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Willful Sin: Hebrews
Dr. S. Lewis Johnson comments on willful sin and what is really expressed when it is committed by a professing Christian.
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Sermons of S. Lewis Johnson
"Willful Sin"
It's 7:30, let's open our class with a word of prayer.
[Prayer] Father, we turn again to Thee with gratitude for the assurance of salvation, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we thank Thee for the passages of the word of God that contain severe warnings because we are individuals who need severe warnings from time to time. We thank Thee for the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, who in the midst of his magnificent exposition of our great High Priest's person and work, stops from time to time to warn his readers of the danger of the rejection of the word of God and of him of who it speaks, the Son of God. We pray, Lord, that our studies may be studies that turn us more and more, lead us more and more to him who is the source of eternal salvation and the source of our salvation.
We pray, Lord, for each one present. We ask Thy blessing upon each individual and upon the families that are represented here and we commit them to Thee. We pray Thy blessing upon them. And, we pray for this church; we ask Thy blessing upon it, upon its elders and upon the members and others who are interested in the things of the Lord that are proclaimed here. We pray that Thou wilt continue to bless the ministry and we especially, also, pray for those who write in and ask us to pray for them. And we do pray for them. We ask Thy blessing upon them and for their many needs we ask, Lord, that if it should be within Thy will that Thou wilt undertake to give relief and healing, and also meet the needs that are represented in those requests.
We thank Thee for the privilege of opening the Scriptures and considering what they have to say. Help us to remember how important it is that we read and ponder the word of God in this age of severe secularization, in which the church of Jesus Christ has an increasingly lesser place in the life of this country. We ask, Lord, that Thou wilt reverse the flow of things, if it please Thee. But for those of us who know our Lord, deliver us from the worldliness that exists around us. We ask, Lord, that Thou wilt enable us to set such things as our television sets and our shopping, our time in the malls, our time in the life that is about us, in its proper place in our lives. And, enable us, Lord, to have our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the first place, may he have the first place, may be truly worship him and follow him in a way that will bring glory to Thy name. We ask now, Lord, that Thou wilt be with us as we study the word together.
[Message] Now, the subject for tonight is "Willful Sin," and as the title suggests it's an attempt to expound, again, one of the severe warnings that the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes, for those who read his letter. We know and in fact, I think, I mentioned this fact when we were dealing with Hebrews chapter 6, which is parallel with Hebrews chapter 10; that there are two eternal truths that are intimately related to these passages that have to do with warnings.
The first of the truths is the perseverance of the saints or looking at it from the standpoint of the Lord God, the eternal security of those who have truly believed in our Lord. That's exceedingly important, and it's very encouraging that the word of God is plain in its teaching on that point. Most of us, when we think about the perseverance of the saints or the security of the believer, we think of John chapter 10, verse 28 and 29, in which our Lord, himself, says, "And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them Me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." And so, if we really do belong to the Lord, we have the assurance that he keeps us and he keeps us eternally.
The other truth is the reverse; and that is the truth of eternal judgment and the New Testament as well as the Old Testament speaks very plainly concerning the eternal judgment of those who do not believe. One of the most common texts dealing with it is Matthew chapter 25, verse 45 and verse 46, in which our Lord, again, says, "Then he will answer them saying, 'Assuredly I say to you, in as much as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'" And then, he says, "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
The 20th Century has forgotten both of these truths, because the truth of the security of those who have believed in Jesus Christ is largely forgotten by our society and especially has the twentieth century forgotten the truth of eternal judgment. In fact, the twentieth century has laid so little stress on the doctrine of eternal judgment that even the believing evangelicals are having serious questions about it. I won't go into that. You know that some time earlier in our Wednesday night expositions, this subject has been taken up. And I made special reference to John Stott and some of the changes that have been taking place in this evangelical minister's life, especially with regard to eternal judgment.
There is a story which I read many years ago, which I have occasionally referred to , and those of you that have been here a long time and that have been listening , you will remember the story, but it's so good that I like to refer to it from time to time. And, I think, every time I read it and I have a copy of it before me, I smile.
There is a story about a man who lived on Long Island, and he was a man who loved the water as most people who live on Long Island do. And he had long wanted to obtain from Abercrombie & Fitch a very sensitive barometer. And he finally did and when the barometer came in the mail, he opened it up and he was disappointed, very much disappointed, to see that the needle pointed to hurricane. And it did not change. And so he was very upset over it because Abercrombie and Fitch had the highest of reputations in those days. So he wrote a scathing letter to the store, and the following morning on his way to his office in New York, he mailed it. And that evening, he returned to his home on Long Island, to find that the barometer was missing. But he also found that his house was missing, too. [Laughter] The barometer was accurate. A hurricane did come and if there are some of you who remember September of 1938, you may remember that that was one of the severe hurricanes that we have experienced and it was that hurricane that destroyed the barometer and also destroyed the man's home.
Well, it illustrates for us the fact that those things that we do not think can occur, do occur. This afternoon, after I had already gone through the second time, the notes for the message and didn't have time to write anything down, I read some statements that I had not seen before, in a new book I have, concerning the reactions of some famous individuals who were facing death. And one of them was Tommy, Thomas Paine, one of the great opponents of Christianity. And it's a pathetic six or eight lines that he uttered, when he was about to die, in which he confessed that he was wrong, he was sorry, he felt horrible that he was going to face God, and so on, having been all of his life and opponent of the truth of God.
One of the others that we know so much about, Voltaire, when Voltaire was at the end of his life, there was no conversion on his part. Someone asked him what he thought of Jesus Christ, at the time, and he said, "Curse the wretch!" And so even at the end of his life, he had not changed at all. But Thomas Paine and others did.
In the church of the receivers of the Epistle to the Hebrews, some were abandoning their meetings. We read in verse 25, the text that we stopped on last time. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some." So, in the church of which these members were members, they were abandoning the meetings of the church and some, undoubtedly, the author thought were in danger of apostatizing from the faith. Such departure from the meetings of the church is often one of the first signs of apostasy. "They went out from us, because they were not of us," John the Apostle said, "If they had been of us, they surely would have continued with us" or they would have continued with us, so the Apostle John said.
So a warning he felt was needed; and a warning against the peril of a willful sin, or as we've been saying throughout the epistle to this point, the sin of apostasy, for it seems that apostasy was really the sin that those who were receiving the Epistle to the Hebrews were in danger of committing.
So let me read, now, verse 26 through verse 31, which contains this warning. The writer says.
"For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
Forsaking the assembling of the believers. That's usually, I said last time, a sign of dwindling faith or declining faith, fading hope and dwindling love. And it is true also of apostasy. That is, if a man is turning away from what he has been listening to or professing, and turns away from it, characteristic of the experience will be that he will just as these believers here, he will be an individual who will as the manner of some is, forsake the assembly of themselves together.
That is one of the signs. It's not a necessary sign, well, let me say, it's a necessary sign of apostasy. It's not the only sign that would characterize and apostate and it's not, necessarily, the sign of one who has abandoned the faith when for a period of time he may backslide and not meet with the saints. But it surely is something to be concerned about and characteristic of apostasy.
I'd like to look at two or three of the words in a little more detail. He says, "For if we sin willfully." Now, in the original text, this is in the present tense and so it refers not simply to an act, but it refers to the act of sinning in a durative sense. That is, it's not just an isolated act. If isolated acts were signs of apostasy, many of us, of course, will acknowledge that there have been isolated acts in our lives of which we are very ashamed that might qualify for just such a warning.
But he is talking about continuing in sin, not simply the individual one-time sin, but continuing in sin. And if we read the others of the apostles, for example, the Apostle John, and hear what he says, when he says, "Those who have been born again do not go on sinning," then, of course, we would be inclined to thing that our author is now talking about professing believers who are not genuine believers. And who are sinning willfully in apostasy.
This, in a sense, was the unpardonable sin of the Old Testament. It's the kind of sin that, in discussion about it, arises in our conversations today. A man by the name of Deems, once made the statement, "The unregenerate man lives in sin and loves it. The regenerate man may lapse into sin, but he loathes it."
There's a story about the Scottish girl, which I have in my notes, who was meeting with the elders of the church, concerning baptism and membership in the church. And, when the time came for the questions that the elders asked her, one of them asked her, "Did you ever find out that you were a sinner?" "Well, yes," she replied without hesitation, "I did, indeed." "Well," the brethren continued, "Have you experienced a change?" "Yes, I have," was the immediate answer. "Then, there's another question we wish to put to you," said the men. "Are you still a sinner?" To which she answered, "Yes, I am saved sinner." "How would you describe the change?" The men pressed her. "Well, it's like this," the girl confessed. "Before I was saved, I was running after sin. But now, I'm running away from it." And that, I think is a good description of someone who has had a change of heart. It does not mean that they are no longer sinners; we are always sinners and it can be said of us, probably, that in some measure at least from time to time, the holiest of us fall into sin. If we look at the Old Testament, we surely see that is true and when we look at the New Testament, we see it also. Some outstanding cases come immediately to mind; like Peter.
Now, these individuals are ones who are going on sinning willfully after they have received, our author says, the knowledge of the truth. The word that is used here is a word that frequently is given the sense of precise, specific knowledge and at other times, full knowledge. There are passages that seem to suggest that. It's a term that has to do with knowledge in the experiential sense, primarily, from its root. And so these individuals have received the full knowledge or the experiential knowledge of the truth.
Now, that raises a question, just what truth is it, concerning which they have received full knowledge? If we talk about the knowledge of salvation and if we say they have experienced salvation and experienced the fullness of it, then that raises the question, is it possible for individuals who have experienced the fullness of salvation to come, ultimately, to eternal judgment? Well, in the introduction, we've denied that and so we're not going to deal with that and its ramifications tonight, but it does raise that question. Is there some other possible explanation?
Well, if we remember this, that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews is writing to Hebrew professing believers, they were obviously very familiar with the Old Testament because he doesn't say, "Would you all look back at the Book of Deuteronomy, if you can find chapter 32, and follow me?" The people to whom he wrote were knowledgeable in the word of God. And so he felt free from time to time, many times in the epistle , more than another other New Testament author, page by page, to refer to the Old Testament. So they were individuals who were familiar with the Old Testament.
Now, what is the truth of which he's talking? Now, from that background, I suggest to you and obviously I'm suggesting this in the sense that I don't absolutely know this, but I'm suggesting to you that the knowledge of the truth, which our author refers to, is specifically the fulfillment of Judaism in Christianity. That is, that's what they've received. They've received fully an exposition of the position that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the types and the ceremonies of the Old Testament. And they have that knowledge at least in their heads.
So he's talking then about individuals, if I am correct, who have received that specific kind of knowledge. Now, he said, if you go on sinning, after having received the knowledge of that truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin. This, of course, raises questions about the amount of knowledge that we may have today, and still be in danger of not truly having Christianity. I think in Evangelicalism today, there is entirely too much belief that if we know the facts of the Gospel, we are saved. That is, if we know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he's died for sinners, and that men who come to our Lord through him and in faith do this, are converted. They tend to think that because they know that pattern, they know that way to the truth so clearly, they themselves have come and do really possess eternal life. It is possible for us to know those things and not be Christians. I know that that's true of a lot of people, because many people talk about being a Christian in the sense of, "he knows the truth." That's what they will say. "He knows the truth. I believe he's a Christian, he knows the truth." But, to know the truth, in that sense, is not sufficient, so far as Christianity is concerned. There must be more than that.
When I first became a Christian, one of the outstanding liberals was Harry Emerson Fosdick. And you can look around, he has his successors. Robert Schuller, probably, comes close to being a successor to him because they both were national figures. Dr. Schuller is a national figure and people see him on the television all the time. And people heard Harry Emerson Fosdick, he was a very great preacher of the word in the sense that he was an outstanding pulpiteer preacher of the word. That's a little "W" I guess I should say. But anyway, Fosdick was an individual who made often times comments concerning the articles of the faith, which were false. And he came to be known by Evangelicals as the "Outstanding Liberal of the Day," because he certainly had great influence.
But near the end of his life and near the beginning of my life as a Christian and as a preacher, there used to appear a few little suggestions in the paper by individuals who because of something he said, wondered if perhaps Harry Emerson Fosdick had really changed his mind and had come to Christianity. And when Fosdick heard about it, he made some statements. When he was asked to list what he considered the great affirmations of faith, he said, "He neither could answer the question, nor did he think it important." About two-thirds through one of his messages, he said, I'm quoting him. "I regard fundamentalism as one of the worst travesties that ever cursed the Christian thought. I'm not a fundamentalist. I want that perfectly clear. If you ever hear any rumors that I've become a fundamentalist, you can guess again."
He also went on to name some of the specific doctrines that he did not believe in: the deity of Christ, the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he was a man who, if some new Christian, I don't think many people in Believers Chapel who have been here for a long time and who have listened to the ministry here, would not be able to answer questions. But there are new believers, who have truly come to Christ, who shortly after they've come to Christ do not know much doctrine at all and the chances are that Harry Emerson Fosdick would know the Christian doctrine much better than countless simple minded, and I don't mean that in a bad sense, simple Christians. To know the truth is not necessarily to have the truth in the sense of salvation.
So these individuals, I suggest, have received the knowledge of the truth, in the sense that they know that truth that in Jesus Christ the types and the ceremonies of the Old Testament had reached their fulfillment.
Now, he says, but a certain, verse 27, "But a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries." Now, there's no question about what he is speaking here when he says and expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, he is talking about eternal judgment. This is truly the kind of judgment that is eternal.
Now, what he is referring to is the statement in Numbers chapter 15, verse 27 through verse 31. And, I'm going to read the passage. It's Numbers 15, verse 27 through verse 31. What this specifically says is that there is no sacrifice for willful sin. So verse 27 through verse 31. I'm sure I'm going to able to read this better because I have new glasses. I haven't even looked at you. Do you look like that? [Laughter] Verse 27 of chapter 15.
"And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for the person who sins unintentionally, when he sins unintentionally before the Lord, to make atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, for him who is native-born among the children of Israel and for the stranger who dwells among them. But the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native-born or a stranger, that one brings reproach on the Lord, and he shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has despised the word of the Lord, and has broken his commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall be upon him."
There was no sacrifice for willful sin in Israel. If a person sinned willfully, the only recourse for him was the mercy of God. There was no sacrifice that he could offer. And in the Old Testament we have an illustration or two of this. When an individual has sinned intentionally, he didn't try to offer any sacrifice. David, you remember, speaks that way in Psalm 40. He knew there was no sacrifice that he could offer that would cover intentional sin, his adultery. But in the Old Testament, you have some illustrations of people who rushed in and clung to the altar, in token of the fact that they had nothing that they could call upon for mercy, by the way of the sacrificial system, but the only recourse for them was the mercy of God. And that's what our author here is saying and he believes that. There is no sacrifice for willful sin. If Christ is rejected, nothing is left but judgment.
Now, that's not something he's said just here. You remember, back in chapter 2, he said, "For if the word spoken through angels proves steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those that heard him." No sacrifice for intentional sin.
What comes to mind when we think of intentional sin? Well, when we turn to the New Testament, of course, the thing that comes to mind, I think, is the sin of Judas. In once sense, Judas is an illustration of this. He was an individual who obviously knew a great deal of what he was doing. Went out of his way in order to betray our Lord Jesus Christ and committed a sin intentionally.
We sometimes, most of us would need to reflect on the sin of Judas. Charles Lamb once said, "I would feign see the face of him, who having dipped his hand into the same dish with the Son of man, could afterwards betray him. I have no conception of such a thing, nor have I ever seen any picture, not even Leonardo's very fine one , that gave me the least idea of it." When we look at Judas Iscariot, and look at the depths of his sin, one can only tremble.
But, you know, there are individuals who've attended evangelical churches like Believers Chapel and have sat under the ministry of the word of God for days and months and years, and after the years have passed caused their friends who are concerned for them to wonder if they've ever really come to know the Lord Jesus as their own personal savior; if they really possessed salvation. I don't think anyone who knows you and Believers Chapel would deny that there are individuals who've attended this Chapel for a long time and have heard faithful preaching of the Gospel of Christ, concerning whom we have questions of their salvation. That is, the evidences of the possession of life are just not there, so far as we can tell. We are human. I hope that is not true of anyone in Believers Chapel but it certainly is something for us to be concerned about. And not concerned about the others only, always concerned about ourselves as well.
Judas is often thought to be a sermon for outsiders. It's not a sermon for outsiders, primarily, it's a sermon for insiders. That's what Judas was. He was one of the Twelve. Can you see the headstone of Judas' grave? Judas Iscariot, Apostle of Jesus Christ. Think of it. Judas Iscariot, Apostle of Jesus Christ. That's what he was.
So when we think about Judas and we remember the Bible says that he went to his own place, we see how easy it is for a person so close to the truth of God and yet can be so far from the knowledge of the Lord God in heaven. You can see, as the wine is passed around the Last Supper, the first Lord's Supper, the Last Passover, I should say, and the apostles all saying, "Is it I? Is it I? Is it I?" And they were, of course, saying, "Lord? Is it I? Lord? Is it I? Lord? Is it I?" When it came to Judas, he couldn't utter the word Lord.
No man can call Jesus "Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. The only thing that could come out of his mouth is "Master." There is that difference, you know, that little evidence of one who has the reality of salvation and one who does not.
I often sit at my desk and think about this and usually what happens is that I turn and thank the Lord that he has brought me to the knowledge of himself, because it's so serious to be so close and not really, and have so much opportunity, and not really to know the Lord Jesus as Savior.
Well, our author goes on to confirm things from the Old Testament. This author loves the Bible. Have you noticed that? He loves the Bible. I wish I had asked Martha about that TV advertisement, what do you call them? Anyway, they come on and there is a fellow that comes on and he's talking real loud and forcefully and finally at the end of it he says. I love this job. Do you remember? I couldn't think of it specifically what it is. But, I love this job. And he's playing with money. I love this job. Well, this author is a fellow who would say, I love the Scriptures. I love the Bible. Because, what he writes is just full of the word of God.
Now, he's going to confirm what he's just been talking about from the Old Testament. Notice what he says in verse 28, "Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses." Well, we needn't turn to Deuteronomy chapter 17, for that because you're familiar with it. But now, he makes application. "Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the Spirit of grace?"
This is what our author means when he talks about apostasy. This is apostasy to him and it has three aspects. If you want to understand what he means by going on sinning willfully, specifically, it includes these things. And, first of all, the act of trampling upon the Son of God. This is contempt of the most flagrant kind. What it is is a person who has made profession of faith, who's been with the Christians who have professed faith and then finally he returns to Judaism, gives it all up and goes back to what he regards as the truth, leaving the true truth in order to do it. It's the kind of person who mingles with Evangelicals for months, maybe even some years, and finally decides, well, I'm going back to my Unitarian Church or something like that. That doesn't necessarily mean it has to have the name Unitarian. It might have the name Presbyterian, or Methodist, or whatever, because Unitarianism is something that has infiltrated the whole of Christian profession. Trampling under foot the Son of God; contempt of the most flagrant kind. As a matter of fact, of course, this applies to all truth. We trample upon it when we pay no attention to it.
Let me give you an illustration, a specific illustration. I really should have called this man before I give this illustration because I could be wrong. I hope I am. When I came to Dallas Theological Seminary, there was a very intelligent student, the smartest man in the senior class, as a matter of fact , if you had asked the students and some of the faculty. And I can still remember when I came, transferred my membership from South Highlands Presbyterian Church in Birmingham to First Presbyterian Church here. My letter was transferred. And I can still remember coming out of the theological seminary and walking, I may have walked all the way to the South Highlands Presbyterian Church, but I remember walking with him, and it may have been to catch a bus to the church downtown. He was a person who played the piano for the Young Life Quintet and every impression that you had of him was that he was a Christian man.
When he left the seminary, he came into, had some difficulty with one of the professors over his thesis and, evidently, got a bit angry over the things that were happen, he went off and got a further degree at a very liberal school and for many years taught in liberal universities. He wrote in a book that he has written, "Understanding the New Testament," these words, "The doctrine of the sinlessness of Jesus involves far more than a historical analysis of the baptism, however, in reality it is an article of faith that derives from the belief in the resurrection and lordship of Jesus, the Messiah, rather than from any evidence concerning Jesus' own consciousness of sinlessness. Jesus never makes such a claim of sinlessness, for himself, quite the contrary. At one point, he is reported to have answered someone who addressed him as 'Good Teacher,' "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.""
Now, this is a man who is a graduate of theological seminary, has taught in liberal schools for many years, denying it would seem the sinlessness of the Lord Jesus Christ, and contending that our Lord never gave indication that he stood behind that doctrine. Jesus said, remember, "Which of you convicts Me of sin?"
So when we're talking and listen, to think four years sitting, listening to the exposition of the word of God directly in the courses in the Bible and Systematic Theology, and indirectly, very indirectly in Hebrew but, nevertheless, he was a major in Hebrews. And coming out of the institution and, evidently, evidently, having very aberrant views concerning Christian doctrine. Trampling under foot the Son of God.
This principle applies to all truth, by leaving what we see, we trample upon it. Our Lord uses this very word, "trample" when he talks about casting your pearls before swine, "who will trample upon them and then when they have turned, they will rend you." This is the trampling under foot of the Son of God.
The second thing that he says is the attitude of the counting the covenantal blood common; counting "the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing." In other words, he treats the blood of the covenant, the New Covenant to him, as being common blood. It's just an ordinary sacrifice. It's not something special. It's just common. But for believers, true believers, the blood of the New Covenant by our Lord Jesus Christ is a sacred and holy thing, and which indicates and was the basis for our eternal salvation.
He says, "By which they were sanctified." There's been a great deal of discussion over that. We don't have time to talk about all of the possibilities of rendering that. As a matter of fact, in some manuscripts, the expression is not even found. But, I think it's probably genuine. Some of the commentators refer to Christ as a reference to his sanctification; others take the word in the sense of expiated or atoned.
John Owen, who wrote a great volume on the atonement of Christ said, "He who professes the Christian faith, professes to believe in the atoning sacrifice of Christ; that Christ shed his blood for many, for the remission of sins."
And, of course, it's possible to take it, as many do, as being set apart for salvation. Set apart in that sense, special sacrifice by which we are set apart for salvation, in that case, it would refer, Aren't you at the end of the roll, Marilyn? [Laughter] In that case, of course, being set apart for salvation would mean that you have not necessarily received the salvation but you have been set apart for it.
The third thing that he says is "and insulted the Spirit of grace," the assault of insolence against the Holy Spirit. You notice here we have in the first case the act of trampling on the Son, then counting the covenantal blood of the Lord God in heaven common, and then insolence against the Spirit or insulting the Spirit, and so the Trinity is involved; the Father, the Son and the Spirit, it seems.
And so the Spirit is despised in the sense that the displays of the evidences of salvation are not taken as being real. Remember in chapter 2 in verse 4, where the author writes, "God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will." These are individuals who have seen the manifestation of the power of the Holy Spirit and the preaching of the Gospel, but they've rejected it. Just like in our Lord's case, and when he had performed the miracles they said, "He does his miracles by means of Beelzebub." And our Lord, then, talks about the eternal sin against the Holy Spirit. And, in this case, it would seem that unpardonable sin.
And, finally, our time is drawing by. There is so much to say. But we come now to verse 30 and verse 31, in which our author says, "For we know him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
The "For," of course, in verse 30, introduces the reason we can expect judgment. He does judge. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." He does judge. It's his strange work, the Scriptures say, but it's his judge. The greatest of privileges brings the greatest of responsibilities, and what is greater than "without mercy."
Now, I want to say just a word about the testimony of the Scriptures that he cites here and I'm going to ask you, if you will, to turn back to Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 35 and verse 36. 32:35 and 36. Now, this particular passage is the Song of Moses and, in a sense, it's the divine forecast of the history of the Jewish people. We begin with Israel's past history, we go all the way to the end in which there is an atonement made for his land and his people, and Israel receives the promises that have been promised to them. But, in the course of it, we read in verse 35 and verse 35.
"Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; their foot shall slip in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand. [Incidentally, that is the term which means "destruction."] For the day of their destruction is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them. For the Lord will judge his people and have compassion on his saints."
So what is promised is that as time goes on, Israel's history will be characterized by disobedience, it will be characterized by being sent to the four-corners of the earth, but God has not forgotten his promises. He's going to bring the nation back into the land. He's going to give them the promises that have been so often given to them in Old Testament language. Read through the Old Testament, and over and over again, we not only have reference to the promises that were made to Israel by the Lord God, but we have it underlined that they were unconditional promises. That is, they were promises that God has not forgotten and that he will fulfill.
So the testimony of Scripture is to the effect that those who have turned away from him, they will suffer because "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord." And he selects that passage out of Deuteronomy 32, obviously he was well acquainted with Deuteronomy 32. And then, he says, "And again, 'The LORD will judge his people.'" Now, we may misunderstand that. "The Lord will judge his people," may sound as a promise to judge Israel. Isn't that the way it sounds to you? "The Lord will judge his people." But now, when you turn and read Deuteronomy 32, you will see that that's not the sense of Deuteronomy 32 in verse 35 and 36. Judge, here, is the Hebrews word diyn which means to vindicate. And that's the sense that it is used there in that context. You will see, if you read through the section, it has reference to vindication. In fact, we have other instances in the Old Testament in which this particular sense is given to the word. I'll read you another passage, Psalm 54 in verse 1, the author says, "Save me, O God, by Your Name, and vindicate me by Your strength." Judge me, by your strength, is the original text. Vindicate me. "Save me, O God, by Your name, and judge me by Your strength," obviously vindicate me, by your strength. So here when he writes, "And again, 'The Lord will vindicate his people,'" that's the sense of that passage. He will vindicate his people.
Now, in the case of the original context, it's a reference, of course, to the nation Israel. He will vindicate them and they will have their promises. And how does he vindicate them? The passage makes it very plain. He vindicates them by judging Israel's enemies. That's the context. He vindicates Israel by judging Israel's enemies.
Read it and study it! We don't have time to do it now. But that's the force of it. So judge here, has the force of "judge for," he will judge for his people. He will vindicate them. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," and in the case of the enemies of Israel, they will fall into the hands of the living God. He will save his people. But, today, the author says, the truth still holds. Those who turn away from the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ belong to the enemies and God will vindicate his people by judging those who oppose the truth for which they stand.
Now, let me conclude with just a few comments. What we've been saying is that the visible Church may possess false professors. A warning is needed. But we also know from the history of the truth in the word of God and the history of Christian profession that those individuals who are false professors in the Church may, also, after warning, turn to the Lord.
One of the most wonderful stories of conversion to me is the story of the conversion of Hugh Latimer, who was as you know, one of the great bishops who finally was burned at the stake with Nicholas Ridley. Hugh Latimer was a bishop in London Strand. He was called by people about him, "The Honest-est man in England." What a use of the superlative. "The Honest-est man in England." He was not a believer, that is, in the Biblical Evangelical sense. But, he was a very strong Christian man, in the eyes of the people, in the Roman Catholic Church. "The Honest-est man in England." But, he didn't really know the Lord. Very righteous man, highly regarded, as you can see. He had grown up in a plow-man's cottage and had finally come to a bishop's palace, and the popular crowds, it is said, when he passed by , whenever he passed by , they would come out to see him and occasionally people would yell at him, "Have at it!" Or, "Have at them, Father Latimer!" Well, Hugh Latimer came to Oxford some time later; exchanged a palace for a prison, and then, ultimately, the stake as a result of the Marian persecutions. And the conversion of Hugh Latimer is one of the great stories of British, or really Christianity.
There was another man who was also a minister, by the name of Thomas Bilney. He was a little fellow and so he was called Little Bilney. And he was a person who had not been converted until he came to the text in 1 Timothy chapter 1, and about verse 15, in which this is said. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." His conversion came about this way. Bilney was a scholar; he knew about Erasmus. He knew that Erasmus had translated the Bible, that the New Testament into Latin. And, of course, he could read Latin and so he had it in his heart he wanted a New Testament that Erasmus had translated and finally he was able to get one and in the course of reading it, he came to this passage. "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief." And, he was wonderfully converted.
Well, Latimer came to Cambridge where Bilney was and was holding some meetings. And Bilney heard him and he realized he was a very earnest man, a very sincere man, a very righteous man, but he also , righteous in the sense that people use the term , a good man, a very good man. But he recognized, also, that he was not converted. And so, he prayed, "Lord, give me the soul of Hugh Latimer." At one of the meetings, Latimer was walking out and he almost brushed Bilney. And Bilney spoke to him and said, "I pray thee Father, may I confess to thee?""
And so, Latimer said yes. And so, Bilney came to Latimer, got down upon his knees, before Father Latimer and began to confess. But, what he confessed was how he got saved, and he went into the whole story of how he wanted that New Testament by Erasmus, and how he read it because his soul was so burdened with sin and said, finally, he came to this text where it says, "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief," and Father Latimer, as a result of that, I came to the knowledge of my salvation.
I don't, I have the details of what he said, but, that's essentially what he said and a remarkable thing happened. Hugh Latimer got off the chair before which Little Bilney was kneeling and got down by the side of him and he, himself, received Jesus Christ as his own personal savior. Both of them, of course, were burned at the stake. Bilney was burned at the stake for the simple reason that he could never stop preaching reform doctrine. He was warned two or three times, put into prison, but he couldn't help but preach reform doctrine.
That's good ol' Calvinistic doctrine, he couldn't help. That's the way it ought to be, when a man believes Calvinistic doctrine, he can't help but tell it, because it's the magnification of the grace of our great God in heaven. He couldn't help it and so, he was burned at the stake. And then, later, Hugh Latimer also, with Nicholas Ridley, and you may remember what Latimer said when he and Ridley were being burned at the stake. he turned to Ridley and said, "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man, we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England as I trust shall never be put out."
Well, we know that individuals who make profession of faith, like Latimer and Bilney, can come to the knowledge of the Lord, even though for a long time they may have been religious and not had the genuine faith. To refuse the light of the truth of the message of the Son, the covenant of the Father and the grace of the Spirit, is to commit willful sin. Willful sin of apostasy, if we know that truth, objectively, and expose ourselves to eternal judgment. The Gospel of the grace of God does not modify the divine character, it reveals it. The question, of course, that should be asked of all of us, and especially you in this auditorium this evening, is, what is willful sin and how may I know when I am guilt?
Andrew Murray says, "The only sure way of being kept from willful sin is to keep far from all sin. We don't know the point at which our sin may become the sin of apostasy. But the safest attitude for Christians to have is to flee from all possibilities of sin by the power of the Holy Spirit." A precipice is a precipice. It's folly to deny a precipice. It's folly to raise a barrier of some leaves or bushes, the best way to hide a precipice and keep from falling into it is to build a wall so that one cannot get to it.
And so I call upon you, in the light of what our author has told these professing Christians, to as he warns them, to remember that if we do not cling wholly to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we are subject to eternal judgment. "It is a fearful thing," he says, in chapter 10 in verse 31, "to fall into the hands of the living God."
What a marvelous thing it is, however, to know that if we have truly believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, we have received eternal life and we are in the hand of a loving Father who has given his Son for us.
Let's bow together in prayer.
[Prayer] Father, we are grateful to Thee for these warning passages, because they remind us how serious it is, to have the knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that he has on the Cross at Calvary shed blood, the blood of the New Covenant, and that he has given the Holy Spirit, during this whole dispensation to bring us to conviction and conversion. And, Lord, if there should be one person in this audience, young or old, who does not have the assurance of eternal life, may they remember the text of the Apostle Paul, which Bilney remembered and which Hugh Latimer remembered, that it's a faithful thing that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners and may we flee to him. We thank Thee for this time of study together.
Posted in: Hebrews
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The Submissive Messiah »
The Great Shepherd and His Everlasting Covenant: Hebrews
The Christian Altar: Hebrews
Jesus Christ, Unchanged and Unchangable: Hebrews
Some Imperatives and the Great Indicative: Hebrews
Mount Sinai and Mount Zion: Hebrews
The Horrors of the Careless Professor: Hebrews
The Discipline of Life: Hebrews
The Christian Race: Hebrews


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LightLead Launch Kick Starter Campaign
Published 6 years ago on July 2, 2015
(PRESS RELEASE): Following on from the successful debut of LightLead at the Winter NAMM show, inventors Iconic Sound Ltd, have just started their sixty-day Kickstarter campaign.
LightLead is the world's first optical analogue, jack to jack, musical instrument cable. Its fully patented technology offers musicians a lead with zero capacitance and loading, resulting in a more precise, perfect, dynamic and crystal clear sound. LightLead™ is ideal for guitarists, bass players, and violinists, in fact any electric stringed instrument where a lead is required. Here are just a few of the comments from industry experts:
"Iconic Sound's LightLead™ may be the first substantial innovation on instrument cable technology since, well, the cable was invented." HarmonyCentral.com
'There is not a guitar player out there who won't want one of these.' Mike Chapman, record producer and songwriter
'I have never had a better signal from a guitar, this lead is nothing short of a paradigm shift in cable technology.' Producer Liam Howe (Lana Del Rey, Elle Goulding, Adele)
'It definitely makes your guitar sound clearer and fuller. It's a clever bit of kit.' Grammy award winning producer Rik Simpson, currently recording the forthcoming Coldplay album, using prototype LightLeads™
The sixty-day Kickstarter campaign has been launched to raise funds to start manufacturing this revolutionary product. The funds raised will be used to acquire the production tooling needed to start manufacturing LightLead™ and to set up distribution of the product.
Using traditional copper guitar cables has always come with a significant risk of grounding problems. Over the years many musicians have been badly shocked, electrocuted, and there have even been some cases of death. A well-known example of this is Keith Relf of The Yardbirds (later becoming Led Zeppelin). Relf was electrocuted and subsequently died on May 14th 1976 as he was playing electric guitar with a badly grounded cable in his basement studio. Being made from non-conductive fibre optics LightLead™ completely eliminates this risk of an electric shock through the cable.
There is a strong team behind this product. David Holmes is a sound engineer, programmer and keyboard player and Danielle Barnett is a professional musician, businesswoman and entrepreneur with more than twenty years experience in the music industry. The new member of the team, Damon Waller, is the ex Managing Director of Orange Amplification and guitar player who brings with him nearly thirty years music industry experience.
It is now time for the next generation of musical instrument cables and your contribution will help launch a new revolution in the pro audio arena. The Limited Edition LightLead™ model that is available on Kickstarter is exclusively for our backers, and will not be on general release. Please spread the word and tell your friends.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


A Riverside man was busted for drunk driving after slamming his car into a tree, according to Greenwich Police.
Richard Wright, 51, was arrested around 10:38 p.m. Thursday after police received a 911 and a hang-up in the area of Pilot Rock Lane. While on the way, officers noticed indications of an accident on Indian Head Road, a police report said.
When officers found Wright he was slurring his speech and unsteady on his feet. He also failed a field sobriety test, the report said.
Wright was charged with driving while intoxicated and evading responsibility involving property damaged and cited for failing to drive in the lane.


text: Official English Disclaimer

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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The Voice UK's will.i.am had 'hardest ever' fight for show-stealing singer Donel Mangena
But could Donel be upstaged by his vivacious grandma Nita?
By Frances Taylor
Thursday, 4th January 2018 at 10:06 am
Will.i.am fights his hardest ever pitch in the first episode of this year's The Voice UK to win over talented teenage singer Donel Mangena.
Sixteen-year-old Donel steals the show, while host Emma Willis tells will.i.am she has "never seen you pitch that hard for somebody."
However Donel risks being upstaged by his grandma Nita, who nearly steals the show back off him when she rushes out on stage following her grandson's performance.
"Donel's amazing," said will at the launch of the ITV reality show. "I was pitching from deep down in my soul and I'm so happy that Donel's on my team because we're going to do a lot of great work together."
"That lit up my heart though," will added. "You could see the way he is with his grandma is the way that I was with my grandma. All the time I would go to the Grammys, my grandma would be my date and I see that in the love and just the appreciation for her wisdom and her joy and how she moves. It was a beautiful moment."
will.i.am on The Voice UK (ITV)
Addressing will at the launch, Willis said: "If [Donel] won and you did a duet with him, you'd have to get her involved!" To which fellow coach Jennifer Hudson added: "Imagine what her reaction would be if he won?"
Quite what Donel's grandma gets up to, you'll have to wait and see. But suffice it to say it's going to become a Twitter moment even faster than she raced up those shiny steps to the stage…
Meanwhile will.i.am also said that because he is "sleepy" at the beginning of the show, "there's a lot of parts" of the series that he doesn't remember until he watches it back on TV.
"So watching the show I'm like 'This is really, really entertaining. I don't remember saying any of that stuff. I don't even remember being there. All I know is that show is freaking awesome!'"
The Voice UK airs 8pm on Saturday 6th January on ITV
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GLS provides reliable parcel delivery services to companies of all sizes and from all sectors – nationally and internationally, business-to-business and business-to-consumer. GLS has the right parcel solution for your company, your consignments and your customers.
It's easy to organise and process your consignments online. Using the Your GLS parcel dispatch tool, you can manage all relevant information for the dispatch of your business parcels and track them at any time.
You can also create parcel labels quickly and easily online.
Sending parcels also means having to manage large amounts of data professionally. GLS customer systems ensure transparent and secure data management.
The proven IT solutions of GLS can be customised for your business, your IT systems and your current needs.
GLS offers reliable freight services throughout Europe – with short standard delivery times.


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Mainfridux fou un comte i marquès de Toscana nomenat per Lotari I.

Només es coneix per una moneda que en un costat indica el seu nom i el de Lucca, i a l'altra "I IMPERATOR" i el monogramma de Lotari I. Hauria estat nomenat cap al 833 o 834 per Lotari quan Bonifaci es va decantar pel seu pare Lluís el Pietós i hauria governat durant menys de cinc anys. Després apareix al seu lloc Aganus (Agà) o Aganonus (Aganó), esmentat a partir de 838.

Referències
 Miscellanea di archeologia, storia e filologia dedicata al Prof. Antonino Salinas nel LX anniversario del suo insegnamento accademico

Marquesos de Toscana
Comtes de Lucca

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Tropical landscaping ideas for colorful yards in warm climates.
A water feature is an exotic element in this tropical backyard. The family and guests can dine under the tiki hut with views of the pond and koi.
Here for tropical landscaping design ideas? Lucky you. If you're reading this, you likely live in a warm climate that can support tropical plants and flowers that bloom year-round. Paradise can be yours, but only if you're willing to devote the time and effort to designing a tropical landscape plan that provides the perfect balance between beauty – and maintenance.
While many tropical plants are self-contained (meaning they're not vines or ground cover spreaders), yards in humid climates need extra attention, because plant life reproduces and grows faster with abundant sunshine and rain. Unfortunately, that means weeds in warm climates grow as fast or faster than their well-mannered (and prettier) counterparts.
When designing a tropical garden or yard ask yourself, "Where do I not want flowers and plants?" Often, this question is more pertinent to your landscape design plan than any other, since the hallmarks of tropical landscape design are density and lushness!
If you're designing a tropical landscape for a front yard, save space for a walkway and be sure to define your front porch or patio. A lawn bordered by plants and flowers can be a clean approach. If you've got a screened porch or lanai, plants that desire partial sun work well in these spaces. Arabian jasmine makes a wonderful porch pot.
It's important to keep in mind that, while tropical landscape design styles are more free-form than modern landscaping or traditional gardens, you still need to be aware of the amount of sunlight the plants you choose need. Ferns and orchids like filtered light, for example. Hanging flowers create a canopy for seating areas and add color to hardscapes such as pergolas and archways. Bougainvilla can be potted or planted along a wall or trellis as a blanket of color and scent. Begonias and hibiscus are additional tropical favorites.
Your soil quality is key. Soil that's too sandy, too marshy or not well drained will produce limp and ailing plants. Plants started in pots and moved to ground may need fertilizer. And tropical plants won't withstand frosts or freezes, so be sure to check with your local garden center about the compatibility of your plant and flower choices with your microclimate and soil.
All you coastal dwellers take note: soil, heat and sun conditions can change rapidly as one moves inland, even as little as a few miles, so it's best to go hyperlocal on as many plant choices as possible.
Get ideas and inspiration for tropical kitchen decor, and prepare to install a lively and bright design theme in your kitchen.
Landscape design incorporates native species and lends a sense of permanence to the property.
Choose a landscaping design style that matches the personality of your home.
These strategic landscaping upgrades add style to any boring front yard.
The key to planning a tropical kitchen garden is making sure everything is edible and that the vegetables, fruits and herbs also provide color and fragrance.
Create attractive gardens with easy garden landscaping design ideas.
Contemporary landscape design is all about natural beauty.
A previously neglected landscape was transformed into a tropical oasis for this beachside resort in Islamorada, Fla. Lush plants surround a swimming pool, oceanfront fire pit, and numerous private seating areas.
City dwellers: Make the most of your urban landscape with design tips for beautifying any space.


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Karen Jean Remmele
August 19, 1942 ~ November 9, 2020 (age 78)
Karen Jean Hutsen Remmele, age 78, a beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on Monday, November 9, 2020 in Roswell, NM.
Karen was born in Columbus, Indiana to Sidney Earl and Martha Louise Hutsen on August 19, 1942.
Karen was known for her accomplishments at a young age, including the naming of her elementary school, Lillian C. Schmidt, in Columbus, IN. She was musical playing the clarinet and piano. She was an excellent athlete participating in the Pat Hanson Club, which provided athletic opportunities in women's sports; and she was on the first Columbus, Indiana Donner Swimming Team.
Karen graduated from Columbus High School in 1960. She then attended Sullins College, a women's college in Bristol, Virginia. Karen also enjoyed writing, and put her journalism skills to good use as a reporter for The Evening Republican newspaper.
Karen moved to Las Vegas, NM in 1968 to attend New Mexico Highlands University, where she earned her B.A. in English and Psychology. She went to work for the State of New Mexico, and was instrumental in helping others through the work incentive programs.
Karen moved to Roswell, NM in 1977 with her then husband, John Schooley, where she continued to work for the state and also for Eastern New Mexico University. She started and operated the property management company, The Rent Shoppe, and spent over 25 years in the real estate/property management business.
Karen met and married Frank Remmele in Roswell, NM. Frank and Karen worked together in the property management business, and they loved to travel the world. They spent many wonderful years traveling to Europe and Africa, going on numerous cruises, and had many crazy adventures throughout the United States in their recreational vehicle.
Karen was very community service oriented and spent many hours volunteering in the community of Roswell. She was one of the driving forces in starting the Roswell Refuge for Battered Adults. She was a board member for Tabosa Developmental Services, and she was a long time member of Altrusa International.
Karen was also an animal lover, and her many dogs, cats, birds, and chickens were often treated to special homemade meals and were very spoiled. Her faithful dog, Jazz, was always by her side.
Karen will be lovingly remembered by her son: Sean (Stephanie) Schooley of Roswell, NM and their children Cameron, Lacie and Mitchell Schooley; siblings: Randy (Carolyn) Hutsen of Oconomowoc, WI, and their children Courtney and Brandon; Suzanne (Larry) Gaye of Beaverton, OR, and their son Christopher; Jane (James) Plank of Jacksonville, FL, and their children Katherine and James; and Kathy (Rex) Baumgart of Columbus, IN, and her son Gabe; brother-in-law and longtime friend: Ted Schooley of
Roswell, NM; brother-in-law: David (Eleanor) Schooley of Palo Alto, CA, and their children Christine,
Steven, and Anna; step daughters: Brian (Bill) Williams of San Antonio, and their children Travis and Nate; and Michelle Remmete of CA; grandchildren: Eyrie Storey of Roswell, NM; and Amy Lyons of Roswell, NM, and her children Kaylyn, Annabelle, Macie, Rebekah, Garrett, and Brynlee.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her beloved husband: LTC Frank Remmele, her step-daughter: Dita Westrick; and her treasured in-laws: Elmer "Skinnf" and Gertrude "Gussie" Schooley.
Karen was laid to rest at the Santa Fe National Cemetery next to the love of her life: LTC Frank Remmele on Tuesday, November 24, 2020.
In lieu of flowers, and because of Karen's strong desire to help others and her love for animals, memorials may be made to the Roswell Refuge for Battered Adults, P.O. Box 184, Roswell, NM, 88202 or to the Roswell Humane Society, 703 E. McGaffey St., Roswell, NM 88203.
Karen's family would like to thank all of the friends and family members for their love and support during this extremely difficult time.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Karen Jean Remmele, please visit our floral store.
Inurnment
Santa Fe National Cemetery
501 N. Guadalupe St.


A collaboration by Singaporean emerging artists Little Blue Moon (QQ Lee) and MaryAnn Loo, exploring the dynamics of alternate and coexisting viewpoints, through their whimsical petite paintings.
"Two Worlds, and the Spaces Between" is their first duo exhibition, and a presentation of viewpoints to art forms and storytelling.
QQ creates an open-ended "Space" between the audience and her works by pairing narrative and abstract paintings. Each pair explores how formal elements of art can be contrasting, and yet harmonising. At the same time, the narratives present alternate viewpoints to our world through the eyes of small beings residing in whimsical habitats.
MaryAnn explores themes of longing and separateness in her narrative watercolor paintings. Drawing from her own personal experiences and stories, her whimsical artworks toe the line between the illusory nature of romance and the truth about love and connection.


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Home»Smart Analysis»Hopes for a Vaccine Rise: Can Aviation-Related Stocks See a Rebound?
Hopes for a Vaccine Rise: Can Aviation-Related Stocks See a Rebound?
By Royston Yang November 18, 2020 Updated: November 17, 2020 5 Mins Read
There has been a raft of good news this week regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
First off, on 9 November, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), along with German biotechnology company BioNTech, announced interim results on its vaccine candidate that showed a 90% efficacy rate.
Of the 44,000 volunteers who participated in the vaccine trial, data shows that more people who received the placebo developed COVID-19, versus those who received the actual vaccine.
Recently just two days ago, Moderna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRNA) announced that its vaccine candidate achieved an even higher efficacy rate of 94.5% against the dreaded disease.
For many, these two pieces of news are like a breath of fresh air after a tough year.
But there are still significant challenges to delivering these vaccines to the general populace.
For one, transportation and storage are a challenge as Pfizer's vaccine needs to be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius and can only last up to five days with refrigeration.
Moderna's vaccine has an edge here in that it can be stored at two to eight degrees Celsius and for 30 days.
There is also the question of mass production in sufficient quantities and the even bigger question of who gets the vaccines first.
Stock markets have, however, reacted favourably to this announcement, with major stock indices in the US and Singapore rising due to optimism.
Aviation-related stocks such as Singapore Airlines Limited (SGX: C6L), or SIA, and SATS Ltd (SGX: S58) have seen their share prices jump 16.6% and 30% respectively since 9 November.
Are we seeing a nascent rebound in the badly-battered sector?
Or could these vaccine announcements signal a false dawn?
Borders may slowly open up
The global search for a vaccine has hit fever-pitch as the pandemic has claimed countless lives over the past 10 months.
All over the world, pharmaceutical companies and research laboratories are racing against time to develop a suitable vaccine that can end this crisis.
Aside from Pfizer and Moderna's announced successes, numerous other companies may be edging closer to a working vaccine, spelling hope for the millions of people whose lives have been invariably altered by the virus.
Assuming the vaccines are effective and have proven to have mild or no side effects, mass production could take place as soon as early 2021.
As more people get inoculated, borders should start to slowly open up after being shut for most of this year.
Tentative plans for restarting air travel
As borders open up and lockdowns ease, air travel could then restart again, albeit tentatively.
As airlines around the world moth-balled almost their entire fleets in response to the coronavirus crisis, it may take a while before air travel can take on a semblance of its former glory.
The reality is that it may take time and more studies to assess the impact of the vaccines on human health, as well as to monitor the continued efficacy of these vaccines against the virus.
Experts have warned that the vaccines may confer limited immunity that may expire over some time, while there are also risks of the virus mutating into a form that may evade the vaccine's effects.
All these uncertainties culminate into a stretched timeline for the opening up of countries and the restarting of air travel.
A new normal
Investors should note that even if air travel does resume, the landscape would have been irreversibly altered by the pandemic.
Airlines and catering companies will face a new normal where enhanced measures are needed to make travellers feel safe and confident.
Examples will include health assessments for passengers at check-in, digital food ordering to minimize physical contact with the in-flight food cart, and another follow-up health screening on arrival.
Besides, airlines will also need to install hand sanitizers, engage in more cleaning and disinfecting, and apply antimicrobial coatings onto surfaces that people frequently touch.
These measures will undoubtedly add on to the overall costs of a flight, not to mention also causing significant delay and inconvenience for passengers along the way.
Cabin interiors may also need to be modified to ensure safe distancing guidelines are met, thereby reducing the maximum capacity per flight.
All these initiatives should continue to be enforced even after a vaccine has been developed and distributed, as the world faces a brave new normal that's vastly different from what we were used to pre-pandemic.
Get Smart: A touch of optimism, but caution needed
There are good reasons to be optimistic about the aviation industry.
SIA has recently established a travel bubble with Hong Kong and is in the process of negotiating further such bubbles with other countries.
SATS has built up its cold-chain logistics capability and CEO Alex Hungate has remarked that the group can transport Pfizer's vaccine, potentially opening up new revenue streams.
Both companies are adapting to the new reality for now, but investors should remain cautious as the pandemic situation remains dynamic and aviation remains mired in uncertainty.
As an investor, you might wonder what the future holds for the REITs in your portfolio. Or how to select REITs that can make you money as Singapore's economy struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Download your FREE special REITs report: "How You Can Make Money Investing In REITs As Singapore Recovers" HERE!
Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares in SATS Ltd.


Researchers measured the eye contact given by identical and fraternal twin pairs, who do not have autism. The identical twins, who share the same genes, had more similar eye gaze patterns than the fraternal twins, who share about half their genes. Unrelated children who were typically developing, as well as children with autism, had different patterns.
The study, published in Nature, was conducted by Dr. John Constantino and other prominent autism researchers.


Fast Company recommends: "If you do one thing today, watch this 40 minute crash course in Design Thinking". They are right. This beautifully made film introduces us to the hugely inspirational Inge Druckrey - veteran designer and educator of 40+ years - and how she teaches here students see.
The film was produced by Inge's partner and hero of mine Edward Tufte.


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Dept. of Homeland Security Launches 'Hack DHS' Program
A new bug bounty program aims to find potential security flaws within certain DHS systems and strengthen the department's security posture.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced the launch of "Hack DHS," a new bug bounty program designed to identify potential security vulnerabilities in certain DHS systems.
Vetted security researchers who have been invited to the program will be able to access "select external DHS systems" to identify flaws that attackers might exploit. Hackers will be rewarded for the bugs they find; however, the DHS has not shared any details about their compensation.
Hack DHS will take place throughout three phases during the 2022 fiscal year, with the goal of creating a model that organizations across government can use to improve security posture. In the first phase, participants will do virtual assessments of certain DHS external systems; in the second, they will join a live, in-person hacking event. During the third phase, DHS will review lessons learned and plan for future bug bounties, officials explained in a release on the news.
The program will use a platform built by CISA and be monitored by the DHS Office of the Chief Information Officer. Hackers will share their findings with DHS system owners and leadership with details including what the bug is, how they exploited it, and how attackers might use it to access information.
Read the full release from the DHS for more details.
Vulnerabilities/ThreatsApplication SecurityOperations
FIDO2 & PKI: Joining forces for identity-first security


3 :: Tell me about a time when you had to make a decision without all the information you needed. How did you handle it In Esso Exploration and Production? Why? Were you happy with the outcome?
5 :: In your last job what kinds of pressure did you encounter and how did you react In Esso Exploration and Production?
6 :: What critical component of this position In Esso Exploration and Production makes the work challenging?
Special demands: This should include any extraordinary conditions applicable to the job In Esso Exploration and Production (for example, heavy lifting, exposure to temperature extremes, prolonged standing, or travel).
Typically the first 30 days are designed for you to learn as much as possible In Esso Exploration and Production. Work hard to get to know your teammates, how they work together, and how you can make the biggest impact.
9 :: What five words would be describe you as Esso Exploration and Production?
10 :: What do you like to do?
11 :: Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback In Esso Exploration and Production?
14 :: What are your thoughts about working from home?
15 :: Do you think you are overqualified for this position In Esso Exploration and Production?
Along similar lines, the interviewer wants to uncover whether this position In Esso Exploration and Production is really in line with your ultimate career goals. While "an GGL star" might get you a few laughs, a better bet is to talk about your goals and ambitions—and why this job will get you closer to them.
22 :: Describe some problems you encountered in your most recent position In Esso Exploration and Production and how you resolved them?
23 :: What motivates you the most?
24 :: How do you rate yourself in computer skills? Please describe the programs and software that you can use well?
25 :: What other jobs are you applying for In Esso Exploration and Production?
26 :: How well do you multi-task?
Multi-tasking is an important part of most jobs. You want to show that you're good at it but not overwhelmed with it. So discuss just a few things you can multi-task well on - for example: "I'm good at multi tasking between work email and working on projects In Esso Exploration and Production and the reason it because I'm good at prioritizing my work emails.
30 :: If selected for this position In Esso Exploration and Production, can you describe your strategy for the first 90 days?


text:
keyboard_arrow_left All participating campaigns
INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE (IFAW)
Malawi Community Project
Extensive wildlife poaching continues to threaten Africa's endangered elephants, rhinos, and other species. Effective community engagement is critical for the sustainable prevention of poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking and conservation of natural resources.
history Campaign has now closed
It ran from 12:00 PM, 27 November 2018 to 12:00 PM, 4 December 2018
Registered Charity in England and Wales (1024806)
open_in_new https://www.ifaw.org/uk
Match funded
Campaign target
Campaign overview
Where's the money going?
Impact & reporting
The target group is local communities on the western boundary of Liwonde National Park (Malawi), in the Chikolongo area. The lack of support for communities has discouraged a potential ally in the protection of elephants. Historically local communities have often been at the frontline of human-wildlife conflict, having to deal with the negative impacts of elephants (e.g. crop destruction) with little support.
IFAW will work with the community to identify livelihood and educational opportunities which make a positive correlation between increased economic opportunities and the need to stop poaching of elephants and human wildlife conflict. We will train people to build and maintain important fencing to protect homes; we will train people to become farmers giving them the skills they need to look after crops, keep bees and maintain irrigation systems.
"Since the establishment of the fence in 2014, deaths due to human wildlife conflict have decreased from an average of 3 per month to 0"
— Neil Greenwood
"Food production from the farm has resulted in a 71% increase in protein consumption over the past three years, while poaching has significantly decreased in the Park"
"Over 60% of community reports gaining income from the produce grown as a result of the Chikolongo Livelihood Project"
"Since the establishment of the fence in 2014, deaths due to human wildlife conflict have decreased from an average of 3 per month to 0"


Four lucky winners. Over $5,000 total in cash and prizes ! Enter the America's Test Kitchen Ultimate Comfort Food Essentials Sweepstakes for your chance to win $3,000 in Cash and $2,000 worth of highly-rated cookware, small appliances, gadgets and tools !


LONDON, June 26, 2018 (LifeSiteNews) – Hundreds of patients wrongly received life-shortening doses of opiates at a U.K. National Health Service hospital for 12 years, a public inquiry has revealed.
The inquiry into Gosport War Memorial Hospital revealed last week that between 1989 and 2000 at least 456 people, and very likely 200 more, died after being given painkilling drugs they did not need.
Although the report singled out the now-retired Doctor Jane Barton as primarily responsible for the killings at the Hampshire hospital, it revealed also a culture of euthanasia at the English hospital, particularly of the elderly, involving senior management, nurses and managers.
The Gosport Independent Panel was created in 2014. It reviewed over a million pieces of evidence and interviewed members of the families of, or requested the records of, 2,024 patients who died at the hospital between 1987 and 2001. A quarter of the records were missing.
There was a disregard for human life and a culture of shortening the lives of a large number of patients.
There was an institutionalised regime of prescribing and administering "dangerous doses" of a hazardous combination of medication not clinically indicated or justified, with patients and relatives powerless in their relationship with professional staff.
When the relatives complained about the safety of patients and the appropriateness of their care, they were consistently let down by those in authority — both individuals and institutions.
The senior management of the hospital, healthcare organisations, [the police], the coronial system, the Crown Prosecution Service, the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) all failed to act in ways that would have better protected patients and relatives, whose interests some subordinated to the reputation of the hospital and the professions involved.
In response to the inquiry, Norman Lamb, a former health minister, asked for a new police investigation into the deaths. The current Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, told the House of Commons that criminal charges may result from the inquiry.
He apologized on behalf of the government and the National Health Service.


The telecommunication company had introduced a new data pricing structure with a 30 day validity that angered its subscribers, some of whom began an online petition to get the terms and conditions revised.
Data customers will now have the three months' expiry period for the different data tariff plans.
The cap on the Sambaza internet service will however remain in a move the company said would curtail illegal reselling of data.
Mobile data users can now sigh with relief after Safaricom rescinded its decision to cap bundles' validity. They will now have the three months' expiry period for the different data tariff plans.
Previously the bundles were valid for 90 days whose validity could be extended upon purchase of another bundle.
Under the new structure, Safaricom appeared to give with one hand while taking away with the other. Effective March 1, it gave subscribers more internet data bundles for less, but took with the other hand by imposing a 30 day validity whose extension could not be extended.
The nightshift allowance, which was previously valid for two weeks got extended to 30 days.
It also limited its data sharing and transfer service-- Sambaza Bundles --to 20MB per day from a previous limit of 999MB.
In response to the public outrage, Safaricom director for corporate affairs, Nzioka Waita told Business Daily that the review was effected to address complaints from customers who wanted longer expiry period for their data bundles.
"The change of rules on Sambaza is designed to protect our customers who may have been victims of fraud from some of the unauthorised data resellers.
"It will be possible to Sambaza internet, but only to a maximum of 10MB per transaction and limited to two transactions (20MB) in a day," Safaricom says. "All other rules for Internet Sambaza will remain in place," he said.
Consumers and rights activists have protested against Safaricom's decision to change policies on usage and distribution of data services on its network.


Tipping wedding professionals for servicing on your wedding is not expected, but is a generous way for you to show appreciation for their creative work and dedication in ensuring that your wedding is a success.
Use this guide to determine which professionals should receive a special "thank you" and how much would be appropriate to tip. To relieve yourself of this responsibility on the wedding day (when you already have so much going on), pre-make envelopes with the thank you card and gratuities inside and entrust your wedding coordinator, a member of the bridal party, or a close relative with dispersing your thanks to the appropriate professionals.


text:
N.F.L. ROUNDUP; Charges Against A Bronco
By JOE LAPOINTE
CHARGES AGAINST A BRONCO Prosecutors in Georgia have filed two counts of simple battery against Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall stemming from a six-month-old domestic violence complaint.
The charges were filed Sept. 10 in Fulton County State Court. The police claim Marshall threw a former girlfriend on a bed, slapped her and damaged an Atlanta apartment on March 4.
Marshall said he had been waiting for charges to be filed, but it was not clear why they came so long after the complaint.


Donald Stanzione - New Jersey - Book a consultation instantly!
New Jersey Rising Star Attorney!
Donald Stanzione has been named to the New Jersey Rising Stars list as one of the top up-and-coming attorneys in New Jersey for 2012. Each year, no more than two percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor. The selection for this respected list is made by the research team at Super Lawyers. Super Lawyers, a Thomas Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous, multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice areas.


The SD library allows for reading from and writing to SD cards, e.g. on the Arduino Ethernet Shield. It is built on sdfatlib by William Greiman. The library supports FAT16 and FAT32 file systems on standard SD cards and SDHC cards. It uses short 8.3 names for files. The file names passed to the SD library functions can include paths separated by forward-slashes, /, e.g. "directory/filename.txt". Because the working directory is always the root of the SD card, a name refers to the same file whether or not it includes a leading slash (e.g. "/file.txt" is equivalent to "file.txt"). As of version 1.0, the library supports opening multiple files.
The communication between the microcontroller and the SD card uses SPI, which takes place on digital pins 11, 12, and 13 (on most Arduino boards) or 50, 51, and 52 (Arduino Mega). Additionally, another pin must be used to select the SD card. This can be the hardware SS pin - pin 10 (on most Arduino boards) or pin 53 (on the Mega) - or another pin specified in the call to SD.begin(). Note that even if you don't use the hardware SS pin, it must be left as an output or the SD library won't work.
The SD class provides functions for accessing the SD card and manipulating its files and directories.


Abstract: An alignment assembly for mounting and aligning an inner shell within an outer shell is disclosed. The alignment assembly generally includes a first bushing and a second bushing configured to be received within at least one of an arm extending radially between the inner and outer shells and a boss of the outer shell. The first bushing may generally have an eccentric configuration and the second bushing may include an eccentric portion extending within the first bushing. Additionally, the alignment assembly may include a connection member extending within at least one of said first bushing and said second bushing.


Forecasts for US stocks present a cloudy picture. Here's where you can go to stay out of a storm.
When the winds start howling and the rain is torrential, summer or not, it makes sense to have a good umbrella on hand.
Summer squalls in the investment markets can wield as many punches as winter storms, and investors need to make certain they have a protective investment plan.
"People should be thinking of umbrellas right now," says Louis Altfest, president of Louis Altfest & Company, a financial consulting firm here. "When a respected magazine such as the Economist has a picture of the Statue of Liberty with a speculative bubble around it, it's time to be thinking about becoming a little more conservative with your investment money," he says.
Financial advisers say that in stock markets like these, you definitely want investments that are diversified. From day to day, different parts of the market are being hurt. Bank stocks will be hammered one day, technical stocks another, and small company stocks will drop the following week.
Sometimes called "hybrid" or "balanced" mutual funds, they invest in a variety of securities - including corporate bonds, convertible securities, blue-chip stocks, value stocks, and growth stocks.
"Having at least a portion of your assets in an all-weather fund can be pretty important" during a period of volatility, says Sheldon Jacobs, editor of the No-Load Fund Investor newsletter, published in Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y.
"Obviously, if we were at the bottom of a bear market, then you could have all your money in growth stocks. But we are not there," he says. So with stock markets still growing, yet many stocks considered somewhat expensive, "you need an exposure to a mix of bonds, stocks, and cash," he says.
Berger Balanced is currently the top hybrid fund tracked by Morningstar Inc., a financial-information firm in Chicago. Berger is currently 45 percent in stocks, 44 percent in bonds, and 11 percent in cash. The stock portion was increased a tad from last month, based on a perception of potential gains in equities, says a fund spokesman.
The fund (800-333-1001: $2,000 minimum) is up 18.9 percent, year-to-date, besting the 14..78 percent for the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
Mr. Jacobs also suggests that investors put together their own all-weather portfolios. Balance a strong equity-income fund with a solid municipal bond fund, he says. That duplicates a hybrid fund but gives you more control.
Two types: "contrarian" funds, such as the Robertson Stephens Contrarian Fund, and "market neutral" funds that take special positions in the market, such as buying companies that have hidden value.
Contrarian funds seek to go up when the market goes down. But they often perform poorly in a strong market, Mr. Jacobs notes. Robertson Stephens, for example, is down 3 percent for the year.
Market-neutral funds can be tricky and are probably for more-sophisticated investors. Still, Altfest likes the Barr Rosenberg Market Neutral Fund, designed to outperform the three-month Treasury bill.
Don't overlook them. Altfest likes convertible bonds, which can be converted to common stock. Jacobs likes municipal bonds.
Money-market funds, meantime, currently yield about 5 percent and merit a portion of your assets, Jacobs says.
* Remember that you're in this for the long haul, Studies show that stocks outperform other investments over time.
* Don't try to time market ups and downs. Timing rarely produces better results than leaving a stock or mutual fund portfolio intact. Dollar cost averaging - investing a set amount of money, regularly - works best when markets are falling. Stick to it. Markets inevitably rebound.
* If stocks fall more than 10 percent, weigh some alternatives. And a 20 percent drop signals a bear market. At that point, consider whether you can absorb additional losses. From 1973-'74, for example, the Dow lost over 45 percent.
* Watch several indexes for broader trends.
* Combine a money market fund with brokerage or mutual fund accounts. So you can shift into it via phone or E-mail.


text:
Qualifications of Key Personnel
Michael F. Rayle
MICHAEL F. RAYLE received his B.A. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of New Orleans and 24 additional hours of post graduate study in Biology at Tulane University.
Mr. Rayle's academic research investigated the effects of storm water pollution on the presence and abundance of low salinity estuarine invertebrates using a multiple discriminate functions computer analysis. Since 1977, Mr. Rayle has been involved in various types of natural resources damage assessments including endangered species surveys and the preparation of environmental impact statements and assessments, wetland determinations and water quality evaluations. He has also participated in the monitoring of oil and gas well blowouts as well as the development of oil spill monitoring plans. He has participated in several studies of the fate and effects of oil and gas related produced waters in coastal Louisiana.
Mr. Rayle has been most active in the sampling of oyster leases in connection with Water Bottom Oyster Resource Assessments for Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), Coastal Management Division (CMD), Coastal Use Permit (CUP) Applications. He has conducted hundreds of oyster resource assessments to evaluate of the effects of freshwater diversions (Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act or CWPPRA Projects), Bonnet Carre' Flood Control Spillway openings, oil spills, dredging and mechanical damage to oyster resources, both on private oyster leases and Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Public Seed Grounds.
He has also been active in the locating, environmental impact assessment and permitting of solid waste facilities in both wetland and non-wetland areas. This experience includes the Louisiana DEQ Solid Waste permitting of the Jefferson Parish Kelvin Tract landfill, both the original and expansion area, the Jefferson East Bank Solid Waste Transfer Station, the Area Ninety landfill and the Coast Guard Road landfill in Venice, Louisiana.
He is the co-author of three refereed journal publications and is a member of the Estuarine Research Federation, the Gulf Estuarine Research Society and the National Shellfisheries
Association. Mr. Rayle has been qualified as an expert witness in both Louisiana and Federal courts. He is certified to conduct oyster resource assessments for the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Oyster Lease Damage Evaluation Board.
Email: Michael Rayle


Aqua Splash swim school currently have no vacancies available.
We are always looking for casual lifeguards to provide cover for our inflatable pool parties, during day times operations and weekends.
We are always looking for casual swimming teacher/lifeguards to provide cover for our part time teachers, during illness periods.
Hours will be evening and weekend work Term Time.
Subject to clear DBS check.
To apply for any of the above positions please email your current CV and cover letter(what makes you stand out for the positions) along with two references.


Stephan and his wife Elisabeth organize a dinner in their house in Bonn. Invited are family friend René, Thomas and his pregnant girlfriend Anna. But the parents of an unborn boy make sure that the evening planned as a cozy get-together suddenly gets out of hand: they announce that they want to call their child Adolf and thus cause a scandal.


Catriona McKenzie sets up new production company, Dark Horse.
Writer, director, producer Catriona McKenzie is setting up her own production company Dark Horse.
McKenzie is the first Indigenous Australian woman to direct series television in the US (Shadowhunters), after spending time as a director's attachment on Prison Break and Alien: Covenant.
Her recent directing credits include upcoming Netflix series Tidelands, plus Wrong Kind of Black, Harrow, The Warriors, and Kiki and Kitty which won two prizes at Series Mania in Paris. She has also directed Dance Academy, My Place, Satisfaction, The Circuit, Redfern Now, The Gods of Wheat Street and Satellite Boy.
"I am partnering with international creatives to bring uniquely diverse stories to the global market. I am committed to championing diverse creative talent and gathering exciting partners around Dark Horse including Patricia Cornelius and LA-based brand strategist Greg Logan at The Definery. I am also working with Erin Bretherton on developing new projects domestically and internationally across various platforms, and with writer Ligiah Villalobos on new television projects," McKenzie says.
First on the slate at Dark Horse is Stolen, which she is co-writing with Patricia Cornelius. McKenzie is also attached to direct the US feature Driven with producers Veronica Sive and Brian Gersh at Sunjive.


text:
author: mdolon
comments: true
date: 2011-04-15 01:00:17+00:00
layout: post
slug: the-psychology-of-success-part-2-belief
title: 'The Psychology of Success, Part 2: Belief'
wordpress_id: 2368
categories:
- General
tags:
- belief
- business
- entrepreneurship
- psychology
- rags to riches
- startups
- success
---

One of the most important characteristics you'll find in successful individuals (especially entrepreneurs) is belief in themselves. It's no secret, many [athletes use it to give them an edge](http://swimming.about.com/od/swimmingmindtrainingtips/qt/believe_success.htm) to beat competitors and current billionaires have used it in the lowest moments of their lives as motivation to keep going. A lot of us know the importance of this important trait yet fail to make use of it in our daily lives.

### Yes, you can be successful too.

Too many times have I seen friends and colleagues with high aspirations get shot down because of the supposed rareness of success in their respective industries, the volatile nature of the economy or a host of other 'potential' reasons. While I admit that many of them are probably not cut out to be famous athletes or business moguls, constantly hearing that they don't have a chance at all kills any aspiration they might have to begin with.

Belief in oneself plays a key role in motivating people to work harder at whatever they're pursuing. For an entrepreneur, the idea that success may not be that far-fetched can often provide that extra push to actually succeeding. I often get asked, "how many Bill Gates' are out there for every person that tries and fails?" (substitute Bill for any other successful businessman) Well, if Bill Gates can do it, why can't I? Or anyone else for that matter? The truth is that you can - anyone can - if they want it enough to do something about it. Googling ['rags-to-riches'](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=rags+to+riches&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=) is evidence enough that people can overcome some of the hardest situations to reach success.

### Well, if Bill Gates can do it, why can't I? Or anyone else for that matter? The truth is that you can - anyone can - if they want it enough to do something about it.

It's easy to argue that there are a lot of external factors that led to their success and in truth there probably were, however a big part of it was their confidence. They believed in themselves and used that motivation to push them to greater levels. It's easy to fall into the realm of 'wannabe' entrepreneurs who spend their time talking things up and reading books but fall short when it comes time to act. They may end up stuck in the same story for years and years, unable to move forward because of a list of excuses. Whatever your excuse is, there is a way to get around it if you look hard enough.

It's important to realize that while not everyone is equal in intellect, skill set or financial situation, success for the greater part is something that should be attainable with enough hard work and dedication. Failure is a part of the journey - learn from your mistakes and move on.

### The Trickle Effect

Believing in yourself and your company provides confidence not only to you but to everyone you work as well. Confident employees and cofounders are ones that have motivation to work hard because they expect success. Your role as their leader is to ensure that they maintain confident and have belief in the company through all of your ups and downs. Knowing that success is not impossible can increase productivity and lift the spirits of the people you come in contact with (leaving lasting impressions).

**Some quotes to get you motivated from some influential people:**

_The turning point, I think, was when I really realized that you can do it yourself. That you have to believe in you because sometimes that's the only person that does believe in your success but you._
**-[Tim Bixworth](http://www.forbes.com/2006/09/20/ent-manage_biz_06rich400_self_made_entrepreneurs_tim_blixseth.html), lumber tycoon**

_Whatever qualities the rich may have, they can be acquired by anyone with thetenacity to become rich. The key, I think, is confidence. Confidence and an unshakable belief it can be done and that you are the one to do it._
**-[Felix Dennis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis), MAXIM**[](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis)

_I believe in giving everything my best shot. I do not believe in holding back. I am very driven by the fact that we are destined with these opportunities._
**-[Shailendra Singh](http://www.sequoiacapitaloperations.sg/people/shailendra-singh/), Sequoia Capital India**[](http://www.sequoiacapitaloperations.sg/people/shailendra-singh/)

_Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish._
**-[Sam Walton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Walton), Wal-mart & Sam's Club**

_Self-esteem is a huge piece of my work. You have to believe it's possible and believe in yourself. Because after you've decided what you want, you have to believe it's possible, and possible for you, not just for other people._
**-[Jack Canfield](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Canfield), Chicken Soup for the Soul**

  Note: This is one of the original DevGrow article's from 2008 that was lost in transition.  This is the last of the oldies, moving on to new content next week.


Great small-bar ambience with low lighting, good interior design and comfortable sofas. This place is quieter and more "loungey"/relaxed than Ching-a-lings and other bars around the area.
The sangria is great, especially the white variety, and pretty good value for $20 per jug. Salt and pepper squid is also better than most, as is the cheese platter. Finally, the service is really friendly! An excellent alternative to Oxford St clubbing.


text:
Biografia
Dominique de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel è nato a Neuilly-sur-Seine il 6 luglio 1950. Proviene dalla famiglia La Rochefoucauld, una delle più antiche famiglie nobiliari francesi. I suoi genitori erano Charles Emmanuel Prince de La Rochefoucauld-Montbel e Joana Forbes. Ha tre fratelli. Dal 2000 è a capo della famiglia La Rochefoucauld-Montbel con il titolo di principe.

Ha frequentato la Worth School a Crawley nel West Sussex, il Collège Champittet a Losanna e l'Institut Florimont a Petit-Lancy, vicino a Ginevra. Dopo aver studiato economia all'ISC Paris Business School, ha lavorato in valuta estera e nel commercio dell'oro dal 1975 al 2004. Dirige una società di consulenza immobiliare e di gestione dei patrimoni immobiliari dal 2003 ed è anche membro del consiglio della Società degli Amici del Museo della Legion d'onore di Parigi. È Cancelliere dell'Accademia degli Psicologi del Gusto.

È stato ammesso nel Sovrano Militare Ordine di Malta nel 1992 ed è Cavaliere in Obbedienza dal 2008.

È membro del Consiglio dell'Associazione francese dei membri dell'Ordine dal 1994, ne è stato il vicepresidente dal 1997 al 2000 e presidente dal 2001 al 2014. È membro del Consiglio delle Opere Ospedaliere francesi dell'Ordine di Malta dal 1997 e ne è stato il vicepresidente dal 2012. Ricopre la carica di vicepresidente della Fondazione francese dell'Ordine di Malta dal 2008.

È stato presidente delegato dell'Ospedale della Sacra Famiglia a Betlemme dal 2009 al 2014 ed è membro del Consiglio Ospedaliero Internazionale del Sovrano Ordine di Malta (ICHOM – Roma) dal 2010 e presidente dello stesso in quanto Grande Ospedaliere dal 2014.

Il Capitolo Generale del 30 e 31 maggio 2014 lo ha eletto alla carica di Grande Ospedaliere. Il Capitolo Generale del 1º e 2 maggio 2019 lo ha riconfermato per un altro quinquennio.

È sposato con Pascale Marie e ha tre figli.

Onorificenze

Onorificenze melitensi

Onorificenze francesi

Onorificenze straniere

Note

Cavalieri di Malta