Sacrifice

By Charlotte Dugan

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I was at my grain mill, grinding flour for our daily bread. Out the window the rain came down–again. In the Northeast we haven’t had the violent outbreaks of tornadoes that have plagued the Midwest, but we’ve had an overabundance of storms, and many of them have been powerful, loud, lightning-laden cloudbursts. As I turned the flywheel around and around I was reminded of one particular 4th of July. I was 9 years old, and we were at my aunt and uncle’s house for a barbeque. Out of clear, blue skies came a powerful storm, and with it, tornadoes. I remember the fear of crouching in the basement hoping for safety. As we drove home later that night, power lines were down everywhere, branches and trees strewn about like pick-up sticks. And on our arrival home, our own 100-year old tree lay across the driveway and on our neighbor’s lawn.

The next day we learned that another neighbor had been at Lakewood Park on Lake Erie for the Independence Day festivities when the mighty storm hit. She was 16 years old. Amidst the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder, she took refuge under a huge, old tree. Suddenly, the tree was ripped from its roots and began to fall. At the last second, a boy nearby pushed her out of the way, and was killed right where she had just stood.

As I pondered this, some questions came to mind. Being only 9, I don’t remember all the details of the incident. I wondered if she knew the boy; if he were her friend or just a bystander. I wondered how her family dealt with the boy’s death, and whether or not they went to his funeral, and how it would be to face his parents, whose loss was so great, whose burden so incomprehensible, but whose sacrifice saved their own daughter. I especially wondered about the 16-year-old. Was she a wild girl, or well behaved? What impact did this boy have on her life, and how differently did she live afterward? Maybe it had no effect at all.

2 Corinthians 5:15
“And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

In two different scenarios, people have universally asked of God, “Why ME?” The first is amidst their own personal suffering and pain, and the second is when they survived a tragedy that took the lives of others, such as a plane crash, or in a war.

So in a sort of role reversal, let’s say you are the 16-year-old girl. How do YOU feel when you ask, “Why me?” Let’s say you discover the boy was a pretty lousy person, selfish, mean-spirited, a bully and a braggart, and that in this, his final moment, he reached out and ended his life with this one selfless act. That might tempt you to feel somewhat justified about the whole situation, and yet I doubt that even then you would remain unchanged, unmotivated to live a better life. But what if he were your best friend?

One of the most agonizing occasions for any man or woman to ask “Why me?” is when faced with their life being spared at the expense of another better than their own. We instinctively see the unfairness of it, the injustice, the greatness of the other. The more we learn and know of the other’s life, their goodness and value, the little touches that made them distinct and powerful in their influence on the world, the more it moves us to respond. I submit that our response to that sacrifice is in direct proportion to our clear understanding of what occurred and who it was that gave their life for us.

When it comes to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us, the Word of God is very clear on the state we were in:

Romans 5:6-8
(6) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
(7) Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
(8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 2:1
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.

As to the state of Jesus Christ, our Sacrifice, the Word of God is also abundantly clear.

2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin [a sin offering] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He had no sin. NO sin. NO sin. Wow.

At this moment, stop and consider this man who died for you. How well do you really know him? Can you say you have a personal relationship with him, like you have with your best friend? Do you really understand what he’s done for you? Can you visualize a face for him, a smile, a moment with him in person? Would you sit with him and watch the television shows you watch? Would you tell the jokes you tell with him at your side? Would you get up and answer the phone for a needy friend at 10 p.m. if Jesus were staying with you? Because he IS at your side, and he IS with you. Again I submit that your response to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ will be in direct proportion to your clear understanding of what occurred and who it was that gave his life for you.

How was it that Paul was able to say:

Philippians 3:7-11
(7) But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
(8)What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
(9) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
(10) I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
(11) and so somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Who wants to party with someone who guarantees that, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…” (2 Tim. 3:12)? Paul did. Why? He must have known Jesus Christ so personally that he saw something glorious! He understood the nature of life, and where this thing is going, and what Jesus has in store. Why you? For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son for you, that whosoever you are, you could share in eternal life (John 3:16). God saw value in you, in your abilities and life. And Jesus pushed you out of the way of the falling tree.

1 John 3:1
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

And…

1 John 3:16a
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.

So now what? The ball is in your court. As you get to know your Lord, as you develop your understanding of just who he was/is and what he did/is doing/will do for you, you will find your response approximating the sacrifice. It is then that you can fulfill Ephesians 4:1:

“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”

PLEASE IF YOU HAVE ANYONE WHO HAS GONE ON FROM THE DANCHALL FRATERNITY YOU CAN SEND IN THEIR PICTURE FOR THE GLOBAL MEMORIAL ON FRIDAY

The girl whey bring Luton to a sekklement was none other than Javana …and wrap up Luton she did..Javana did on and off wid Bounty but tell Luton she love him when she was still inlove wid Bounty..so Javana tell Luton how she and Bounty lef and har clothes get destroyed and bay ting…Unno know seh Luton mek sure Javana money reach Jamaica via money transfer monthly…now because him did deh wid bout three other girl pan di side him and Javana’s very hot love was a well kept secret till it bus whey seh him a mine a girl …..when dem find out a Bounty live in love Javana him did a mine him mouth start let out di business piece by piece. Luton tell Javana him wudda lef him two baby madda dem fi har if she clear off lef Bounty clean a suh rent come fi be included ina di allowance but by this time now it dash up a street seh Javana seh Luton marathon nuh longer dan Bounty…….him did only have five minutes ina him round ting deh and Javana did not love him a Bounty she seh..well di hawt seh Bounty but di flesh did a seh Andy 5 Star + Bounty+ Luton monthly deposits…Plus di rent him was a pay when she finally lef oaklands. When di baller hear seh a likkle local man whey nah work beat him out…Everyting stop:- Him only get fi buy one Luis Vuitton bag and pause ina di miggle of purchasing di next one……………Javana money cut whey …Di people dem se Javana start write bay poem bout she mek mistake and really love and pan tap a di love she was very hungry…no supermarket money..Street seh Luton start walk a road and talk di tings and show people di phone wid Javana message dem a do di beggings….baps it end up pan di pink wall. From it reach pan di pink wall dat was it Javana did shame suh tayyyyyyy..she seh no more Luton and him seh no more bonafide ooman a ja …The End

PRELIMINARY ENQUIRY INTO MURDER OF BRITISH CONSUL JOHN TERRY STALLED!!!!

The preliminary enquiry into the murder of British Consul John Terry, stalled in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrates Court yesterday, because of the failure of the accused murderer to appear.

64 year old Terry, was killed three years ago in September 2009, at his Mount Carey home in Saint James. His Gardner, who doubled as watchman, 24 year old Richard Ewen, has been charged with the murder.

The Magistrate was told yesterday that Ewen was not before the court, because he was in custody at the Central Police Station, on a separate charge.

gud day met a little birdy came to me telling me dat 1 day last week him go check him fren pon a endz he saw wayne arising caretaker of kerryel banquet hall a guy came to see wayne he n the guy was talking then wayne said to the guy nutten naw gwann because club like crystal blue n starz a get all him food and they are illegal the guy then said give me the address of these place n ill fix dont worry your back in bussiness wayne then continues telling him about who use to keep party in kerryel n now gone to crystal blue strange guy said i got this they shake hands then depart. on friday nite while paul range dance was about to get madddd crystal came under a massive police invasion nex nite saturday caution party was lock off inside crystal blue .WAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE

Twenty-one years after Gilbert
BY KARYL WALKER [email protected]
Sunday, September 13, 2009

THE 2009 Atlantic Hurricane season has been one of the most quiet in recent memory.

However, despite the quiet season, Jamaicans, especially those over 30, will still have fresh memories of Gilbert – the deadly category four hurricane which left a trail of destruction across the island 21 years ago on September 12, 1988. The hurricane, which blew roofs off a number of houses, uprooted trees and utility poles and destroyed crops, took the lives of 21 people in its deadly rampage as it packed winds of 175 mph. On September 12, 1988, hours before Gilbert made landfall, a number of Jamaicans did not take the threat seriously as the majority of the population had never experienced the wrath of a hurricane of that magnitude. But it has changed the way Jamaicans, especially the sceptics, view hurricanes. Ronald Jackson, director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), said the nation will never be allowed to be caught napping again as the ODPEM has been working consistently with community organisations to keep the public on their toes. “It took us a while to get the public to hear the message and heed the message. This was occasioned by an improvement in the organisation’s programmes of working deliberately with community groups. There was also an improvement in the transition of early warnings,” Jackson said. After side-stepping Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Hurricane Gilbert charted a head-on course for Jamaica and entered the island at its eastern end. Gilbert boasted a 40-mile-wide eye and covered the entire island.

The corrugated zinc roofs that covered most homes were no match for the high velocity winds which accounted for about 80 per cent of the island’s homes being seriously damaged and rendered thousands homeless. Gilbert ground its way across the country and no parish was spared its wrath. By the time the first wave of the onslaught had passed over the island the extent of the damage told a sorry tale. Most roofs and satellite dishes were blown away. Sheets of zinc swirled dangerously like pieces of paper and landed miles away from the houses they once sheltered. Almost every house and many businesses were damaged by the powerful hurricane. Also damaged were hotels, schools and churches. But Gilbert was not yet finished with the island and began a new onslaught after the eye of the Hurricane had passed over.
Then the winds came from a westerly direction and completed the destruction the initial onslaught had started. Jackson said the ODPEM and the wider society had learnt many lessons from the experience and were now more aware what it takes to minimise the damage that can be caused by hurricanes. “Very little initiative was made in implementing proper building of roofing, the use of hurricane straps, the design of the roof and the technical component of how rafters are spaced,” Jackson told the Sunday Observer. When the hurricane finally decided to let up and move on to pummel the Cancun and Cozumel areas of Mexico, the Jamaican landscape had been significantly altered. A large portion of the country’s banana, vegetable and sugar cane farms had been destroyed. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and livestock farmers were left to dispose of farm animals who had perished in the hurricane.

There were also other downsides to the hurricane as many persons, who showed scant regard for the warnings which were sent out about the dangers of a hurricane, looted businesses and made off with appliances, food and other goods as Gilbert raged. The looters came from a wide cross section of society and even included police officers, several of whom were caught red-handed and charged. With Jamaica reeling from the effects of Gilbert’s mighty blows, the international community rallied in support of the country and donated millions of dollars worth of aid, including shipments of zinc which were to be distributed to those who had been staring at the stars through what was once their roofs. However, a major scandal erupted after claims that the zinc was being unfairly distributed and at times being sold by nefarious persons emerged. Reports at the time were that a great portion of the donated zinc was dumped into the Caribbean Sea rather than being used for their intended purpose.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/159514_Twenty-one-years-after-Gilbert#ixzz26GJRylBL

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