My Personal Christian Blog

Thanks for sliding into my blog site. This blog bog is a spin-off from my website at http://www.niteowldave.com/. Call me a Night Owl, as my full-time mission and hobby are jabbering from midnight until 8 a.m.ish with chatter bugs across the world. Hoot, hoot! Being a retired newspaper guy and a Curious George, I've written and assembled a whack of stuff that I hope you'll find interesting and thought-provoking. Check out the Stories bar on the right side, below, for all my articles - from my web site and this blog.




May 20, 2013

POWERHOUSE ISRAEL



(The source of the following article is unknown.)
 

Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1/1,000th of the world's population, can lay claim to the following:
 

The cell phone was developed in Israel in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has the largest development center in Israel.
 

Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft-Israel.
 

The Pentium MMX Chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel.
 

Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
 

The Pentium microprocessor in your computer was most likely made in Israel.
 

Voice mail technology was developed in Israel.
 

Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the US in Israel.
 

Four young Israelis developed the technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ in 1996.
 

Israel has the fourth largest air force in the world (after the U.S, Russia and China). In addition to a large variety of other aircraft, Israel's air force has an aerial arsenal of over 250 F-16's. This is the largest fleet of F-16 aircraft outside of the U. S.
 

Israel’s $100 billion economy is larger than all of its immediate neighbors combined. Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
 

According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. US officials now look (finally) to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
 

Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the world.
 

Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin - 109 per 10,000 people -- as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
 

In proportion to its population, except for the U.S, Israel has the largest number of start-up companies in the world -- 3,500 companies, mostly in hi-tech.
 

With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and start-ups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon Valley, U.S.
 

Israel is ranked #2 in the world for venture capital funds right behind the U.S.
 

Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
 

Israel has the highest average living standards in the Middle East.
 

In 2000, the per capita income in Israel was over $17,500, exceeding that of the UK.
 

On a per capita basis, Israel has the largest number of biotech start-ups.
 

Twenty-four per cent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrialized world, after the United States and Holland. Twelve per cent of the workforce holds advanced degrees.
 

Israel is the only liberal democracy in the Middle East.
 

In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews (Operation Solomon and Moses) at Risk in Ethiopia to safety in Israel.
 

When Golda Meir was elected Prime Minister of Israel in 1969, she became the world's second elected female leader in modern times.
 

When the U. S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, was bombed in 1998, Israeli rescue teams were on the scene within a day -- and saved three victims from the rubble.
 

Israel has the third highest rate of entrepreneurship and the highest rate among women and among people over 55 in the world.
 

Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. Hundreds of thousands come from the former Soviet Union.
 

Israel has the world's second highest per capita of new books.
 

Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because, this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert!
 

Israel has more museums per capita than any other country 
 

In medical endeavors, Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no-radiation, diagnostic instrumentation for breast cancer.
 

An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U.S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
 

Israelis Given Imaging developed the first ingestible video camera, so small it fits inside a pill. The cameras are used to view the small intestine from the inside, for cancer and digestive disorders.
 

Researchers in Israel developed a new device that directly helps the heart pump blood, an innovation with the potential to save lives among those with heart failure. The new device is synchronized with the camera helps doctors diagnose heart's mechanical operations through a sophisticated system of sensors.
 

Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce, with 145 per 10,000, as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. 

With over 25 per cent of its work force employed in technical professions, Israel places first in this category as well.
 

A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the Clear Light device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all without damaging surrounding skin or tissue.
 

An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant, in southern California's Mojave Desert.
 

The Middle East has been growing date palms for centuries. The average tree in the past was about 18-20 feet tall and yielded about 38 pounds of dates a year.
 

Israeli date trees are now yielding 400 pounds a year and are short enough to be harvested from the ground or a short ladder.    

All of the above was accomplished while Israel has been engaged in regular wars with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other county on earth.

May 9, 2013

IN WHAT ARE YOU TRUSTING TO GET INTO HEAVEN?

 
From the Personal Evangelism Kit by Jim McCarthy 
Edited by NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com

 

There are many ideas floating around about how we get into Heaven. Many are thought provoking. Many are hunches. Few are rooted in Biblical truth. Let’s examine a few.
 

1.Believing in God
In order to go to Heaven, what must we believe? The Bible teaches that merely acknowledging certain facts about God means little.
 

(See below for the real truth.)
 

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble,” says James 2:19. Also see Matthew 7:21-23. So Satan and his demons also believe in God but, of course, are Hell-bound.
 

2. Being Baptized
How does baptism help us get to Heaven? Nowhere does the Bible teach that baptism makes a person right with God. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 1:17, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel.

3. Going to Church
How does going to church or being a member of a particular church help us attain salvation? The Bible teaches that the church is not a place, but a people – God’s people - also known as the Body of Christ. Ephesians 1:22-23 says, “(The Father) ... gave Him (the Son) to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body.” Also see 1 Corinthians 12:12-13and Colossians 1:18.

4. Receiving the Sacraments
How does receiving the sacraments, especially the Roman Catholic Eucharist, contribute to your salvation? The Bible does not speak of a series of rituals as being necessary for salvation. The biblical purpose of taking bread and wine is simply a reminder of Jesus’ death. He said in Luke 22:19, “This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” Also see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.

5. Praying
In what way does praying help us attain eternal life? Jesus taught that repeating prayers over and over is of no value. Matthew 6:7 says, “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Also see Matthew7:21-23


6. Keeping the Commandments
Are we able to keep the Ten Commandments to God's standard? No way. The Bible teaches that anyone who does not keep the ALL the commandments perfectly will be judged unworthy of Heaven: James 2:10 says, “Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Also see Galatians 3:10-12, Romans 3:20,23-28 and7:7-12.


7. Loving Your Neighbor
Do we love our neighbor with the kind of love that God requires? Hardly. Jesus taught: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matthew 22:39).” Also see Luke10:25-37, 1 John 3:16-18, and James 1:27.

8. Doing Good Works
How many good works do we have to do to earn eternal life? The Scriptures teach that even the best that we do is tainted with sin and are unworthy of God. Isaiah 64:6 says. “All our righteousness (good deeds) is filthy rags.” Also see Romans 3:12,23 and 4:4,5, Ephesians 2:8,9, Titus 3:5 and John 6:28-29.

9. Dying With No Unconfessed Sin
Does the condition of one’s soul at the moment of death affect one’s eternal destiny? Jesus said that those who belong to Him would never be condemned to Hell. John 10:28 says, “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Also see Romans 5:8-10,8:33-34 and 1 John 5:11-13.

The above are noble concepts but these things do NOT qualify anyone for Heaven. What does, then? Simply, we must be “saved.” Jesus taught that the only way to a right relationship with God is through Him.