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Okay, let me first admit that I'm kind of cheating here. Oh I was handed another one of these Style Awards by my beloved Sarah over at Sara In Le Petit Village, http://www.sarainlepetitvillage.com/ a couple weeks ago, which was very sweet and looking at the title of this post, makes me wonder if her living in that tiny village has fucked with her English comprehension but, well I'm so gonna use this to slip in an easy post while I'm on deadline for The Wine Country's newsletter. So if "Stylish" is short for lazy mother f'er, then yes, yes I do have me some style. Loads of it.
Each time I'm given one of these deals I pretty much break the rules. You are to offer up a number of secrets, (fuck, do I still have any of those?!) and then ask or tag however many other bloggers to do the same. Well, this would be the lamest game of tag ever if I were to play by the rules. You know that "odd" little kid on your block that used to run around in circles, by themselves, because no one wanted to play with them? Yeah, that would be me if I went around tagging the likes of Charlie Olken, STEVE!, John Kelly or the late great HoseMaster of Wine. Those cats would just watch me running around in circles, huffing and so out of breath that little snot bubbles would form at my nostrils as I yell out, "You're it!!" and as much as a couple of them care for me, well they still wouldn't play. It is a bit of a chick's game and although I've heard that the HoseMaster looks fierce in hot pants and chunky wedges, well let's just say girls have cooties on this one. And I'm not putting myself through that whole, "Hey guys? Where'd you go?!" trauma…again. I'm grown goddamn it and I can break the rules if I want. That being said, thank you Sara. It was very sweet of you to, "Pick me! Pick me!" and I was, as always, very flattered.
Seven Things You Might Not Know…although you probably do.
One: I Don't Do Guts
I don't care how uncouth or closed minded. I've tried, I really have, everything from foie gras to sautéed chicken livers, even the fatty, (gagging…I'm actually gagging) little globules of sweet breads and I loathe them all. I'm very much a texture person and I find that "meat" texturally unsound, squishy even and the flavor, oh how my fancy pants gourmet friends are going to hate this, the flavor is truly vile to me. I've been at many a table chewing, or squishing those filter bits around in my mouth, desperately trying to swallow only to be faced with two options, either spit the offensive glob into my napkin, (always a tough decision when at the kind of place that serves that kind of "delicacy" as the fucking napkins are cloth and not the paper kind I can wad up and chuck into my bag) or try to tuck it into my cheek, without gagging, and excuse myself to the ladies room where I can hork it into a tissue and do with it as God intended, flush it. People have tried hiding them in dishes to trick me and you can tell by the look on my face, "Oh shit, Sam found the kidney" the second my teeth pierce it. Gross. Might make me less fancy, (as if that were even possible) but it's true.
Two: I Once Farted In Line At A Store
And blamed my son. "Jeremy! Are you poopy?!" yeah I did it. In my defense, I had eaten curry and then walked the mile to the store which made everything percolate and I had held it as long as I could. Kids give us plenty of shit so this time I blamed my offensive stank on his.
Three: I Think Prosecco Is Stupid
Okay there, I said it. As the sparkling wine buyer for the store I taste and stock several but as far as me taking some home to drink, aint happening. I know it is not meant to be serious wine, it is to sip on and be easy to drink, I get it….just don't like it and would much rather drink bubbles from Alsace, Burgundy, Limoux or honestly, I would rather spend that $15.00 on something still that will have a better chance of pleasing me. This is where all the Prosecco lovers/defenders will chime in with things like, "Well for the money" or "If you were in Venice and they handed you a glass". The "for the money" comment was just answered, would rather pass on bubbles and drink something still and for the, "If you were in Venice" deal….well hows about you take me and we find out? Until then, well like I said, I think it's stupid.
Four: My Husband Is The Worst Dancer…Ever
Didn't say they all had to be about me.
Five: I Never Feel Sexy Or Attractive Unless
I'm in my kitchen. Never got or believed people that make absurd comments about the way I look or any of those proclamations about me being sexy or whatever. It's all utter nonsense to me but when I'm in my tiny kitchen, music in the background or purring through my headphones, the cutting board thick, sturdy and at the ready, the swish of my knife through celery, carrots, herbs, onions, meats and cheeses? Smelling, hearing, feeling, watching a dish come to life…created with my bare hands and desire, well I feel down-right sexy and powerful in those moments. Even more so when I watch my creation being devoured. Such a chick…
Six: My Favorite Way To Drink Champagne Is Alone
I know this flies in the face of all the verbiage about how wine is best served with others to enjoy it. I do believe that…most of the time and I do love sharing Champagne with others but, well when I can make that cork whisper, watch the sexy little mist slither from the opening, pour a deep glass of truly thrilling Champagne, just for me, fucking hot as hell. Something about the sheer indulgence, about knowing there are three or four more glasses for me and me alone because I've busted my ass all week, been buried up to my eyebrows in work or family, or simply because I want it….kinda gets me off that.
Seven: I Have Lady Gaga On My Ipod
(Dave Matthews, please turn off your Google Alert) It's one song! I couldn't believe it when I saw that the song I had been turning up to blistering volumes in my car, the slightly country, slightly bluesy song that I could listen to over and over again was in fact one from one of my most abhorred "artists". I was stunned but am woman enough to admit it….am thanking my lucky stars there aren't more of you reading right about now. Cannot end on Gaga so let's go a couple more.
Eight: I Have A Mad Crush On One Of My Sales Reps
Now this has happened to me maybe twice in my fifteen years at The Wine Country. Just not a big crusher for the most part, that and I am a strong believer of not dipping your pen in the company ink…..even though I don't have a "pen" per se and I had a long term relationship with someone at my last job, but other than that I stick hard and firm on that whole business. But this one, this one is wrecking me. Very cool, funky clothes, amazing palate, the kind of wines that you want to spend hours with, funny, descriptions that conjure up imagines that are nearly perfectly describing what is in the glass and….and she brings me presents! Yeah, that's right, I've got a hetero girl crush on my Kermit Lynch sales rep. This chick is simply badass and I dread it when she has to leave. We share very similar palates and relish in turning each other on, (go ahead and picture pigtails and porn music here) to wicked cool wines. Hell the woman has even made me bitters and jarred cherries that were all boozy and fucking delicious. This last visit she brought me one of my other secret loves, a bottle of somewhat rare and stunningly complex, and delicious Fino Sherry from Valdespino, La Bota de Fino. Simply the most amazing Fino I have ever had and I keep nursing the damn thing, not wanting to finish it…as if knowing that my girl crush gifted bottle in the fridge is there, just sitting there waiting, I can change a shitty day into a sumptuous one. Got's it bad for sure….
Nine: Although My Looks And Language Might Be Severe
I'm actually a giant softy. The giant part I'm sure you could tell but the squishy, tearing up during cartoon movies, the puddling when I get a hug from my wee neighbors or someone says something truly sweet to me….well not sure everyone knew about that.
Gonna end with nine. Just to break the rules even more, I mean, who stops at nine?! And because I need to get my chunky, softy, Sherry loving ass to work! Thank you again for the Style Award Sara, you are simply the sweetest!


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18 . June , 2019 - Tuesday
Check todays hot topics or new products
DrugindexOnline2nd edition
All about: Blephamide S.O.P.
Generic Name: sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic (sul fa SET a mide/ pred NISS oh lone)
Brand Names: AK-Cide, Blephamide, Blephamide S.O.P., Cetapred, Isopto Cetapred, Metimyd, Vasocidin
What is Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?
Sulfacetamide is an antibiotic. It is used to treat bacterial infections.
Prednisolone is a steroid. It is used to treat the swelling associated with bacterial infections of the eye.Sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic is used to treat bacterial infections of the eyes.
Sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide.
What is the most important information I should know about Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?
Contact your doctor if your symptoms begin to get worse or if you do not see any improvement in your condition after a few days.Do not touch the dropper or tube opening to any surface, including your eyes or hands. The dropper or tube opening is sterile. If it becomes contaminated, it could cause an infection in your eye.
Apply light pressure to the inside corner of your eye (near your nose) after each drop to prevent the fluid from draining down your tear duct.
Who should not use Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?Do not use sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic if you have a viral or fungal infection in your eye. It is used to treat infections caused by bacteria only.
Do not use sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic if you have ever had an allergic reaction to a sulfa-based drug.It is not known whether sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic will harm an unborn baby. Do not use this medication without first talking to your doctor if you are pregnant. It is also not known whether sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic passes into breast milk. Do not use this medication without first talking to your doctor if you are breast-feeding a baby.
How should I use Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?
Use sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic eyedrops or ointment exactly as directed by your doctor. If you do not understand these directions, ask your pharmacist, nurse, or doctor to explain them to you.Wash your hands before using your eyedrops or ointment.
To apply the eyedrops:
Shake the drops gently to be sure the medicine is well mixed. Tilt your head back slightly and pull down on your lower eyelid. Position the dropper above your eye. Look up and away from the dropper. Squeeze out a drop and close your eye. Apply gentle pressure to the inside corner of your eye (near your nose) for about 1 minute to prevent the liquid from draining down your tear duct. If you are using more than one drop in the same eye or drops in both eyes, repeat the process with about 5 minutes between drops.
To apply the ointment:
Hold the tube in your hand for a few minutes to warm it up so that the ointment comes out easily. Tilt your head back slightly and pull down gently on your lower eyelid. Apply a thin film of the ointment into your lower eyelid. Close your eye and roll your eyeball around in all directions for 1 to 2 minutes. If you are applying another eye medication, allow at least 10 minutes before your next application.
What happens if I miss a dose?
Apply the missed dose as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next regularly scheduled dose, skip the missed dose and apply the next one as directed. Do not use a double dose of this medication.
What happens if I overdose?
An overdose of this medication is unlikely to occur. If you do suspect an overdose, wash the eye with water and call an emergency room or poison control center near you. If the drops or ointment have been ingested, drink plenty of fluid and call an emergency center for advice.
What should I avoid while using Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?Do not touch the dropper or tube opening to any surface, including your eyes or hands. The dropper or tube opening is sterile. If it becomes contaminated, it could cause an infection in your eye. Use caution when driving, operating machinery, or performing other hazardous activities. Sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic may cause blurred vision. If you experience blurred vision, avoid these activities.
Use caution with contact lenses. Wear them only if your doctor approves. After applying this medication, wait at least 15 minutes before inserting contact lenses.
Avoid other eye medications unless your doctor approves.
Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic) side effects
Serious side effects are not expected with this medication.
Some burning, stinging, irritation, itching, redness, blurred vision, eyelid itching, eyelid swelling, or sensitivity to light may occur. Continue to use sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic and talk to your doctor about any side effects you experience.
What other drugs will affect Blephamide S.O.P. (sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic)?
Do not use this medication with other eyedrops that contain nitrates (e.g., silver nitrate).
Avoid other eye medications unless they are approved by your doctor.
Before using this medication, tell your doctor if you are taking an oral steroid medication such as prednisone (Deltasone, Orasone, others).
Drugs other than those listed here may also interact with sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic. Talk to your doctor and pharmacist before taking any prescription or over-the-counter medicines.
Where can I get more information?
- Your pharmacist has additional information about sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic written for health professionals that you may read.
What does my medication look like?
Sulfacetamide and prednisolone ophthalmic is available with a prescription under several brand and generic names. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about this medication, especially if it is new to you.
- Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use this medication only for the indication prescribed.
- Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Cerner Multum, Inc. ('Multum') is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Multum information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Multum does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Multum's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Multum's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners. The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Multum does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Multum provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Recent Drug Updates at DrugIndexOnline:
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diltiazem and enalapril
Generic Name: diltiazem and enalapril (dil TYE a zem and e NAL a pril) Brand Names: Teczem What is diltiazem and enalapril? Diltiazem is in a class of drugs called calcium channel blockers. Diltiazem relaxes (widens) your blood vessels (veins and arteries), which makes it easier for your more...
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|Home > Florida Then & Now > A Short History of Florida > Florida's Economy Booms
Florida's Economy Booms
- The students will be able to show how each significant business or industry impacted Florida's growth.
Sunshine State Standards:SS.A.5.2.1 - SS.A.6.2.1 - SS.D.2.2.1
resort haven recuperate staple boomed Crackers turpentine
Suggested Activities:
- Use the KWL strategy to promote comprehension and discussion of the passage.
- Have the students work in cooperative groups to research further the various businesses that helped Florida grow. Each group will present their findings to the class.
- Contact a local travel agent to obtain brochures on the many resorts located in Florida. Have the students compare/contrast the amenities each has to offer, as well as cost.
- Complete and review FCAT questions.
(Note: Actual FCAT practice passages are wrtten at the students' independent reading level. These Florida History selections are written at the students' instructional reading level. Therefore, students should not be asked to complete the questions until after receiving class instruction on the vocabulary and content of the passage. Students should also read the Florida History selection independently before answering the FCAT questions and be permited to return to the selection for rereading as they answer.)
|Home > Florida Then & Now > A Short History of Florida > Florida's Economy Booms
Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2002.


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Police Searching For Source Of Heroin After String Of Overdoses< < Back to
Parkersburg police are seeking the source of heroin following five overdoses in less than two weeks.
Sgt. Greg Collins says police are trying to find out who the dealers are and where the heroin is coming from.
Collins said there are indications that the heroin is a strong batch from New York, rather than a contaminated batch.
One person died Jan. 12 from a suspected heroin overdose.
The latest incident occurred Saturday evening when officers found an unresponsive 30-year-old woman at an apartment complex. She was taken to a local hospital.


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Let me invite you now to turn with me to the Word of God, Matthew chapter 25. We begin today to look at one of the great parables in all of the Scripture, the parable of the talents. It is a parable about the tragedy of wasted opportunity.
You know, Scripture calls all of us to make the most of spiritual opportunity. From the beginning of Scripture to the end, we are called upon to maximize our privileges. In Ecclesiastes we are reminded to cast our bread upon the waters but we shall find it after many days. In other words, to throw it out and it will be brought back. We are reminded in the morning to sow our seed and in the evening withhold not our hands for thou knowest not whether thou shalt prosper either in this or that. In other words, we better take advantage of every opportunity for we know that anyone missed may be wasted.
And we remember that the Proverbs tell us in chapter 10 verse 5, "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son, but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causes shame." You better store up while you can, you better harvest while there is harvest to be had.
In Psalm 69:13 it says, "But as for me, O Lord, my prayer is unto Thee an acceptable time." In Isaiah 55:6 it says, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near." In Jeremiah chapter 8 and verse 7 it says, "The stork in heaven knows her appointed times and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming, but My people know not the judgment of the Lord." And what Jeremiah is saying is that the animals, the birds know where to be when and how to care for themselves at the appointed season, and that's more than some people know.
In Psalm 95 we read in verses 6 through 8, "O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our maker for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand; today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart." Today, in the appointed time, the acceptable time, the opportune time, the privileged time.
That same thought is repeated in Hebrews chapter 3, "Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart." And in 2 Corinthians 6:2 Paul says, "Behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation."
And even our Lord Jesus called us to make the most of the moment, to make the most of spiritual privilege and spiritual opportunity. In John 12:35 and 36 He said, "Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not wither he goeth, while you have light, believe in the light that you may be the children of light." Again, calling us to take advantage of spiritual opportunity.
In a more secular vein, John Greenleaf Whittier writing in the famous Maud Muller gave us the couplet that most of us remember, he said, "Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these: it might have been." Lost opportunity.
That's the theme of the parable in our text. Let's look at it and you follow as I read and you'll see the message.
For it is like a man traveling into a far country who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one. To every man according to his ability and took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents immediately went and traded with the same and made other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and dug in the earth and hid his lord's money.
After a long time, the lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them. And so, he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents saying, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents, behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Excellent, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents, behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, Excellent, good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I'll make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown and gathering where thou hast not spread. And I was afraid and went and hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, thou hast what is thine. The lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gathered where I have not spread. Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers and then in my coming I should have received mine own with interest. Take therefore the talent from him and give it unto him who hath ten talents for unto everyone that hath shall be given and he shall have abundance, but from him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath and cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Now we're going to treat this parable in two sessions because we need carefully to study its great profound message.
The simple over arching message is the tragedy of wasted opportunity. Our Lord has been answering, as you know, a question from the Disciples. And the question is: when is Your coming? When is Your coming? He has already said five times in chapter 24 verse 36, 42, 44, and 50 and then in chapter 25 verse 13, five times He has said, "No one knows the day nor the hour." In other words, My coming as to its exact day and hour is unrevealed. He gave signs of the period before His coming. He described the birth pains that would result in the Kingdom in chapter 24. He discussed the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. He talked about the danger and deception and evil of the great Tribulation period. He said it would all happen so fast that whoever was alive when it started would still be around to see its finish, it would happen that fast...if they weren't killed in the holocaust itself. He's given them all kinds of details as to the events around His Second Coming, just prior to it, but as to the exact moment and the exact day, He has not told them.
He will not tell them to what generation it will come. He will not tell them in what century or what era or what period. And He will not tell even the ones who are alive when the signs begin the exact moment that it will happen because He wants all men to live in anticipation of His coming so that there is constant readiness on the part of everyone. If something like the Second Coming of Christ will happen but we don't know when, then we are forced to be ready at all times, aren't we? So the unknown character of His coming, the sudden unexpected surprising reality of it is that which causes all men to seek to be ready for it could happen to their generation. And so the Lord has called for all men to be ready. And the call comes in His holding back the exact day and the exact hour so that we must be ready at all times.
Now, the thing our Lord wants to force the disciples and us to understand is this, we need to be ready. In an hour we think not He comes. When no man knows, He comes. And we all need to be ready. And so, in chapter 25 having said five times that the coming is an unknown event in terms of its time, He calls for constant readiness. And He does it by using two parables: the parable of the virgins in verses 1 through 12 and the parable of the talents in verses 14 to 30. Both of them basically have the same intention, the same point. They make the same message clear, that is be ready...be ready. They are two very important parables. And verse 13, would you notice, links them together. The parable of the virgins was a parable about readiness. And at the end of that parable He says, "Watch therefore," and the therefore ties it in with the parable of the virgins, "for you know neither the day nor the hour which the Son of Man comes." Then verse 14 begins, "For it is like a man traveling," and it takes us right into the next parable which also is summed up in verse 13. So verse 13 is sort of the bridge between the two. The "therefore leads us into it and the "for" connects verse 14 back with it. So because the very moment of the Lord's coming is unknown, we need to have constant readiness.
Now the parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents differ in a sense. They are both parables about readiness. You remember the last one? There were ten virgins, five were ready when the bridegroom came because they had oil in their lamps, five were not because they didn't. Everyone was waiting but only five of the ten were ready to go into the wedding feast. The whole point of that parable was to talk about readiness, preparedness. And it emphasized waiting...waiting for the coming King, looking for the coming of the Lord, anticipating His return. The emphasis was on waiting. It was on that internal heart attitude that longs for the coming of the Lord. The parable of the talents is not an emphasis on waiting, it's an emphasis on working...on working. While we are waiting and while we are looking and while we are watching, we are to be serving. And that's what the parable of the talents emphasizes. And together they provide for us a masterful balance of living in anticipation of the Second Coming.
We do not live in anticipation of the Second Coming only like virgins or bridesmaids waiting for the ceremony to begin with nothing to do, all dressed up nowhere to go, just waiting to start. That would be an imbalanced anticipation. But while we are looking and while we are anticipating and while we are waiting, we are also working, we are also serving, we are also making most of our opportunity and stewardship and magnifying the very role that God has given us to serve Him. And one of those things is over-emphasized, or one of them is lost, the Christian's experience is out of balance. People who are no longer looking for the Second Coming but spending all of their time working in the world have lost a perspective that is necessary for balance. And people who are always looking and looking and looking and waiting and waiting and not bothering to be working have also lost a very important balance...a very important balance.
You remember in the Thessalonian church, Paul had to write them in his second epistle to them and tell them, "Look, some of you people are so preoccupied with the Second Coming that you're doing nothing, you're not earning a living but you're running around like busybodies. You better get back to work." There is a balance. On the other hand, some people in the time of Peter, as he writes, apparently had just decided the Second Coming wasn't even going to happen, so we'll throw everything in the world that is. And he says, "Wait a minute. There may be scoffers saying where is the promise of His coming, but they're fools because He will come and He'll come like a thief in the night...so you better be ready." There's a balance here, not all watching and all waiting and no working and not all working and no watching and waiting. So because we don't know the moment or the hour, we're watching all the time but we're working as well. And that's the balance.
The balance of the Christian life can be seen by the virgins who had oil. They had the internal necessary grace. The oil represented a transformed nature, a redeemed soul, a changed life. They had the necessary grace in the soul. And the talent parable illustrates the fact that true believers manifest that necessary grace in the life of service. So on the one hand you have saving grace, on the other hand you have the product of that in the serving life. That's the balance in Christianity. We're not just sitting around waiting and neither are we just working. We're working and we're waiting, we're looking and we're serving. True saving faith is the faith that works. Isn't that what James says in chapter 2? Faith without works is what? It's dead. So the parable makes the point of readiness. Not readiness only in the sense of looking, but readiness in the sense of serving. The outer manifestation comes in this parable where the inner grace is seen in the other one.
Now just as a footnote, some of you might sort of feel the tug to compare this parable with Luke 19:11 to 27 which is the parable of the pounds. They are not the same. That one was given several days earlier by our Lord, is as different as it is similar, don't confuse the two. It is a different parable all together.
Now as we look at this parable, the message we want to understand is wasted opportunity. We are in a period of time waiting for the Lord to come. But it is not a time for only waiting, it is a time for seizing opportunity, making the most of privilege. And that's the message.
What do we need to know then about spiritual opportunity? Four things we'll look at in this parable that we need to know. We need to know the responsibility we receive, the reaction we have, the reckoning we face and the reward we gain. Those are the things we need to know as we anticipate using our opportunities. And they're all here in this story...marvelous, marvelous parable.
Let's start with the responsibility we receive, look at verse 14. And you'll notice in your Bible it may have in italics inserted "for the Kingdom of heaven is..." Some of you have that, I'm sure, in your text. And that is inserted there because it is implied. It isn't in the original text because it was in verse 1. And since the two parables are linked together, it's obvious He's still talking about the same thing. In fact, there really is no main verb to start the sentence, it's just sort of abbreviated. And so you could put in "for it is like" and then you'd say, "Well, what is the it?" And you'd have to say it's the Kingdom of Heaven, so why not just put the Kingdom of Heaven is like? So it's talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. It's a transition right out of the former parable which was talking about the Kingdom as indicated in chapter 25 verse 1. So the Kingdom is likened to two of these parables, this being the second one, so He doesn't repeat the phrase "the Kingdom of Heaven."
Now I want to stop at this point and make a comment that I think is very, very essential for you to understand. These are parables about the Kingdom. The Kingdom is the sphere where God rules by grace and salvation through Christ. The Kingdom is the sphere of God's dominion in Christ. Okay? His rule, His area.
Now having said that, I want you to note something in your mind that will help you, it's an interpretive key throughout the gospels. Whenever you see the mention of the Kingdom of heaven, one of two things is meant. Sometimes the term, the "Kingdom of heaven" is used for the exclusive internal invisible genuine body of redeemed people. Okay? The real Kingdom, the true Kingdom. For example, that is the way it is used in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew and verse 3, "Except you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of heaven." Now there He's talking about being converted and entering in and nobody gets in unless they're really converted. So there He is referring to the Kingdom of heaven in its pure sense, mark this, in its invisible sense, in its internal sense, in its genuine sense, in that it is the redeemed, the truly redeemed, the truly saved.
We find also the same thing in verse 34 of Matthew 25. And by the way, these are just samples, it's many places where He says to the blessed of the father, "Inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And there the Kingdom is referring to that place prepared for the truly redeemed.
So when you go through the gospels and you see the phrase "Kingdom of heaven," or "Kingdom of God," know this, that it can refer and does often refer to the invisible Kingdom, that is the Kingdom invisible because it is a spiritual one where it is occupied by those who are truly regenerate. They are invisible. In other words, we can't see who is in that Kingdom. We can't see the hearts of men.
But on the other hand, sometimes the Kingdom of heaven is used to refer to the visible Kingdom, the outward Kingdom, the Kingdom which is made up of people who identify themselves with Christ....some are real and some are false, right? The Kingdom, for example, is like wheat and tares in Matthew 13. The Kingdom is like a dragged net full of stuff that's dragged up from the bottom of the sea, some is fish to be kept and some is refuse to be thrown away. The Kingdom is made up of soil. Some is good and some is bad. So there are times then when the gospel record refers to the Kingdom in its outward external organizational visible sense and sometimes in its organism internal invisible sense. And you need to know that as you approach a parable so that you can properly interpret it.
Now in the case of the virgins, the Kingdom was like ten virgins. We found out five of them were real and five of them were false, right? Five of them had internal grace, five of them did not. Therefore, the Kingdom there was picturing the true and the false in the organized external visible Kingdom, and so does this parable.
Now don't be shocked at that. And don't need to be confused. We do the same thing with the word "church." For example, sometimes when I refer to the church or you refer to the church we're talking about the truly redeemed, aren't we? But when we say something is wrong in the church today, we could be talking about the mixture of stuff that's in the church true and false. The same is true in the Lord's references to the Kingdom. In this case, as in the case of the virgins, He's talking about the true and the false. But it is the Kingdom He's talking about. He's not talking about pagans, He's not talking about reprobate people who deny Christ, deny God, want nothing to do with His church or His Kingdom or His name. He's talking about two kinds of servants, the kind who use their opportunity and the kind who waste it. But both of them identify themselves as servants of the Lord. So you're within the framework of the Kingdom here in its outward external broad invisible sense.
So, this Kingdom is like a man who travels into a far country, goes on a long trip. And you know, you didn't just get on a plane and fly there and come back at the end of the week. In those days you could be gone a year, could be gone two years. He could be gone a long time, could be gone months. So this was a very common kind of thing. And he goes away. And he calls his own servants and delivers them his goods. That sets it up.
Here we look at the Kingdom and the Kingdom is filled with different kinds of servants. That's a common picture. I wish we could make it more understandable, or at least get the message out to a wider group than the church because I think so many people misunderstand this. The church visible, the Kingdom external is filled with diversity. It is the mustard seed of Matthew 13 that grows into a bush that is massive and disproportionate and birds actually build their nests and lodge in it. It is a net full of fish to be kept and garbage to be discarded. It is wheat and tares. It is virgins with oil and virgins without. It is two houses, one with a foundation and one without a foundation. It is two paths and two gates. In other words, the Kingdom will always have the false and the true, whether then in our Lord's time, whether now, or whether even in the time of the great Tribulation. We know this time specifically being discussed in the sermon is in the time of the Tribulation right before He comes. And even in that time there will be virgins without oil, there will be servants who waste their opportunity. There will be houses without foundation. There will be tares growing among the wheat. There will be refuse caught in the net. There will be bad soil. There will be people on a broad path who went through a broad gate thinking they were going to heaven but not getting there. That will always be there, that kind of deception and being deceived. And it will accumulate all those people who ultimately say, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name and done many wonderful works in Thy name and cast out demons in Thy name?" etc. And He says, "I never knew you, depart from Me you workers of iniquity.
So we must understand that in the Kingdom there always are this combination...there always is this combination unless the Lord is specifically talking about the invisible inward spiritual Kingdom for he truly redeemed. But in this case, it's the general sense that He has in mind.
So here's the picture. The man has a lot of servants, a lot of people who attach themselves to him. Their heart attitude is going to be manifest right here. And there are a lot of people in the Kingdom today, a lot of people under the rule of Christ, as it were, in His church today, under the authority of the Christ-appointed leaders and elders and pastors today. And we can see the comparison of the kind whose hearts are right and the kind whose hearts are not right as we put them up against this very parable.
Now notice what happens. "He calls his own servants." And this helps us to understand that these are the people that are within the Kingdom. He knows them, He understands them, they know Him, there's a certain amount of acquaintance here, very much like a Judas even was a servant of Christ, followed Him, was a disciple, went through all of the activities and so forth. The church will always have those kinds of people.
And he delivers to them his goods. He's going to be gone long enough and he has to keep up with the economy. So he has to make wise investments. He has to produce his crops. He has to make sure that everything is cared for.
Now, the word for servant here is the word doulos and we shouldn't be...we shouldn't miss the point that a servant in the doulos sense is not necessarily some kind of a slave of the lowest rank, some kind of a person who was not good for anything but just go pick that up, you know. Ran around in a loin cloth with an IQ of 75, that was not what we're looking at. When you see the word "servant" we could even translate it "employee." Here were people who were artists and artisans and craftsmen and gifted agriculturalists and good with business and numbers and good traders in that time, good mathematicians, had a good mind for business. Those kind of people who could do just about anything would fit somewhere into the structure of service in an estate like this and when a man went away, he would hand these people who were trustworthy capable servants a certain amount of his goods so that they could bring him back a return on his property while he was gone. It was not an uncommon thing. They were stewards to handle the funds and assets and resources for the profit of the master, which profit they would return to him upon his arrival back. And that's what happens.
So he delivers them his goods. He apportions them out. Now notice verse 15, and this will tell us the responsibility we have. "Unto one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to every man according to his ability, and took his journey."
Now he knows the talent of his servants. he knows the skill of his servants. So he portions...apportions out to them that which he believes they are capable of handling properly.
To the first he gives five talents. To the second two, and to the third one. They're only illustrative. The numbers could be different but they illustrate low and high and somewhere in the middle.
Now, you need to know that a talent basically, we use it in the English sense as I just used it, to speak of someone's abilities. But actually it meant a weight...it meant a weight, like a scale. That's why in Revelation 16 it talks about a hailstone weighing a talent. It was a certain weight.
Now the value of each talent would depend on whether it was gold, which would be very, very high, an astronomical amount, five talents of gold, or whether it was silver, quite a bit less, or whether it was copper, quite a bit less than silver. It's probably best to see this as silver because the word used for money in verse 18 is a word that is frequently used to refer to silver coinage.
So, the man's going away, now follow what he does. He gives them what amounts to...to...in weight a certain amount of coinage. You probably bagged for them, maybe he did it in his bookkeeping, not actually, but he gave to them, as it were, a bag of coins. One man got a bag full weighing five talents, one two talents and one one talent. And the idea was, take this, invest it and get a return for me on it. Show yourself a faithful steward, that was the idea. It isn't important what the monetary value was. There's really no way to calculate that since we don't know what the metal commodity was. We don't exactly know what the coins were. What is important is only to see what they did.
Now notice this in verse 15, here's the key to the whole thing. "He gave them to every man according to his ability and took his journey." Each man's ability was that which determined what he received. Some people had greater capacity to handle a large amount than other people did. That's the way it was. And so he apportioned that out. One got five, one got two and one got one.
Now it's obvious as you look at the parable that the master here is the Lord Himself. And going on a journey is the Lord going back to heaven where He is right now. We are now in management. And we have been given various, as it were, bags of coins. And that is what we are to use for the working out and the serving that God would have us accomplish while He's away, until Christ comes back. Not all of us have received the same amount. This is something you must understand, people. Not everybody is the same. Everybody was created differently with differing mental capacities, differing verbal capacities, differing skills, talents, capabilities. And then, you add to what we received in terms of creation from God the fact that each us has been exposed to different opportunities, different privileges, different teachers, different discipling processes. And the range is vast. I mean, there are people who have gotten doctors degrees by the handful from seminaries. And on the other hand, there are Christians who know very basically nothing but the gospel. They believed that maybe from a missionary somewhere and they have a very primitive culture and they never never heard much more than that. And maybe they are very limited educationally and maybe even some people are very limited mentally and some people are very limited emotionally.
I mean, all of us are different. And that's by the design of God. It's okay to be a one if you're a one. It's okay to be a two if you're a two or a five if you're a five. I mean, that's the way God designed it. It's a picture...it's a picture of spiritual capacity and spiritual privilege and spiritual responsibility and spiritual opportunity.
And in the story, you know, the servant who really loves his master is going to say, "Boy, here's my opportunity to show him how much I love him. Here's my opportunity to really invest my time and my energy and my thought and my work to bring him back a return on what he's given me. Here's my opportunity to show him that he was right in trusting me, to sort of return his confidence in me. I want to live up to what he thinks."
This would appeal to the noblest motive in the heart of a loving servant. This would really be something he would want to fulfill for the sake of the master to whom he owed so very very much. And that's the whole point. The Lord gives people within the framework of His Kingdom, in the framework of His church all different levels of capacities and opportunities. And the issue is what they do with those opportunities.
Talents in our bag, the talent that we carry, the bag of coins that we carry would include teaching. How much teaching have we received? How much opportunity to hear, mixed with our God-given and God-created intellectual capacities, emotional capacities and gifts and skills? And how much opportunity for fellowship? And how much opportunity for spiritual advantage and insight? And how much opportunity for blessing? And how much have we received of all that the Kingdom offers? That's our bag, mixed with our God-given capabilities.
I mean, let's face it, you come to Grace Church and if we were to sort of give everybody here an IQ test, we would find that there's a wide range on the level of intelligence. Most of us would fall somewhere around the normal folks. But there's a wide range. And some folks who hear what I say at the very low end will only grasp a certain amount of that, some at the very high end who hear what's going on and read and study are going to grasp far more. And we're all at some point in the middle. So with God-given capability by His sovereign design, as long as it hasn't been destroyed by drugs or alcohol or something else like that, we have this capacity and we use that capacity to take in what God provides for us. And to return back to Him the maximum use of that spiritual privilege.
And I'll tell you, you know, those of us who have had the privilege of being here in this country and being here in this church have a heavy bag. We really do. I mean, you think about it. There are baby Christians out in different places in our own country and other parts of the world who know so very very little, it's really staggering. I mean, and we're so far down the line with so much opportunity and so much advantage. And those of us who come to this church have been given such a heavy bag, as it were. And certainly it differs because again, as I said, we have different capacities to receive it and take it in. But all of us in the visible church, all of us who identify ourselves as servants of the Lord, whether we're real or not, have been given these privileges. And you have the privilege of hearing the Word of God, of being taught, of meeting people who love the Lord and walk with the Lord. There are some Christians who are the only Christian in their family, the only Christian in their community. There are some people in the world who are the only Christian in their town that they know of. And the difference in the five, the two and the one is a God-given difference. God put you here to fill your bag here. And God has given you the opportunity to be whatever it is that He designed you to be. And He'll proportion out just what you ought to have according to your capability. I mean, He won't give a five one, and He won't give a one five. If He gave a five one, it would frustrate him. If He gave a one five, it would drive him crazy. He apportions it out, like it says in Romans 23, He gives each person gifts according to the measure of faith...the measure of grace and the proportion of faith.
Now would you notice also, please, that the five doubled his and the two doubled his? You say, "Isn't that great? That's an equal percent." It is. It's an equal percent of faithfulness, it's not an equal result. It is true in spiritual ministry that some have greater results than others. And that may be due to spiritual capacity as well as opportunity, and privilege and so forth. So, God gives us different...differing capacities which will produce differing results. That's right. And the implication of this parable is that even in the Kingdom there will be different levels of rulership for people at different capacities. So God sovereignly has designed some of us to be rulers and some of us to be followers and some of us to fit in at all different levels, just like He did with the disciples, where it was obvious that Peter, James and John were sort of a triumvirate of leaders over which Peter was a very unique and special leader. It was obvious in the Jerusalem church where all those fine people came together, James rose to a place of leadership. So God has designed it that way. The issue is, did we give back to God when given the opportunity a maximum return? Right? If you're a five, He wants five back. If you're a two, He wants two back. If you're a three, He wants three.
You could be a five and give back two. You could be a two and only give back one. The point is maximum return...maximum return.
So, we're given responsibility. I'll tell you, people, you have a bag that God is holding you responsible for. It is a stewardship bag. It is a bag of privilege. It is a bag of opportunity. You are managing that part of God's fortune. Listen, every time you sit under the teaching of the Word of God, every time you read the Word of God, every time you learn a great truth out of the Word of God, somebody just dropped something else in your bag. And that somebody was the Spirit of God. And now you are responsible for the living out and the working out of that opportunity and privilege you've been given. And I fear that we have all wasted those, haven't we? It is true faithfulness that the Lord calls for. We have been given tremendous responsibility.
Now let's go from the responsibility we receive to the reaction we have. What should be our response, our reaction? What do we do with the spiritual opportunity? Verse 16, "Then he that had received the five talents immediately went and traded with the same and made five more talents."
"Immediately" is a key word...the fruit of inward salvation. And this is a true servant because he's immediately activated. His heart instantly responds to the privilege of serving his Lord. That is the fruit of inward salvation. It is an immediate response. And he went and traded, the word means to work literally. But technically as in this case it could be used to refer to engaging in business. He went out and did business. I don't know what he did with the five talents. Maybe he bought a field and cultivated it and produced a crop that was worth five times as much as he paid...or rather twice as much as he paid. Maybe he went and bought seed with it and planted the crop. Maybe he bought a piece of land, turned around and sold it. Maybe he gave it to somebody who was entering into some kind of a trade situation and got a bigger return which doubled his investment. I don't know what he did. It doesn't say. But it says at the end of verse 16, "He made..." and the word there, kerdaino, means to profit. He profited, he gained five more talents. He doubled his master's money. That shows maximum commitment. That's the point the Lord is making. He made the most of his spiritual privilege, the most of his spiritual opportunity.
And verse 17 says, "Likewise, the one who had received two also gained two more." He made the most of his, too. Not everybody has the same opportunity. Some people hear the gospel a very limited way. Some people have exposure to a massive amount of it. Some have had very little privilege and opportunity, some very great. But in both cases they gave a maximum return on the privilege God gave them. And that's what God was after.
The main point He's making is very simple, be faithful to maximize your opportunity. Be faithful to maximize your opportunity. Turn back to God what He gave you. Give Him a full return on the opportunity and privilege.
But, verse 18 says, "He that had received one went and dug in the earth and hid his lord's silver money." He dug a hole and buried it. Now that was a common thing to do when you wanted to save money. You remember back in Matthew 13 the man who bought the treasure hidden in a field, and I told you at that time that people used the ground as a safe for keeping their money. They had a place, you know, they would map out with so many steps from here and so many steps from a tree and whatever, and that's where the fortune is buried. Well, this guy just dug and put it in the hole. Just like Achan had done after he stole all the money. You remember, in the coming into the land of Israel, he buried it in a hole in his tent. That was not an uncommon thing to do. And so the man buries the money. He does absolutely nothing with it...absolutely wasted his opportunity, wasted his privilege.
Now this is not saying that one-talent people can be sured of they're going to be unfaithful. It's not saying that one- talent people are going to really be the ones who are the losers. What it is saying is even though you only have one, you're responsible for it, see. That's the point. You're responsible to give God back a return on that tremendous spiritual opportunity He gave you, even if it was only a one and not a five, even if your opportunity was limited, you're responsible. Listen, some people have heard it and heard it and heard it and heard it and heard it and had privilege after privilege after privilege after privilege, some people have sat in Grace Community Church over and over and over and over and over again and outwardly and ostensibly they parade themselves as though they were servants of God and may even be so deceived in their own mind. They are fives in that sense. On the other hand, there may be people who just in a limited way heard the gospel, they're responsible, just as responsible for a return on that one as anybody is for the return on the five. That's the point. The lesson...we might say, well, if the guy with the five didn't return it, no wonder the Lord was mad at him. He was just mad cause he wasted so much. So He uses the illustration of the one so that the anger of the master is not because he lost so much, but because of the wasted opportunity. That makes the point. The one who has the very least opportunity is equally responsible...equally responsible.
Well, what a powerful message this is. We have been given spiritual privilege while our Lord is away. He has given us differing levels of privilege but He wants a maximum return on HIs privilege, on His opportunity granted to us. And we will either give Him back equally to that privilege, equal to that opportunity or we will not and it will be wasted. And even a person with limited opportunity who is a one, with limited opportunity to respond to the truth and the gospel, with limited exposure to Bible teaching and spiritual life and spiritual friendship and sanctifying graces from other believers and so forth, even a person with one is still responsible to God for that one and to be a steward of that limited privilege.
The responsibility and the reaction then leads to the reckoning. And I just want to introduce this to you and we'll take it up next time. But notice the reckoning in verse 19. "After a long time, the lord of those servants comes and reckons with them." The word "reckon" is a commercial term meaning to compare accounts. He comes back to look at his books. He comes back to see how they've done in terms of stewardship in regard to their opportunity. And that's the way it's going to be when the Lord returns. He's going to come back and take a look at the books and see what men have done with their opportunity, with their opportunity to serve the King, with their opportunity to serve the Lord, with their opportunity to serve the master. What have they done with their spiritual privileges? And I say it is a strong message to a congregation like this where spiritual privilege is so high, where spiritual graces have been so super abounding. What do you do with the privilege you have? Have you really given the Lord a whole life of service in return for that?
Would you notice that it says in verse 19, it's kind of an interesting little note, "After a long time, the lord of the servants comes." And again our Lord is trying to tell the disciples that HIs coming is not going to be as quickly as they think it is. He said the same thing in chapter 25 verse 5 in the parable of the virgins when He said the bridegroom tarries until everybody dozed off and finally fell asleep. In other words, there will be a delay in the coming of the Lord. He doesn't tell them how much of a delay, so He doesn't remove the motive from their hearts. He doesn't tell them it won't be in their lifetime, or it won't be in the lifetime of anyone else. But He does say it will be longer than you think, meaning to say to them, "Look, there's no sense in just looking and waiting and watching, you've got to get busy serving," right? He doesn't want them to pack in all their service mentality and just sit around and wait for the Kingdom. Occupy till I come...be involved until I come.
You know, a few years ago there was a preoccupation, I would say maybe eight or ten years ago, a preoccupation in the evangelical church with the Second Coming of Christ. And people were...everybody was thinking about it, concerned about it. I remember talking to people who had sold their property. I remember one man, particularly, who liquidated a half a million dollars worth of assets and bought New Testaments and shipped them all over the world and bought little praying hands that glow in the dark and pictures of Jesus. And he made himself bankrupt and he just got ready for the Second Coming. And, of course, the Lord did not come. That was completely out of balance. But that was something of the mentality, if you will, of the Thessalonians as I mentioned earlier who were ready to just chuck it all and just do nothing but wait for the coming of the Lord. And they need to be instructed about the fact that they had to start going back to work and that there was something to be done until He got here.
I...in a sense it's been interesting to watch that transition in our own culture. For a while, eight or ten years ago, everybody was thinking Second Coming...Second Coming, that was the big thing. Boy, we don't want to worry about the future, don't need insurance policy, don't want to invest in the future, boy, we're going any minute now, the Lord could come any minute. And all of that has sort of shifted now and I hope we haven't gone to an imbalance on the other side. He didn't come. And everybody thought He would come. But He didn't in the last few years and so people have sort of backed away a little bit. It came right at the rush out of the "hippy" movement, the Jesus movement, everybody was flooding into this Second Coming idea. And then when it didn't happen instantly, everybody sort of settled back. And in a sense I'm thankful for that because I think we've gone about doing what we're supposed to be doing till He gets here anyway. I mean, standing around looking in the sky isn't going to help. When He comes, He comes. And, of course, we desire Him to come, but until He comes we are busy and we want to be ready when that time of accounting comes. Now here He's not talking about the Rapture, as we been pointing out all along, but the Second Coming and the time of accounting at the Second Coming is not a time for rewarding Christians but a time for dissecting Christians from non-Christians. And that's the issue of this parable.
So, after a long time he comes. And it's time for him to take a look at his accounts. And that's exactly what he will do. By the way, the judgment itself is described beginning in verse 31 and running all the way to the end of the chapter in verse 46 and we'll be seeing that in the future.
What happened in the reckoning? Verse 20 says, "He that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, Lord, thou deliverest unto me five talents, behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said to him, Well done thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I'll make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord. And he also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliverest unto me two talents, behold, I've gained two other talents beside them. His lord said to him, Well done good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I'll make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
Hey, here are two servants who gave a full return on God's opportunity, right? Here are two believers, true saints. Here are sheep in the terms of the judgment of the sheep and the goats later in the chapter. Genuine servants.
But there was another one. "He said, I just received one talent and I knew you were a hard man reaping where you hadn't sewn, and gathering where you hadn't spread and I was afraid and went and hid the talent in the earth. And lo, here's what's yours." Gave him back the talent. He didn't say well done good and faithful servant, he said, "Wicked and slothful servant."
Now what does all this mean? You have to come back next week to find out because we don't have time to go into it. But the distinguishing mark that I want you to remember today is this, and it's...I mean, it's powerful, you'll see next time. The distinguishing mark is this, two servants used their opportunity to serve the Lord and therefore prove the genuineness of their salvation. They were...they were willing to spend their time for the sake of their master. One servant stuck his master's money in the ground and spent his time doing exactly what he wanted. He called himself a servant, but he wasn't. He said he belonged to the master, but he didn't and was ultimately thrown out. And here again we see the same kind of warning from our Lord that He gives over and over again, be sure that thou you are outwardly associated with the Kingdom, you are also inwardly belonging to the Kingdom. Let's bow in prayer.
Lord, it is our prayer that no one would be deceived by that deceiver, Satan, or by his own self-deception, but that each of us would look to our lives to see whether we be wheat or tares, good soil or bad soil, whether we be a house with a foundation or a house without a foundation, whether we be virgins with oil or without, whether we be servants who serve the Lord making the most of spiritual privilege or who serve self and ignore spiritual opportunity. May every heart be examined and may Your Spirit do whatever must be done to bring reality out of falsehood.
Before we close in prayer while your heads are bowed for just a moment, this is a serious message our Lord gives us. It's something that must have been on His heart all the time because it comes out so frequently. It is not just the church and the non church, it is the church redeemed and unredeemed, saved and lost, true and false, genuine and phony that burdened Him. As well as the unchurch, those who make no pretense to care about the Kingdom. Even in the day when the Lord returns, even in the Tribulation time, there will be people who have identified outwardly with His Kingdom who inwardly do not know Him, who will during that period of time say they are servants but will make no use of their spiritual opportunity. Listen, this is your day of opportunity, this is an acceptable time, this is an appointed time, this is a time of salvation. I don't know how long that time will be. Death, the Rapture of the church, the horrors of the Tribulation, the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are on the horizon for every one of us. You need to be ready, to look at your own heart and see there is genuineness there...genuineness. You can judge your sincerity, as I said in my prayer earlier, by fearing to offend the Lord. Do you have that fear of offending Him? By a concerned to know and do His will above everything. By a willingness to deny yourself, by a heart of love for His glory, by a desire never to turn aside from His commandments and never to offend another Christian.
Does that describe your heart? If it does, those are the marks of sincerity and genuineness and you have taken your opportunity and your privilege and you have returned to God fully what opportunity He has given to you. But if those aren't the marks of your life, then don't fool yourself into thinking all is well because all is not well, no matter what your association outwardly might be to the church. You need to come to Christ, confess your sin, believe in Him as Savior and Lord.
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HANG TIME, Texas — Never mind that the weather map says it' s hurricane season. This is the time of year when there are nothing but blue skies over every NBA franchise from Miami to Portland to Los Angeles to Toronto.
Draft picks have been chosen and brought into camp. Free agents have been signed and trotted out for the TV cameras. Trades have been made to fill holes in the lineups. It's a time for championship planning among the elite class and fantasizing about moving up by the wannabes.
But the truth is that, despite so much spin doctoring that comes out of all the front offices, there are a handful of team presidents and general managers that made the most of the offseason. That's why we don't have to wait till next April — or even the season openers — to know who'll be taking bows for their work. They're our summer dreaming picks for Executive of the Year:
Daryl Morey, Rockets — Unless Dwight Howard wakes up one morning and declares it was all a mistake — that he really loved having Kobe Bryant as a playmate, that he thoroughly enjoyed Mike D'Antoni's offense and that he never, ever meant to leave those clever recruiting banners in L.A. — this is as sure a thing as Usain Bolt outrunning a lead-boot-wearing Charles Barkley. If Howard stays healthy, he and fellow All-Star James Harden will team up to make the Rockets instant challengers for one of the top four seeds in the Western Conference and could even be a dark horse contender to advance all the way to The Finals. But before they even chalk up one "W" in the standings, Morey has put a headlock on the award simply by making the Rockets franchise relevant again for the first time in years. After drifting on a sea of anonymity and mediocrity since the star-crossed Tracy McGrady-Yao Ming pairing came undone, the Rockets are back in the spotlight. A year ago, they were on national TV once. Now they have 10 appearances on ESPN, nine on TNT, one on ABC and even made it into the Christmas lineup with a date at San Antonio.
Billy King, Nets — It's like walking into a casino with a sack full of money, walking straight to the roulette table and plopping it all down on red. Or black. Either way, it's a 50-50 gamble and you live with the results. King certainly has the cushion and the endorsement of Russian billionaire owner Mikhail Prokorhov and the understanding that paying the luxury tax bill of nearly $100 million is no problem. Still, it takes considerable nerve for King to bet it all on the hope that a 37-year-old Kevin Garnett, 35-year-old Paul Pierce, 35-year-old Jason Terry and a rookie head coach in Jason Kidd can take down the two-time defending champs from Miami along with the rest of what has become a strengthened Eastern Conference lineup. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson were enough to make Brooklyn a postseason sports destination for the first time since the Dodgers left town, but now it's the old Celtics who'll be expected to show them how to win a series or more. To get Andrei Kirilenko to walk away from a guaranteed $10 million to sign a cut-rate deal was probably the second-best move of the entire NBA offseason, trailing only Dwight Howard's move to Houston. Kirilenko adds a tough defender and a slashing finisher to a lineup that hopes to have Brook Lopez improving on his first ever All-Star season. If he's accomplished one big thing already, King has jumped the Nets over the Knicks as the headlining team in New York, which is signficant.
Chris Grant, Cavaliers — Things have changed considerably since that first summer on the job as GM when LeBron James took his talents to South Beach and the temptation might have been to turn out the lights and simply declare the NBA party in Cleveland over. Grant has steadily reassembled the franchise one piece at time to a point where people are whispering that it's not out of the question to think James could return next summer when he becomes a free agent. Before that, the Cavs figure to have a resurgent seasons between their splendid young point guard Kyrie Irving and all the other pieces that Grant has put around him. Anthony Bennett may have been a bit of a surprise on draft night, but should fill a need on the front line and free agent signee Jarrett Jack will be both a firecracker lift off the bench. Of course, the big bonanza would be if free agent Andrew Bynum can overcome the knee injuries that left him notable only for sitting on bench modeling outrageous hairstyles last season in Philly. A return to the form that once made him an All-Star with the Lakers makes Grant a genius and, even if Bynum falls short, the Cavs have not made a long crippling financial commitment to the gamble. And don't forget to give Grant credit for not listening to the suggestions that he should have traded Anderson Varejao. The Cavs will likely make a playoff push in the Eastern Conference and, depending on how bright the future looks next spring, could turn the head of a familiar figure to come home.
Joe Dumars, Pistons — Let's face it. The Hall of Fame guard-turned-GM has taken his fair share of abuse through recent seasons for allowing the once-proud franchise to drift way out of the playoff picture and even have trouble drawing crowds to The Palace. Was it a curse for making Darko Mlicic the No. 2 pick in the 2003 draft, ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade? Then there was that disastrous free agent splurge on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva in 2009. But lately Dumars has been making a comeback, drafting a pair of big men in Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond who have the potential to anchor the Pistons front line for years to come. He made his biggest play in signing free agent Josh Smith, hoping that the stat-line filler can step into the role of No. 1 option and even team leader. Then Dumars traded for Brandon Jennings with hope that he can be both reined in and unleashed and brought home former Finals MVP Chauncey Billups to show him how. Mo Cheeks gets his third shot as a head coach and it's all a mix that could put the Pistons back in the playoffs.
Dell Demps, Pelicans — The easier path for Demps would have been to keep Nerlens Noel when the big man fell into his lap at the No. 6 pick and keep on selling a theme of acquiring young assets and building for the future. But with a new team name, new franchise colors and a new owner (Tom Benson) writing the checks, it was a time for a new and bolder direction. The young and oh-so-slender Noel was deemed too much duplication on the front line with 2012 No. 1 pick Anthony Davis and was trade to Philly for 23-year-old guard Jrue Holiday, who puts the only All-Star credentials in the New Orleans lineup. Demps then kept dealing to bring more firepower into the lineup with former rookie of the year Tyreke Evans. Of course, that immediately brought talk of a crowded backcourt with Eric Gordon still on hand, but Demps and coach Monty Williams are betting that a three-man rotation cannot only thrive, but put some punch into what was a thoroughly mediocre offense last season. Assuming Davis takes another big step forward in his second season, the Pelicans could contend for one of the final playoff spots in the West.
PREVIOUSLY: Comeback player | MVP | Coach of the Year | Sixth Man of the Year | Defensive Player of Year | Most Improved Player | Rookie Of Year


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There was a time when John McCain was a reasonable man. It was a while back, but I remember it well. It was, specifically, about seven or eight years ago, when we were in a terrible mess in Iraq. There were two options on the table at that point: stay the course or leave. McCain understood that both were wrong. The Bush Administration's path had, from the start, been criminally stupid. Many top members of the uniformed military had thought the war a bad idea, and even those who supported it were appalled that the dreadful Donald Rumsfeld had formulated a plan without a final phase of operations--Phase IV, in military parlance--to stabilize the country and hand it back to the Iraqis.
But there we were, stuck, and McCain believed we couldn't just leave. His main concern was that we not hand al-Qaeda a victory. There was also a moral consideration: having wrecked their country, we owed the Iraqis a fighting chance to rebuild. And so McCain was one of a handful of officials searching for answers in 2005 and 2006. The answers were found at Fort Leavenworth, where General David Petraeus and a formidable team of military intellectuals were designing a clever and humane way to do Phase IV. This became the counterinsurgency doctrine that worked well enough to calm Iraq--but not so well in Afghanistan.
I was thinking about this as I watched McCain's rude badgering of Chuck Hagel, the nominee for Secretary of Defense, at Hagel's confirmation hearing on Jan. 31. McCain wanted to know, yes or no, if Hagel regretted opposing the 2007 troop surge in Iraq that brought Petraeus' tactics to the battlefield. We've all now seen the footage of McCain steaming like a beady-eyed madman and Hagel's fumbling response--indeed, it was one of more than a few fumbling responses by Hagel, to questions both friendly and rude. This was a dispiriting event on several levels. Hagel stepped away from the moderate, realistic and candid positions he had taken in the past. He allowed himself to be hectored into submission about his criticism of the Israel lobby, which does indeed bully politicians into "dumb" acts like meaningless expressions of protest of Iranian behavior that Hagel refused to vote for, and on far more serious issues like Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank.
But Hagel's worst moment came with McCain. He was both clumsy and disingenuous. The truth is, McCain was right about the surge, but it was a reflexive correctness. McCain never really understood counterinsurgency--I suspect he thought it was mostly about bringing in more troops--but it seemed to be working. And then he pushed for more, seeking victory, by which he seemed to mean permanent occupation rather than merely the stability that would enable us to leave honorably. Hagel, on the other hand, came to understand a larger truth: the near impossibility of going to war in places like Iraq and Afghanistan--and, prospectively, Iran, another country that McCain has blustered about bombing.


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(858) 822-7760
Monday - Thursday: 7am-7pm • Friday: 7am-6pm • Saturday & Sunday: 11am-4pm
Perks Coffee Shop is a unique café located within the heart of UCSD. Upon entering you will be welcomed by the warmth of our talented Baristas and Perky the Squirrel; an assortment of sandwiches, salads, wraps, and pastries; and a wide selection of delicious drinks that will be sure to quench your cravings. The Perks environment is also a perfect study spot where we offer a range of seats from individual study tables, group tables, and a cozy corner equipped with a fireplace for de-stress.
Perks brews and serves only Barefoot Coffee Roasters coffee. Based in San Jose, CA, Barefoot partners with small coffee growers worldwide - some as small as only one acre - ensuring the best coffee experience and flavor every time. All of Barefoot coffees are direct trade. Our pastries, salads, and sandwiches are prepared fresh locally. We guarantee the finest flavors, quality ingredients, and an unparalleled customer service experience.
We dedicate every month to a member of our creative team at Perks where they have the opportunity to showcase their talent through the Drink of the Month. Perky the Squirrel also offers customers a chance to win a variety of prizes throughout the year through art contests as a way to say "thank you" to all of our loyal customers!
Whether it's breakfast, lunch or a mid-day gathering, include a scrumptious selection of muffins, cakes, tarts, cookies and bars for that perfect mix. Perks is your ideal partner for every size meeting and department get together. Start with our travelers size box of premium and delicious Barefoot Coffee Roasters coffee.
Click here for the Perks-To-Go delectable menu.
We're happy to help you brainstorm!
Ask our baristas for ideas: (858) 822-7760, email us [email protected].
Please place your food order 72 hours in advance. If simply ordering coffee, please allow a minimum of 60 minutes so we can brew the freshest coffee for you! Perks accepts all major credit cards, Triton Cash, student accounts and UCSD recharge accounts. Some orders require a 50% deposit. A minimum of 24 hours notice is required to cancel or postpone an order or the deposit will be forfeited.


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Conceptualizing General Intelligence
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Mars Opposition -- Dec. 13, 1990
The images in this color composite were acquired on December 13, 1990, when Mars was 85 million kilometers (53 million miles) from Earth. This was two and one half weeks after opposition, when the angular size of Mars was about two thirds of its maximum at the best oppositions. The north pole is located near the center of the bright bluish clouds at the top of the image.
When the images were taken it was mid-summer in Mars' southern hemisphere. The thin atmosphere of Mars appears relatively clear of dust over most of the planet. However a thick canopy of clouds obscures the icy north polar regions, as is expected during fall and winter in that hemisphere. As on Earth, the periphery of this polar hood region is the locale of intense storm systems which migrate through northern mid-latitudes. Details of the cloud structures in such fronts can be seen in the HST images. Extensive thin clouds in the southern hemisphere are perhaps harbingers of a south polar hood which may form as the martian season slowly changes to fall in the southern hemisphere.
The large, dark, "shark's fin"-like feature which dominates this face of Mars is called Syrtis Major Planitia. This was the first feature identified on the surface of the planet by early terrestrial observers in the Seventeenth Century. It was used by Christian Huygens to measure the rotation rate of Mars - a martian day is about 24 hours and 37 minutes.
Arabia Planitia, the bright region to the west of Syrtis is thought to be bright because of a thin layer of dust (perhaps amounting to a few meters in thickness) deposited on its surface. This region is heavily cratered, and several of these craters can be discerned in the image.
The bright region to the east, Isidis Planitia, is a 1000 kilometer wide (620 miles) impact basin formed as a result of a large meteoroid collision more than two billion years ago. The basin is bright because it is also thought to be covered with fine dust.
Syrtis Major, which slopes about six kilometers from Arabia down into Isidis, is thought to be dark due to deposits of coarse, dark sand on its surface. Relatively strong winds apparently blow upslope (from east to west), scouring the fine dust from the surface and carrying the dust into Arabia. Viking spacecraft images (obtained from 1976 to 1980) have shown the crest of Syrtis Major to be the location of one or more volcanic vents. Volcanic activity in this area of Mars is thought to have ceased about 2.5 billion years ago, and weathering of the dark volcanic basaltic rock is the source of the dark sand currently covering Syrtis Major.
To the south of Syrtis Major is the bright Hellas Planitia basin. About 1800 kilometers across and nearly eight kilometers deep, it was formed about 3.5 billion years ago by the impact of a large asteroid. Normally the basin is either filled with fog and clouds or the site of prevalent dust storms. This is one of the rare seasons when the weather in Hellas is calm and its surface is visible.


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HANG TIME SOUTHWEST — It would be the ultimate form of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Only not as you think.
Remember, it was the pitbull-defense of DeShawn Stevenson who helped the Dallas Mavericks throw a wet blanket over a fourth-quarter-shrinking LeBron James. Those 2011 Mavs still stand as the first and only team to beat LeBron's Heat in the playoffs.
It was also the last time Stevenson played an integral role in a team's success. He hit key 3-pointers throughout the title run, but left Dallas a bumbling mess after the championship and headed to the Nets as a free agent before being traded to Atlanta as part of the Joe Johnson deal.
Stevenson, 32, is a free agent again after the Hawks waived him a few days ago, as Stevenson himself let it be known via Twitter:
Stevenson cleared waivers on Sunday and if the above tweet didn't make it clear where he wants to play a 14th NBA season, in this tweet he actually makes a plea to the team's best player to get him there:
Hey everybody wants to play with LeBron, including Greg Oden. Shane Battier did. Ray Allen took half the pay to play. Others have said, heck yes, they'd consider the Heat. But Stevenson's outreach is intriguing (OK, hilarious) on multiple fronts, the least being the Heat's relative lack of need for him. What's amazing about the plea to help him get work with the two-time champs is Stevenson's past loathing of LeBron.
Perhaps you recall this T-shirt Stevenson wore on the Mavs' way out of Miami the morning after winning the title on the Heat's home floor?
Of course, Stevenson's disdain for LeBron goes way back to his days as an antagonist with the Washington Wizards. Back in the good, old days (2008) when the Wizards still actually made the playoffs and when LeBron still played for his hometown Cavaliers.
The best part of this ridiculous little feud between a career role player who started it by calling James "overrated," is when it really jumped the shark by LeBron saying that responding to a negative comment made by Stevenson would be akin to Jay-Z acknowledging Soulja Boy.
So, of course, Stevenson invited Soulja Boy to Game 3 of their '08 playoff series, which Soulja accepted. Jay-Z surprisingly countered by quickly recording a little number with lyrics dissing Stevenson and reportedly playing it a hot Washington D.C. night spot.
It is slightly interesting that Stevenson then went on to sign with the Nets, a franchise that boasted a minority owner named Jay-Z until the rapper recently moved into the sports agent arena. So who's to say that Stevenson now can't join his former nemesis LeBron in South Beach?
For LeBron, who posterized former Mavs pest Jason Terry after a monster alley-oop slam in Boston last season, surely he's received hundreds of "LOL" texts on his Galaxy smartphone.
But hey, this is the NBA where amazing happens, like Stevenson wearing 2011 championship bling and not LeBron. And Stevenson should be happy with that because the odds of him joining LeBron in Miami are slightly less than Chris Riley hiring Soulja Boy to play at her husband's surprise 69th birthday party come March.


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Amazon in fresh corporation tax row
The UK arm of internet shopping giant Amazon paid corporation tax of less than £10 million last year despite generating sales of £4.3 billion.
Details of the American firm's tax contribution, which were revealed in filings at Companies House, sparked fresh controversy over its arrangements.
Consumers buy from the company's UK website and the items are delivered from British warehouses but these transactions are mostly with a company called Amazon EU Sarl in Luxembourg.
This allows the company to legitimately lower its tax bill. It is taxed at the lower rate in Luxembourg and then pays less corporation tax where the rate is higher in the UK.
Amazon says it follows the tax rules in all countries where it operates but Margaret Hodge, who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee, renewed her attack on the company, saying it should pay its fair share of tax.
She told the Guardian: "They are damaging British jobs. If you are a small bookshop in the high street you can never compete with their prices, because you pay taxes. Even for John Lewis their future is also threatened because they pay their taxes."
Ms Hodge said consumers should follow the case of Starbucks last year, when direct action persuaded the coffee chain to resume UK tax payments last year.
The results filing for Amazon.co.uk shows that its corporation tax bill almost doubled to £9.7 million from £5.1 million a year earlier.
This reflected a sharp rise in p re-tax profits to £17.1 million as the UK business generated more money from the provision of fulfilment and corporate support services to other Amazon group undertakings.
Revenues were 40% higher at £449 million. Results from the US company at the end of January showed Amazon generated revenues from UK trading of 7.3 billion US dollars (£4.3 billion) last year.
The company said in a statement: " Amazon pays all applicable taxes in every jurisdiction that it operates within.
"Amazon EU serves tens of millions of customers and sellers throughout Europe from multiple consumer websites in a number of languages, dispatching products to all 28 countries in the EU.
"We have a single European headquarters in Luxembourg with hundreds of employees to manage this complex operation."


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Project Runway Winner: Thank God I'm Not a One-Way Monkey!
Oct 19, 2012 1:42 PM EDT
On Thursday's finale of Project Runway Season 10, the final four designers showed their collections at Fashion Week after receiving harsh criticism from the judges that they needed to overhaul their collections. In the end, former ballroom dancer-tur… Read more


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We love a good HDTV deal. We love it even more when a good deal comes with a little freebie. Crutchfield is currently offering both to people buying the Samsung 59-inch PN59D8000 3D Plasma.
Crutchfield currently has this set available for $1,999.99, which is $1,000 off the list price. That cost even includes free shipping. However, a nice little purchase perk is that the online retailer is also throwing in a free 26-inch TV with this purchase — it's like a little baby for your big TV!
That 59-incher is certainly a nice purchase, too. Besides the 3D features, this model has a full 1080p HD image, the 600Hz sub-field, the Real Black Filter, and 2D-to-3D conversion. It also has built-in WiFi, which is very helpful when accessing the set's Smart TV features. That on-screen option can deliver a ton of web-based goodies, including Netflix and a full web browser, right on your HDTV.
Also, if you want to add in a set-top box, a 3D Blu-ray player, a receiver, or any other AV essentials, this model has four HDMI inputs, a component video connection, a PC input, and two USB ports.
While there's not much info on the free 26-inch TV, we do know that Crutchfield says it's a $300 value. Also, it's free. Great for the bedroom, basement, a kid's room or as a very special person's birthday, this is a nice perk. However, it's not going to last for too long. Crutchfield says that the free TV offer ends on June 23, 2012, or whenever the retailer runs out of stock.
Electronic House Hot Deals are offered as an editorial service to readers. EH is not paid to promote Hot Deals and makes no guarantee on the accuracy of the product descriptions we find at the dealers' sites, nor does EH verify that the site/dealer is an authorized reseller of the product or brand.


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Welcome, Genealogists!
Our Mission
|The mission of the Genealogical Society of Riverside is to
generate interest among the general public in genealogy, family
history research, and the preservation of these records.
The purpose of the Genealogical Society of Riverside is to provide an organization for the general public where they can attend informational lectures on research methods, learn of available sources that will aid in their goals, and to publish resource books that will aid the general public in their research needs in Riverside city and county.
Our History
|The Genealogical Society of Riverside (GSOR) was founded and incorporated in 1965 and is organized for the purpose of developing friendships among members by mutual assistance in genealogical research; to provide information pertinent to methods of genealogical research; and to collect preserve, and disseminate genealogical source materials. More...


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According to police in New York City, actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died today at the age of 46. While there are reports of how he died, until full autopsy results are determined, I won't speculate. What is undeniable fact is that the world lost a great actor. I called him an immersion actor, as he seemed to dive deeply into each role, regardless of how large or small. He inhabited his characters, and gave each a defining quality. He was the the delightfully anal-retentive Brandt in The Big Lebowski. He was a shining light as Phil Parma in an otherwise unwatchable Magnolia. He was uncomfortable as a Nabokov-like teacher in 25th Hour. However, I feel his best roles are these that I've listed. Mind you, this is purely opinion, so if you'd like to share your favorites and why in the comments, please do so.
5. Jon Savage - The Savages. Hoffman plays a son taking care of his dying father and attempts reconciliation with both his sister and their father as well.
4. Lester Bangs - Almost Famous. Here Hoffman plays insanely influential rock critic and writer Lester Bangs in Cameron Crowe's paean to his love of the 1970s tour scene.
3. Father Brendan Flynn - Doubt. Hoffman portrays a priest accused of molestation in this incredibly harrowing 2008 film. You are never really sure how to feel about his character in this film, and that's a testament to Hoffman's talent.
2. Scotty - Boogie Nights. The role of the smarmy, leering, hanger-on of Scotty in Paul Thomas Anderson's 1997 classic is where I really took notice in Hoffman. I found his character both lecherously appalling as well as sad. This role is a stand-out as far as I'm concerned.
1. Truman Capote - Capote. Philip Seymour Hoffman was Truman Capote in this film. He adopted Capote's mannerisms, his speech, his aura, his aloofness, his self-importance, his fears, his reluctance, his pride, and everything else Capote was known for. Hoffman deservedly won the Best Actor Oscar for this role. If you haven't watched the film, do it soon.
Philip Seymour Hoffman was a very talented actor. He will be missed.


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Arkansas State University developed from an agricultural school founded on April 1, 1909 by Act 100 of the 37th Arkansas General Assembly. It was created as one of four Arkansas high schools to teach agriculture, horticulture and the art of textile manufacturing. Today, the university grants bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees through its various colleges. With cutting-edge research capabilities, Arkansas State is building on its first hundred years and looking to the future.
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Everything you need to help you understand how to apply, register and get involved on campus can be found on our website.
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Our students are engaged in a wide range of academic pursuits that include degree programs in 160 undergraduate and graduate fields delivered by 6 different colleges.
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Marking its first hundred years, Arkansas State University continues to expand in exciting ways.