The first Easter proved the truth of what Jesus said to Martha before His death on the Cross… Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
The crucifixion of Jesus – the central event of the entire human history. Jesus took upon Him all the sins of the world.
The crucifixion of Jesus on Friday two thousand years ago, was and still is the central event of the entire human history. Jesus took upon Him all the sins of the world. Because of that event, history was split into two Era – “Before Christ” and “Anno Domini” – Latin phrase for ‘In the year of the Lord’, the year of Jesus Christ’s birth. Every day of AD you’re using Jesus’ birth as the reference point.
The books of the Old Testament contain many passages about the Messiah, all prophecies about Jesus Christ were fulfilled. For instance, the crucifixion of Jesus was foretold in Psalm 22:16-18 about 1,000 years before Christ was born on earth, long before this method of execution was even practiced.
“For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced[a] My hands and My feet;
I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me.
They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots. “ Psalm 22:16-18
The Sunday before Easter.
Palm Sunday.
Zechariah was a prophet who lived in the 6th century before the birth of Christ. Zechariah’s ministry took place during the reign of Darius the Great (Zechariah 1:1), and was contemporary with Haggai in a post-exilic world after the fall of Jerusalem in 587/6 BC.
In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet speaks of a future king presenting himself to Jerusalem while riding on a humble donkey. This foreshadowed something that happened about 500 years later. As explained in Luke 19:35-37, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and presented himself as the Messiah, the King.
Palm Sunday.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation,
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey. “ Zechariah 9:9
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen…Romans 1:20-21
God created the universe out of nothing in an act which also brought time into existence.
When confronted with the marvels of life, the order and beauty of nature and the universe – the impression and inexorable powerful evidence of logic, purpose and design are overwhelming. We must ask why and not just the how, too.
Consider the coconut tree; one can say that whoever created the coconut tree wanted it – to bear coconuts. In other words, by looking at the order in the world, we can infer purpose and from purpose we begin to get some glimpses of the knowledge of the Creator, the Architect of all these. We must acknowledge that there exists an unfathomable power and might with infinite wisdom, foresight, competence and knowledge that started the whole universe going in the first instance.
The more one were to study nature and learn about creation, the more one stand amazed at the works and glory of the Creator. Through the mighty works of God’s hands and from those works imply intentions – from these intentions and comprehending His wisdom, majesty and power, we receive the consciousness of the Almighty. It makes no logic and sense to assume that the universe and our existence is just a huge accident, that life materialised due to chance physical processes in an environment which merely happened to have the right properties. Moreover, order may never come out of chaos. God is a mathematician, physicist, etc of the highest order and He used high-level and complex (an understatement, to say the least) mathematics, physics, etc, in constructing the universe. Those working in fundamental physics are able to discern a world of deep and beautiful order. Some of these laws are within the grasp of the human mind so that we could share in His thoughts. It’s evident that an acquaintance with the physical and natural laws mean no less than an acquaintance with the mind of God therein expressed. God wanted us to comprehend them by creating us after His own image (read Genesis I: 26-27).
The exquisite order displayed by our scientific understanding of the physical world and the immense mysteries of the universe should only confirm the certainty of its Creator.
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Jesus said in John 8:32
God is Truth (God is love, God is holy, God hates sin because it is contrary to His perfect and holy nature. God is righteous). There is no incompatibility between science and the belief in God. The purpose of science is to build up – without prejudice or presumption of any kind – a knowledge of the facts, the laws and the processes of nature. The observations and experiments of science are so wonderful that the truth that they establish can surely be recognised as another “expression” of God. God shows Himself by enabling man to establish truths. God would encourage by giving mankind the brains for scientific research as modern man’s noble striving to apprehend, respect and admire His handiwork. The universe as discovered through scientific examinations, including the existence of exact mathematical principles among others, are the active and living witnesses that God has indeed been at work. Science is possible because the universe is a divine creation. Science “shows” that an infinitely intelligent Creator is responsible – that God exists.
The universe has been made with the most exacting precision, order and is exceptionally finely tuned; else we could never have come into being. The circumstances indicate without a shadow of doubt that the earth – delicately balanced to provide exactly the conditions required to support life was created for man to live in. They are positive reasons, based on observations, logic and scientific knowledge rather than default assumptions, that God indeed is the designer. Evolutionists and people challenge science to prove the existence of God and say they cannot visualise a Designer. Well, can we see an electron? We can’t see electrons or radio waves either but we know they exist as we see their effects. It is a strange rationale to accept the unseen electron as real while refusing to accept the genuineness of a Designer on the grounds that we cannot see Him. God is the explanation for the miracle of existence, why there is something instead of nothing.
Romans 1:20-21 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 God reveals Himself to us.
That’s why we read …
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ” John 1:1-3 Word refers to Jesus**
… rather that in the beginning there was nothing.
“Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” Psalm 90:2
Thus God revealed to us that all of creations were made by Him and that He is from Eternity to Eternity and is outside the dimension of time. God existed since eternity and that Jesus existed in eternity with Him.
God is eternal and He created time. Only One who is outside of time, that is, timeless, or eternal, could do this.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
In the beginning – BEFORE the creative acts stated in this chapter – ALL was and is ETERNITY. Time signifies duration measured by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies; but prior to the creation of these bodies there’s no quantifying of duration and for that reason – no ‘time’: consequently, ‘in the beginning’; in the context of this statement, must evidently mean the inauguration of time which followed, or rather was constructed by God’s creative acts, as an effect follows or is produced by a cause.
Jesus**
”..The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”Genesis 1:26
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me.” Isaiah 45:5 Notice it is not no God besides us.
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” 1 Timothy 2:5
God refers to Jesus “But to the Son He says:
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;”Hebrews 1:6-8
Jesus said to His disciples. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19
Jesus spoke clearly of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, if you read this verse attentively, you will see that the Three have just one name. It says, “baptizing them into the name” (not names) “of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
There are ‘Three’ with one name. This is the Triune God, the Trinity. ONE God in “3 Persons” not and NEVER 3 Gods. We cannot understand the Trinity fully but that is how God reveals Himself to mankind – both “I” and “Us”.
Don’t forget we are finite and God is infinite – we may not fully comprehend God. BUT what God has revealed is sufficient for our salvation.
It is clear that there never was a time when nothing existed; otherwise nothing would exist now. ~ CSLewis
Ask the right questions to reveal the facts & truths. Inquiries & arguments are meant to reveal the truths & not to create it.
Ask the right questions to reveal the facts and truths. Inquiries & arguments are meant to reveal the truths and not to create it. The reception of truths requires liberty of thoughts and freedom of the mind and not subject perceived evidence to a preconceived set of interpretations. Sincere inquiries are friends of truths – as the great point of thoughtful queries and probes are to bring out the real facts.
If one does not know the truth…one may believe anything or choose to believe what one wants to believe.
If we do not know the truth … we may believe anything or may just choose to believe what we want to believe. It’s important to believe truths only.
Points to ponder…. If there were insufficient evidence – it does not do justice to one self if one were to believe something founded on incomplete evidence. However sincere and well-meaning; one would be in error (as one can be sincerely wrong) for believing based on insufficient or partial evidence – we need to check concerning allegations or charges constructed on inadequate evidence especially when this insufficiency would have been apparent if anyone had bothered to cross check or have it corroborated.
We must not to let our prejudices, wishes or paroxysms interfere with a sound, balanced and judicious assessment of data and evidences – as accurate data and evidences lead to facts and facts do point to truths. However we need to guard ourselves from being credulous and we ought not to be careless or uncritical in assessing information and evidences and the formation of opinions, as false beliefs are or can be perilous.
Humanity coming together for a common cause… search for MH370
Humanity coming together for a common cause. .. search for MH 370. Concerned nations rising-up to a shared mission.
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Reuters news….By Matt Siegel and Jane Wardell
PERTH/SYDNEY, Australia, March 28 (Reuters) – The pot-bellied silhouette of a Chinese Il-76 military transport plane appeared in the sky over Perth International Airport just as the U.S. naval officer was explaining how he guards his cutting-edge surveillance plane.
Lieutenant Commander Adam Schantz was ticking off the measures, including a round-the-clock guard and armed rapid response team, as he caught sight of the Chinese aircraft coming in to land a few metres from the U.S. P8 Poseidon for which he is responsible.
The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is producing strange bedfellows.
“Yeah, it’s a little different,” Schantz said with a laugh.
At least six countries – the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia – are participating in the search and rescue operation for the flight, which disappeared almost three weeks ago and is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia’s west coast.
The level of military cooperation between a grouping of countries that contains several traditional antagonists has been unprecedented. But as the wary allies focus on solving this mystery, they are keenly aware of the boundaries of cooperation, diplomatic or military.
“When they are out there and the U.S. is using its sensors, you can be absolutely sure that the Chinese are recording all of that and are analysing how it’s done because that’s very useful in understanding how the P8s work,” David Brewster, a visiting fellow at the Strategic Defence and Studies Centre at the Australian National University, told Reuters.
The Poseidon, an anti-submarine warfare and electronic signals interception plane manufactured by Boeing Co, is the most advanced of its type. Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea all operate an earlier model, the P3 Orion, while China has the larger Russian-made Ilyushin.
The P8 only entered service in 2013 and information on its sophisticated sensors could be a prime target for Chinese intelligence.
“I’m not surprised to see a lot of security. There’s a lot of political sensitivity,” Brewster said.
Western forces are also keeping their eyes open. Air search crews told Reuters that Australian personnel were flying with the Chinese on their sorties. It was not clear if that was for security reasons or to assist with communications after the first Chinese aircraft to fly into Perth landed at the wrong airport last weekend.
Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said on Thursday that Chinese forces had had “effective communication” with the other countries taking part in the search, including “close coordination” with the Australians and Malaysians.
DIPLOMATIC SENSITIVIES
Then there are diplomatic sensitivities, chief among them the stormy relationships between Japan and its historical foes, regional superpower China and South Korea. By all accounts that has gone more smoothly than many had expected.
Earlier this week, Australian Defence Minister David Johnston hosted a lunch at Perth’s RAAF Base Pearce mess hall with a dozen representatives of both the Chinese and Japanese search teams, as well as the Australians.
A defence ministry source in attendance told Reuters the teams enjoyed corned beef or chicken noodles in a convivial atmosphere, albeit sitting in their national groupings.
“It was very amiable and relaxed, there was no tension whatsoever, it was all friendly – all very professional,” the source told Reuters under condition of anonymity because the person was unauthorised to speak to the media.
Bringing together countries like China and Japan, which have a history of tensions over strategic grievances going back beyond World War Two, does raise cooperation issues, said Andrew Davies, a senior analyst for defence capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
But bigger political realities often faded, he said, when the issue at hand was getting the job done.
“You might be surprised at how down-to-business the actual operators can be on the ground,” he said. (Additional reporting by Lincoln Feast in Sydney and Michael Martina in Perth and Ben Blanchard in Beijing; Editing by Ron Popeski)
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New leads in the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370..new satellite images of 122 potential objects ‘identifie…http://goo.gl/6Sn0QF @ckw09 7:45 PM – 26 Mar 2014
China wanted Malaysia to turn over MH370 satellite data
China wanted Malaysia to supply all the relevant information and evidence about MH370 satellite data analysis. See China demanded from Malaysia the Satellite data about MH370 …
China’s official Xinhua News Agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng as telling the Malaysian ambassador to Beijing that China wanted to know the specific facts that led Malaysia to announce Monday night that the plane had been lost.
There was no immediate response from the Malaysian side.
China demanded Malaysia turn over the satellite data used to conclude that a Malaysia Airlines jet had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean as gale-force winds and heavy rain today halted efforts to search for any remains of the plane. Extracts… Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng told Malaysia’s ambassador to Beijing that China wanted to know exactly what led Najib to announce that the plane had been lost, a statement on the ministry’s website said.
Malaysia Airlines Chairman Mohammed Nor Mohammed Yusof said at a news conference today that it may take time for further answers to come clear.
“This has been an unprecedented event requiring an unprecedented response,” he said. “The investigation still underway may yet prove to be even longer and more complex than it has been since March 8th.”
He added that even though no wreckage of the Boeing 777 has been found, there was no doubt it had crashed.
“This by the evidence given to us, and by rational deduction, we could only arrive at that conclusion: That is, for Malaysia Airlines to declare that it has lost its plane, and by extension, the people in the plane,” he said.
The airline’s chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said although there have been an increasing number of apparent leads, there has been no definitive identification of any debris. For several days now, search planes have been scouring seas 2,500 kilometres southwest of Perth, Australia, and have spotted several floating objects, but none have been retrieved or proven to be from the missing plane.
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New satellite analysis & data revealed that last position of MH370 was in the middle of the Indian Ocean. http://goo.gl/qKmbcJ @ckw09 11:45 PM – 24 Mar 2014
Inaccurate ABC news @ 24 Mar 2014
ABC News .. Pieces of debris floating off the coast of Australia have been positively identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines flight #MH370, which disappeared more than two weeks ago.
With incorrect information, inadequate facts or the absence of hard data for MH370 ..hard to ascertain the truths of the matter.
With incorrect information, inadequate facts or the absence of hard data for MH370 … it’s hard to ascertain the truths of the matter and/or the truths of the matter cannot be ascertained fully.
For example, IF the last words of “All right, good night” sign-off by the co-pilot had happened after either the ACARS or transponder
had been deliberately switched off, coupled with a subsequent change of flight path, then the decompression of the plane as suggested by http://goo.gl/OQb6ni can’t be the reason.
However if the last words by the co-pilot were before the ACARS and transponder were inactivated, then it’s possible that a fire might have broken out on the aircraft shortly after last contact was made with air traffic control (according to views of experienced pilots, the main reasons for transponder to be shut-off on purpose by a pilot was due to smoke, fire or electrical fire); or a major structural failure had occurred. The plane was in distress and the pilot then made a sharp left turn and attempted to return to a Malaysian airport in Langkawi. Here is a perspective from a veteran pilot of what possibly could had happened to MH370 … http://goo.gl/ZZJcks
Background info… ACARS and the sequence of events before the air turn back.
Quote: Fr @MAS ..MH370 PRESS CONFERENCE – 18/03/14 clarifies that it cannot determine when ACARS had been disabled, only that it occurred within a specific time range: from 01:07 – approximately when the aircraft reached the east coast of peninsular Malaysia, and the last ACARS transmission occurred – to 01:37, which was the next scheduled reporting time.
……………..
Officials later have revealed a new timeline suggesting the final voice transmission from the cockpit of the missing Malaysian plane may have occurred before any of its communications systems were disabled; adding more uncertainty about whom aboard might have been to blame.
Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said an initial investigation indicated that the last words heard from the plane by ground controllers – “All right, good night” – were spoken by the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid. Malaysian officials said earlier that those words came after one of the jetliner’s data communications systems – the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System – had been switched off, suggesting the voice from the cockpit may have been trying to deceive ground controllers.
On Saturday, Mar 15.. the Malaysian PM stated that–
“Based on new satellite information, we can say with a high degree of certainty that the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) was disabled just before the aircraft reached the East coast of peninsular Malaysia. Shortly afterwards, near the border between Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control, the aircraft’s transponder was switched off.”
These findings were drafted together with representatives from the lead international investigators, based on the information available at the time.” Unquote.
New data verified MH370 changed course-so can’t be decompression. FAA,NTSB,AAIB &Malaysian.. confirmed course http:/…http://goo.gl/PZZ5ao @ckw09 Mar 15
A November 2013 FAA Airworthiness Directive for the 777. Some one wrote his thoughts here… http://goo.gl/OQb6ni @ckw09 Mar 13
Moments of great ordeal for families connected to MH370. http://goo.gl/HcI16B http://goo.gl/C5NHkm @MAS ..sole TwitterAc4Malaysia Airlines. @ckw09 Mar 11
Let the data speaks, listen intently to the information revealed & make the right judgment & decision. ~ Cheong Kok Weng
Our minds need to be open, unbiased to the data and information transmitted to us, we must base our beliefs on the basis of the right data – we shall know the truth and the truth shall set us free.