“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Romans 10:17

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds…” Hebrews 1:1-2

Matthew 20:30-34
And behold, two blind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.”  And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou son of David.”  And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, “What will ye that I shall do unto you?”  They say unto him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.”  So Jesus had compassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

 
God has spoken to us many times and in many ways.  What’s left is to ask Him to open our eyes, that we may follow Him.  We need to cry out to Him.  Today’s world is constantly telling us that there is no god to hear us, and even if there were, he wouldn’t hear us, he wouldn’t get involved in our mess.  But that’s not the God I know.  The God I know, with all He has to do, will stand still and call out to us when we seek Him.  He will hear us.

California packer makes largest U.S. beef recall

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California meatpacker accused of animal cruelty is making the largest U.S. meat recall on record -- 143 million pounds, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on Sunday.

Most of the meat, raw and frozen beef products, probably has already been consumed, said USDA officials at a briefing. Some 37 million lbs were bought for school lunches and other federal nutrition programs. USDA said there was only a minor risk of illness from eating the beef.

Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co voluntarily recalled all of its beef produced since February 1, 2006. USDA said Hallmark violated rules against the slaughter of "downer cattle" -- that is, animals too ill to walk.

"This is the largest beef recall in the history of the United States, unfortunately," said Agriculture Undersecretary Richard Raymond.

Based in Chino, California, Hallmark/Westland has been closed since early February. Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Humane Society of the United States showed videotapes on January 30 showing workers at the plant using several abusive techniques to make animals stand up and pass a pre-slaughter inspection. These included ramming cattle with forklift blades and using a hose to simulate the feeling of drowning.

"A recall of this staggering scale proves that it's past time for Congress and the USDA to strengthen our laws for the sake of people and animals," said HSUS president Wayne Pacelle.

Raymond said the recall stemmed from slaughter of cattle that could not stand at the time of slaughter, although they passed inspection earlier. Packers are required to alert USDA veterinarians in those cases so they can decide if the animal can be slaughtered for food.

In most cases, beef from downer cattle is barred from the food supply. The rule was adopted as a safeguard against "mad cow" disease, a deadly, brain-wasting illness. People can contract a version of the disease by eating tainted products. USDA said there are many other safeguards against mad cow.

'LITTLE HEALTH RISK'

Until now, the largest U.S. meat recall was 35 million lbs in 1999.

USDA said the Hallmark/Westland recall ranked as a minor health risk because it involved a violation of inspection rules rather than proof of contamination. Most of the meat products recalled were beef, but a small amount was ground pork, according to the department.

Announcement of the recall will help the search for beef produced by Hallmark/Westland that may be held in freezer plants.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin said in a statement that USDA must toughen its inspection measures before animals are slaughtered to prevent future occurrences.

"How much longer will we continue to test our luck with weak enforcement of federal food safety regulations?" said Harkin, an Iowa Democrat. "Federal regulations exist for a reason - to protect public health. For Hallmark/Westland to issue a recall that goes back two years indicates that violations may have been long-term."

Four senior Democrats in Congress, including Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, told the General Accounting Office on Thursday to investigate the safety of meat in the school lunch program in light of the Hallmark/Westland case.

http://www.revolutionhealth.com/healthy-living/food-nutrition/kitchen/food-safety/beef-recall?s_kwcid=meat%20recall|961688034

Just looking through my blog, I've noticed I've had all different fonts in all different sizes... I guess I'm not used to this yet.  Haven't quite found a format I like yet.  Let's see how this turns out...

It's been over a month since GYC.  I can hardly believe it! But some reflections from it are long overdue (right, Ellen?).  Here's a general, overall look... maybe other thoughts from seminars and such will pop up every once in a while afterwards.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."  ~Romans 12:1,2~

Something that caught my attention throughout the weekend was how Jesus' identity was constantly being questioned.  From the very beginning of His ministry on Earth, right after His baptism, Jesus went out to the desert.  There, Satan met Him, ready with a weapon that he continues to use today: "If thou be the Son of God..."  Toward the end of His ministry on Earth, on the cross, onlookers mocked our Lord:

"And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.  Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.  He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God."  (Matthew 27:39-43)

At least three times in this account alone, Jesus' true identity is rejected by men.  And wherever He went, someone was prepared to say, Who does this guy think he is?  Isn't this Joseph the carpenter's son?  Mary's son?  Brother of James, Joses, Simon, Judas?  Don't we know his sisters? (Matt. 13:54-58)  Not even His own siblings believed in Jesus (John 7:3-5).

Pr. Conway brought up an interesting point: the only people who seemed to affirm Jesus' identity and the power of God were people who were out of their minds, or not in line with the Truth.  The demon-possessed man cried out, "What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?" (Mark 5:7).  [After Jesus' ascension, a woman possessed by an evil spirit claimed that Paul and his companions were the "servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation" (Acts 16:16-18).  They quickly rebuked and cast out the evil spirit within her.]

It seemed as though the devil was trying to drive Jesus out of His mind, telling Him, You're not who You say You are.  As a matter of fact, no one believes you anyways.

Even today, people seek to discount Jesus' divinity, trying to paint Jesus as simply a man, a historical figure who did a lot of good things.  His challenge-- this questioning of His identity-- is one that His followers go through as well.

Through many different means, Satan is trying to undermine our identity as Seventh-day Adventist Christians.  He's trying to fill our minds with doubt, not only over "basic" things like creation, Jesus' divinity, the authority of the Bible, etc.-- he's trying to tell us that we're being extreme when we start to worry about "little" details, like how we eat (vegan), how we dress (modestly), how we speak (respectfully, choosing words carefully, at the very least), how often or how long we study the Bible, how we keep the Sabbath, etc. 

(Now here's the part where I'm especially talking to myself…)

We're nice people, right?  We don't want to be trouble-makers… So one way to get us to succumb to our doubts is to slowly and subtly get us to conform to the world-- to conform to the way others do things, so that we don't fall into any traps of "extremism" (read: legalism) or so we don't shake things up unnecessarily, even if something is out of place…

But the Lord is constantly asking us through His Word to be different-- to be transformed.  Change is rarely comfortable at first, but it's necessary.  This is one lesson I still need to apply to my life.  It's an encouragement, though, to know that it's by God's mercies, and not my own strength, that giving my best to the master, presenting my life as a living sacrifice to God, is even possible.  Heaven knows I'm weak.

Help me, Lord.  I want to be a real Christian.