to be altered. The fact is that we haven't been able to double our oil usage in any 10 year period that followed that speech. Today we need to face the fact that we will never again double that number, for we've already consumed half of all that was ever available and we would need more than what is left to ever double our consumption again.
We must acknowledge, therefore, the importance of remaining diligent in observing trends in all forms of economic growth and consumption. Today, rather than raiding farms, we seek out new sources of energy as petroleum sources begin to decline. As we continue to double our energy consumption, however, we will find that there are only so many rivers to be dammed, only so much uranium to be mined, and only so much wind to be harvested. Even though the sun is, for us, an eternal source of energy, our ability to harvest that energy is dependant upon our ability to source out the materials required for that harvest. Eventually we must face the fact that there are a finite number of farms for us to raid.
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The problem is that math is immoral
Would it be accurate to say math is amoral as opposed to immoral? I think math can and is used in a very immoral way on a daily basis. Any statistic can be manipulated to provide a desired result and I think that what we here about polls should be taken with a very wary grain of salt.
The rule of 72 is incredibly interesting. Thank you for posting it.


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yes, but the point was: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062395/The Trip (II) (1967) Director: Roger CormanWriter: Jack NicholsonStars:Peter Fonda, Susan Strasberg and Bruce Dern [ and Dennis Hopper ] Think "The Shining" and then Fonda/Hopper/Nicholson go onto make "the Hit" "Easy Rider" in 1969 Easy Rider trailerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIfUD70yvz8
Dennis Hopper and Brooke Hayward's house burned down way back when Just like many others in the L.C. Hopper recalls this tidbit in this interview below as well as how his father ( an OSS officer) "fought with Mao" ..... Interesting since we now know that the CIA help put Mao in. Once Upon a Time in L.A.http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/classic/features/making-of-easy-rider-200109
Aint it strange how old "Rock Bottom" pops up just after we were all discussing him....hmmmmmJust Kidding...sort of.
"But why sons & daughters of military/intelligence parents ?"I think they were choose mostly because they were there and available.They also had some pretty creative minds to begin with.I think possibly the creative parts of the brains were stimulated with ELF mind control that made them even more creative.This would explain why so many talented stars came from one small area.Being part of the "machine" is no guarantee they won`t use you or your family and shove you down their meat grinder.I think you`d have to be pretty high up the totem pole to be safe from that.
Jim Morrison's Laurel Canyon home burns in arson related firehttp://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/30/idUS275492047920111230
Human Head found on Hollywood Sign hike trailhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/human-head-found-in-bag-on-hike-trail.html
Ted Nugent: "You Have The Right To Remain Stupid"
... You know, much in the same way any other anti-establishment organization seems to get co-opted, exterminated or re-directed. Lets face it, the Hippie movement had some good ideals like anti war, freedom from big brother and a drive to get in touch with ones inner spirit. By creating an entire culture based on these principals, and then debase it by injecting a bunch of drug crazed idiots with propaganda, the general population looked with disgust at anyone taking up these Hippie ideals. Kind of like the Occupy movements and the Tea Party movements that got co-opted/debased/re-directed. .... Do you feel this is a credible line of thought, or do you feel I'm off base?
Friends told KCBS-TV that the Bronson Canyon area of Griffith Park where the body parts were found was one Medellin's favorite hiking spots.
Latest Laurel Canyon Article http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr112.html
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The Texans might have lost last Sunday to Jacksonville without Shayne Graham's field goal in overtime.
He kicked the game-winner in overtime Thursday against Detroit.
So what's the problem with the Texans' kicking game?
In both games, the Texans could have lost because of Graham misses.
I know. Could have. Should have. Would have. Nothing counts except that the Texans are 10-1.
But I think we all know now, in case we didn't before, why the Texans spent a fifth-round draft choice on Randy Bullock, the Lou Groza Award winner from Texas A&M. He has a big leg, although we haven't seen it since the preseason because of an injury that has him on the sideline until next season.
Bullock wasn't actually outkicking Graham, who was brought in primarily to give the rookie some company and motivation during training camp, in the preseason. Graham might even have had a slight edge, even in leg strength, when Bullock was injured.
Bullock, however, would have made the team. We don't know how he would have fared in an NFL environment. The guess here is that he would have been more dependable on kickoffs and ultimately on longer field goal attempts.
There's a reason Graham has been with 10 teams in 13 seasons. He doesn't have the leg strength that most winning teams rely on at least once, often more, to continue winning.
Graham could have ended the game against Jacksonville in regulation but missed from 47 yards, hooking the ball badly, as time expired. The overtime kick he made was from 25.
He missed in overtime Thursday from 51, then watched nervously as Detroit's Jason Hanson missed a potential game-winner from 47.
It looked for awhile like the only kicker who could hit his target was Ndamukong Suh.
After Hanson's miss, Graham redeemed himself with the game-winning 32-yarder.
Texans coach Gary Kubiak, who has been concerned because Graham's relatively short kickoffs have given opponents good field position this season, wasn't happy with the miss in overtime.
"We expect him to make that kick…I know it's a 50 (51) yarder, but that's our business," Kubiak said Friday. "That's what he's here to do."
Kubiak added he has confidence in Graham.
Perhaps too much. His conservative play-calling, resulting in two running plays for losses plus a false-start penalty, preceded the 51-yard miss. Kubiak needed to call for at least one throw downfield to move the Texans within Graham's range. When he missed, the Lions inherited excellent field position, which would have led to an upset if Hanson's kick hadn't hit the upright.
The Texans shouldn't count on Graham from beyond 45, the distance of one of his successful attempts Thursday. He had a 51-yarder earlier in the season, but has been unsuccessful in three other attempts from 50 or beyond.
Perhaps the 10-day break before the Texans' next game, at Tennessee, will enable Graham to revive his leg. The Texans should hope so. If other kickers aren't with a team at this point in the season, there's a reason for that too.


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- Food is Maya – You Don't Need Food to LivePosted 6 years ago
- What is Nirahara SamyamaPosted 6 years ago
- How Integrity Helps Be Hunger FreePosted 6 years ago
- Who are NiraharisPosted 6 years ago
- The BFoodFree ProgramsPosted 6 years ago
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- Why Nirahara Samyama is For YouPosted 6 years ago
- How Niraharis Live on PranaPosted 6 years ago
- Going Beyond Fasting or Feasting with NiraharaPosted 6 years ago
Food is Collective Delusory Pattern
First, your body does not need the quantity of the food you take in. It is...
What is Nirahara Samyama
The Master of Nirahara, Paramahamsa Nithyananda shares with you – all about what Nirahara Samyama is...
How Integrity Helps Be Hunger Free
Human Beings can live without food. If you are integrated with your hunger it will suddenly...
Who are Niraharis
Niraharis are the people who live without food, beyond the bondages of food patterns –...
Bfoodfree Programs
There are two steps for becoming a Nirahari. Nirahara Samyama : 21-day program. THE Samyama :...
Sacred Banyan Tree, Cosmic Energy Hub
The sacred Banyan tree at the Master's abode, is revered as a hub for cosmic energy....
Why Nirahara Samyama is For You
The purpose of the Nirahara Samyama is to reawaken your natural intelligence of making food from...
How Niraharis Live on Prana
The Master has programmed the Nirahara experience on the simultaneous practice of the sacred Three : Unclutching...
Fasting or Feasting with Nirahara
When people meet Niraharis, the first reaction is extreme surprise. Why? Because we do not look...
Food is Maya – You Don't Need Food to Live
First, your body does not need the quantity of the...
- Posted 6 years ago
What to Expect After Nirahara Programs
NIRAHARA SAMYAMA – Level 1 Improved health and recovery from...
- Posted 6 years ago
Lifetime Niraharis Talk
Health & Healing of BFoodFree People
Spiritual Experiences
What Doctors Say
My Hemoglobin & fulfillment Shot Up-Dr.Srilekha
Dr Srilekha Karthik (Pediatrician). My hemoglobin which was 11g% prior to the Samyama, shot...
- Posted 6 years ago
I am Surprised I was not Hungry-Dr.Jyothi
My name is Dr. Jyothi Sakhamurii (MBBS). I am 40yrs old. I did Nirahara...
- Posted 6 years ago
Insights from a Medical Professional
Dr.T.Ganesh, MVSc., I stand before you assuring your logical anxieties resolved scientifically. The Nirahara...
- Posted 6 years ago


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Villanova Wildcats (27-4) vs. Boston College Eagles (28-7)
When: Tonight, 7:10 p.m.
Where: Minneapolis
1. Dude, Call Collect. Villanova was embroiled, with plenty of other schools, in a silly phone card scandal that damaged a 15-10 start after 12 team members were suspended in 2002-03. 'Nova played with a seven-player team - mostly compiled of freshman - and nearly upset a top-ranked Pitt team anyway. But what s strange about that team s controversy was that it was the same one that Nova class of '96 had a problem with, when then-All-American Kerry Kittles was suspended for the final three games after racking up close to $3,000 in unauthorized phone calls from a stolen phone card code.
2. Celebrity Crap. Most people know Maria Bello from this year s A History Of Violence, but when she showed her backside in The Cooler it may have been recognized by many on the Main Line from her days as a 'Nova undergraduate. Another completely random Villanova graduate was singer/songwriter/giant mustache-wearer, Jim Croce, who supposedly wrote his hit song "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" in Villanova s fabled Grotto area on campus.
3. First Jobs Suck Basketball wasn t Jay Wright's first career choice. In 1984, Wright held a corporate marketing job for the USFL's Philadelphia Stars (coached by a pre-diddly-poo Jim Mora), the last Philadelphia football team to ever win a championship. — A.J. Daulerio
1. When Push Comes To Shove. Despite being new to the ACC, BC has some longish animosity towards Duke (and it has nothing to do with the seemingly vast majority of both student bodies hailing from New Jersey). Towards the end of a close fought game at Cameron in 2001, perfect angel Jason Williams decided to taunt Kenny Walls with some ball fakes to his head. Kenny responded by pushing Williams over the
curb scorer s table. Of course Coach K, et al, ignored Williams' provocation and labeled BC thuggish. Fast forward to this year s ACC Tournament: Exuberant Duke frosh Greg Paulus celebrated a deflection (yes, a deflection) with a fist pump to Louis Hinnant s chest. Hinnant responded by pushing Paulus right back into the Duke bench. Based on the two incidents BC is considering changing its motto from "Ever to Excel" to "We don t take shit from Duke."
2. Bald Wins. In a show of unity, the entire team (except Jared Dudley) shaved their heads before their opening game against Pacific. Dudley provided a series of excuses as to why he avoided the Mr. Clean look, including the years he has put into getting his 'rows just right. He also argued that cutting his hair would've messed up his game. Dudley s 43 points in two games backed up his stand. Making up for Dudley s refusal, former BC quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has vowed to stay bald for life.
3. Washington s Footsteps. BC beat Pacific and Montana to advance to the Sweet 16. In 2005, Washington beat Pacific and Montana to advance to the Sweet 16. Washington s road to the Final Four ended shortly thereafter as the Huskies lost their next game to Louisville. BC will try to avoid this potential jinx with solid fundamentals and a sound game plan ... and if that doesn t work they may shave Jared Dudley s head at halftime of the Villanova game. — Bill Maloney
Villanova Wildcats: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin]
Boston College Eagles: First Three Tiny Tidbits [Deadspin]


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Need help ordering? Call us
Mon-Fri 7:30AM - 5:00PM CDT
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222 38" Lawn Sweeper
Attaches to these other models:
Keep one set of belts, a spark plug, extra oil and an extra air filter for your snow blower at a minimum. If you have other high-wear items such as replaceable paddles/rotor blades you may keep an extra set as well. You may be able to get your machine up and running even if you can't make it to the repair shop.


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Will.i.am's feud with Pharrell Williams has become a full-on legal spat – the Black Eyed Peas star has filed a lawsuit against his fellow hitmaker/producer.
Will.i.am previously fired off a cease and desist letter, demanding that Pharrell drop the 'I AM' from his I AM OTHER YouTube.com site, prompting Pharrell to ask a judge to protect his right to use the moniker.
And now will.i.am is countersuing his fellow hitmaker/producer, claiming he has a long, copycat history, noting Pharrell is being sued by Marvin Gaye's family for allegedly ripping off "Got to Give it Up" for his summer anthem "Blurred Lines," according to TMZ.com.
Will.i.am claims out Williams' I AM OTHER will confuse people because both stars are on the same record label and they have similar musical styles.


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Uneducated, unpatriotic illegal aliens. That's the message many Americans are getting from the media about who Latinos are, according to a study by the National Hispanic Media Coalition released Wednesday.
A national survey of 3,000 non-Latinos found negative perceptions through the media increase negative stereotypes of Latinos. The survey was funded through grants and funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
When shown negative portrayals of Latinos, like a scene from a gang party in "Training Day," 10 percent more respondents classified Latinos as "less educated" than those shown a clip of Jimmy Smits run for president in "West Wing."
During a press conference Wednesday, Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the NHMC, said terms such as "illegal alien" compared to "undocumented immigrant," also can skew readers' opinions and create an unfairly negative perception of Latinos.
Actors like Michael Peña, who costarred with Jake Gyllenhaal as an L.A. cop in soon to be released "End of Watch," are breaking the media stereotype of Latinos portrayed as criminals. About 70 percent of those surveyed said they see Latinos acting as criminals on television and in movies.
"Ten years ago it would have uphill battle to a part in a film like this," Peña said during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute panel Wednesday. "Now is a great time for Latinos in media."
But skewed media portrayals still are an issue, especially for Americans whose only exposure to the culture is through mainstream radio, television or newspaper articles, said Matt Barreto, a national pollster who tracks Latino voters and producer of the survey, during the NHMC press conference.
Even if some media outlets try to be fair, others are spoiling it for the rest of them, Barreto said.
"There could be additional positive images of Latinos of there," Barreto said. "But if they're on stations nobody is watching or if they're on radio stations that nobody's listening to, it doesn't matter. The big popular media stations control a lot of the messaging."
Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., conceded there are Latino criminals and crook Latino politicians, but that coverage needs to be balanced with stories of Hispanic perseverance.
"It's not about hiding the reality in the Latino community," Grijalva said. "It's about giving a full picture."


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Leads Program
Get More Leads & Calls From $1499 a month.
In just 10 days from today we can have your telephone ringing with more leads and new customers. Our Flat Rate Leads program will help grow your business.
The Flat Rate Leads Program Includes:
- Custom co-branded website.
- Pages dedicated for each service.
- Pages for each of your service areas.
- Automated telephone system with ivr & voicemail.
- GUARANTEED minimum lead calls and form fills each month.
These are 100% exclusive leads, most leads are live calls directly to your phone, and forms filled out on your co-branded website are delivered by sms text message in just seconds complete with call back number.
Build Your Business With Our Inbound Leads Marketing Program
Our contractor marketing program includes; exclusive leads, a new custom designed website, seo services, social media management,online advertising and an integrated inbound marketing program.
The Lead Program
Our all inclusive marketing, branding and lead generation program created exclusively for small businesses and professionals. Our leads marketing program is designed as a long term "partnership" where we perform all of the marketing and advertising related work to generate qualified leads and help grow your home improvement business. We build you a high converting mobile friendly website for your business, we advertise, do all the marketing, the social media, the seo and all you do is look after the exclusive leads we send you.
A 100% Risk-Free Business Growth Strategy
The Leads Program is a Risk-Free lead generation program. We generate your company exclusive leads at a set monthly rate. The cost of the quality leads we provide to you is based on several parameters such as the geographic area, the type of contractor you are, and average job cost.
- Only $499 To Get Started Today
- Set Monthly Lead Programs From As Low As $1,499
- Get Unlimited Leads From Your New Website
You only pay the flat fee each month for a guaranteed minimum number of exclusive leads (phone calls or website form fills) we generate for you through your new website.
Exclusive Territory & Exclusive Leads
The Leads Program is exclusive in so many ways. Think of our program as an exclusive club for contractors that want to grow their business.
- You will be the only contractor in your category in your town or city.
- Every lead you get is exclusive to you, no other contractor will get the lead.
- We only take on a handful of new contractor members every month, and there's even a waiting list.
How The 5 Step Lead Program Works
When you become a member of the Contractor Lead Program all you ever pay for are the qualified exclusive leads we generate for you. Getting started is actually an easy process its just 5 steps to building your business with our high quality exclusive leads.
STEP 1 – Quick Questionnaire
We start with a brief questionnaire so we can learn more about your business and plans. This helps us prepare for our conversation in advance so we can get the most out of it.
We begin working before we ever meet.
We analyze your target market, spy on your competitors, and play "mystery shopper" as if we were a potential prospect.
STEP 2 – Schedule The Call
We will schedule a mutually agreeable time for a telephone call or do it using GoTo Meeting so we can share the screen with you. Everything is done custom and is specifically for your business after we've had a chance to ask you about your sales process, your sales goals, and your branding strategy we will tell you if we can help grow your business with our Contractor Lead Program. Everything we talk about makes sense, you give us the go-ahead, we will start working for you.
STEP 3 – Do The Paperwork
Believe it or not… there is a little bit of paperwork, it's basically a letter of agreement. It points out what we both will do. In the simplest of terms – We send you high quality leads, you pay for them. If we send you a bad lead (it does happen sometimes) we take care of you and take it off the bill. We can't be any more fair than that!
STEP 4 – We Design A Custom Website For Your Business – Free
Getting you up and running takes 30 – 60 days, because we have to build your custom website, create social media accounts, get your new website into business directories and so much more. But before we can start building your new website – you need to work with us providing things like pictures of you doing some work, finished jobs and some info about you so we can write some snazzy cool stuff about you to put on the website.
STEP 5 – You Answer The Phone
Once the website is created, we have done our magic with the search engine optimization, created social media accounts, done some PR, and have your custom branded website up on the interwebs and if everything works your phone will begin to ring. We will start to send you quality leads over the phone, by sms text messages to your smart phone and even emails, all you have to do is, talk to the new potential customers, give an estimate and when they become a customer, you do the job.
There you have it! Our 5 Step approach to getting you started.
Do You Have Questions? We have the answers.
What Are The Requirements To Join The Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program?
Being part of the Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program is a bit of a two way street. We need certain things from you, so we can market your business and promote your company and provide you the exclusive leads. Minimum Requirements:
- If you are in a state that requires licensing – we will need proof of your license.
- You must have general liability insurance of a minimum of $1 Million.
- Able to handle a minimum of 10 leads a month – (this is not 10 new jobs as this would be a 100% closing ratio)
- Have good online reviews or references – We want to do business with folks that treat their customers well and do good work.
What Is The Cost Per Lead?
Our pricing of Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program leads range from as little as $100 to $1500 for exclusive leads. Depending on where you are located – small towns smaller fees per lead. We will determine the cost per lead for you after we have had the initial strategy session. Most of our "partners"are paying between $120 – $350 for each qualified lead.
Together we will calculate the cost per lead for your company, with so many variables in play it makes it difficult to provide a price list, but don't worry we will be fair and want our pricing to work for both of us - we are looking at this as a long term relationship.
How Do I Pay For The Leads?
For all of our Contractor Marketing Program "partners" together we determine how many leads per month you can handle and invoice you in advance for the leads. The minimum monthly fee begins at $2,500, at the end of each month we review your account and remove any non-qualifying leads (telemarketing calls, wrong number or people not interested) and adjust your invoice for any addition leads over the base amount or apply a credit if the month did not generate as many leads as projected and bill your credit or debit card.
What is included in the Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program?
The Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program is for established companies and is 100% risk free, with no set-up fees, no pay-per-click advertising fees, no maintenance fees whatsoever. When you're part of the Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program all you pay for are exclusive leads we generate for you.
- Fully Optimized Responsive Website
- Local Listings in Directories & Speciality Listing Sites
- SEO Services On Your New Website
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- Lead Tracking, Complete With Call Recording & Auditing.
All this is included in the Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program at NO COST.
Do I Have To Pay For Leads I Generate Myself?
We Never Charge For Leads You Generate.
The Leads You Don't Pay For.
- Visitors to your own website: Someone types your domain name into the address bar in their browser, you don't pay for this.
- Searches For Your Brand: Someone searches for ABC Contractor, this is a brand search – and they go to your current branded website.
- Leads Generated Online By You: If you are paying for links on other sites such as yellowpages.com, you will not be charged for leads that originate from these sites as these visitors will go to your branded website.
- Local Marketing: Someone sees your truck, lawn sign, flyer, and takes your web address, and comes directly to your branded site.
Leads That You Pay For:
- Leads that we generate from our seo services on your new website resulting in organic/natural search results. As an example, if someone searches for "electrical contractor seattle" and clicks through to your website, this is an organic search.
- Leads that we generate through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
- Leads that we generate from any other online advertising or marketing efforts that sends traffic to the new website.
How Do I Know Where The Leads Come From?
When we develop your new website (lead generating machine) we only work at promoting the new website. All of our efforts are directed to your new website. This includes seo, social media marketing, local directory listings, link building, press releases, remarketing ads, pat per click ads and new content generation to your new website. We also add a special tracking phone numbers on the website to direct the calls to you. Every call we direct to you is logged and recorded so you can go back and listen to them if you want. All of the completed forms from your website are also logged.
Can I Cancel At Any Time?
Yes you can! There is no long term commitment. You can cancel at any time with just 30 days notice. As we will be investing resources. time, energy and money in creating your new website. Doing all of the seo, PPC advertising and promotion we have a minimum one billing cycle to cancel. From when you become part of the Connexions Inbound Lead Generation Program we have a 20-30 day build out of your new website, during this phase we are getting information from you on the services you provide, photos of your crew and jobs you have done – basically everything needed to create a new website for you. Also during the first 30 days we are integrating new telephone numbers and having them routed to you and building a web presence. The next 30 – 60 days we are generating leads for you and as time passes our efforts bear fruit and your lead count continually increases.


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Views: 220
I wrote an essay on how "theory" is defined in the scientific sense and how it relates to evolution for my Freshman Composition 2 class. I uploaded it here: http://sharedreviews.com/article/more-than-a-theory-defining-scient...
Hope this helps.
No, they have not rebutted it. But it doesn't prove that evolution is true. It forces them to except that theories are valid beliefs not based in faith, it doesn't force them to accept that evolution is a theory.
Although, that puts them in a position of disagreeing with the entire scientific community, but that isn't abnormal.
It is probably better to avoid the issue altogether, and if your ability to defend evolution fails, just put it off the table, and point out that even without evolution, their position doesn't get any stronger.
Evolution is a theory that is widely accepted as fact. He is wrong to say two things: That we believe IN it, and that to believe it requires faith. First off, no one believes IN evolution, but only only believes that evolution is a scientific fact. Secondly, to believe it as a fact of science does not require any faith as we have tons of evidence to support it, between observation, fossil records, vestigial organs, radiometric dating of the fossils to propose when the ancestors existed and just basic extrapolation. He is trying to compare science to religion which is the same as comparing apples to oranges.


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Low-Volatility ETFs Ready for Next Act
Investors are putting a premium on safety, particularly when dipping their toes into stocks.
Editor's Note: This content was originally published on Benzinga.com by Eddie Staley.
One of the most popular ETFs launched in the past couple years is PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSEARCA:SPLV), and it's not hard to guess why.
After suffering through the dot-com crash and 2008 financial crisis, investors are putting a premium on safety, particularly when dipping their toes into stocks.
In the last five years, investors have pulled $548 billion from U.S. equity mutual funds and plowed more than $1 trillion into taxable fixed-income funds, according to ConverEx Group. However, equity-based ETFs have gathered $330 billion of inflows during the same period.
Recently, a decent chunk of these ETF flows has been earmarked to "safer" funds that employ low-volatility and dividend strategies with indexes.
For example, SPLV has quickly grown to over $3 billion in assets after launching in May 2011. The fund is one of the biggest success stories in ETFs the past few years, and investors can expect more low-volatility funds to hit the market in 2013.
The ETF's tracking index is comprised of the 100 stocks from the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) with the lowest realized volatility the past year. Volatility is a measure of a security's tendency to jump around in price.
SPLV has been popular because the strategy is relatively easy to explain and understand, and investors want some downside protection when venturing into stocks.
The fund turned in a respectable 2012 with a 10.1% total return but it did trail the S&P 500, which gained 16%, according to Morningstar. "Naturally, with a low-volatility bent, the fund emphasizes defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples," the investment researcher says in a profile of SPLV.
The fund's underperformance relative to the S&P 500 can be attributed partly to the overweight in these two sectors. Utilities Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLU) rose just 1 percent last year, while Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLP) added 10.7 percent.
SPLV has 31 percent in the utilities sector and 26.8 percent in consumer staples, according to manager Invesco PowerShares.
Low-volatility strategies have historically earned "excellent risk-adjusted returns" but can "perform miserably during furious bear markets," Morningstar notes.
Now, Invesco PowerShares is readying a pair of funds in an attempt to capitalize on the success of SPLV. According to a recent filing, the firm wants to launch PowerShares S&P 400 Low Volatility Portfolio and PowerShares S&P 600 Low Volatility Portfolio, which would track the mid-cap and small-cap portions of the U.S. stock market, respectively.
Other existing ETFs on the market designed to track low-volatility benchmarks include:
- iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSEARCA:EEMV)
- iShares MSCI All Country World Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSEARCA:ACWV)
- iShares MSCI USA Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSEARCA:USMV)
- PowerShares S&P International Developed Low Volatility (NYSEARCA:IDLV)
- PowerShares S&P Emerging Markets Low Volatility Portfolio (NYSEARCA:EELV)
- iShares MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility Index Fund (NYSEARCA:EFAV)
- EGShares Low Volatility Emerging Markets Dividend ETF (NYSEARCA:HILO)
Below, find some more great ETF and market content from Benzinga:
Two Things To Watch For In Apple's Earnings Report
Starbucks Earnings Preview: Strong Fiscal First Quarter Seen
Draghi Reassures Euro-Area That The Worst Is Over
Twitter: @Benzinga
Benzinga Pro covers this and all market news in real time. Get your free trial here.
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Daily Recap Newsletter
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Just a quick haulage post. I got this Freshel Concealer from Adambeauty:
I am not 100% what all the different sections are for. One looks like a proper concealer, the white looks like a pearly highlighter, the pale pink looks like it could work under the eyes.
Will test before review!


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Documentary On One Of The Most Talented Basketball Player That Didn't Get To The NBA: Ronnie Fields!
Ronnie Fields - feat Kevin Garnett,Vince Carter,Scoop Jackson,Mike Bibby and more.
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We're a creative studio that leads with brand to produce impactful visual identity and design.
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