From Daily Mail.Co.UK

Human skin can stop a bullet - with a little help from genetically modified goats.

The skin is mixed with goat ‘milk’ from goats ‘tweaked’ to produce the same protein found in spider silk. Woven spider silk is four times stronger than Kevlar, the material used in bulletproof vests.

The ’silk’ is layered with bio-engineered human skin grown in laboratory, and can withstand a direct impact from a bullet - although not one fired at full speed, yet.

The bio-engineered skin cushions a bullet fired at half speed. But its resistance has its limits: when shot at a full speed of 329 m/s, the bullet pierces the material and travels through it,’ says New Scientist.

Dutch researcher Jalila Essaidi said the ’spidersilk’ project was called ‘2.6g 329m/s’ after the weight and the velocity of a .22 calibre long rifle bullet. Working with the Forensic Genomics Consortium in the Netherlands, she said the goal was to replace the keratin in our skin with the spider’s silk.

The silk is produced in Utah, then spun into thread in Korea, then woven into layers of fabric in Germany.

The ’skin’ is created by weaving spider silk proteins into a cloth four times stronger than Kevlar, then growing human skin around it.

The last stage involves growing a layer of real skin around a sample of the bulletproof skin, which takes about five weeks.

Essaidi said that the project was about making science fiction a reality.
She said that silk has a long history of being used in combat - Genghis Khan once issued all his horsemen with silk vests as an arrow hitting silk does not break, meaning you can tease out arrowheads.

‘Imagine a spidersilk vest, capable of catching bullets, the modern day equivalent of Genghis Khan’s arrows,’ she said.

‘Now, let’s take this one step further, why bother with a vest: imagine replacing keratin, the protein responsible for the toughness of the human skin, with this spidersilk protein.

‘This is possible by adding the silk producing genes of a spider to the genome of a human: creating a bulletproof human.

‘Science-fiction? Maybe, but we can get a feeling of what this transhumanistic idea would be like by letting a bulletproof matrix of spidersilk merge with an in vitro human skin.’

Bullet proof vests have been around for decades but skin that can stop them has only been the preserve of science fiction.

The most famous example is Superman, or the Man of Steel - bullets simply ricochet off of him.

- Prophecy News Watch

From Rubin Reports.Blogspot.Com

Arab Liberals Lament: Here’s How the Muslim Brotherhood is Fooling the West Posted: 08 Feb 2012 05:34 PM PST By Barry Rubin Since we can’t get good coverage of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in the Western media it’s necessary to turn to the Islamists’ intended victims–Arab liberals—to get a better picture. NowLebanon explains it all to you in an article on what it calls the “media blitz” of the Muslim Brotherhood and its politicians in the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). It writes: “Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has been displaying great skill in handling the media over the past year. Since the revolution last January and the party’s electoral success in the recent round of polls in the country, the Brotherhood’s media outlets have tirelessly tried to project an image of moderation. But many secularists and leftists remain suspicious.” The problem is that it has had the full cooperation of the Western media and governments in selling itself as moderate. Here are the NowLebanon talking points: –“`The Brotherhood is very savvy and clever when it comes to the media, and they know their audience very well. They certainly have very good media advisors,’ says Khaled Fahmy, professor of History at the American University in Cairo.” –“The Brotherhood has set up a TV channel and a newspaper, and both it and the FJP have been keeping daily-updated websites in English and Arabic. –Their Twitter page, Ikhwanweb, has almost 8,500 followers. The managers of the account regularly engage their followers in lively discussions, and the Brotherhood’s party is the only one in Egypt that has its own smartphone App. Click here to read the entire article

The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Attacks-Iran Case Study Posted: 08 Feb 2012 12:49 PM PST http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2012/02/world-media-goes-bonkers-israel-attacks.html The World Media Goes Bonkers: An Israel-Attacks-Iran Case Study By Barry Rubin For the second time in a few months we have seen a crazy global Israel-About-to-Attack-Iran Story. I don’t want to go into all of the details but this tale is an example of how the media has just lost it completely due to a combination of laziness (reporters don’t really do research or check sources); agenda; ignorance; and good old sensationalism. Partly, too, it arises from the difficulty of the mass media in dealing with the Internet media era and the difficulty of the Internet media in achieving decent journalistic standards. A couple of months ago a level of hysteria was reached on the basis of three stories: –A Jerusalem Post article, which could have been published just about any time in the last five years, saying that the Israeli air force was practicing fo ran attack on Iran. –An interview with a former Israeli intelligence official who opposes attacking Iran saying that Israel had decided not to attack Iran but worrying that the prime minister might want to reopen discussion of the issue. –A sensationalistic article in an Arab newspaper with no Israeli inside sources speculating that an attack was going to happen. Out of this was built a worldwide story claiming something was going to happen that wasn’t. It was quickly shown to be wrong but no lesson was learned. Now we’ve just been through phase two. A Washington Post columnist, not known for his accuracy, claimed that the U.S. defense secretary said that Israel was about to attack. This was immediately accepted as if the cabinet member had said so publicly when the supposed statement was completely unproven.  The man in question, Leon Panetta, denied the story. Within a few days President Barack Obama said he knew Israel was not going to attack Iran. Think of what that means. Israeli leaders and American intelligence assessments have been daily reporting that no attack was imminent. If Obama knew it, Panetta knew it. It is true that a respected Israeli journalist wrote an article based on interviews in which he concluded that some day Israel would attack. But my reading of the article concludes that those interviewed are clearly expressing concern and trying to influence Western policy by saying: Do something so we don’t have to attack Iran some day. If Israel was about to attack, he wouldn’t have written the article at all. And consistent Israeli statements to the contrary were simply ignored. The most important was by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak who said what everyone knew: Israel would only attack if Iran had deliverable nuclear weapons, no decision had been made, and that was well in the future. I could go on but what is lacking here is the equivalent of common sense.  There are many good reasons why Israel won’t attack Iran now which I have presented already. To its credit, the Los Angeles Times finally came up with a story noting that Israelis were “bemused” by all the hysteria that ran totally contrary to what they knew. People have written about why Israel should not attack Iran but very few have written about why Israel would not attack Iran at this time. There has been indifference to all of the totally known factors involved regarding this decision. In the end, the issue is one of fact. It is easily observable that Israel has not attacked Iran and still has not done so on any given date in the future. Yet what does this say about media coverage and public debate over other stories, especially international ones? Doesn’t anybody think there’s a lesson to be learned in that fact that they were just plain wrong? Just as they were wrong about the Israel-Palestinian peace process progressing, Syria becoming moderate, the “Arab Spring,” and so many other things? Might all these errors prompt some reconsideration of premises and methods?

From PJ Media.Com

NEW ON PJ MEDIA

The Santorum Surprise By Roger L. Simon Definite perils are ahead for the Republican Party if it allows Santorum-style social conservatism to dominate the election. And those perils go well beyond the obvious that the campaign will be largely about the economy. The Obama Effect in Latin America By Jaime Daremblum Obama has learned the hard way that personal diplomacy and unilateral concessions will not turn hostile autocrats into friendly democrats. (Read this article in Spanish here.)

TOP STORIES ON PJ MEDIA

Jews, Party Identification, and Political Realignment By Abraham H. Miller The formidable nine percent change in party identification among American Jewish voters favoring the Republicans changes a pattern begun by Franklin D. Roosevelt. ‘It’s Your Fault’: U.S. Gets the Israel Treatment Over Iran By Shoshana Bryen Iran makes threats; the United States gets blamed for “saber-rattling.” But the belief that America will be at fault if it antagonizes Iran comes at least in part from Americans.

MORE FROM PJ MEDIA

o Choosing Life and Beating The Odds: Accepting Down Syndrome (Cassy Fiano) o Gulf Arab Leaders: Obama Admin. Is Biggest Threat to our Security (Barry Rubin) o GOProud Expands Mission with Message: ‘We’re Truly Conservatives’ (Bridget Johnson) o DEA Agent: Other Fed Agencies Aware of Fast and Furious in 2009 (Bob Owens) o Rubio to Obama: Admit You Went Too Far with Mandate (Bridget Johnson) o The ‘Negro Project’ and Voter ID (J. Christian Adams) o Lessons from North Korea for Israel and Iran (Rick Richman)

February 9, 2012

A Balanced Life

Part 2

Mary Southerland

Today’s Truth

She (Martha) had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying (Luke 10:39).

Friend to Friend

A balanced life is focused on right things. Focus is always found at the feet of Jesus. Mary lived out this truth.  In fact, Mary, more than any other person in the New Testament is associated with sitting at the feet of Jesus.

What does it mean to “sit at the feet of Jesus”?  We must first stop. Now that is a novel idea for most women. Mary stopped what she was doing - helping Martha in the kitchen - and came to sit at the feet of Jesus. Of course, Martha immediately began complaining that she had been left to do all the work while her sister wasted time sitting at the feet of Jesus.  I have discovered there will always be someone who will misunderstand or complain when you choose to do what Jesus told Martha was “the better part.”

Luke 10 [show/hide]Luke 10 Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two [10:1]After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. [2]And he said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3]Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. [4]Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. [5]Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house!' [6]And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. [7]And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house. [8]Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you. [9]Heal the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' [10]But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, [11]'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' [12]I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to Unrepentant Cities [13]"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. [14]But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. [15]And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades. [16]"The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me." The Return of the Seventy-Two [17]The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" [18]And he said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. [19]Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. [20]Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Jesus Rejoices in the Father's Will [21]In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. [22]All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." [23]Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! [24]For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." The Parable of the Good Samaritan [25]And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" [26]He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" [27]And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." [28]And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." [29]But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" [30]Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. [31]Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. [32]So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. [33]But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. [34]He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. [35]And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' [36]Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" [37]He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." Martha and Mary [38]Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. [39]And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. [40]But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." [41]But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, [42]but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (ESV)
: 40-42 “But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’”

Mary made a choice and so must we. Choosing to sit at the feet of Jesus requires decisive planning, purposeful scheduling and a willful determination. Every day, God wants relationship building time with us, which means that time at His feet, in His presence must be our highest priority. Jesus gently rebuked Martha because she had forgotten what was really important.

It is amazing to me how I can squander away the best part of my day, leaving Him with the leftover scraps of time and then have the audacity to complain that my life is void of power and purpose. Distractions come from every side. Some of those distractions are good and wonderful things, but they are all still wrong things if they keep us from stopping to spend time with God.

Every day, we choose where to invest our time. We plan everything from committee meetings and church activities to lunch appointments and choir practice - but fail to schedule the most important activity of all, spending time with God. Are you desperate for the peace and balance only He can bring? Then it’s time to stop, take inventory of the demands upon your time and begin investing the best part of everyday sitting at His feet. Being wrapped up in God’s work can easily become a shabby substitute for being wrapped up in His presence. And we can only be wrapped up in God’s presence when we learn to wait on Him.

I absolutely hate to wait, on anyone or for anything. Waiting robs me of control and forces me to face the unknown. But waiting on God brings priorities into a right focus and releases the catalyst that may very well change my life course. Waiting is not a passive use of time.  Waiting is active spiritual obedience.  In each waiting room of life, He is at work preparing me for the circumstance and the circumstance for me. Psalm 5:3 (NLT) “Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” From those still, quiet moments of waiting and seeking comes a balance and focus that takes root and grows. It is through the choice to wait on God that the seeking heart – the expectant heart finds every need met.

We not only must stop and be still in order to sit at the feet of Jesus, we must learn to listen. Time spent seeking God and listening for His voice is vital. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NIV) “Now choose life…listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.”

Countless voices clamor for our attention. The key to a balanced life is training our hearts toward God and teaching our spiritual ears to listen for His voice above all others. I taught third grade for several years while my husband attended seminary.  My class was one of seven third grade classes, which meant that the first few days of school were chaotic. The PE teacher was a welcome sight when she appeared at my door to take the students outside. It was the responsibility of each teacher to pick up her students when PE was over. Seven teachers trying to get the attention of over two hundred students was especially interesting on the first or second day of school when the teachers didn’t know their students and the third graders didn’t know their teacher. However, after only a few days, an amazing thing happened every year.  When the teachers lined up, it took only a word or two for the students to come running. They quickly learned to recognize the voice of their new teacher above all the rest because they listened to her voice all day long.

The voice of God comes to us in many ways but every voice must be held up and measured against His main voice, the Word of God. To sit at the feet of Jesus, we must learn to stop, be still, and listen for His voice and then rest. Rest will not come until we have heard His truth.  However, when we have learned and applied the truth of God we can then rest in Him and our world falls into perfect balance.  Resting in Him requires trust.

When our son, Jered, was seven years old, he fell while skateboarding, cut his chin and needed stitches. We raced to the nearest emergency clinic where we met a young doctor, who at first glance, seemed friendly enough. Jered, however, took one look at the strange doctor and panicked. It was his first experience with stitches. After several attempts to gain Jered’s trust and cooperation, the doctor grew impatient and said, “Son, this won’t hurt.  If you cannot be still we will have to put you in restraints.” Now I had two major problems with those statements.  First of all, there were not going to be any restraints placed on my son. And secondly, of course it would hurt. Glaring at the doctor I explained, “If you will just tell Jered the truth and explain what you are doing he will be still for you.” The doctor looked at me as if I had just arrived from another planet and said, “Right!”  Before I could rip off his head, Dan told the doctor we had a plan. I knew what my plan was but thought it wise to consider Dan’s. Holding Jered’s head still, Dan softly explained what the doctor would do and told him to fix his eyes on me while I told a story. It worked. Jered calmed down and the stitches were done in a matter of minutes. Even though he did not fully understand or trust the process, Jered did fully understand and trust us.

Truth is always the basis for trust and trust is always the basis for rest. We rarely take time to stop, be still and listen, allowing His truth to soak into our hearts and minds where trust and faith grow strong on a steady diet of truth. As a result, our faith is weak and rest is hard to find. When we learn to sit at the feet of Jesus, we will know Him better, trust Him more and find the rest we so desperately crave. Clarity of purpose and a right focus will come.  And that, my friend, is the cornerstone in a life of balance.

Now It’s Your Turn

Oswald Chambers writes, “We can choke God’s Word with a yawn; we can hinder the time that should be spent with God by remembering we have other things to do. ‘I haven’t time!’ Of course you have time! Take time, strangle some other interests, and make time to realize that the center of power in your life is the Lord Jesus Christ.” What is the main focus of your life? For the real answer, take a long, hard look at where you spend your time, money and energy. What changes do you need to make to bring your life into a right balance with God?

Did Jesus Perform Miracles?

Today’s reading: Mark 6:1-6

Most New Testament critics today admit Jesus performed what we would call miracles. Granted, they may not all believe these were genuine miracles, but the idea of Jesus of Nazareth as a miracle worker and exorcist is part of the historical Jesus that’s generally accepted by critics today.

Rudolf Bultmann, who is recognized as one of the most skeptical New Testament critics of the last century, wrote:

The Christian fellowship was convinced that Jesus had done miracles and they told many stories of miracles about him. Most of these stories contained in the Gospels are legendary or are at least dressed up with legend. But, there can be no doubt that Jesus did such deeds, which were, in his and his contemporaries’ understanding, miracles; that is to say, events that were the result of supernatural divine causality. Doubtless he healed the sick and cast out demons.

Even Bultmann says miracles and exorcisms belong to the historical Jesus. In Bultmann’s day these stories were considered legendary because of the supposed influence of Greco-Roman mythology on the Gospels, but scholars today realize this influence was virtually nil. They now believe the role of Jesus as a miracle worker must be understood against the backdrop of first-century Palestinian Judaism, where it fits right in.

The only reason to be skeptical that these were genuine miracles would be philosophical-do you believe that such events can occur or not?

- Bible Gateway.Com

First Serve

This week’s reading: Mark 10:35-45

Recommended Reading: Joshua 24:14-27; Matthew 6:19-24; Ephesians 6:5-9

When was the last time you volunteered to do something in service to another person? If you’re a father, you’ve probably done something selfless already to serve your child or children today. If you’re a husband, chances are you can remember the last time you served your wife without her asking. But if you’re a single guy in your first job, scraping together a living and trying to make ends meet, it’s possible that it’s been a while. Most of us know we should serve others, but we don’t really know how. Talking about serving is a lot easier than actually doing it.

Jesus served throughout his ministry. When he served others, the act often involved self-sacrifice. Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our sins. When we serve others, especially those who have no way of repaying us, we imitate Jesus. We represent Christ to those we serve. Kenneth Leech writes, “Christian spirituality is the spirituality of the Poor Man of Nazareth who took upon himself the form of a servant. To follow the way of the kingdom is therefore to follow him who fed the hungry, healed the sick, befriended the outcast, and blessed the peacemakers.”

Even with Jesus living and serving right in front of them, the disciples didn’t seem to get it. They wondered how they could be great. But Jesus answered, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44).

That’s the paradox of serving. When we give ourselves away in service, we find ourselves. When we empty ourselves in service, we find fulfillment.

A lot of people search for identity and self-fulfillment. Most look for it in repeated highs of promotions, exotic vacations or an endless parade of worldly possessions. But real fulfillment comes from serving God by serving others. When we give ourselves away in service to others, we find meaning and joy in life that selfishness can never equal.

To Take Away

• What opportunities do you have to serve others-even people who can’t ever repay you?
• What small and practical acts of service can you do at work or in your neighborhood to serve others?

What steps can you take to cultivate a selfless and humble heart of service?

- Bible Gateway.Com

Nehemiah [Nēhe mī'ah]—jehovah hath consoled.

1. A chief man who returned from exile (Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7).
2. The son of Hachaliah and cup-bearer to king Artaxerxes ( Neh. 1:1).

The Man Who Had a Mind to Work

Nehemiah and Hanani were the sons of Hachaliah (Neh. 1:1; 2:5; 7:2 ), and the references suggest that the family belonged to the capital. Nehemiah, although born in exile, grew up in the faith of Israel’s God. Nehemiah’s name appears as a prince, not as a priest (Neh. 9:38; 10:1), and he was perhaps the chief man who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel ( Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7). As the king’s cup-bearer, he held a high place of honor in the palace of Shushan (Neh. 1:11), having confidential access to the king. His Persian name was Sheshbazzar ( Ezra 1:8). He was one of the princes who signed the covenant (Neh. 9:38; 10:1). He became Governor of Jerusalem (Neh. 10:1 ). Josephus says that Nehemiah died of old age and that the repaired walls of the city constituted his best and most enduring monument.

For his patriotic task (Neh. 1:1-4 ), Nehemiah was well qualified. As a true Israelite, he labored for the purity of public worship, the integrity of family life, the sanctity of the sabbath. Ezra was the student and preacher; Nehemiah, the soldier and statesman. He was courageous and God-fearing, and brought to his labors a noble disinterestedness, and unblemished rectitude, a dauntless spirit and unswerving loyalty to God. Alexander Whyte in his helpful essay of Nehemiah speaks of him:

As a self-contained man. A man of his own counsel. A man with the counsel of God alone in his mind and in his heart. A reserved and resolute man. A man to take command of other men. A man who will see things with his own eyes, and without all eyes seeing him. A man in no haste or hurry. He will not begin till he has counted the cost. And then he will not stop till he has finished the work.

While we are compelled to pass over a full exposition of the book of this patriotic Jew whose heart was stirred with sorrow over the derelict condition of Jerusalem, we must linger over some of its important aspects.

I. He illustrates the strength which comes from an inspiring purpose and definite aim. Open opposition and underhanded wiles had to be faced, but undauntedly Nehemiah persisted in his task (Neh. 6:3). Among the hostile methods directed against his noble mission were:

Ridicule (Neh. 2:19; 4:2). But Nehemiah prayed that such reproach might return to the reproachers which it did (Neh. 4:4-6).

Fear (Neh. 4:7-23). Enemies delivered an ultimatum but Nehemiah set a watch. Swords and trowels were united (Neh. 4:18).

Guile ( Neh. 6:2-4). Nehemiah knew that conferences were useless, and so shunned them.

False accusation (Neh. 6:5-9). This patriot had no selfish motives behind his endeavors.

Temptation to tempt God (Neh. 6:10-13). Nehemiah refused to hide himself in the Temple as if he was doing wrong.

Corruption of friends and associates ( Neh. 6:17-19). This was the meanest act of Nehemiah’s foes.

II. He sets forth the strength that comes from humble dependence upon God. True to God and his principles, Nehemiah surmounted all his enemies and obstacles. His sterling character stood the acid test, for he was a man of dependence upon God (Neh. 1:5-11 ), single-hearted in his devotion to God and his work, wise in taking proper precautions against surprise attacks, ever encouraging to those who labored with him. Making his prayer to God, Nehemiah knew that God would fight for him (Neh. 4:9, 20).

III. He manifested the strength which comes from the sense of union and of fellowship. All classes of people, even the daughters, were ready to take their place around the damaged walls. High and low worked together for the accomplishment of a God-inspired task (Neh. 3:12). With scorn, Nehemiah rebuked the pride and negligence of the nobles “who put not their necks to the work of their Lord” (Neh. 3:5 ). Fulfilling their obligation by repairing “every man over against his house,” the willing-heart with one mind to work illustrates the chain of living Christian fellowship set forth in Ecclesiastes 4:9. See 1 Corinthians 12:4-7.

3. A son of Azbuk and ruler of half the district of Jerusalen who repaired part of the wall—a common-sense enthusiast even as his illustrious namesake ( Neh. 3:16).

- Bible Gateway.Com

February 09

Morning

“And David enquired of the Lord.”
2 Samuel 5:23

When David made this enquiry he had just fought the Philistines, and gained a signal victory. The Philistines came up in great hosts, but, by the help of God, David had easily put them to flight. Note, however, that when they came a second time, David did not go up to fight them without enquiring of the Lord. Once he had been victorious, and he might have said, as many have in other cases, “I shall be victorious again; I may rest quite sure that if I have conquered once I shall triumph yet again. Wherefore should I tarry to seek at the Lord’s hands?” Not so, David. He had gained one battle by the strength of the Lord; he would not venture upon another until he had ensured the same. He enquired, “Shall I go up against them?” He waited until God’s sign was given. Learn from David to take no step without God. Christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take God for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the Almighty. Many a rock might be escaped, if we would let our Father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid, if we would leave to his sovereign will to choose and to command. The Puritan said, “As sure as ever a Christian carves for himself, he’ll cut his own fingers;” this is a great truth. Said another old divine, “He that goes before the cloud of God’s providence goes on a fool’s errand;” and so he does. We must mark God’s providence leading us; and if providence tarries, tarry till providence comes. He who goes before providence, will be very glad to run back again. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go,” is God’s promise to his people. Let us, then, take all our perplexities to him, and say, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” Leave not thy chamber this morning without enquiring of the Lord.

Evening

“Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil [or, the evil one].”
Luke 11:4

What we are taught to seek or shun in prayer, we should equally pursue or avoid in action. Very earnestly, therefore, should we avoid temptation, seeking to walk so guardedly in the path of obedience, that we may never tempt the devil to tempt us. We are not to enter the thicket in search of the lion. Dearly might we pay for such presumption. This lion may cross our path or leap upon us from the thicket, but we have nothing to do with hunting him. He that meeteth with him, even though he winneth the day, will find it a stern struggle. Let the Christian pray that he may be spared the encounter. Our Saviour, who had experience of what temptation meant, thus earnestly admonished his disciples–”Pray that ye enter not into temptation.”

But let us do as we will, we shall be tempted; hence the prayer “deliver us from evil.” God had one Son without sin; but he has no son without temptation. The natural man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards, and the Christian man is born to temptation just as certainly. We must be always on our watch against Satan, because, like a thief, he gives no intimation of his approach. Believers who have had experience of the ways of Satan, know that there are certain seasons when he will most probably make an attack, just as at certain seasons bleak winds may be expected; thus the Christian is put on a double guard by fear of danger, and the danger is averted by preparing to meet it. Prevention is better than cure: it is better to be so well armed that the devil will not attack you, than to endure the perils of the fight, even though you come off a conqueror. Pray this evening first that you may not be tempted, and next that if temptation be permitted, you may be delivered from the evil one.

- Bible Gateway.Com

From KHouse.Org

**IMPORTANT NEWS HEADLINES**

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Last Known WWI Veteran, Florence Green, Dies at 110 - February 07, 2012
A woman thought to be the world’s last known surviving service member of World War I has died aged 110. Florence Green, from Norfolk, England served as a mess steward in Britain’s Royal Air Force. She died in her sleep on Saturday night at Briar House care home, King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Mrs Green had been due to celebrate her 111th birthday on 19 February. She outlived the last two surviving combat veterans of WWI — Claude Choules, a Royal Navy sailor and the last WWI combatant, and Frank Buckles, the last American veteran, both of whom died last year at the age of 110. BBC News

Same-Sex Marriage Heading To Supreme Court - February 07, 2012
A federal appeals court ruled against California’s voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage Tuesday. In a split decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found the state’s Proposition 8 “works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians” by denying their right to civil marriage in violation of the 14th Amendment. Supporters of Proposition 8, which passed with 52 percent of the vote in 2008, said they were willing to take the issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. A stay halting same-sex marriages remains in place as the appeals continue. CNN

Egyptian Lawmaker Disrupts Parliament With Call To Prayer - Gets Rebuked - February 07, 2012
Members of Egypt’s first freely elected Parliament in more than six decades were interrogating the interior minister over the recent killing of protesters on Tuesday when Mamdouh Ismail, a lawmaker from the ultraconservative Salafi Asala Party, decided to turn to more pressing matters. “God is great,” he began to intone, interrupting the televised proceedings with a call to prayer. Saad el-Katatni, the speaker of the Parliament and a leader in the Muslim Brotherhood, tried to interrupt the very persistent Mr. Ismail. “After you’re done with the call for prayers, I’ll talk to you because you breached the order of the session,” he said. “You’re not more of a Muslim than we are,” Mr. Katatni added, once the call for prayers was over. “You don’t need the media show.” The New York Times

China Deepens Energy Partnership With Arab States - February 07, 2012
As the world’s biggest energy consumer, China’s roaring appetite for stable oil and gas supplies is driving its Gulf push — a relationship made clearer last month when Premier Wen Jiabao traveled to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. In Saudi Arabia, Wen specifically called for the two countries to “deepen their energy partnership” and increase trade in oil and gas. State oil giant Saudi Aramco and Chinese refiner Sinopec just finalized plans to jointly build a refinery in the Red Sea city of Yanbu capable of handling 400,000 barrels of oil a day. The two companies and Exxon Mobil Corp. are already partners in a refinery in eastern China. Nearby Iran was not on Wen’s January itinerary even though China remains Iran’s trop crude oil buyer and its powerful state energy companies have rights to exploit untapped Iranian oil reserves. AP

Israel Samsung Tablet Ad Jokes About Striking Iran - February 06, 2012
An Israeli cable television company has removed an ad from its YouTube channel making light of a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities by Israel. The ad, for the cable provider Hot, imagines characters from an Israeli sitcom bungling a covert operation and destroying the Iranian nuclear facility near the city of Isfahan by pressing the wrong button on a Mossad agent’s Samsung Galaxy tablet computer. After the facility goes up in smoke, the culpable Israeli character dismisses it with a shrug as just “another mysterious explosion in Iran,” a clear reference to a string of deadly attacks on Iranian scientists and installations that have been attributed to Israel. One outraged Iranian official demanded an apology from South Korea and even suggested that a ban on Samsung products might be in order. The company quickly issued a statement stressing that the ad had been produced in Israel “without Samsung’s knowledge or participation.” The New York Times

From KHouse.Org

The SuperBowl is a money maker, and not just for breweries or gamblers. The football championship is a big time for human trafficking, and each year, pimps will bring in their human merchandise as forced prostitutes for the big game. This year, in what has been called the “National Day of Johns Arrests,” the Cook County, IL Sherriff’s Department worked with other local and federal law agencies to conduct stings during the 10-day period leading up to the Super Bowl and ending Monday night, as part of a multi-state effort to put a stop to the crime of sex trafficking.

“Large sporting events, such as the Super Bowl, bring out competitiveness in all of us, including, unfortunately, pimps and sex traffickers,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said in the release. “In the days leading up to and including Super Bowl Sunday, my office coordinated with 19 other law enforcement agencies from around the country to send a strong message that our communities refuse to tolerate the sale of human beings for sex.”

During the sting on streets, hotels, and brothels across eight states, law enforcement arrested a total of 314 of accused “johns” - the men seeking to pay for sex – and charged them with almost $475,000 in fines. The johns are the primary culprits in the rise of sex trafficking. These men do not go out and kidnap young girls and boys themselves, but they willingly pay to have sex with them. Without the johns and their cash, there would be no money to be made in the sex trade, and the horrific business would end by starvation. Soliciting sex is therefore not a harmless bit of evening fun, but perpetuates one of the most evil existing crimes against humanity.

The Victims:
The picture of prostitutes as poor women trying to pay the bills by turning to the street is not always accurate. Victims of sexual exploitation are often minors, naive kids who run away from home and get forced into a form of slavery as real as any in history. The average female victims are girls from 12-14-years-old, and the typical male victims are just 11-13-years-old. While a prostitute might see 10 men day, victims of sexual trafficking may be forced to see 20-35 men per day. They aren’t paid. They may be purposely hooked on hard drugs and are often beaten if they try to escape or if they don’t create sufficient income for their exploiters. Immigrants are also easy targets for sexual exploitation because they don’t know the system and don’t know who to turn to. There is also the awareness that the sexual work they are doing is illegal, and even though they are forced into it, many sex trafficking victims fear the law. Then, if the victims do get arrested as prostitutes, the perpetrators will often come and bail them out and the continue the exploitation.

Sex trafficking doesn’t just take place in the inner city, either. Traffickers transport their victims into decent neighborhoods, to nice hotels, to houses. The victims may come from poverty or the upper class, from both stable and unstable homes. Sex trafficking is found from Florida to the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, and from New York to Seattle.

Jacksonville (FL) Sheriff’s Office detective Dave Bisplinghoff described one 15-year-old girl who had recently testified against her captor. “She’s a typical 15-year-old girl. She’s an A/B honor roll student,” said Bisplinghoff. “Within a matter of 36 hours, she was brought into that trade in a poor neighborhood in Jacksonville and quickly introduced to crack cocaine, then the world of prostitution…She actually got away. He drove around and found her and, basically, physically beat her and dragged her back to his vehicle,” said Bisplinghoff. The girl finally escaped, but not without emotional scarring and ties in the Jacksonville underworld.

The people who are held captive by sexual traffickers are manipulated by people who can psychologically and physically dominate them. They get stuck in a web they do not know how to escape. There are indications that a sex worker is trafficked, however, that law enforcement look for. If the prostitutes are not free to come and go at will or cannot speak for themselves, if they are under the age of 18 or show signs of abuse, these are signs that there is coercion taking place and that these are victims of sexual exploitation.

Relationships between victims and their exploiters can begin as legitimate job offers, or as a boyfriend and girlfriend relationship. “It’s quite amazing how sophisticated the manipulation can be,” said Abby Tassel, WISE assistant director and former Dartmouth College Sexual Abuse Awareness Program coordinator. “Once someone is in the grips of this perpetration, it’s hard to escape.”

Ahead of the Super Bowl, the Indiana state legislature passed measures to make it easier to prosecute sex traffickers, and other states are making similar efforts. Laws alone will not heal this violent social wound, however. Parents need to be aware of the dangers and pass on wisdom to their children about the potential for exploitation. Law enforcement need to keep their eyes open for signs of trafficking. Most fundamentally, people need to stop buying sex and perpetuating the opportunities for these crimes to take place. The prostitute a guy pays for may not be “just” another sex worker making money, she might be somebody’s missing child.

Related Links:

• Championship Numbers Tell Sad Story - PRNewswire
• Local Human Trafficking Persists In Upper Valley - The Dartmouth
• Cook County Sheriff Leads National Sex Crime Sting - AP
• Human Trafficking: Runaways Are a Target - FirstCoastNews
• County Sheriff Leads Multi-State Sex Trafficking Sting: 556 Arrested - Sun-Times Media Wire