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After 14 months of working assiduously to meet rigorous regulatory aviation requirements, Fly Jamaica Airways will officially take to the skies on Friday, January 25, with its inaugural flight scheduled to depart for the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
Fly Jamaica Airways received its air operating certificate in September 2012 from the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA). The certificate is its licence to operate as an airline. In late December 2011, the airline received clearance from authorities in the United States, which determined that the airline has the capital to operate and just two weeks ago, Fly Jamaica finalised its operating schedules out of JFK. Chief Operating Officer Captain Lloyd Tai said the response to the new airline has been overwhelming. “We have completed all the technical and commercial requirements. We are new and had to get accustomed to interfacing with the American system. The United States had to ensure that we were 100 per cent compliant,” Tai said. Tai said the airline will offer convenient and reliable service aimed at meeting the needs of its clients, especially those in the Jamaican diaspora. Fly Jamaica Airways will operate four flights weekly from Kingston and services will include two checked bags, free meals on all flights and service in all cabins.
“Initially, we will fly to New York; however, plans are in the pipeline to also fly to Toronto and also Guyana. Full service will also be offered, especially on our long flights when passengers will get a full meal. We are also competitive in terms of our prices,” Tai said.
Tai revealed plans to to acquire an additional aircraft by year-end to bring its fleet to two. The company, which already owns a Boeing 757 aircraft, came under heavy scrutiny and was thoroughly inspected by the JCAA to ensure that the required support systems and services were in place. Fly Jamaica currently employs more than 60 Jamaicans and will look to expand its crew complement with the additional aircraft. Fly Jamaica Airways has created history as it is the first airline in Jamaica that has gone through the detailed regulations from scratch. Normally, an airline would take three to five years to meet these requirements. However, the airline has accomplished this feat in a relatively short time. Speaking at the launch at the Devonshire in St Andrew on Wednesday, Transport Minister Dr Omar Davies expressed pleasure with the success of the initiative amid the gloom and doom of the world economy. “This is an example of how Jamaicans can work together. This venture will reduce the challenge of travelling between Jamaica and Guyana,” Davies said.
For more information visit www.fly-jamaica.com or call 1-855-4 flyjam (359526).
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Former Principal of St. Andrew High School for Girls and more recently Excelsior Community College, Dr. Dahlia Repole CD, JP, passed away this morning after a valiant struggle with pancreatic cancer. In March 2010 she made public her diagnosis, saying, “People need to be more aware of the risk factors associated with pancreatic cancer. If my fight with this disease can benefit others, why should I keep it a secret? To help another person makes all of this worth it.” Dr. Dahlia Repole gave over 40 years of selfless dedicated service in the field of education to the people and country of Jamaica. She served as Principal of St Andrew High School for Girls for 12 years, and later Principal of Excelsior Community College for nine years. She was recognized at the highest levels for her contribution to education, both locally (Order of Distinction – Commander Class) and overseas (Pioneer work in community colleges from the Community Colleges Baccalaureate Association, USA).

In a statement, The St Andrew High School said that the school community “mourns the loss of one of its most illustrious daughters, Dr Dahlia Winsome Repole.” They continued: “She epitomized the school’s motto of Life More Abundant – excelling academically and professionally as well as in sports. She not only represented her school and Jamaica in hockey but she was also a charismatic and effective science teacher, head of department, Vice Principal and the only Old Girl to serve as Principal of her alma mater. “We mourn our loving, caring, creative fellow student, teacher, colleague, Principal and friend, and we offer our sincere condolences to her family, friends and the entire community of educators in Jamaica.”

In a 2010 citation on her retirement, The Excelsior Community College lauded Dr. Repole for her enthusiasm and passion for excellence, her concern and positive action for the less privileged and her outstanding vision and leadership, strategic thinking and commercial acumen. “Under her stewardship,” the citation noted, “Excelsior Community College experienced growth and institutional strengthening, as manifested in the improved programme offerings and accreditation by the University Council of Jamaica.” This led to the introduction of Bachelor’s degrees, expanding enrollment and new campuses in St. Thomas, St. Mary and two locations in Kingston. It also included the establishment of a Community Empowerment Programme in answer to worrying levels of strife in the College’s surroundings. The glowing citation noted her wide volunteer services, her quiet championship of diversity and equal opportunity, and establishment of dynamic partnerships for the College, locally and internationally.

Dr. Repole served on the Boards of numerous charitable organizations and gave courageous and dedicated service for her country, including in her capacity as a Justice of the Peace. In addition to the CD and Pioneer Awards mentioned above, she was honoured with the Prime Minister’s Medal of appreciation and the Kingston Bookshop Award, for services in the field of education. As well, a building was named in her honour by her alma mater, St. Andrew High School. Dr. Repole received strong support from family and friends, who joined together to form The Dahlia Repole Foundation (TDRF). Fund-raising towards Dr. Repole’s treatment was the initial goal of TDRF, but the scope broadened much further. “My mother’s diagnosis with pancan (pancreatic cancer) was devastating,” said Anika Repole Wilson, daughter of Dr. Repole and a Director of TDRF. “But it became apparent that others need to be in the know of this disease. Pancan does not discriminate, and we hope that by lending my mother’s name to this cause, others will be able to benefit through our fundraising and awareness efforts.” The Dahlia Repole Foundation has high hopes for Early Detection and Prevention Research in Pancreatic Cancer, as well as for enabling the improvement of educational institutions, platforms in which Dr. Repole strongly believed. Mrs Repole is survived by her children Kenzo and Ida-Chloe Anika; stepchildren Diane, Franz and Leon; a wealth of nieces and nephews whom she regarded as her own; her brothers, other family members, friends, colleagues and students.

A Bulawayo woman from Bradfield suburb has moved out of her matrimonial home after finding her husband having gay sex with his longtime friend.

Fungai Mtomba caught her husband Milton Ngwerume in compromising position with his longtime friend only identified as Rashid. However, the man could neither confirm nor deny the allegations when contacted for comment.

It is alleged that on 23 December 2012, Ngwerume sent Mtomba to his rural home in Masvingo for a holiday with his family. He is said to have driven her and spent only one day in Masvingo before coming back to celebrate Christmas in Bulawayo.

“He told me to stay home and help my in-laws in the fields until he called me back. I stayed at our rural home and intended to come back end of January. However, a neighbour phoned me informing me that Milton was acting funny with Rashid. The neighbour claimed he had spotted the two caressing in the garage and after noticing that they had been spotted, he claims they approached him pleading that he keeps it to himself.,” said the wife.

She added: “I had never suspected that he could be cheating on me. We could exchange phones anytime and I never saw any suspicious messages even from a man.”

Mtomba told of how she caught her husband romancing another man. She said she left Masvingo on Monday evening and got to their lodgings at night. When she got home, she used her keys to gain entry into the house and proceeded to the bedroom.

Ngwerume and Rashid were seemingly absorbed in the pleasures of the affair as Mtomba claims she got into the bedroom without being noticed.

“I caught them red-handed caressing and they were stark naked. Milton’s reaction was indifferent and he plainly told me to be comfortable with whatever decision I want to take. I was shocked and could not move for a moment. When I gained composure, I made up my mind and decided to move out and stay with my relatives,” she said.

Ngwerume could neither deny nor confirm the allegations. He said the issue between him and his wife was not for public consumption.

“I have issues with my wife and she moved out but let me warn you against publishing this matter. This is a private and confidential matter,” he said.

Rashid was unreachable on his mobile phone.

What Does The Bible Say True Humility Is?

By John W. Schoenheit

We all want to do well, get ahead, be successful, and be blessed by God. Therefore we should take special note of the fact that two separate times the Bible says in the New Testament that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6, 1 Pet. 5:5). If God gives grace to the humble, then being humble is a well-marked doorway to being blessed and spiritually successful in life. However, many people in this day and age do not have a clear biblical idea of what it means to be humble. This can be easily seen by watching television or movies, or from reading the dictionary.

Defining humility
The first definition of “humble” in the Oxford English Dictionary is “Having a low estimate of one’s importance, worthiness, or merits.” [1] Included in the definition of Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary are meanings such as “not assertive, ranking low in a hierarchy,” and “insignificant.” [2] While the dictionaries also point out that humility is the opposite of pride, it is safe to say that the average person “on the street” thinks of humility in terms of a person who does not think of himself as very important, is very submissive, and does not stand up for himself, but allows himself to be pushed around. That attitude was expressed more than a century ago by Josh Billings (1815-1885), who said, “The more humble a man is before God the more he will be exalted; the more humble he is before man, the more he will get rode roughshod.”

It is true that one meaning of “humble” or “humility” refers to when something high is “made low” or someone proud is forcibly “humbled.” When it is used that way, “humble” refers to being at a lower point than one was before, or to have lost prestige or status, or even to have been abased or humiliated. However, humility is used in two different ways in Greek culture and in the Bible, and the other use of humility refers to a godly posture of the heart.

In this article, we want to focus on the godly side of humility and get a clear understanding of what it is, and therefore what it looks like to be a humble Christian according to what the Bible says. Godly humility is, like the dictionaries say, the opposite of pride. However, a humble person never has a low estimate of his importance or thinks of himself as insignificant. Furthermore, humble people can be some of the most assertive people on the planet.

In the Greek text, the noun (humble) and verb (humbles, humbled) are from the same root word and refer to something that is low, or made low. In the godly sense, “humble” refers to a knowledge and recognition that we are lower than God, and humility is expressed by a state of voluntary submission to His will. Godly humility starts when we see things as they really are, and realize that God is the Creator of the universe and the standard by which everything is measured or evaluated.

If we do not understand that humility is always measured in terms of belief and submission to God’s will, we will not be able to recognize it when we see it. That is because humility occurs in the heart of a man or woman, and is not a standard “of the flesh.” Because humility is always measured in terms of submission to God’s will, the clearest indicator of true humility is a person’s obedience to God. The humble person lovingly and honestly obeys God, not like the Pharisees, who only made a show of obeying God, but omitted important parts of the Law such as mercy and justice (Matt. 23:23).

It is precisely because true humility is expressed in believing and obeying God that the humble Christian never has, as the dictionary says, “a low estimate of his importance” or thinks of himself as “insignificant.” It is God, our creator, who said that every member of the Body of Christ is important and significant (1 Cor. 12:12-26), and that is the truth on the matter.

In some ways, the dictionary definition of humility illuminates the clash between the Christian and non- Christian worldview. Dictionaries express the basic concept of humility, which is to be low in one’s own eyes. However, the dictionaries contrast the “humble” person’s worldview in terms of other people—that he is “lower” than they are, and thus we embrace definitions such as “a low estimate of one’s worthiness; not being assertive; insignificant.” A Christian definition of “humble,” modeled by Jesus Christ, is someone who in his own eyes is lower than God his Creator and thus always willing to believe what God says or do what God asks.

Jesus Christ—the model of humility
The clearest picture of humility in the Bible, indeed, in history, is Jesus Christ. He modeled godly humility for us.

Philippians 2:5 and 8
(5) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…
(8) …he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Jesus “became obedient.” That, in a nutshell, is “humility.” We think of ourselves as lower than God so we obey Him, which Jesus did. For example, Jesus wanted to live, not be tortured and die. We know that because on the eve of his arrest he prayed three different times to God, asking if there was a way he could fulfill his messianic mission without going through what the prophecies had foretold (cp. Ps. 22:6-18; Isa. 52:13-53:10; Zech. 13:6, 7).

Matthew 26:39, 42 and 44
(39) Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
(42) He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
(44) So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

Jesus certainly modeled true humility, and from his example we learn that humility is putting the will of God before our own will. It is imperative that we understand that, or we will get caught up in trying to judge humility by the standard of behavior. Some examples from the Bible will help us to be clear about this. One myth about humility is that if you tell others you are humble, then you are not. While that may be generally true, it is not “truth.” Again, let us look at the example Jesus set.

Matthew 11:29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Jesus pointed out to his followers that he was humble. Although the Bible does not say why he did it, we can certainly imagine one possible reason. The Greco-Roman culture in which Jesus and his followers lived extolled strong, self-willed people who bullied their way through life and “came out on top.” King Herod, the man who was king when Jesus was born, is a good example of this. Through singular focus, worldly ways, and forceful moves, he came to reign over Judea even though he himself was from Idumea, the Greek name for Edom. The fact that he was a terribly oppressive ruler often gets skimmed over, and he is referred to as “Herod the Great” in our history books. People such as Herod would never have been thought of as “humble,” and they were not. In that culture, just as in ours today, “humble” can be mistaken for “weak.” Thus, one reason that Jesus might have said that he was humble in heart was so that others could see what “humble” really was.

It takes great inner strength and confidence to be humble. We have to be completely comfortable with who we are before God alone, and with not being recognized by earthly authorities. In that light, it is significant that the angel Gabriel told John the Baptist’s father that John “would be great in the sight of the Lord” (Luke 1:15), because John was never acclaimed by earthly powers, and ended up dying in prison.

Jesus told a parable about one way that humble people act: they take the least important seats at a feast.

Luke 14:7-10
(7) When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable:
(8) “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited.
(9) If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place.
(10) But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.

This parable has a happy ending. The humble person did not vie for an important seat, but the host noticed him and invited him to move up to a more honored place. However, we all know that does not happen very often. What usually happens in situations like this (if the seating is not assigned) is that no one really pays attention to where the guests sit. At that point, the situation becomes a test of true humility. The humble person recognizes that he or she is a servant to everyone and is comfortable with the seating and the people he or she is close to. In contrast, the person who is not humble, but prideful and self-important, is upset at the company close by and wants to be with “more important” people.

The above example fits our standard idea of humility; that a humble person would naturally take the lowest seat at a banquet. But notice the humility Jesus demonstrated in the following record.

John 2:13-16
(13) When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
(14) In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
(15) So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
(16) To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Although we may not be used to humility looking like this, Jesus was once again demonstrating humility. Jesus had been in the Temple many times before and had never done anything aggressive like this. Furthermore, he would be in the Temple many more times, but only confronted the dishonesty and merchandizing that regularly occurred there one more time (Matt. 21:12ff; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45ff). Why this show of his authority? God prompted him to do what he did, and he obeyed (John 5:19, 30). This action of his, along with the other things he was doing, led many to conclude that he was the Messiah (John 2:23).

Interestingly, it would be possible to confuse Jesus’ action in the Temple and call it pride instead of humility. What Jesus did was so powerful and assertive that many people could assume it was motivated by pride. However, pride is two sided. In what some linguists would refer to as a “happy coincidence” of the language, the English word P-R-I-D-E portrays both sides of pride. In the middle of “pride” is always “I.” On the left side is the kind of pride we are used to, which is “personal reputation.” Pride bolsters and protects its personal reputation. The other side of pride, however, is not as well known, and actually masquerades as humility! In fact, we often refer to it as “false humility.” That is the “D-E” of pride, “devalued estimation.” Devalued estimation occurs when we do not submit to God’s will and thankfully and fearlessly accept what He has done for us. Paul’s humility shines brightly when he says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…” (Col. 1:1). Paul accepted who he was and the ministry God gave him.

In the instance of Jesus clearing the Temple, Jesus knew he was the Messiah and he was acting on the will of God. He would have been happy to walk right by the moneychangers and animal salesmen without a confrontation, as he no doubt had done many times before. But humility is submitting to the will of God.

It is humility when we read the Bible and accept it as the will of God for our lives. Note, for example, what 1 John 3:1 says about us: “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!” God has made us His children. It is not humility that says, “Oh, a child of God. That is such a huge honor; I am not really in that category. I am happy just to try to be a good person.” Does that sound humble? It is not, it is prideful (or perhaps done in ignorance). It is pride that denies the work of God and holds a devalued estimation of itself. Humility recognizes and accepts the work of God for what it is, and lives accordingly.

It is hard to be humble
As the song writer says, “it’s hard to be humble.” However, not for the reason Mac Davis gave when he wrote the song and the now famous line, “Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble when you’re perfect in every way.” There are real reasons that it is hard to be humble. One is that we humans have a sin nature that is always trying to express itself. The Bible warns us that “the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit” (Gal. 5:17 – ESV). Our flesh and sin nature are always prodding us to be self-willed and ignore or disobey the commands of God. Humility takes self denial.

Another reason it seems hard to be humble is that often we do not work hard enough at it. This reason is related to the reason above, that we have a sin nature, but we often “wish” we were obedient and humble, but do not actually make the concerted effort to do it. The Apostle Paul knew that a halfhearted effort to be humble would never work. He wrote to the Church at Corinth, “I beat my body and make it my slave…” (1 Cor. 9:27). Many of us would like to think that obedience to God is easy, but it is not. Humility takes hard work.

A third reason it is hard to be humble is because the Devil makes sure we pay a high price for it. The god of this world is Satan (2 Cor. 4:4), and one of his chief characteristics is pride. In fact, it was due to his pride that he was ejected from his heavenly position before God (Isa. 14:12-14; Ezek. 28:17). He submits to God in nothing, and refuses to acknowledge any good in God’s work, which is why he only steals, kills, and destroys (John 10:10). Satan, and the world he controls, hates God’s work, which is why the New Testament tells us, “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you” (1 John 3:13).

To the world, Christians are narrowminded, bigoted, exclusive, and even foolish or dangerous. Furthermore, the world mistakes the gentle, loving, and humble ways of Christians for weakness. The Adversary and those who work for him make sure that whenever Christians speak up, the world reacts violently against them. That is why Scripture says, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12). The truth of these words is evident, and the persecution of Christians is occurring all over the world.

It seems certain that we would see more persecution of Christians than we do if more Christians were truly humble, i.e., truly submissive to the will of God. For example, God tells us to share our faith with others, and even that He has made us ambassadors of His Kingdom and committed to us the message of reconciliation between man and God (2 Cor. 5:18-20). Yet many people ignore the commission God gave us and do not share their Christian faith—sadly, many times for fear of being persecuted, which in the United States usually comes in the form of being mocked, laughed at, spoken against, or excluded, but can also take the form of being fired from a job or not considered for promotion.

God says that Jesus Christ is a “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence” (Rom. 9:23 KJV), and no matter how hard we try, we cannot change that. The holy and singular nature of God clashes with the “do-what-I-want” nature of the world, and the world reacts violently to the fact that they are not “good enough just as we are” to come to God, but that they must come with and through the blood of Jesus Christ.

The violent behavior of the world causes many Christians to squelch their obedience to God, and thus their humility. As was pointed out earlier in the article, it takes great inner strength and confidence to be humble; weak and fearful people are almost never truly humble because they submit to their weakness instead of submitting to God. Thus, often because of fear or a dislike of conflict, many Christians do not openly express their love, devotion, or thanks to their heavenly Father, even though He greatly deserves it and would love to have it. Humility takes courage.

Humility in a nutshell
In summary, humility is submitting ourselves to the will of God and obeying Him. Humility is expressed as believing what God says and doing what He asks. It is an attitude of the heart that naturally recognizes that we are lower than God and owe our lives to Him. We learn about humility from studying the words and actions of Jesus Christ, the only perfectly humble person who ever lived. Finally, we have to resign ourselves to the fact that developing and maintaining a humble heart takes constant work and great courage. If we are not careful, our sin nature will rise up within us and produce pride and an entitlement attitude that will then be quickly followed by greed, anger, gossip, and other such sins. Also if we are not careful, our courage will give way to fear, and we will submit to it and not to God, and act in ways that do not bring the honor and glory to God that He deserves. Yes, it is hard to be humble, but God deserves it, so as Paul wrote, “…we make it our goal to please him…” (2 Cor. 5:9).