A Right Estimate of Ourselves

A compilation

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Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less. Humility is thinking more of others.—Rick Warren

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[The fruits of the Spirit are] qualities that Jesus brings into our lives as we spend time with Him. They portray the Spirit of God.

Jesus said in prophecy, “Think about what the fruits of being close to Me are, and meditate on them. Reach for them moment by moment. Ask Me to give you the ones that you are lacking in.

“In your times of fellowship with Me, ask Me to show you how to have peace in your spirit, love, joy, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, and faith. You’ll notice that every one of these is encased in the spirit of humility. That is their foundation and frame. My goal for you is to manifest each of these fruits, because, in doing so, you will be drawing Me into yourself, and My presence will be made manifest in you and be more a part of you.”

I looked up humility in the Bible dictionary, and it had an interesting write-up. The definition there is “a freedom from arrogance that grows out of the recognition that all we have and are comes from God.” It goes on to say, “The Greek philosophers despised humility, because it implied inadequacy, lack of dignity, and worthlessness to them. This is not the meaning of humility as defined by the Bible. Jesus is the supreme example of humility, and He is completely adequate and of infinite dignity and worth. Biblical humility is not a belittling of oneself, but an exalting or praising of others, especially God and Jesus. A humble person, then, focuses more on God and others than on himself.

“Biblical humility is also a recognition that by ourselves we are inadequate, without dignity and worthless. Yet, because we were created in God’s image and because we’re believers in Christ, we have infinite worth and dignity. True humility does not produce pride but gratitude. Since God is both our Creator and Redeemer, our existence and righteousness depend on Him.”

Something that I especially like about this definition and explanation is that it shows that humility isn’t belittling yourself or being negative about yourself or dwelling on your weaknesses and your inadequacies, but rather that you are praising the Lord that, because He saved us and because He created us, and because He lives in us, we have worth.

Humility isn’t dwelling on our inadequacies; it’s dwelling on the Lord’s adequacy. It’s dwelling on the fact that the Lord works through us; that, as weak and as incapable as we are, miraculously, He can actually work through us and use us. It’s wonderful, and it’s really a good way to look at things.—Peter Amsterdam1


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True humility is not an abject, groveling, self-despising spirit … but a right estimate of ourselves as God sees us.—Tryon Edwards

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I love humble people. They have no need to constantly prove themselves right and the other person wrong. They are at peace because they are not preoccupied with themselves. They are strong because they know that they can just be themselves, and in being themselves they glorify the God who made them. Humility is the surest sign of strength.—Thomas Merton

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Learn to be humble but not timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But humility is a virtue; timidity is an affliction.—Jim Rohn

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Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself.—William Temple

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Don't imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: he won’t be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who’s always telling you that, of course, he’s nobody. Probably all you’ll think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a bit envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He won’t be thinking about himself at all. There I must stop. If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you’re not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.—C. S. Lewis

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The meek man is not a human mouse afflicted with a sense of his own inferiority. He has accepted God’s estimate of his own life: In himself, nothing; in God, everything. He knows well that the world will never see him as God sees him and he has stopped caring.—A. W. Tozer

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A heart that understands what is implicit in God's tenderness is humbled beyond any hope of goodness or worth in itself.—Marian Scheele

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I am sure that there are many Christians who will confess that their experience has been very much like my own—that we had long known the Lord without realizing that meekness and lowliness of heart should be the distinguishing feature of the disciple, as they were of the Master. Such humility is not a thing that will come on its own. It must be made the object of special desire, prayer, faith and practice.—Andrew Murray

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[Speaking of a prayer push for 40 days with fellow believers:] What if we approached our spirituality like a scientist who does experiments? Granted, there is a mystical element to it. But what if we tested the promises of God? I’m not talking about “testing God.” I’m talking about a testing that derives from trust. You test because you trust. … What would happen if we genuinely humbled ourselves and hit our knees every day? I intend to find out.

Now let me be honest. Day one was discouraging. I flew down to Baton Rouge to speak and I felt tired, I felt distracted, I felt very little anointing. I can’t really explain it. But on the plane ride back it was like the Holy Spirit said, “Did you think this would be that easy?” We want to sow and reap instantaneously. We want to plant the seed and harvest it on the same day. No. If it was easy we wouldn’t even appreciate it. We’d probably mishandle the anointing, mishandle the blessing. This isn’t about what God does on day one, day ten, or even day forty. It’s about establishing a humility habit. We’re going to stop, drop, and pray. We’re going to hit our knees every day! Our MO [modus operandi] isn’t ASAP—as soon as possible. Our MO is ALAT—as long as it takes.

Humbling ourselves is the process of dying to self, dying to sin. And dying to self is anything but easy. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever do. And it’s painful. But if you press in, press on, press through, you’ll look back and marvel at who you are and who you were. Your old selfish and sinful self will become a stranger. You’ll look back and say, “Who was I?” You won’t even feel like the same person.

I feel like I’m having contractions in prayer. Not sure how else to describe it. It’s like the Holy Spirit is birthing something new in me. I’m not even sure what to name it. But I know that whatever it is, it will bring new life. He’s plowing new soil in my heart. He’s planting new seeds. And there will be a harvest of newness. Will it require some pruning? Absolutely! But old things have to die if you want new things to come to life. Old habits give way to new habits. Old thoughts give way to new thoughts. Old routines give way to new routines. Old songs give way to new songs. Old mercies give way to new mercies. It’s a new day. It’s a new normal.—Mark Batterson2

Published on Anchor June 2012. Read by Simon Peterson. Music by Michael Dooley.


1 Originally published February 2009. Copyright@thefamilyinternational

2 http://www.markbatterson.com/uncategorized/holy-experiment/

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Quotes by scientist about the origin of the universe!

Quotes

Fred Hoyle
(British astrophysicist)
“A common sense interpretation of the facts suggests that a superintellect has monkeyed with physics, as well as with chemistry and biology, and that there are no blind forces worth speaking about in nature. The numbers one calculates from the facts seem to me so overwhelming as to put this conclusion almost beyond question.”

George Ellis
(British astrophysicist)
“Amazing fine tuning occurs in the laws that make this [complexity] possible. Realization of the complexity of what is accomplished makes it very difficult not to use the word ‘miraculous’ without taking a stand as to the ontological status of the word.”

Paul Davies
(British astrophysicist)
“There is for me powerful evidence that there is something going on behind it all. It seems as though somebody has fine-tuned nature’s numbers to make the Universe. The impression of design is overwhelming.”

Alan Sandage
(winner of the Crawford prize in astronomy)
“I find it quite improbable that such order came out of chaos. There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.”

John O'Keefe
(NASA astronomer)
“We are, by astronomical standards, a pampered, cosseted, cherished group of creatures. If the universe had not been made with the most exacting precision we could never have come into existence. It is my view that these circumstances indicate the universe was created for man to live in.”

George Greenstein
(astronomer)
“As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency—or, rather, Agency—must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?”

Arthur Eddington
(astrophysicist)
“The idea of a universal mind or Logos would be, I think, a fairly plausible inference from the present state of scientific theory.”

Arno Penzias
(Nobel prize in physics)
“Astronomy leads us to a unique event, a universe which was created out of nothing, one with the very delicate balance needed to provide exactly the conditions required to permit life, and one which has an underlying (one might say ‘supernatural’) plan.”

Roger Penrose
(mathematician and author)
“I would say the universe has a purpose. It’s not there just somehow by chance.”

Tony Rothman
(physicist)
“When confronted with the order and beauty of the universe and the strange coincidences of nature, it’s very tempting to take the leap of faith from science into religion. I am sure many physicists want to. I only wish they would admit it.”

Vera Kistiakowsky
(MIT physicist)
“The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world calls for the divine.”

Stephen Hawking
(British astrophysicist)
“What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? …

Up to now, most scientists have been too occupied with the development of new theories that describe what the universe is to ask the question why?”

Alexander Polyakov
(Soviet mathematician)
“We know that nature is described by the best of all possible mathematics because God created it.”

Ed Harrison
(cosmologist)
“Here is the cosmological proof of the existence of God—the design argument of Paley—updated and refurbished. The fine tuning of the universe provides prima facie evidence of deistic design. Take your choice: blind chance that requires multitudes of universes or design that requires only one. Many scientists, when they admit their views, incline toward the teleological or design argument.”

Edward Milne
(British cosmologist)
“As to the cause of the Universe, in context of expansion, that is left for the reader to insert, but our picture is incomplete without Him [God].”

Barry Parker
(cosmologist)
“Who created these laws? There is no question but that a God will always be needed.”

Drs. Zehavi, and Dekel
(cosmologists)
“This type of universe, however, seems to require a degree of fine tuning of the initial conditions that is in apparent conflict with ‘common wisdom’.”
 

Arthur L. Schawlow
(Professor of Physics at Stanford University, 1981 Nobel Prize in physics)
“It seems to me that when confronted with the marvels of life and the universe, one must ask why and not just how. The only possible answers are religious. . . . I find a need for God in the universe and in my own life.”

Henry "Fritz" Schaefer
(computational quantum chemist)
“The significance and joy in my science comes in those occasional moments of discovering something new and saying to myself, ‘So that’s how God did it.’ My goal is to understand a little corner of God’s plan.”

Wernher von Braun
(Pioneer rocket engineer)
“I find it as difficult to understand a scientist who does not acknowledge the presence of a superior rationality behind the existence of the universe as it is to comprehend a theologian who would deny the advances of science.”

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17 verses in the Bible about God´s "stretching out" the universe!

http://www.creationists.org/God-streched-out-the-universe-bible-verses.html


17 verses in the Bible state that God expanded
the size of the Universe from its original size.
What affect did that have on time, and on red and blue shift?

Seven books of the Bible reference this event starting from about 1000 BC in the book of Psalms, to about 518 BC in the book of Zechariah (a span of almost 500 years). This "stretching" of the universe was done during the creation week described in Genesis. Dr. Russell Humphreys suggests in his book Starlight and Time that it may have given the universe an older look the farther you move away from Earth into the outermost reaches of the universe. From Earth's perspective, the universe would be about 6,000 - 10,000 years old. However, in the outermost reaches of the universe, this rapid expansion may have given those galaxies the appearance of being billions of years old, even though they aged that much in what is most likely less than 24 hours.


Current evolutionary thinking suggests that the universe is still expanding. This is based in large part of the belief that 'red shift' indicates that the stars and galaxies are moving away from each other. However, Isaiah 40:22 seems to suggest that this expanding of the galaxies was a one time event that occurred in a very short amount of time (probably in less than 24 hours), and that the expansion may no longer be occurring. Tents and curtains don't keep expanding once they're fully opened up. They are finite in size. ( However, some Old Testament scholars say that the form of verb in the old Hebrew could infact be the continuos tense suggesting that He could still be allowing it to expand).- Dennis- So let´s not be too dogmatic!


[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
- Isaiah 40:22


Furthermore, none of these Bible verses appear to suggest that this expansion is still going on.


Do scientists really know what the impact would be of having the universe expanded at what was most likely millions or even billions of times faster than the speed of light? How would such a rapid expansion affect the visible red and blue shift we see today in space? How would that affect time, especially at the outer edges of the universe? Could the red shift that evolutionists believe indicates an expanding universe actually be the result of this rapid stretching of the universe that started and ended about 6,000 years ago?


Quotes below are from the King James Bible (KJV), and are listed in alphabetical order.

Ezekiel
Author(s): Ezekiel
Date: 592-570 B.C,

And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature [was] as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
Ezekiel 1:22

Isaiah
Author(s): Isaiah
Date: 746-680 B.C.

[It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
- Isaiah 40:22

Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
Isaiah 42:5

Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;
Isaiah 44:24

I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, [even] my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.
Isaiah 45:12

Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: [when] I call unto them, they stand up together.
Isaiah 48:13

And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where [is] the fury of the oppressor?
Isaiah 51:13

Jeremiah
Author(s): Jeremiah
Date: 627-585 B.C.

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
Jeremiah 10:12

He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
Jeremiah 51:15

Job
Author(s): Possibly Job, Elihu,
Moses or Solomon; not sure
Date: 950 B.C. or earlier

Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea.
Job 9:8

He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, [and] hangeth the earth upon nothing.
Job 26:7

Hast thou with him spread out the sky, [which is] strong, [and] as a molten looking glass?
Job 37:18

Psalms
Author(s): Several
Date: Varied, about 1000 B.C.

He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness [was] under his feet.
Psalms 18:9

Who coverest [thyself] with light as [with] a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
Psalms 104:2

Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Psalms 144:5

2 Samuel
Author(s): Samuel, Nathan, Gad
Date: About 930 BC

He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness [was] under his feet.
2 Samuel 22:10

Zechariah
Author(s): Zechariah
Date: 520-518 B.C.

The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Zechariah 12:1

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Portugal & the Crisis!

Portuguese Just Shrug and Go On in the Face of Cuts and Job Losses

Posted: 09 Jun 2012 04:18 AM PDT


By Scott Sayare, NY Times, June 7, 2012
LISBON—Behind the cheery yellow edifice that is this country’s Finance Ministry, where the news is not so cheery these days, Joaquim Marçalo’s waterfront grill is open for business, any business at all, seven days a week.

There was a time not so long ago when Mr. Marçalo could afford to close his restaurant, the Coffer, one day each week, he said; when he could afford a staff of 12, not 8; and when the daily take was around $2,000, not $1,000 to $1,200 or so. There was a time, too, when he paid a levy of just 6 percent on electricity and gas, not 23 percent; when public services were not being slashed; and when austerity was not the national watchword. With a shrug, though, Mr. Marçalo said, “It could be worse.”

That coolheaded assessment, on the lips of Portuguese everywhere, seems an apt summary of this country’s approach to the euro crisis, which last spring drove tiny Portugal into a $96 billion bailout and a painful austerity program.

The most optimistic projections point to a 3 percent contraction of the economy this year, after a 1.5 percent decline in 2011. Officially, unemployment is at 14.9 percent, its highest point in more than a decade, and more than 30 percent of the country’s young people are out of work. But some analysts suggest that the government is underestimating the true jobless rate, especially for youths, which they say may run as high as 40 or 45 percent.

Hospitals are closing. State benefits, public wages and pensions are being cut. New taxes have been added, and old taxes increased. The government has sold its stake in the national electric company to a state-run Chinese corporation.

In Greece, austerity along these lines unleashed chaos and rage in the streets of Athens and brought about the rise of political extremism. The crisis in France helped drive the conservative Nicolas Sarkozy from the presidency in favor of a socialist, François Hollande, who is calling for a renewed emphasis on growth.

But for all the talk of fascism and firebombs, most people in the austerity zone—which includes Ireland, Greece and Spain—seem to accept their lot. Even the Irish, who have occasionally rebelled against their own government, approved the deficit-cutting European Union fiscal treaty last week by a healthy margin.

Perhaps nowhere, however, are people quite so acquiescent as in Portugal. Month after month, the government has obligingly put in place the budget cuts, tax increases and loosened labor laws demanded by its international creditors—the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—with little protest from the Portuguese.

The troika recently cited Portugal’s success in cutting its budget deficit last year to 4.2 percent of gross domestic product, from a high of 10.2 percent in 2009. And with exports rising to a record level in 2011, Portugal’s trade balance has also improved significantly.

While some opposition leaders and trade unions have called to slow the pace of budget cuts, few suggest that the changes are not ultimately necessary. Nor do they contest the urgency of efforts to improve the economy’s competitiveness.

“The Portuguese are mild people,” Mr. Marçalo said. “We don’t take to the streets so much.”

Memories are still sharp here of the poverty of the mid-20th century, when just half of homes had running water and only 30 percent had electricity. In the 1980s, with the state nearly bankrupt and inflation running at over 30 percent, more than one million workers saw their salaries withheld for months on end. There were no major protests, though, said António Barreto, a sociologist and former government minister. Most workers declined buyouts and continued to work without pay.

“This generation doesn’t want to lose what they have,” Mr. Barreto said. “There is complacency, yes. But there is wisdom, too.”

Joaquim César, a supervisor at the TemaHome factory, said the budget cuts were deeper than necessary, but he accepted austerity as a necessary evil. “Since we were poor before the crisis, we don’t feel so different now,” said Mr. César, 54. “To be angry, it’s not worth it,” he said. “Bad humor won’t get us anywhere.

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War is a racket!

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Suicides are surging among US troops!

Suicides are surging among US troops


By Robert Burns, AP, Jun 7, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP)—Suicides are surging among America’s troops, averaging nearly one a day this year—the fastest pace in the nation’s decade of war.

The 154 suicides for active-duty troops in the first 155 days of the year far outdistance the U.S. forces killed in action in Afghanistan—about 50 percent more—according to Pentagon statistics obtained by The Associated Press.

The numbers reflect a military burdened with wartime demands from Iraq and Afghanistan that have taken a greater toll than foreseen a decade ago. The military also is struggling with increased sexual assaults, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and other misbehavior.

The reasons for the increase are not fully understood. Among explanations, studies have pointed to combat exposure, post-traumatic stress, misuse of prescription medications and personal financial problems. Army data suggest soldiers with multiple combat tours are at greater risk of committing suicide, although a substantial proportion of Army suicides are committed by soldiers who never deployed.

The unpopular war in Afghanistan is winding down with the last combat troops scheduled to leave at the end of 2014. But this year has seen record numbers of soldiers being killed by Afghan troops, and there also have been several scandals involving U.S. troop misconduct.

The 2012 active-duty suicide total of 154 through June 3 compares to 130 in the same period last year, an 18 percent increase. And it’s more than the 136.2 suicides that the Pentagon had projected for this period based on the trend from 2001-2011. This year’s January-May total is up 25 percent from two years ago, and it is 16 percent ahead of the pace for 2009, which ended with the highest yearly total thus far.

The numbers are rising among the 1.4 million active-duty military personnel despite years of effort to encourage troops to seek help with mental health problems. Many in the military believe that going for help is seen as a sign of weakness and thus a potential threat to advancement.

Kim Ruocco, widow of Marine Maj. John Ruocco, a helicopter pilot who hanged himself in 2005 between Iraq deployments, said he was unable to bring himself to go for help.

“He was so afraid of how people would view him once he went for help,” she said in an interview at her home in suburban Boston. “He thought that people would think he was weak, that people would think he was just trying to get out of redeploying or trying to get out of service, or that he just couldn’t hack it—when, in reality, he was sick. He had suffered injury in combat and he had also suffered from depression and let it go untreated for years. And because of that, he’s dead today.”

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Chariots in the Red Sea!

Chariots in the Red Sea


By Joe Kovacs, WND, June 7, 2012

A news report that stunned the world nine years ago about the discovery of possible ancient chariot wheels at the bottom of the Red Sea is suddenly gaining fresh attention with new video claiming “irrefutable evidence” that corroborates the find.

In June 2003, WND interviewed Bible enthusiasts who dove the waters of the Red Sea, alleging they found and photographed parts of chariots that may be the actual remains of the catastrophe brought upon the Egyptian army which pursued the Israelites, according to the Book of Exodus in the Bible.

“I am 99.9 percent sure I picked up a chariot wheel,” said Peter Elmer, a forklift mechanic from Keynsham, England, who made two diving trips to the Gulf of Aqaba branch of the sea. “It was covered in coral.”

“I believe I actually sat in an ancient chariot cab,” he told WND at the time, referring to his time exploring a submerged item in the underwater junkyard. “Without question, it is most definitely the remains of the Egyptian army.”

Now, Michael Rood, a Hebrew-roots teacher, has produced a video proffering evidence Elmer is absolutely correct.

His DVD, titled “The Red Sea Crossing,” documents the work of numerous researchers from the U.S. and overseas who have probed an underwater land bridge between a beachhead at Nuweiba, Egypt, and what is today Saudi Arabia.

“What they found strewn across the bottom of the reed sea has shaken the religious and scientific community,” says Rood. “Cameras, mounted on remote-controlled submarines, revealed coral-encrusted chariot parts, horse and human remains strewn like battlefield wreckage on the bottom of the reed sea.”

He uses the term “reed sea” instead of Red Sea, as that’s the literal translation of the words “yam suph” in Holy Scripture, referring to the body of water God miraculously opened for the ancient Israelites to cross on dry land, before drowning the Egyptians in hot pursuit.

“Even a novice can readily see that these are not natural coral formations,” Rood said, showing a variety of circular shapes he insists are chariot wheels, some with axles still intact.

He gave special attention to a single gold-veneered, four-spoked chariot wheel that was photographed and buried in place with a marker buoy nearby.

“Because coral does not attach to gold or silver, this priceless specimen remains untarnished by time,” he said, calling it “strong evidence that this is actually one of the two chariot wheels that the pharaoh rode to his death.”

Rood also explained giant pillars have been found on both sides of the crossing to mark the event. One was discovered eroded on the Egyptian shore by the late American archaeologist Ron Wyatt. Later, another was located on the Arabian side with “the legible remains of ancient paleo-Hebrew inscriptions.”

He says the words for pharaoh, death, Egypt, King Solomon and the sacred name of God, YHWH, are all present on the second pillar.

“King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, knew exactly where the children of Israel made their escape just 500 years before, and so he established pillars to memorialize the yam suph crossing,” said Rood.

He points out the depth of water of would make it impossible for a crossing to have taken place anywhere with the exception of the shallow land bridge at Nuweiba.

“If the water were to be removed, it would still be impossible to cross this chasm, which is as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon in Arizona,” Rood said.

“But,” he added, “at the beach where Israel camped, an underwater land bridge gently slopes at a 6-degree angle, levels out at about 900 feet, and then gradually rises to meet the western shore of Midian.

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Starlight & Time- Dr. Russell Humphreys

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Disproving Evolution in 82 seconds

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Dr. Russell Humphreys- Starlight & Time!

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