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| FIFA |
Business Insider June 14, 2015
Cited
'CHRISTOPHER WOODY
'Report: FIFA President Sepp Blatter wants to un-resign'
Cited
'Despite offering his resignation earlier this month, FIFA president Sepp Blatter is reportedly considering remaining at the head of soccer’s international governing body, according to Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag.'
Cited
'Michael Hershman, FIFA’s former governance adviser, hinted earlier this month that Blatter could reconsider, telling ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap that he wasn’t sure Blatter would actually step down.
In its story on Saturday, the Swiss paper reported that a source close to Blatter said the embattled president had gotten “messages of support from African and Asian football associations” that requested he reevaluate the decision to leave office.'
Cited
'The 79-year-old announced his resignation after a series of surprising indictments and were handed down by US courts against a number of current and former officials in connection to a $150 million bribery scheme related to FIFA’s finances and the awarding of tournaments, including World Cups, to member nations and organizations. Many of them were arrested in late May.' '
Blatter himself was not named in any of the indictments. He was elected to a fifth term just two days after the charges and arrests were made.'
Cited
'While Blatter himself was not named in the probe, some officials close to him were. US officials reportedly believe that Jerome Valcke, Blatter’s chief deputy, sent a $10 million bribe to former FIFA official Jack Warner.'
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Florida woman stops alligator attack with a small Beretta pistol.
ReplyDeleteThis is a story of self-control and marksmanship by a brave, cool-headed woman with a small pistol against a fierce predator. What is the smallest caliber that you would trust to protect yourself? A Beretta Jetfire testimonial.
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Why Does God Want Us to Take a Break?
ReplyDeleteMy mother was a good cook, we always had well-balanced meals, good and healthy. My grandmother Liza's cooking was different, her food was more than wholesome, it was delicious. That was the highpoint of my eating week, Sunday dinner with Liza. The food was always cold, she cooked it on Saturday and served it cold on Sunday. That was because God said on Sabbath you shouldn't make a fire, Exodus 35:3. No problem for me, Liza's cold food was head and shoulders better than anyone else's hot.
As a little kid, I was still trying to figure out Sabbath. Iowa winters were brisk, 25 or 30 below, I remember once 35! So I asked, if there should be no fire on Sabbath, then why is the furnace running? I got to hear about the temperature, but I don't remember ever getting an answer I could understand.
ReplyDeleteWe believe in Sabbath, but seem always to have trouble with the details. I was in a Sabbath discussion in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. I thought it would help to remind people of what our sage Warfield said, that the Reformed Faith can be found where all our confessions agree. So I quoted our Westminster that the Lord's Day is the Christian Sabbath, the Second Helvetic that it isn't either, and that Heidelberg said nothing about that. I thought that would keep us from fretting over the details, but it didn't. Walking back to my room afterwards, I heard a voice in the dark speak of the cancer at Westminster Seminary—it didn't sound benign.
ReplyDeleteI used to be in the PCA North Texas Presbytery, a great bunch. Almost everyone who was examined there gave an "exception to the standards" that they doubted that there should be absolutely no recreation on Sunday. I used to kid those guys about how none of them held an evening service anyway, so why didn't they wrestle with that? They laughed, and we got along. Just now they asked the General Assembly to take a look at the standards on recreation, and GA declined. I could have predicted that one, we don't tinker with our standards, we just take regular and predictable exceptions.
ReplyDeleteBut now the time is ripe for Sabbath thinking; there seems to be great interest and even embarrassment that we're not sure what we're talking about. What does God mean by Rest anyway? We have long weekends, so what does that have to do with us? Why would you rest to start the week? Why do airline schedules say Monday is #1 and Sunday #7?
ReplyDeleteThe Lord himself is our Model, he created the world in six days and then took a break, because his job was done. Of course he wasn't tired, but it was good to look around at his finished world. It looks finished to me, with hundreds of millions of stars in our little Milky Way even. Would a few more hundred million seem more finished? That's beyond me. Anyway, Niagara Falls, the Black Hills, bigger than any of those wimpy Eastern mountains, the Missouri and the Mississippi coming together at St. Louis, two feet of black dirt in Iowa, lovingly scraped off Canada by glaciers—I could go on and on, but I'm with the Lord, we can look at the world and proclaim together, that's Enough.
ReplyDeleteWe're supposed to be like God that way: six days shall you labor and Do All Your Work. All? I really needed to read those three new books before I said a word in class on Monday—but I didn't get that done. All my grades are in, that's good, but I've never ever finished my work like the Lord did his. What hope for Rest is there for me? That's just the beginning, we're called to work to please God, that's our real job, books read or no books read. The eye-opener for me is the fourth chapter of Hebrews:
ReplyDeleteTherefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,
ReplyDelete“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest,’”
although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said,
“They shall not enter my rest.”
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two- edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
ReplyDeleteSince then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
ReplyDelete"Whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his"—now that gets my attention. I thought I was supposed to follow God's example, and just as he did everything perfectly, so was I supposed to. He did his job and then he could rest, so if I do my job maybe I can rest? Something like that. But that's not it! It's God's own rest I'm invited to and he shares it with me! There's still a ton of striving to get done, but we have Jesus our high priest for that, so we can go ahead and "with confidence draw near." My favorite Bible word is Hope, but Confidence works too. Oh, just spotted another Hebrews gem, which day of the week is your rest day? Today!
ReplyDeleteIt's not all there, and we need to add some Galatians and Romans. The reason we share God's own rest is because Jesus Christ went to the cross and was raised up—there's the Enough for you and me. The Father honored him and he shares that honor with us.
ReplyDeleteLet someone else wrestle with the passages that say we don't observe days anymore, it seems to me that we aren't going to agree on that. Let your church elders help you with your Sunday schedule, not to mention your Today schedule. Keep your kids away from serious swimming, all their big meets cover Saturday and Sunday. I doubt they should scramble their brains in football either, even though that's on Friday. We'll always have details left over. I'm personally agitating for Saturday evening worship, anyone can see from Nehemiah that Sabbath begins sundown the day before.
ReplyDeleteThose details are important, no question about it. But just hear a couple stories now.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Harry, Harry J. Pharisee. I am one of the best people who ever lived, ask any one of us. I have met that Jesus, he knows his Bible, but he just has no idea on how to size up people, I can tell. He hangs with the sleazy and the sluts. You'd think he could tell what they are but he's clueless. I was there when someone asked him why he wasn't getting to know us decent folk, and all he could muster was that weird answer, "if you aren't sick you don't need a doctor." That's not so bad, though, and I'm sure I don't need him, even if sleazes do. Sabbath is big for me, I do it better than anyone. I score a lot that way, and someday Jehovah is going to add up my totals and put me at the head of his table. But that's then, right now I've got to keep doing better than anyone else, even better than those weak Pharisees who keep following whats-his-name around. I'm not perfect, but compared to anyone else I'm the cream of the crop, the pick of the litter. If God knows what he's doing he'll see that, which is more than Jesus does. I'm looking forward to that eternal rest ahead when God and I can look down on everyone else. Then I can ease up on all that boring religious stuff.
My name is Hope, Hope Sinner. I used to sell myself and fake myself into thinking that God understood. But my own name was the biggest irony ever, I had no hope at all. Then Jesus came into my life. He touched me, friendly and caring. More than that, he "had compassion on me," the way the gospels say. I wanted to know him better and better and he told me to follow him and I did, and I will forever. How can he love me when everyone else uses me? I heard him say that he lays down his life for his sheep, and that's me. Being a sheep isn't much, feeble and dumb as they are—but it beats being a slut going away, and he calls me sheep and he means it, I trust him. My name works now. I have hope to be with him forever, taking an eternal break from all this that I'm leaving behind. My hope, my joy, my rest in God is in Jesus forever.
ReplyDeleteHere is yet another story, your own story. As a believer you battle pride a lot, reminding you of Harry J. You pick up the Bible, and it's all about Jesus, nothing much about you. You've been trying harder all your life, and now at least you've got a decent pension and a lot of people without that much foresight don't. You got those shots and you don't have the painful stuff others have. Life is good. Heaven is ahead and everyone says it will be wonderful. Lately you're looking closer at the Lord's Prayer, been praying it all your life on your knees even. Look again at how it begins, "our Father," who can say that but a child of God, but then "hallowed be your name"—what is that about? May the Lord's name be praised, that must be what angels do? Lord, wake up the angels and get them going. But that's not what it says, an angel thing. It's about me, it has to be. Think about the Lord more and praise him for everything, I've never really done that, not much. How can I think of getting started now, so late in the game? But may I pray that basic prayer, including myself in it? I know the Lord's grace is not about me, even though me is all I think about. Lord, there is no Rest in myself, thank you for showing me that, there is only Rest in you. O Lord close my heart to my phony Pharisee rest, about how well I've done. Open my heart so I know for good that your Rest alone is my hope. O Lord I've prayed this before, I remember now—what a fool I've been to leave that Rest behind. But you brought me back in your compassion, I love you Lord, I want nothing but Resting in you alone. Yes Lord I know that only in Jesus my Christ is there hope and rest and joy. Thank you again Lord, for today's wakeup. May tomorrow's come sooner Lord?
ReplyDeleteRest at the start, why? Without our Rest in the Lord, how can we go ahead to strive, strive, strive—so that we will be kept from idolizing ourselves. The Lord knows that, always has. When he brought back his people with Nehemiah, after they were safe with the wall and houses up, then they got together to hear God's law, and they flooded the place with tears when they were reminded of the great fools they had been, living a life of tuning out. Then God's prophet told them, first of all you're back Home, so celebrate, eat up, drink up—it's the joy of the Lord that's your strength. After that came the repenting, the striving, the battling evil, in and out of their hearts. For that they needed all that strength—but the Lord was right again, out of their celebratory joy came the strenuous striving. That's why Rest is on Sunday, and why it's the beginning of your week. That's why when you battle Satan Today too, you need that Rest so badly. The Lord cares for you, so take a break right now.
ReplyDeleteD. Clair Davis
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ReplyDelete