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As you know, we are going through the gospel of Luke. That is such a tremendous privilege. We have just completed the section in Luke that deals with the birth of Jesus Christ. As I said last week, we've looked at the historical part of that, we've gone through all of the part of the story that directs its attention to Zacharias and Elizabeth and the birth of John, the forerunner of the Messiah. And we've talked about Joseph and Mary and Gabriel the angel and the shepherds and Bethlehem and the manger. And we've looked at the birth of Jesus Christ from the historical perspective. I can't let it go at that though, as I've mentioned to you. I want to look at the birth of Christ from the divine perspective. You know, there were really people in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus who could look at the child and absolutely not understand nothing about what they were seeing. In fact, in that lean-to arrangement, that sort of traveler's rest stop where Joseph and Mary were likely staying in that stable area and in the manger where they put the baby, they would have been surrounded...they would have been surrounded by people, people who certainly would be curious about a woman...a woman who was in imminent childbirth, a woman who was in labor pain, a woman who then brought forth a child, a new little baby. They certainly would have been around. There would have been a lot of attention given to her in that very public place. They could look down at the face of that little Jewish boy wrapped tightly in cloth and lying in the straw or in His mother's arms and not understand anything really. Just another little baby born to another Jewish couple. It may well have been too that the shepherds who were there, apart from what they had been told by the angels, would have looked into the face of the baby and not understood anything other than it was just another baby boy born into the world. It's really important that we not come up short in understanding the birth of Jesus Christ. Its wonderful to see it from the perspective of the historic narrative. But to really plunge a little deeper into the reality of who was that child, I've asked you to turn with me to Hebrews chapter 1 in your Bible. So we're taking a bit of a digression. You can go there, if you will, now.
Hebrews chapter 1, this is a book written to Jews, Jewish believers, for the most part, but some Jewish non-believers. And here God has inspired the writer, who we don't know, to talk about who was this child from the divine side. This is God's own commentary on Bethlehem, God's own commentary on the birth of Jesus. And it opens up to us just the most profound summary, the most far-reaching summary of the identity of Jesus Christ given anywhere in Scripture. Perhaps the closest thing would be to go through certain passages in Paul's epistles, namely Colossians chapter 1, Colossians chapter 2, Philippians chapter 2. But here in a very brief, brief section...really verses 1 through 4, or 1 through 5, you have the comprehensive identification of Jesus Christ as God. The emphasis here is on His deity, on His divine nature, that Jesus is in fact God...the child born in Bethlehem was none other than God Himself in human flesh. And it's an important perspective. And that's why I wanted to go in to Hebrews chapter 1 and take a couple of weeks to just look at what it says here because it fills in the divine perspective on the wonderful narrative of the story of the birth of the child Jesus.
And, of course, there's nothing more wonderful to me than lifting up Jesus Christ. I'm often asked...what's my sub...what's my favorite subject to preach on? It's an easy question to answer, my favorite subject to preach on is Jesus. And that's why if I belabor the point a little bit you'll understand. And beyond that, of course, to understand who Jesus is is essential to understand the Christian faith, it's essential to understand the gospel, it's essential to believe the gospel and be saved. You cannot be saved if you do not know who Jesus Christ is and what He has done.
Exalting Christ is really what we do. Paul said, "We preach Christ and Him crucified." And that's right. He said, "I'm determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the theme of Scripture. He is the theme of Old Testament Scripture, New Testament Scripture. He's the theme of all faithful biblical preaching. Exalting Christ is our duty. Exalting Christ is also our privilege. And we have had the honor of doing that as we've looked at the narrative text and we have the privilege of doing that now as we look at Hebrews chapter 1.
This very complete identification of Jesus Christ is presented to us in very straightforward short statements that make it easy to wrap our arms around it and get a grip on it. Now let me remind you that in verse 1 we see the preparation...the preparation for Christ. Referring to the Old Testament it says, "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets in many portions and in many ways," that simply describes the Old Testament. The Old Testament is God speaking to the fathers, that is to our Jewish ancestors, and He did it through prophets. Those would be the writers of Scripture. Those who spoke for God or wrote for God, God spoke in the Old Testament to our ancestors, He used human writers and He spoke in many portions...portions is another word for books and the Old Testament has 39 books, and He spoke in many ways. Those books were revealed through visions and dreams and indirect words from God and direct words from God and sometimes God even carved out His Word with His divine finger on stone, as we know in the Ten Commandments. So there were many ways in which God spoke to bring together the many portions which are the 39 books of the Old Testament. And the theme of the Old Testament, as we pointed out, is none other than the coming of Christ, the coming of Messiah. He is the seed of the woman in Genesis 3, which is the beginning of the Old Testament and He is the Son of righteousness who rises with healing in His beams in Malachi 4 which is the end of the Old Testament. And He is the theme of everything in between. Everywhere all through the Old Testament, Christ is the theme, the coming Messiah, the coming Savior, the coming King, the coming Son of the Most-High God. So, the Old Testament gives us plenty of preparation. It tells us that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, the prophet Micah says that. It tells us things about His life, that He would preach the gospel to the poor. It tells us about His death, that He would die as a suffering servant for sinners. It tells us about His resurrection, the psalmist was told that He would not see corruption, that He would pass through death back into life as the risen Savior. All of those features and many, many others. There are 350 nearly prophecies in the Old Testament about Christ. He is the one symbolized in all the sacrifices and His work is even symbolized in all the feasts and festivals of Israel. His glorious, eternal Kingdom is even symbolized by the Old Testament Sabbath.
So the pictures of Christ are replete throughout the Old Testament. It is a full...it is a full look at Jesus Christ, just short of being complete. It cannot be complete without the New Testament and that's why verse 2 takes us from the preparation for Christ to the presentation of Christ. "God who spoke long ago in these last days has spoken to us in His Son." God spoke in the Old Testament and He spoke about His Son, but in the New Testament God spoke in His Son...He spoke in His Son. And that is to say His Son is the complete revelation of God. And the New Testament focuses on the fact that God came in the form of Jesus Christ. That is an unequivocal theme of the New Testament. The four gospels record the life and work of Jesus. The book of Acts records the impact of His life and work. And the epistles, the remaining epistles of the New Testament describe the theological significance and impact of His work. And the book of Revelation talks about His Second Coming when His work is consummated.
So, the New Testament focuses on Jesus Christ, focuses on God speaking fully in Christ. He spoke only partially in the Old Testament, He speaks fully in Christ. And we made that, I trust, clear to you last time. In the New Testament God didn't display some of Himself, He displayed all of Himself. God didn't display His truth in some facets or in some fragments as He had in the Old Testament, but rather in Jesus Christ who embodies all the treasures and wisdom of God, in Jesus Christ in whom all the fullness of the godhead dwells bodily. If you want to see God fully, look at Christ. Jesus said, "If you've seen Me, you've seen the Father."
The writer of Hebrews is writing to these Jewish people to affirm to them that Jesus is Yahweh, that Jesus is Almighty God, that Jesus is none other than the covenant God of Israel, the creator God of the universe. To understand the Christian faith and to even understand Judaism in its completion is to understand that God came into the world in human form as Jesus Christ. And He is the preeminent person, fully man and fully God. And that's the message of this opening part of Hebrews. That is the heart and soul of the Christian faith, that Jesus is God. No one can be a Christian and deny that. No one can have their sins forgiven and deny that. To believe that is essential to be saved, be forgiven and go to heaven.
That brings us then to the third point, the preeminence of Christ. From preparation to the presentation to the preeminence of Christ and I want to let this unfold because it's so marvelous. We looked at several of the seven-fold preeminence of Christ that is presented here. Number one was His inheritance in verse 2. Now the writer wants to show us the preeminence of Christ, wants to show us that He is indeed God and the first thing he does is look at His inheritance. It says, "He is appointed heir of all things." Jewish people understood that the son, the firstborn, was the heir to everything the Father possessed. That didn't seem to be an unfair and unjust thing since the son bore the very image of the father, since the son was the very essence of the father, since the son basically was from the father's seed. That was a very appropriate thing. And so all that the father possessed passed through his seed to his son who was of his own essence, of his own very life blood. And when he says that Jesus Christ is the heir of all that God possesses, he is saying that He is of the same essence as God, He is of the same nature as God. He is a rightful heir. He has every right to possess whatever belongs to God because He has been begotten by God. That is to say He comes from God. He bears the same essence, the same nature and He therefore has every right to all that God possesses.
And so, we looked at His inheritance as indication of His deity. Secondly, His power. In verse 2 the deity of Jesus is emphasized by the statement, "Through whom also He being God made the world." God created the world through Jesus. It was His Son who was the agent of that creation. "By Him all things were made and without Him was not anything made that was made," John 1 says. And Paul says, "In Him all things consist and all things have been created by Him and for Him." He is the inheritor of all that God possesses, and in that sense He is the end of all things. He is the power by which God created and in that sense He is the beginning of all things. He can be no other than God if He is the heir of God and if He is the creator God who created everything that exists. And that's what he says, He is the heir of all things and He is the one who made the kosmos, the complete created order.
Now let's come, thirdly, to another element of the deity of Jesus Christ presented here, His glory. His inheritance, His power and His glory...verse 3 says, "He is the radiance of His, being God's, glory." When you talk about Jesus Christ, you're talking about the One who is the radiance of the glory of God. The word "radiance" is the word brightness. It simply means to send forth light. Jesus is the shining forth of God's glory. He's the shining forth of God's glory. John 1:14 says, "We beheld His glory," we looked at the glory of Jesus and what do we see? "The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
What we saw when we looked at Jesus was the same shining forth that is true of God. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, a very, very important passage along this regard, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 the Apostle Paul has some very rich language. He says, "When we look at Jesus Christ, we see the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ," 2 Corinthians 4:6. In verse 4 he says, "We see the light of the glory of Christ who is the image of God." When you look at Christ, what you're seeing is the shining forth of God. Now what is the shining forth of God? What is God's glory? Well, in the Old Testament God's glory was simply the representation of His attributes. God is a spirit and God is invisible. How does God then put Himself on display? How does God manifest His presence? In the Old Testament He chose to do it through light...through light. We're doing a special edition at Grace To You of a children's book that I'm writing and Melinda, my daughter, is doing the art work on it and we were discussing how to portray God. And it was pretty easy. I said the way to portray God is the way that God always portrayed Himself in the Old Testament, when He revealed Himself He revealed Himself as light...the Shekinah glory, we call it, the glow of God. When God revealed Himself in the Garden "in His presence," the term is Shekinah. Very likely when Adam and Eve walked and talked with God before the Fall, they were seeing the visible presence of God in the sense of light. Later on, you remember, when God appeared to Israel to lead them, He led them by a shining bright cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. And when the tabernacle was completed and He came down to dwell in the Holy of Holies, that shining glory came down and it was so overwhelming, the light was so bright that nobody could look at it. And later on when the temple was completed, the same thing happened, the glory of God came down into that place. When God manifested Himself, He manifested Himself as light. In Exodus chapter 33, Moses was up in the mountain talking to God and he said, "Look, God, it's not easy leading this people." And He said, "Well, I'm going to go with you, I'm going to be there, you don't have to do it on your own." And Moses said, "Well, I'd like to believe that, so show me Your glory, let me see that You're with me. I can hear that You're saying that to me, but I want some visible proof." And God acquiescing His moment of doubt said, "All right," and He put him in a rock, sort of screened him off a little bit and tucked him in a cave somewhere and He said, "You can't see My full glory so I'll let you look out a little hole and you can see some of it, all of it would be enough to incinerate you." And he watched His back parts, the Hebrew says, the glory passed by and the glory was so overwhelming that it got all over Moses' face and it literally reflected off his face when he went down the mountain to speak to the people, as you remember.
But the point being, that when God revealed Himself because He's an invisible spirit, He revealed Himself in light. And then when He identified what that was, He said to Moses, "My goodness and My mercy, or My lovingkindness, My compassion, you'll see those things." Well you can't see those virtues because they are virtues, but God manifested that glory, the glory of those attributes in light. Light was the symbolic representation of those attributes.
So when it says here Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, it simply means He possesses the same attributes, that He is the very shining forth of God...nothing less than that. He is the radiance of divine glory. He is all that God is. That's why I say, when you come to the New Testament you don't see God in a fragmentary way, you read the Old Testament, as I did this morning in Psalm 111, and the attributes of God are listed there for you. You come to the New Testament, you don't have the attributes of God listed in the New Testament like that, you have the attributes of God manifested in the New Testament through whom? Through Jesus. There you see wisdom, there you see creative power, there you see upholding and sustaining power. There you see the power to give light and His ability to raise the dead. There you see the infinite intelligence and mind of Jesus, His omniscience as He knows what's in the hearts of men that no one knows. All of that is manifest. You see God literally manifest in the flesh, Paul says. He is the shining out of all the attributes of God. Just as the radiance of the sun is not the sun, just as the warmth of the sun is not the sun, the light of the sun is not the sun, but it comes from the sun, so the attributes of God, the attributes of Christ are the emanating realities about God that flow out of His essential being. Jesus is none other than God. He is the very radiance of His glory.
The fourth element of the preeminence of Jesus that the writer of Hebrews presents...His inheritance, His power, His glory...is His essence, or His being, His nature. You can write nature down if you're keeping an outline. That is essential being, going behind the attributes, as it were, to the face that God is immutable, that is unchanging, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent spirit. Those attributes which are essential to His being. And he says this about Jesus in verse 3, He's not only the radiance, He's not only the very attributes of God manifest, but He is the exact representation of His nature. This is very specific language here. This is not at all vague. He is an exact stamp, He is an exact duplication, an exact replication of God. He is precisely what God is. He is the exact copy of God, the exact replica, reproduction of God. And it says He is the exact representation of His nature, of His essence, of His substance. That's what that means. Of His person, some translations indicate.
That is to say He is God of very Gods...God a very God, I should say, not with a plural. In Colossians 1:15 it says essentially the same thing. Colossians 1:15, it says at the end of the verse, "He is...at the beginning of the verse rather...He is the image of the invisible God...He is the image of the invisible God." Now when you take the word "image" there, it's the word eikon from which we get icon, which means a precise copy, a reproduction, an exact image. And that's exactly what the writer is saying to us here. The writer of Colossians uses one word and here different words are used to express the very same thing. He is the perfect portrait of God. That's why Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him dwells all the fullness of the godhead bodily." All that God is essentially is in Christ. He is the very essential nature of God as well as manifesting the very communicable attributes of God. Theologians would say He is the incommunicable God as to His essence and He manifests the communicable attributes of that incommunicable essence. He is what God is and He manifests what God is to all those who see Him. To see Him is to see God.
When we talk about Jesus Christ, this baby born in Bethlehem, we're talking about none other than God. We're talking about none other than deity. Number five, the writer of Hebrews affirming again the deity of Jesus looks at His authority...at His authority. No created being could be defined like this. No created being is the heir of all things. No created being made the universe, obviously. No created being is the very emanating radiance of the attributes of the glory of God. No created being is an exact duplication of God. And number five, he says His authority also sets Him apart because it is He who upholds all things by the word of His power. By the sheer power that He has to speak, He can uphold all things. All things meaning all things.
The created universe...the created universe in terms of its physical identity and even of its immaterial or spiritual identity which we as human beings who are eternal possess and which angelic beings as well possess, He sustains all that. He upholds all that. Supporting, maintaining the entire order, the universe and everything that's in it sustained by Christ. He's not like a watch maker that makes a watch, ships it off to a retailer and never sees it again. Jesus Christ is not only the creator but He is the sustainer, He is the principle of cohesion. He makes the universe a cosmos instead of a chaos. He makes the universe, He sustains the universe as an ordered reliable unit instead of an erratic, unpredictable muddle. The laws of nature really the laws that you hear so often, the laws of nature this, the laws of nature this...I'd like to just remind you, a little footnote...in the Hebrew language there is no word for nature as we would use it, there is no word because there is no Mother Nature. There is no nature unless you're talking about the sin nature, unless you're talking about the essence of the being of someone. We talk about Mother Nature did this and Mother Nature did that...there is no Mother Nature. There is no nature...there's no nature in the Hebrew language. Everything can be tracked back to God. God through Christ sustains everything. The laws of nature are the laws of God, the mind and power of Christ working through the universe. No scientist and no mathematician and no astronomer and no nuclear-physicist, no anybody else could do anything without the upholding, sustaining power of Christ. The authority that He has will hold the entire universe together by those laws which are nothing more than a reflection of His power. We don't have a consistently functioning universe just because, we have it because He holds it together and makes it function consistently. The whole universe hangs on His arm, His unsearchable wisdom, His boundless power, His ability to control every element, every atom, every minute component of every atom to control it all of the time keeps Him directing, sustaining the complicated movements of this incredible universe.
For example, if the earth's rotation slowed down a little bit, we would ultimately fry and freeze. The sun has a surface temperature of 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit, if it was any closer or any farther away we would ultimately freeze or fry.
Our globe is tilted at 23 degrees exact angle which enables us to have four seasons. Any alteration of that would cause vapors from the ocean to pile up on the North and South Pole and we would have massive continents of ice dramatically effecting even the capability of life. If the moon didn't remain at its exact distance from the earth, the ocean tides would inundate the land completely twice a day. If the ocean slipped to a few feet deeper than it is, carbon dioxide and the oxygen in the earth's atmosphere would be completely absorbed and no vegetable life could live on the planet. If our atmosphere didn't remain constant, just thinned out a little bit, many of the thousands upon thousands of meteors that come plummeting toward earth and are now harmlessly destroyed, burned up in our atmosphere would bombard us if it was a little bit thinner.
Who holds all this in delicate balance? This just doesn't happen because it happens. Christ who directs all movements, all developments and all actions in the universe, He is the preeminent power who appeared on earth in servant form. He is the sustainer of the universe.
Number six in the elements of the preeminence of Christ takes us into another dimension. We have seen that He is clearly manifest as God by virtue of His nature, by virtue of His power. But look at the incredible statement at the end of verse 3. "When He had made purification of sins..." The sixth element of His preeminence is His atonement...His atonement. And this in the end matters most, doesn't it? This matters most.
This is to say that He brought about the purification, or the cleansing of sins. This is our great need. And no one else could do this, no one. There had been a lot of prophets, they couldn't do it. There had been a lot of priests, thousands upon thousands of priests, they couldn't do it. Millions upon millions of sacrifices, they couldn't do it. Nobody could do it. No one was found who could provide the purification for sins. All the Old Testament priests could do would sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice over and over and over and over and never ever was sin purified. All that sacrifice just pointed to the desperate need for a sacrifice that could be given once for all and purification accomplished. And that's exactly what Jesus did. The writer of Hebrews later says, "By the offering of Himself, He perfected forever those that are sanctified." "He by one offering brought about the forgiveness and cleansing of sins."
Only He could have done it because it had to be a spotless lamb. In order for one to pay the price for sin for others, He had to be perfect or He would have had to pay the price for His own sin. So there had to be a perfect substitute. To be a substitute, someone had to be without sin. And since no one in the world is without sin, it had to be someone from outside the world. It needed to be a man to take the place of men. It needed to be a sinless one who could die as a substitute for sinners and the sinless one was none other than God in human flesh, Jesus Christ. He became a man to take man's place, He was sinless and thus He could be a substitute for sinners. And on the cross He died and by the offering of Himself He put away sin. By taking the full wrath of God for your sins and my sins, God's wrath was then satisfied and God can forgive because Christ paid the penalty for our sin. He took our place. That is the great heart and soul of Christian gospel preaching. The wisdom and power of the mind of God which created the universe, also created the plan of redemption. God designed that someone would die for sinners and that someone had to be perfect. That left it only to Him because none is perfect but Him. And it had to be a man to die in the place of men. So the God/Man Jesus comes to die for sinners. And on the cross He accomplishes redemption. That's why at the end, John 19:30, said, "It is finished," and once for all forever He paid the price for sins for all who would ever believe.
Now the cross was a real stumbling block to Jewish people, still is. But this letter was written to Jewish people and the writer didn't hold back. Even though it was a stumbling block to them, the Holy Spirit never apologized for that because you can't. You can't avoid the cross. If you avoid the cross, you avoid salvation. He presents it as one of the excellent glories of the Son. You can't have a Christianity without the cross. You can't have a Christianity without the death of Jesus Christ. You can't have forgiveness of sin without putting your faith in the one who purified you by being offered in your place.
One of the excellent glories of Christ no matter how it may offend is that Jesus died on the cross, shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins but it had to be the blood of a perfect sacrifice and He was that. He bore in His own body our sins on the cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us. The basis of salvation then is at that point and Jesus, God in human flesh, died for us and thus purified us from our sins. Why? Because our sins deserve punishment. God punished Him in our place. Therefore our sins have been dealt with and some day those of us who believe will be completely delivered from sin which has already been paid for but we'll be completely delivered from it when we leave this world and enter into the perfection of the life to come. Christ accomplished what no priest could ever accomplish. Christ accomplished what no angel could ever accomplish. Christ accomplished what no prophet or holy man or great religious leader could ever accomplish...not Moses, not Abraham, not David, not any of the great heroes of Israel could accomplish this. Not the great prophets, not Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, not Elijah, not Elisha, no one...no one. Not John the Baptist, the greatest and last of the Old Testament prophets, only the God/Man could die for men in perfection as God and be the substitute for sinners and provide the purification of sins. This is a huge issue to Jewish people. At that time they had been going to the temple and going to the temple, this book was written a few years, maybe just two or three years before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem, and at that time the temple was the center of their life. And what did they do when they went there? Made sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice and sacrifice and go away knowing their sins were never purified...never purified...never purified. And it all seemed so cyclical and so relentless and sometimes so hopeless.
But Jesus provided what the blood of bulls and goats could never provide, purification from sins. And so for those of us who put our trust in Jesus Christ, our sins have been completely washed away, totally forgiven because of His work on the cross in our place.
Then finally, having presented the glories of Christ, the preeminence of Christ through His inheritance, through His power as creator, through His glory as the brightness of God, through His nature as the very being of God, through His authority as the sustainer of the universe and through His atonement as the sacrifice for sin, he comes at last to His exaltation. When you look at the exaltation of Jesus, you can conclude nothing other than that He is God. He says at the end of verse 3, here's His exaltation, "He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high." Boy, that is a really significant statement.
When Jesus died and rose from the dead, He then ascended into heaven. You remember His life on earth ended, His ministry on earth ended 40 days after the resurrection when He ascended into heaven. And when He ascended into heaven God seated Him at His right hand. Philippians 2 says at that point He gave to Him a name which is above every name, and the name is Lord...Lord which means sovereign master. He gave Him the title of Lord and sovereign Master. Philippians 2 says that at the name of Jesus, the name Lord, every knee should bow, every knee should bow, whether you're on the earth or whether you're under the earth or whether you're in heaven...every knee bows to the lordship of Jesus. He is exalted to the right hand of God. And the right hand always symbolizes the side of power and authority and prominence and preeminence.
When Jesus went into heaven, He did what a priest never did...He sat down. Priests never sat down because their work was never done. But Jesus work was done. He had accomplished it on the cross, it was finished and He sat down. There were no seats, by the way, in the temple, no chairs, no benches for the priests because they never sat down. Their work was never done. When Jesus' work on the cross was done, it was finished, He went to glory and sat down. He sat down on the side of God, on the power side, the might side, the seat of honor, the seat of rule. And there He sits as our great High Priest and intercessor.
Now to show how great the exaltation of Jesus is, the writer says this, verse 4, "Having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they, for to which of the angels did He ever say, 'Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee and again I'll be a Father to Him and He'll be a Son to me?'" Now here's his point, this is really very important. Jewish people greatly esteemed angels. They did, they still do if they're true to orthodox Judaism. Every Hebrew was aware of angels and they knew that angels were an important part of God's unfolding purpose among men. They believed that angels surrounded the throne of God and worshiped God. They had glimpses of that from Isaiah 6. And they saw God as accomplishing His purposes through angels who from time to time in the Old Testament came down to earth and achieved the purposes of God. So they believed that angels did God's work, that angels occasionally mediated between God and men, as in the case of Daniel when God was dispatching an angel to come and assist Daniel in his dilemma. They believed that God existed in celestial glories of heaven, surrounded by angels for the purpose of worship and service. They believed that angels were messengers from God. But most importantly, they knew that angels were the agents by which God delivered the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law. They believed the Mosaic Covenant was brought to them by angels. And the Mosaic Covenant was really the key to them. The Mosaic Law was what they tried to live by. Unfortunately they tried to become saved by it. They knew it was a righteous and holy reflection of God's will. They believed it had come by the instrumentality of angels. And so angels were really exalted in the Jewish mind. In fact, when you went higher than an angel, you came to God. They believed that people were lower than angels and only God was higher.
And so, the writer of Hebrews says that Jesus has a much better name than angels, a much more excellent name than they have. For to which of the angels did God ever say...You're My Son, today I have begotten you? To which of the angels did God ever say...I'll be a Father to Him and He'll be a Son to Me? The answer...no angel...generically angels are sons of God in the sense that He created them, generically human beings are sons of God in the sense that God created mankind. And as believers, we are sons of God in a spiritual sense. But to no individual angel did God ever say...You're My Son. And therefore He has a name Son which makes Him better than angels...a more excellent name than angels. Christ is superior to angels.
Now any Jew will tell you if you say Christ is superior to angels, you're saying Christ is God. There's only one step up from angels and that's God...that's God. He was better than angels and consequently He had a better name than He have. And what was His name? His name was Son. No angel has that name. Of no angel did God ever say, "Thou art My beloved Son."
Now for a little while...for a little while it tells us in Hebrews chapter 2 verse 7, Jesus was made lower than the angels when He took on the form of a man, when He humbled Himself, when He came down to earth He was made for a little while lower than the angels. But that was just a little while, just that brief 33 years. But truly before He came into this world He was better than angels, even while He was in this world He was better than angels. And after He ascended back into heaven, He was restored to the glory that He had before He was certainly better than angels. It was just that little while when He was here and took the form of man that He was lowered. Now if you're saying He's better than angels, you're saying He's God. They understood that.
Well what does it mean to say that He is His Son, "Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee?" Well, that is referring to His deity again. Everything in this passage refers to His deity. And I confess to sort of meandering a little bit on this passage through the years, trying to come to a strong conviction as to what the intent of the writer here is...at last under some pressures from some people who really want to know where I stand on this. I've come to, I think, the appropriate understanding of the passage. And what I believe is intended by the phrase "You are My Son" is an expression of eternal deity. The thing that compels me to that is this, I ask myself the question...now what do I think, not how does this hit me, not what do I as a twentieth century Gentile bring to this passage, but how did a Jew understand this? If Jesus said He was the Son of God, if the writer of Hebrews says to Jewish people He is the Son of God, how do they perceive that? Do they think that's a human title? What do they thing that means? That's the compelling issue.
And when I had that question answered in my mind it sort of solved the puzzle for me. When Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, according to John 5:18, immediately He was charged with blasphemy...immediately. And they said, "He is making Himself equal to God." So the Jews understood this as a statement about essential, eternal, divine nature. And I think that's the right way to understand it. If He didn't mean that he should have said...Whoa, whoa, guys, when I say Son of God I don't really mean that, I'm just talking about something that, you know, sort of happening now in my incarnation.
If that's what He meant He could have straightened that out. But it was this charge, You're claiming to be the Son of God, that was the charge the Jewish leaders made that ultimately put Him on the cross. And when He was hanging on the cross, they executed Him basically because He claimed to be the Son of God which they knew was saying You're equal with God. When He was hanging on the cross they said to Him, according to Matthew, they said, chapter 27, they said, "Why don't You come down off the cross, You claim to be the Son of God." And then later they said, "Why not ask Him that for He said I am the Son of God." That was what galled them, that was what stuck in their throats like a bone. He's claiming to be the Son of God. They understood that as a claim to deity. It didn't mean anything other to them than that. And it was that that infuriated them.
But the fact of the matter is, if you are higher than the angels, if you are more excellent than they, if you have a better name than they have, then you're God. Cause there's only one step up from the holy angels. And verse 6 says, "Let all the angels of God worship Him." So when God brought that firstborn into the world, He said let the angels worship Him.
Every way you look at it, the preeminence of Christ is presented here. He is God. He is God because He is the heir of all things. He is God because He is the creator of the universe. He is God because He manifests all the attributes of the glory of God. He is God because He is a duplication of the being of God. He is God because He sustains the entire universe by His power. He is God because God alone has the power to purify sin. He is God because He has been exalted to the very throne of God above the angels. This is the preeminence of Christ and this is written to, remember now, to Hebrews who need to be assured that the Lord Jesus Christ is in fact God. They have not turned from God in embracing Christ. They have not forsaken Judaism in embracing Christ. They have turned to the true and living revelation of God. God spoke once many ways in many portions through prophets to their ancestors, but now God has spoken fully and completely in His Son who is God in every sense.
We could say then that the deity of Jesus Christ then is established in this chapter because He is given divine names, He is called Son of God, He is called Lord, He is called God. He is given divine works, creation, sustaining of that creation, governing that creation, purging sin, redeeming sinners. He is given divine attributes, He is omniscient, omnipotent, immutable, eternal. And He is to receive divine worship from the angels in verse 6 who are called to worship Him. There can be no other conclusion than that Jesus is God and that is the heart and soul of the Christian faith.
Now there's more in this chapter that is so profound and rich. And I want you to notice, I don't know if you have the kind of Bible that sorts it out, but starting in verse 5 and going to the end of the chapter, almost everything in there is quoted out of the Old Testament. Almost everything till the last verse, verse 14, is quoted out of the Old Testament to show the superiority and the preeminence of Christ. Next time we'll look at just an overview of that as we consider the greatness of this child. Let's bow in prayer.
Our Father, we thank You for giving us this wonderful picture of Christ, our blessed, matchless, incomparable Christ, majestic beyond all others, the supreme exalted person, the theme of Scripture, Old Testament, New Testament. We thank You that He is the binding on the book of Revelation, the book of Scripture. What the Old Testament concealed of Christ, the New Testament revealed. What the Old Testament contained of Christ, the New Testament explained. What the Old Testament gave in principle, the New Testament gave in perfection. What the Old Testament presented of Christ in shadow, the New Testament presents in substance. What the Old Testament presented of Christ in ritual, the New Testament presents in reality. What the Old Testament presented of Christ in picture, the New Testament presents in person. And we give glory to Jesus Christ. We give honor to Jesus Christ, Son of God, for the glory of His person and the wonder of His salvation. We confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, as the one alone who died in our place and bore our sins in His own body, the one who knew no sin but yet was made sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. And, O God, we thank You and we praise You for the saving work that has been granted to us through Christ. May we love Him and adore Him, exalt Him and honor Him, serve Him, obey Him and proclaim His gospel far and wide and we pray these things for His honor. Amen.
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This sermon series includes the following messages:
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Brennan Linsley / AP
Just after midnight, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock performs a civil union vows ceremony for Sonja Semion, center, and her partner Courtney Law at the Webb Municipal Building.
The first gay couple granted a civil union in Colorado said their vows before hundreds of people early Wednesday morning at a downtown Denver municipal building, where eager couples and members of the public gathered to celebrate the first legal unions.
The new law legalizing civil unions took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and both Denver and Boulder began issuing licenses immediately.
Fran and Anna Simon were the first to receive a civil union certificate. Wearing the white wedding dresses they wore at their commitment ceremony seven years ago and joined by their five-year-old son Jeremy, Fran and Anna received their license from a clerk at 12:02 a.m., following an expectant countdown to midnight led by other couples. Minutes later they were joined in a ceremony officiated by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
"Our commitment doesn't change, but we will have a burden lifted off our shoulders," Anna Simon said. "Loving and committed couples need legal protections."
The statewide advocacy group One Colorado hosted the festivities, and the Denver clerk's office remained open until 3 a.m. to issue civil union licenses to couples eager to take advantage of their rights under the new law.
Couples were ushered into the clerk's office in small groups, where they filled out paperwork and received their certificate, a moment that for many came with a quick kiss, a squeeze of hands or a few tears.
Signed certificates in hand, couples were then joined in official ceremonies performed before supporters and other couples in the atrium of the Wellington E. Webb Municipal Office Building.
U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette joined Hancock and local judges and magistrates in officiating civil union ceremonies. DeGette, a long-time supporter of gay rights, said she earned her clergy status online specifically to participate in Wednesday morning's festivities.
"Members of the GLBT community are the same as everyone else — they want loving, permanent relationships," she said.
Hancock said he was honored to be part of the landmark event.
"I've been a part of the effort to legalize civil unions in Colorado now for several years. I feel a tremendous amount of pride for the people of Denver to work with their legislators to finally pass this piece of legislation to allow people to love and live as they so choose," he said.
Elsewhere in Colorado, the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder remained open until 2 a.m. to offer licenses, while other counties waited until after daybreak to start issuing civil union licenses. El Paso County will begin issuing them at 8 a.m. without any fanfare while some Pueblo County officials and advocates plan an 11 a.m. rally on the steps of the county courthouse followed by a mass civil union ceremony.
Colorado is the eighth state to have civil unions or similar laws. Nine states and the District of Columbia allow gay marriage.
Gov. John Hickenlooper signed the bill in March, marking the culmination of a dramatic shift in Colorado, where in 1992 voters approved a ban on discrimination protection for gays and in 2006 made gay marriage illegal under the state constitution.
But for many gay couples and gay rights advocates, the fight is not over.
Anna and Fran Simon, for example, who testified numerous times in favor of the civil union legislation, say they hope to get the chance to wear their wedding dresses one more time.
"Like most people growing up, you have a dream of falling in love and getting married, not getting a civil union," Anna Simon said.
Colorado's civil unions law allows unmarried couples, both gay and heterosexual, the ability to form civil unions and get rights similar to those of married couples. They include transferring property, making medical decisions, adopting children and qualifying for health insurance and survivor benefits.
13 key moments in the Supreme Court argument over gay marriage
Supreme Court likely to advance gay marriage but stop short of sweeping ruling


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Major IT incidents and business disruptions occur at every company. When they do, specialized procedures kick in to restore service as quickly as possible. The IT service desk initiates IT's response by alerting major incident managers, who assemble a major incident resolution team and get to work.
But restoration and resolution are only the tip of the major incident communication iceberg. Really effective major incident communication reaches out to a host of other people inside and outside the organization to share information, receive help, keep people up to date and prevent further interruptions.
In this slideshow, Abbas Haider Ali, CTO, xMatters, Inc., outlines eight important people to connect with outside the resolution process.
Abbas Haider Ali brings over 15 years of experience in networking, cloud-based services and multi-modal communications. As CTO of xMatters, he's responsible for evangelizing the adoption of communications-enabled business processes, and has worked closely with more than 400 global IT organizations to create a vision for adopting intelligent communication strategies across business scenarios.
Related Topics : A Big Market for Big Data Jobs, Midmarket CIO, IT Management Automation, SharePoint, Technology Markets
The gig economy is clearly disrupting the tech industry, both in positive and negative ways. ... More >>
Is fake news a security issue? Some say yes, as it can be used as a social engineering tool to spread disinformation and conceivably to get unsuspecting users to click on malicious links. ... More >>
Executives at several top tech firms outline the skills they need now and in the near future, including IaaS and IoT security expertise. Other skills listed may surprise you. ... More >>


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Sorry, right-wingers, Whitehouse didn't call you all Aryan racists
The right-wing media have spent the year BEGGING for progressive leaders to call them Nazis.
Back in April, media conservatives freaked out [1] over declassified Department of Homeland Security report detailing potential increases in right-wing extremism. Ignoring the possibility that the election of a black president could have an actual effect on the radicalism and recruitment of actual hate groups - like, for instance, the Klan - the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world were convinced that the report was actually aimed at them.
Then in August, Nancy Pelosi commented that protestors are "carrying swastikas and symbols like that to a town meeting on health care." Sure enough, swastikas [2] and other Nazi icons [3] had appeared on signs carried by those protestors, who were suggesting that the Democrats' health care reform plans were reminiscent of Hitler's Germany. But the right-wing was sure [4] that Pelosi was talking about them, and had been calling the protestors or opponents of health care reform "Nazis."
Now, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) is getting the same treatment. In a floor speech yesterday, Whitehouse criticized Senate Republicans' rampant obstructionism of health care reform efforts, specifically their refusal to support cloture on a defense appropriations bill in hopes of slowing down attempts to move to a vote on health care. Whitehouse stated that Senate Republicans were "desperate to break this president," adding "They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist."
From Whitehouse's December 20 floor speech [5] (about 115 minutes in):
The lowest of the low was the Republican vote against funding and supporting our troops in the field in a time of war. As a devise to stop health care, they tried to stop the appropriation of funds for our soldiers. There is no excuse for that. From that, there is no return. Every single Republican member was willing to vote against cloture for funding our troops, and they admitted it was a tactic to obstruct health care reform. The Secretary of Defense warned us all that a "no" vote would immediately create "a serious disruption in the worldwide activities of the Department of Defense," end quote, and yet every one of them was willing to vote "no."
Almost all of them did vote no. Some stayed away, but that's the same as "no" when you need 60 "yes" votes to proceed. Voting "no" and hiding from the vote are the same result. Those of us on the floor see it was clear. The three of them who did not cast their yes votes until all 60 Senate votes had been tallied and it was clear that the result was a foregone conclusion. And why? Why all this discord and discourtesy, all this unprecedented destructive action? All to break the momentum of our new young president.
They are desperate to break this president. They have ardent supporters who are nearly hysterical at the very election of President Barack Obama. The birthers, the fanatics, the people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups, it is unbearable to them that President Barack Obama should exist. That is one powerful reason. It is not the only one.
Rather then assess the validity of Whitehouse's claims - do such people exist, and do they support Republcian senators? - the right-wing started screaming about how Whitehouse was accusing them all of membership in hate groups.
Washington Times blogger Kerry Picket got the ball rolling [6], providing Whitehouse's full comment but doing so under the headline, "Sen. Whitehouse: foes of health care bill are birthers, right-wing militias, aryan groups." RedState's Erick Erickson took over from there [7], claiming that Whitehouse said that "If you oppose health care deform, you are a racist, hate-spouting, Aryan who roots for the assassination of Barack Obama" and "labeled everyone opposed to the legislation as racist hatemongers rooting for bullets against the President." The claim spread [8] through [9] the right-wing [10] blogosphere [11] from there, and just made the jump to Lou Dobbs' radio show.
What seems oddest about the right-wing media's obsessive claims that progressives are calling them Nazis is the implication that comparing your political opponents to Hitler and company is out of bounds. If the right really believes that such comparisons are beyond the pale, maybe its time for them to stop [12] informing us how much Obama and his politics remind them of Hitler.
- Posted In
- Health Care [13], Health Care Reform [14]
- Network/Outlet
- The Washington Times [15], redstate.com [16]
- Person
- Lou Dobbs [17], Kerry Picket [18], Erick Erickson [19]


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This proceeding is available only on CD-ROM
- Location:
- London, Ontario Canada
- Coordinators:
- Harry MacLean, VE3GRO
David Toth, VE3GYQ
Paul L. Rinaldo, W4RI
- Hosted by:
- Canadian Radio Relay League (CRRL)
American Radio Relay League (ARRL)
9th Computer Networking Conference
September 22, 1990
- 9600 Baud Operation
by Phil Anderson, W0XI, and Karl Medcalf, WK5M
- Abstract: Over the last month or so, we've conducted a number of on-the-air tests with the G3RUH modem in combination with the Kantronics DataEngine and the Kantronics DVR2-2 2-meter data/voice transceiver at 9600 baud. After the usual initial false starts we found the combination to work quite well. We passed a large number of 10K files in transparent mode from WK5M's station to my PBBS (mailbox in my DataEngine) without error. Additionally, we performed some informal bit error rate (BER) tests on the link, finding results comparable to those listed in Steve Goode's (K9NG) paper's.
- Digital Regenerator Modification for the TNC-2A
by William A. Beech, NJ7P, and Jack Taylor, N7OO
- Abstract:
Others have pointed out the network efficiency advantage of using duplex regenerators as compared to simplex digipeaters. However, the use of packet duplex regenerators entails added expense which may be the reason they have not found common usage in LAN and backbone systems. In addition to the expense of a duplexer for in-band operation, previous implementations of regenerators have required either dual TNCs or the use of a high quality land line modem as well as a TNC. This paper describes a way to make multiple use of a TNC in this application, with a realized savings in cost and simplification in equipment configuration. Furthermore, if the regenerator was set up for cross-band operation, the expense then would be comparable to a simplex digipeater since a duplexer would not be required.
- This paper describes the conversion of a TNC-2A to serve as both a digital regenerator and a network node. The conversion has been in use on the 144.51-145.11 SVALAN:N700-4 repeater/node for several months.
- Considering Next-Generation Amateur Voice Systems
by Jon Bloom, KE3Z
- Abstract: Next-generation voice systems are a logical outgrowth of high-speed networking. Replacement of existing systems (repeaters) which is needed to address the current spectrum-use problems must be preceded by design of appropriate multiple-access systems. Some of the key issues to consider are analog vs. digital modulation schemes and the types of multiple access arrangements.
- AVC_R_ISA: A MAC Layer for NOS/net
by F. Davoli, A. Giordano IlTD, A. Imovilli IWlPVW, C. Nobile IWlQAP, G. Pederiva IWlQAN, and S. Zappatore IWlPTR
- Abstract: In this paper we describe an implementation of the protocol AVC-R-ISA (Access Virtual Channel Radionet-Independent Stations Algorithm) performed in the NOS/net program. AVC-RISA may be a solution to the problem of traffic control in a packet switched network, like for example the amateur packet network. This multiple access strategy may be viewed as an alternative for the MAC layer to the popular CSMA and is aimed at improving the channel throughput with an optimized distribution of the channel itself among the users.
- A Built in TNC for the Toshiba Mod. T1000
by Frederic de Bros, KXlS
- Abstract: The idea to have a TNC + laptop computer attached to a hand held transceiver seems attractive. Several home brew versions have been tried on SHARP PC 5000 and Tandy 100 computers. None were truly portable or clutter free. We describe here how to affix a UMPAD (Universal packet assembler/disassembler) onto a modem board inside the Toshiba T1000 computer.
- A GPS Data Receiver
by Dan Doberstein, M.S.E.E.
- Abstract: This paper describes the construction of a Global Positioning System (GPS) single channel data receiver using the L1 carrier. A brief explanation of the GPS system is provided. The needed details of the GPS signal structure are also covered. GPS uses Spread Spectrum techniques. It is one of the first world wide systems to implement this technology. These techniques will play an ever larger part in tomorrows communication systems.
Physical Layer Considerations in Building a High Speed Amateur Radio Network
by Glenn Elmore, N6GN
- Abstract: The high information capacity required by an amateur high speed network requires optimum use of resources. Use of both directional antennas and the UHF and microwave bands is essential to obtain efficient use of hardware and spectrum resources. The use of shorter point-to-point links and small clusters of local users can achieve dramatic increases in user information throughput. Coordination and cooperation at all levels will be necessary to make a high speed amateur network a reality.
Hubmaster: Cluster-Based Access to High-Speed Networks
by Glenn Elmore, N6GN, Kevin Rowett, N6RCE, and Ed Satterthwaite, N6PLO
- Abstract: This paper describes the link-level design of Hubmaster a packet radio network that we are currently building. Hubmaster is intended to offer medium-speed network access to collections of end users and to serve as a stepping-stone to higher-speed networks. Users are organized into local clusters. Each cluster consists of a centrally located hub and a dynamically formed group of secondaries. The hub time-multiplexes a single channel by polling the secondaries. Our initial design will provide 256 kbit/s links and operate on the 33 or 23 cm band.
- Adaptation of the KA9Q TCP/IP Package for Standalone Packet Switch Operation
by Bdale Garbee, N3EUA, Don Lemley, N4PCR, and Milt Heath
- Abstract: Several new hardware systems intended for, or adaptable to, standalone packet switch use have appeared on the market in 1990. These include the Grace PackeTen, the Kantronics Data Engine, and the soon lO be available AEA PS-186. One obvious use for these systems is implementation of a TCP/IP based amateur packet network. This paper discusses some of the design issues uncovered in porting the KA9Q TCPIIP package to a standalone hardware environment, and will touch on some details of the implementations available now (or soon) for each of the mentioned hardware systems.
- Network Routing Techniques and Their Relevance to Packet Radio Networks
by James Geier, Martin DeSimio, WB8MPF, and Byron Welsh, KD8WG
- Abstract: With packet radio networks, the distance between source and destination nodes typically necessitates one or more nodes to relay data to the final destination. Thus, some form of routing must take place. This paper explains several current network routing algorithms and shows their relevance to packet radio networks. In addition, current research at AFIT concerning the development of an automatic routing algorithlll for Air Force Logistics Comllland's (AFLC) HF packet radio network is explained.
- Status Report on the KA9Q Internet Protocol Package for the AppleMacintosh
by Dewayne Hendricks, WA8DZP, and Doug Thom, N60YU
- Abstract: This article describes the current status of the implementation of the KA9Q Internet Protocol Package which we performed upon the Apple Macintosh family of personal computers. The unique Macintosh user interface and its proper utilization by the KA9Q software has been our major objective in the three years since we have started this project and has proved to be quite a challenge. We hope that the users of our implementation have been pleased with the results to date. As of today, there are at least 300 copies of the package out in the world which we have distributed ourselves. We are certain that there are many more copies out there which we don't know about. This is a good deal more than we expected to see three years ago. After all, the Macintosh is not the personal computer that is most linked with amateur packet radio due to its cost when compared to IBM PC's and its clones.
- Texas Packet Radio Society Projects: An Update
by Greg Jones, WD5IVD, and Tom McDermott, N5EG
- Abstract: The last paper published in the ARRL Networking Conference concerning TexNet was in 1987 (1) and we felt it was about time to publish an update. This paper will discuss the current status of the Texas Packet Radio Society's TexNet development, TexNetTexLnk software forthe TNC, and the TexNet CARDINAL project. We hope this paper will serve as a method to further distribute information regarding TPRS projects and be able to generate correspondence from interested parties about our activities.
- FlexNet - The European Solution
by Gunter Jost, DK7WJ, and Joachim Sonnabend
- Abstract: This paper describes the design and implementation of FlexNet. This is a packet switch software with a complete new design made in Germany. It is beginning to become the standard in Central Europe. Running on a dedicated hardware with an unique design it is easy to put cheap and reliable packet switches on our mountain sites.
- MACA - A New Channel Access Method for Packet Radio
by Phil Karn, KA9Q
- Abstract: The existing Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) method widely used in amateur packet radio on shared simplex packet radio channels frequently suffers from the well-known "hidden terrninal problem" and the less well known but related problem of the "exposed terminal." This paper proposes a new scheme, Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (MACA), that could greatly relieve these problems. MACA can also be easily extended to provide automatic transmitter power control. This could increase the carrying capacity of a channel substantially.
- Forward Error Correction for Imperfect Data in Packet Radio
by W. Kinsner, VE4WK
- Abstract: Many current protocols employ retransmission to ensure error-free data transfers. This is necessary for perfect data where a loss of a single bit is catastrophic. For imperfect data, such as digitized speech transmitted in real time in which a loss of one bit in a 1000 may be acceptable, retransmission is not possible and forward error correction should be used for error control. This paper presents a review of suitable codes for such error control, as well as several code implementations including a modified Hamming code, BoseChaudhury-Hocquenghem (BCH) code, and a concatenated code capable of correcting not only random errors but also burst errors. The code has an outer Hamming code, an inner self-orthogonal l/2 convolutional code, and a code word interlace matrix.
- The Network News Transfer Protocol and its Use in Packet Radio
by Anders Klemets, SMORGV
- Abstract: The exchange of news bulletins is very popular among amateur packet radio users today. But there are currently no standardized protocols in use, and there is no widespread use of news forwarding protocols at all among amateur TCP/IP stations. This paper discusses how the Network News Transfer Protocol can be used to distribute news between stations on packet radio networks. NNTP is a stadardized protocol that is widely used on the Internet. Different implementations of NNTP for the KA9Q Internet Package are presented and compared.
- Packet Radio with Rudak II on the Russian Radio-MI Mission
by Hanspeter Kuhlen, DK1YQ
- Abstract: This paper will report on the mission objectives and the sofar achieved results. The transponder has been named RADIO-MI by AMSAT-U-ORBITA. A "one" because it is our first joint project and "M" because the involved AMSAT groups are located in Molodechno near Minsk (ORBITA), Moscow and Munich (RUDAK). Once the satellite is in orbit it will probably become RS 14 (Radio Sputnik).
- CELP High-Quality Speech Processing for Packet Radio Transmission and Networking
by A. Langi, and W. Kinsner, VE4WK
- Abstract: This paper presents a design of a signal processing system for telephone-quality speech transmission through a packet-radio network at rates as low as 4800 bit/s in either real-time or off-line mode. A standard 64 kbit/s speech signal is compressed down to 4.8 kbit/s using the Code-Excited Linear Predictive (CELP) coding scheme adapted from the proposed U.S. Federal Standard FS- 1016. The CELP algorithm is implemented using a floatingpoint Digital Signal Processor (DSP) to achieve a realtime, interactive (full- or half-duplex) or fast off-line network-based application. An implementation using a NEC 77230 PC-based DSP Evaluation Board (EB-77230) is under development.
- The PackeTen System - The Next Generation Packet Switch
by Don Lemley, N4PCR, and Milt Healh
- Abstract: This paper examines the current digital bandwidth crisis which is plaguing amateur packet networks, and details a project in the Chicago area which addresses the problem. The PackeTen~ project was conceived to provide a "next generation" hardware and software platform capable of satisfying both the current crisis and to allow for many future enhancements. The system described is a working implementation of the long awaited truly "high-speed" packet switch that is available for general use today.
- The BPQ Node in an Expanding Network
by Karl Medcalf, WK5M, and Phil Anderson, W0XI, in cooperation with John Wiseman, G8BPQ
- Abstract: The release of the Kantronics Data Engine, along with the development of their 9600 baud (G3RUH compatible) modem has now added a new dimension to the meaning of a Network Node. With the open architecture of this packet controller, and the flexibility now possible, network expansion and high speed operation is now possible with future expansion in mind.
- Node Networking
by Donald R. Nelsch, K8EIW
- Abstract: With the advent of NET/ROM (tm) Software 2000 Inc. and NORD<>LINK TheNet software, amateur packet radio networking became possible. However, some of the "factory standard" options in the software tend to limit performance of the system. This paper deals with some of the networking problems the author has resolved, plus some of the hardware considerations that were made in establishing and maintaining the authors' 21 transmitter interconnected node network.
- The "Cloverleaf" Performance-Oriented HF Data Communication System
by Raymond C. Petit, W7GHM
- Introduction: In March of 1990, AK0X and W7GHM conducted a series of on-the-air tests of a new HF data communication system design over the 1 500-mile path between Boulder, Colorado, and Oak Harbor, Washington. On five different days, and on the 80, 40, 30, and 15-meter bands, Ed sent text from Isaiah 55 to Ray, W7GHM, at higher speeds than any other data mode was capable in the same band conditions, and Ed's "Cloverleaf" signal was so compact that twenty of them could have been packed, without mutual interference, into the same 2-kHz space now used by one packet channel. On 15 meters, Ray was printing data at 75 bit/s free of errors. On 30 and 40 meters, during a time when the packet link between AK0X and W7GHM was nothing but retries, Ray got 50 bit/s from the Clover link. (The design limit of AMTOR is 33.) On 80 meters, when it was necessary to repeat single letters several times on CW to be understood, the Clover link delivered 15 bit/s, free of errors.
- Frequency-Stable Narrowband Transceiver for 10100.5 KHZ
by Raymond C. Petit, W7GHM
- Abstract: The accompanying diagrams will permit the experienced home builder to assemble a transceiver suitable for coherent-CW and Clover operation on the bottom end of the 30 Meter ham band. It has been designed for high dynamic range (SL6440C high-level mixers), exceptional i.f. selectivity (9-pole 300 Hz filters), and ultrastable operation (LO and BFO phaselocked to a frequency standard). It is kept as simple as possible and the frequency plan makes use of inexpensive microprocessor clock crystals. It is also designed with thought to the future, when its single-frequency stabilized HFO can be replaced with an 18-l9 MHz frequency synthesizer.
- PACSAT Protocol Suite - An Overview
by Harold E. Price, NK6K, and Jeff Ward, G0/K8KA
- Abstract:
A Low Earth Orbiting "Pacsat" has been described in the past as an orbiting bulletin board system. This is an over-simplification. A PACSAT is a multi-channel, full duplex device, with short, periodic access times dictated by orbital mechanics. These attributes mandate a different approach than the standard command-line interpreter style of BBS if the full potential of a PACSAT is to be realized.
- The authors propose a new methodology for a PACSAT, and have developed several new protocols to implement more efficient access. These protocols all use AX.25, either in connected mode or with UI frames. This paper provides a description of the access model, and an overview of the new protocols.
- PACSAT Data Specification Standards
by Harold E. Price, NK6K, and Jeff Ward, GO/K8KA
- Abstract: This document provides a standard way of describing PACSAT data formats in specifications, and provides certain assumptions for implementors.
- PACSAT Protocol: File Transfer Level 0
by Jeff Ward, G0/K8KA, and Harold E. Price, NK6K
- Abstract:
This document specifies Version 0 of the File Transfer Level 0 (FTL0) protocol designed for use on store-and-forward satellites (PACSATs). The protocol provides procedures for transferring binary files to and from a server computer using an error-corrected communication link.
- Further to basic file transfer facilities, FTL0 provides file selection and directory procedures. Because a server may contain many files, only some of which are of interest to each client, the client may "select" a subset of the server's files. Subset selection is based on a flexible logical equation involving a large number of file characteristics. The scope of directory requests or file download requests can be limited to those files currently selected.
- This protocol is designed to work specifically with files in which the actual "data" or "body" of the file is preceded by a standard "header", specified in the PACSAT File Header Definition document.
- Further to basic file transfer facilities, FTL0 provides file selection and directory procedures. Because a server may contain many files, only some of which are of interest to each client, the client may "select" a subset of the server's files. Subset selection is based on a flexible logical equation involving a large number of file characteristics. The scope of directory requests or file download requests can be limited to those files currently selected.
- PACSAT Broadcast Protocol
by Harold E. Price, NK6K, and Jeff Ward, G0/K8KA
- Abstract: The case for a broadcast protocol for use on PACSATS is madc, and a suitable protocol is proposed. In the proposed protocol, files of general interest are chopped into <UI> frames and repeatedly sent by the PACSAT in round-robin fashion or on request. each <UI> frame datagram contains enough information for groundstation software to place the frame in the correct position in the appropriate file. Information indicating the type of file being received is also included in each frame. A protocol for groundstations to request retransmissions of specific frames is included.
- PACSAT File Header Definition
by Jeff Ward, G0/K8KA, and Harold E. Price, NK6K
- Abstract: A flexible encoding method for PACSAT file headers is described, and "Mandatory", "Extended" and "Optional" Headers are defined. These headers are supplied by the programs which send files and/or messages to PACSAT, and by on-board programs which build files/messages intended for for downloading. PACSAT file headers are present in all files.
- A Fast Switching, Wide Bandwidth Transceiver for 70-cm Operation, The DVR 4-2
by Jerry Schmitt, WX0S, Phil Anderson W0XI, and Bruce Kerns
- Abstract: After designing, building, testing, beta testing, and finally shipping DVR 2-2 transceivers in early 1990, it became apparent quickly that there was a desire by many amateurs for an even faster transceiver for the 70-cm band. lFeatures similar to those provided for by the DVR 2-2 were requested: fast TR switching, access to the modulator and discriminator without radio modification, data output independent of squelch, receiver derived carrier detection, simple design, and easy to work on. In addition, several suggested adding a filter for wide bandwidth operation, allowing for speeds higher than 9600 baud for networking (backbone) applications.
- Long Distance Packet Mail Via Satellite
by Mark Sproul, KB2ICI, and Keith Sproul, WU2Z
- Abstract: The packet radio mail system is a great Electronic Mail system for amateurs. Within a local VHF area, it works fine. However, when trying to send messages farther away, they must be passed via the HF Long Haul system, which has many drawbacks and problems. Why not use satellites to bypass the HF bottleneck for a nationwide long distance mail forwarding system?
- Station Traffic System: A Traffic Handler's Utility Package with Integrated Packet Support
by Frank Warren, Jr., KB4CYC
- Abstract: The Station Traffic System (STS) is a utility program for National Traffic System (NTS) traffic handlers written in C for use in MS-DOS and UNIX environments providing a set of menu-selectable functions for message operations and operating environment support.
- Comments on HF Digital Communications Part 1 -- Link Level Issues
by Tom Clark, W3IWI
- Introduction: This paper and its companion Part 2. will discuss some of the issues involved in improving the throughput and reliability of amateur HF digital communications links. The intent is to present some strategies which should allow for a significant improvement with modest hardware and software investments.
- Comments on HF Digital Communications Part 2 -- Data Protocol Issues
by Tom Clark, W3IWI
- Introduction: In part 1 we discussed some of the link-level issues in terms of the effects imposed by the ionosphere on HF signals and possible Digital Signal Processing (DSP) approaches to those issues.
- BULLPRO - A Simple Bulletin Distribution Protocol
by Tom Clark, W3IWI
- Introduction: This paper proposes a simple protocol for the efficient local distribution of bulletins by packet radio.
- Some Comments on the Hierarchical Continent Address Designator
by Tom Clark, W3IWI
- Introduction: This paper proposes a simple protocol for the efficient local distribution of bulletins by packet radio.


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Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis kiss at party
MILA KUNIS and ASHTON KUTCHER have fuelled speculation suggesting the former TV co-stars are dating after sharing a kiss at a Los Angeles party.
The couple was photographed smooching during an afternoon bash on Saturday (21Jul12).
An eyewitness to their public display of affection tells UsMagazine.com, "They were seated on a couch on the same side of the table and Mila was running her hands through Ashton's hair. She had her elbow resting on his back and couldn't stop playing with his hair and rubbing his shoulders."
Neither Kunis nor Kutcher have commented on the ongoing dating reports.


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Charter Fishing is STILL an INEXPENSIVE recreation.
Where else can you spend a great day with friends or family, get some sun, eat good food, and then take fish home to brag about?
About $150 per person on a 6-person charter covers charter, fuel, bait, ice, tackle, mate's tip and a great fun day on the water.
From the late 1800s, there has been an active charterboat fleet in and around Beach Haven, NJ. That fleet continues today as the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association with boats available for charter fishing on Long Beach Island from the causeway, south to Holgate, and on the mainland from Lanoka Harbor in the north to Tuckerton in the south.
The Elite Fleet Captains are experienced fisherman, and they are all licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. All Elite Fleet Boats have insurance coverage to protect you while you're fishing with us. We operate clean boats and provide the best tackle, along with bait and ice for your convenience.
The Elite Fleet Boats range in size from 19' to 44' and most captains welcome families and children on fishing trips! There's a variety of boat styles from open console and express, to fly bridge sport fishing craft with perfect accommodations to fit the needs of you and your charter fishing party.
Choose from a variety of charter fishing and cruising trips are available.
New Jersey offers a wide variety of sport fishing. Inshore species include Fluke, Sea Bass, Bluefish, Striped Bass/Stripers, Blackfish/Tautog, Shark and others. You can fish the back bays or go to an inshore reef to bottom fish. Or you can take a trip offshore to battle with Marlin, Tuna and Swords!
Many Elite Fleet Boats offer a variety of cruises from just around the bay, to all the way around Long Beach Island. Or you can take an excursion to Atlantic City or Cape May for lunch or dinner. You can view real estate by water to get a waterside view of a property. We even have Elite Fleet Boats that have performed burials at sea, so the possibilities are almost limitless.
To check availability or book the fishing trip of your dreams, check with our Member Captains directly.
>> The Junior Mate Training Program Schedule has been posted on the Junior Mate Page <<


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Your audiobook is waiting…
Falling into You
Publisher's Summary
I wasn't always in love with Colton Calloway; I was in love with his younger brother, Kyle, first. Kyle was my first one true love, my first in every way. Then, one stormy August night, he died, and the person I was died with him.
Colton didn't teach me how to live. He didn't heal the pain. He didn't make it okay. He taught me how to hurt, how to not be okay, and, eventually, how to let go.
Nell Hawthorne is in love with her life-long best friend, Kyle Calloway. Their young love is invincible and life is full of promise; then one night Kyle dies suddenly in a tragic accident and Nell is forever changed. She meets Kyle's older brother, Colton, for the first time at the funeral. They both struggle to move on with life as best they can. Years later, they meet again in New York City, and Colton realizes that Nell has never really gotten over Kyle's death. She seems to be harboring a deeply rooted pain, a heavy weight of guilt, and regret. He knows he shouldn't get involved, but he can't help himself. Trust doesn't come easily for either of them, and they both have demons. Together, they learn the purpose of pain and the meaning of healing, and the importance of forgiveness.
Mature Content Warning: 17+ for language, and adult situations
This audiobook contains an exclusive copy of Jasinda's original song "Falling Into You."
More from the same
What members say
Average Customer Ratings
5 Stars778
4 Stars463
3 Stars272
2 Stars108
1 Stars86
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- AudioAddict
- 04-17-14
Hard to categorize this one!
STORY (contemporary romance) - The story line of Falling Into You has three very different parts, with each having a different mood and feel. The first part is a sweet and sexually inquisitive romance between Nell and Kyle. (It will bring back memories of high school and your first love!) This part of the book ends with a horrible accident, and Nell holds Kyle's hand as he dies. It's heart-wrenching and made me cringe, and I was really glad when it was finished. At Kyle's funeral, Nell runs into his older brother Colton, a "bad boy" who lives in New York. (This is all in the publisher's summary - no spoilers here).
Fast-forward a few years, and the story changes to a much darker one. Nell blames herself for Kyle's death and is pretty screwed up about it. She runs into Colton again, and they start seeing each other. He's determined to help her heal emotionally, and he's also very attracted to her. We learn about his problems and his violent past, but we also see his creative and sensitive side. They share their guilt and emotions, but will it be enough to keep them together?
Then, in my opinion, the story changes a third time and turns very sexually explicit for a very long time. I'm not prudish or offended in any way, but this large part of the book is definitely X-rated. The story concludes well, and there's a nice performance of a song titled "Falling Into You" at the end.
PERFORMANCE - There are two narrators who alternate reading this book -- a young female for Nell and a male for Colton. Their overall performances are good, but the female's performance during the accident gave me goose bumps.
OVERALL - Pretty good book, but not great. It's touching and sweet, but there's also some difficult scenes. There's also lots of cursing and sex, which may be offensive to some listeners.
24 of 25 people found this review helpful
- Jordy ♡♡♡♡
- 06-29-13
Worth the Credit!!!
The book starts by giving you a glimpse of two teenagers growing into adulthood falling in to what they believe is true love. We experience soul wrenching tragedy that in turn brings a new blossoming romance. Unfortunately, both main characters are struggling with hidden dark pain& sorrow. I enjoyed the two narrators portrayed in this book. This book was a pleasant surprise!
37 of 41 people found this review helpful
- Katherine
- MD, United States
- 07-27-13
Music, love and healing. This one is A-mazing!
I had been anxiously waiting for Audible to get this book and when it finally arrived I was a little hesitant to listen at first. I wasn't ready for the heavy and emotional content. After waiting 6+ weeks I finally took the leap and started this long anticipated book. WOW! It was every bit as gut-wrenching as I expected. However, it was so much more than just a story about loss, grief, pain and heartache. It was also about love, forgiveness, redemption healing and finding your true self.
I loved every minute of this book. The characters, the narration, the story and the MUSIC. I loved how the author used music to express the feelings between Nell and Colton. Music was like a secondary character to the story. I LOVED it.
This was well worth my credit and more!
34 of 38 people found this review helpful
- laurie eller
- the South
- 10-17-13
when you least expect it, there's a HEA.
i almost didn't purchase this. a while ago, when it first came out, i downloaded the sample on my kindle. i never bothered to open it up. all the online reviews kept talking about the sorrow in this book and how you'd need tissues the entire way through. i'd been on a Laura Kinsale kick (omg. love her stuff.) so Falling Into You kept getting pushed further and further down my list.
then it came to audible.
and i decided to give it a chance.
from the start i loved it, the characters, the story and the narration was great, too. i kept waiting for whatever tragedy to befall these two young lovers and when it finally came i was standing in my kitchen washing dinner dishes and sobbing. my kids came in and worried what was wrong and i had to gently tell them that i was wrapped up in a book. i think they were actually worried something was physically wrong with me...maybe i should have told them the dishes were hurting me? haha. next time....
so i can't tell you that all the reviews here are favorable, and i can understand some frustrations. the male narration isn't as easy as the female, but it wasn't horrible so don't let that stop you from downloading it. also, some of the sex scenes, even when they were under-age, were quite graphic but honestly? i didn't think much of that, either. i felt like i was RIGHT there with them and feeling each emotion and wanting to figure out a way to keep the tragedy from happening. sigh. but it comes. and life goes on.
there are some surprises here and there, each one catching me off-guard. love that. sometimes i can see a twist coming from a mile away, but not with this one, so that's why i've already downloaded the second book. yeah. i'll start it today. maybe while washing dishes? you bet.
take a chance. it's a tragic story that has a HEA that it so desperately needed. thank you jasinda. loved it.
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
- ZebraStar
- 06-20-13
Suprisingly Good
Reading the synopsis of this book, I wasn't really interested in this book, sounded like and overdone plot, but the reviews convinced me to give it a try.
I loved this Book, the emotion that the author manages to portray made me fall in love with the characters. Kyle and Nell grew up together and them falling in love and dating was inevitable, when Kyle dies, Nell is plagued by grief and guilt. She meets Coltan, Kyle's older brother, at the the funeral and they seem to have a connection. They meet again a couple of years later and they are drawn to each other as they understand each others pain. This sounds simple and like something you've read before, but the author manages to make it fresh and the use of specific words so you get emotionally involved with the characters. The dialogue between the characters was so well done, that you understood them better and their perspective to the world. I liked that she developed the characters and they formed a bond and they continue to struggle with their emotions, there was no quick fix which made it more realistic somehow.
I really enjoyed this story and the two narrators did the book justice. I loved the song at the end of the book.
15 of 17 people found this review helpful
- Kelly Haggerty
- Virginia Beach, VA, United States
- 06-22-13
Incredibly moving story...have Kleenex ready!
Would you listen to Falling into You again? Why?
Yes, but I would give myself a little time to get over the emotional upheavals that this book erects in the way of its protagonists. They can be down right brutal.
What other book might you compare Falling into You to and why?
It is in its own way, it is as emotionally heart breaking and goes even farther in the emotional aspects than the Shades of Grey series with the depths Nell and Colton each show the other and us the reader.
Which scene was your favorite?
There were actually three scenes that would go into my favorite categories. I cannot tell you though, because this is not a spoiler alert! Go ahead, you will find them yourself.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
I wanted to but needed a little emotional break, but the entire read was worth it.
Any additional comments?
Just read it!
12 of 15 people found this review helpful
- Leesa
- 06-20-13
Rips your heart to pieces
So I cried allot while I listened to this book. It's crammed with so much heartache but strength too. This book really moved me and it was stunning in the depth of heartache that the author and the narrators conveyed. This definately is not a light feel good listen. It rips you up and spits you out. Colton and Nell are very damaged but they understand each others pain like no one else can. With both of them so damaged though, will they survive? I'd like to think so. With such intensity I'm sure to get the next book and see how this story continues.
Worth a credit? YES! Just make sure you have a kleenex nearby.
31 of 40 people found this review helpful
- Ezinwanyi
- Dallas, TX USA
- 05-06-14
Painful, with some bright spots
3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this one, but I didn't. It's hard to explain. It was dark and even when the HEA comes about, I still didn't feel peace and satisfaction. I guess I don't feel like the H/h are really happy but are just coping. Kind of co-dependents of pain and hiding pain.
The book starts with a scene with Nell and her boyfriend Colton Calloway. then a blast to past takes us to young Nell, and her best friend Kyle Calloway (Colton's younger brother)...and I thought "Uh oh".
So the love story started in high school. It was very emotional, sweet and sad. But like I said, I don't feel satisfied or at peace with where they are emotionally.
The narration was good and the song at the end was sweet.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
- Dana
- Surprise, AZ, United States
- 07-22-13
A Good Listen
What made the experience of listening to Falling into You the most enjoyable?
I liked that it was narrated by a man and woman. The overall story was sad but it stayed interesting and kept we wanting to listen to see how it turned out.
What about Gabriel Vaughan and Piper Goodeve 's performance did you like?
They both had great voices and Gabriel's voice fit the character of Colton perfectly.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
It did make me cry but happy that they found each other and learned how to keep on going.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
- Wanda
- 07-02-13
The author is amazing on this one!
Would you consider the audio edition of Falling into You to be better than the print version?
No not really,
What other book might you compare Falling into You to and why?
Can't say, this book is a make all on it's own.
What about Gabriel Vaughan and Piper Goodeve 's performance did you like?
Oh my goodness they were amazing.. Gabriel's voice is amazing.. Had my attention.. that's for sure.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
I cried mostly thru this book. A LOT.. but for good reasons. It was necessary to cry but understanding why is the bigger question. If you don't. then you have not lived a moment of loss or know true love.. a true love.
Any additional comments?
I only wanted a little more at the end.. And the song at the end. Amazing.. Great work.
9 of 12 people found this review helpful
- Susan
- 11-13-14
Misery gets boring
I cannot go on. This book has defeated my powers of endurance, I am annoyed to have wasted a credit but enough is enough.
First half of this book is the fairytale of Kyle and Nell. We know Kyle is going to die so it's a little hard to get invested in him emotionally. Nevertheless they are both perfect. Perfect friendship into perfect romance into perfect sex. They have wonderful friends, wonderful parents, wealthy lifestyles. They breeze through school and life, without a problem, a zit, or apparently, a single argument. He, naturally, pops the question as soon as they turn 18. She wants to wait – but decides to join him at Stanford because, she muses, "Daddy will make sure I get a place". During what is, apparently, their first ever argument, he dies saving her from a falling tree. And then the story really gets bad.
Seemingly paralysed with grief at the funeral of Kyle, she still manages to ponder on the colour of brother Cole's eyes, the size of his chest and the tingle she feels when he touches her. As you do. She dreams about him at night and kisses him the next day. And then we skip forward two years.
Here are some of my (many) problems with this story:
· During the fairytale of Kyle and Nell, Nell never met Kyle's brother – not at school, not at Kyle's home, not at social events. Never. Ever. Cole did not leave home until Kyle and Nell were 12. Was he invisible? Locked in the attic? During this time he was apparently failing at school, getting into fights and learning how to build car engines but she never saw him. Ever.
· Kyle's father, with political ambitions, warns Kyle and Nell to "be careful" It seems he thinks an unplanned pregnancy between two consenting adults would be more scandalous than the fact that his other son is running with street gangs in New York.
· Two years after the funeral, an unreal coincidence sees Cole and Nell meeting in Central Park and performing an impromptu guitar duet to huge admiring crowds. Of course Cole is so brilliant that yet another annoying record producer hands him a business card. I guess he can add it to the pile of UFC scouts that were also after him.
· Cole was part of a New York street gang. He admits to drink, drugs, girls, "enforcement" and alludes to murder. He walks around with a knuckle duster in his pocket. But the gang, apparently, let him walk away from all this to live a straight lifestyle. But they stay "friends". And he calls them "honorable". And they rush to help him save Nell from her rapist boyfriend – because we all know that gang members are such good guys and really don't approve of a woman being mistreated in any way.
· Cole, having lived with gangs on the streets for years, then apparently manages to buy a building in Queens, big enough for a garage with a flat above. How?
Oh – and the misery. The endless wallowing in self-indulgent grief. Apparently once Kyle died, Nell was abandoned by her loving family to live in misery, drinking and cutting herself. She is so tortured inside, and so guilty and grief stricken and so endlessly miserable. She wallows in the misery, drowns in the agony. I just got bored with the whole issue. Cole admires her. Why? He only met her once at the funeral. And he tells her she is strong. What? This girl is weak and pathetic. She dates a violent underground fighter for three months, and then is surprised he wants sex? He tries to rape her, Cole saves her (another timely coincidence) and she then goes to his place and sleeps in his bed. He sings to her. Really?? I read from reviews that the book gets pretty steamy after this, which is weird. Because I would say this book is for teenage girls only. The dialogue is awful in the part of the book. The poor narrator was trying his best but no man talks or thinks like that. He was an idealised, sanitised version of the bad boy for teenage girls to dream about. He even kindly uses Windex and Pledge to remove the blood of the man he almost beat to death from Nell's floorboards and walls.
I love a good romance, and I love a little escape from reality. But I could never get into this book because it was just so far removed from reality that it jarred. People are the result of their circumstances and this is where this book fails for me. These characters did not make sense. Logic dictates that Nell would have gone into expensive therapy, her family and friends would have surrounded her with love and support and she would have, eventually, successfully gone on with her life. And Cole's politically ambitious family would have had Cole in therapy at the first sign of rebellion and would have easily spotted a highly recognisable problem such as dyslexia. But even in rebellion things are perfect. Cole doesn't just fight – he is so good that talent scouts want him to go professional. He sings, writes his own songs, and is so good record producers tell him to call. He apparently taught himself to rebuild car engines and is so good he now runs a successful business with several employees. He was even such a good gangster that his former buddies happily let him leave the gang but still "have his back" on speed dial. But throughout all the brilliance and achievement he is still so tortured that he cuts himself. And he has OCD. Whatever. Enough. Delete.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
- L Hayes
- 01-07-18
A Very Good Read
I found this to be a very powerfully written and thought provoking love story on all levels. The number of situations it covers, so raw, so touching, yet always empathetic.
I loved listening to this book which was brilliantly narrated by Piper Goodeve and Gabriel Vaughan. I've not read Jasinda Wilde before, but will certainly be getting another of hers.
- angus
- 08-27-15
Brilliant book
What a powerful portrail of grief and love. Highly recommend its one of those books where you cant stop thinking about the characters and how honest and broken they are.
- Dim
- 11-21-17
Very sad
Jasinda Wilder has a way with words that makes this genre of book more than a trashy romance novel. She tells a story and creates rich and diverse characters. Falling into you is very sad. It could have gone a bit longer and the make narrator was a bit robotic at times but the essence of the story was good.