between many nations, and that people all over the world would experience times of great trouble. ) jesus said that he would come back to the world from heaven, but only god the father knew when that time would be. the important thing was that they should be ready to meet him when he did return. jesus told them some stories to help them remember this. here is one of them. ( second voice ) jesus said that the time when he comes back to the world from heaven is like the time when a man ( bridegroom ) goes to get his bride. it was the jewish wedding custom in those days that when a man was ready to be married he would go with some of his friends to the bride ' s home. then he would bring the bride back to his own home and they would have a big feast there with all their friends. the people who knew the man and the bride, and who wanted to go to the wedding feast, would wait by the road for the man and his bride to come. then they would join in the procession and go to the man ' s home. ( in the procession there would be a lot of singing and happy talking. ) usually the wedding procession happened at night. ( so people who wanted to join in the wedding procession would take a lamp with them. ) this is the story that jesus told : there were ten young women who went out to the roadside to wait for the bridegroom and bride to come. it was night time and they all had their lamps so that they would be able to join in the procession. five of the women were wise, and they had brought extra oil with them for their lamps. five of the women were foolish, and they did not bring extra oil. the women waited for a long, long time, and finally they went to sleep. then at midnight they heard a shout : " wake up! here comes the bridegroom. go out and meet him now! " all the women got up quickly and got their lamps ready. then the five foolish women found that they had no oil for their lamps. they asked the five wise women to give some of their oil to them. but they said that they could not do that or they might not have enough, to go into the wedding feast. they told the five foolish women to go quickly to the store and get the oil they needed. they went off to do that, but while they were away the bridegroom arrived. all the people in the wedding procession went into the bridegroom ' s


the five foolish women to go quickly to the store and get the oil they needed. they went off to do that, but while they were away the bridegroom arrived. all the people in the wedding procession went into the bridegroom ' s home for the feast, and then they shut the door. later the five foolish women came back and called out to the bridegroom inside the house, " oh sir! open the door and let us in too ( please ). " but he replied " i don ' t know you. you can ' t come inside. " jesus told this story, then he said to his disciples, " therefore you must always be alert. be prepared for the time when i will return, for you don ' t know when that time will be. " jesus told that story many, many years ago, but the message is still the same today. jesus could return to this world at any time. we must be alert and prepared to meet jesus when he returns. this means that we must be sure that we have become one of god ' s family, and we must be sure that the things we are doing each day are the things that will please jesus. ( include suitable examples if necessary. ) picture 12 : waiting for jesus matt. 25 : 14 - 30 jesus taught his disciples that later on he would return to the world from heaven. while they were waiting for him, he wanted them to make good use of all the things god gave them. jesus told them this story. ( second voice ) a wealthy man was going on a journey to a far country. he called his servants together and gave each of them some of his money. he wanted them to use the money to make more money for him. he gave five amounts of money to one man, two amounts to another man. ( each man received money according to his ability to use it. ) then the wealthy man went away on his journey. the man with five amounts of money went straight to work with it and eventually he earned another five amounts. the man with two amounts of money did the same and he earned two more amounts. but the man with one amount went and dug a hole in the ground and hid the money there. ( so that it wouldn ' t be lost or stolen. ) after a long time the wealthy man returned from his journey. he called all his servants together to see what they had done with the money he had given them. the servant who had received five amounts of money came and spoke to his master. "


) after a long time the wealthy man returned from his journey. he called all his servants together to see what they had done with the money he had given them. the servant who had received five amounts of money came and spoke to his master. " sir, you gave me five amounts of money. look, here are another five amounts of money that i have earned. " his master said, " you have done well. i gave you a small amount of money and you have worked well with it, just as i asked you to. now i will put you in charge of many things. come and share in the joy of your master. " the man who had received two amounts of money came and told his master how he had made another two amounts. his master was very pleased and told him the same things as he had told the man with five amounts of money. then the man who had received one amount of money came and spoke to his master. " sir, i knew you were the sort of man who reaps crops from places where he has not sown seed, and i was afraid you would take from me any money that i earned. so i hid your money in the ground, and here it is, just as you gave it to me. " the wealthy man was very angry and said, " you are a wicked and lazy servant. if you thought i was that sort of person you should have put my money in the bank, so it might have gained some interest ( more money ) for me. take the money from this man, and give it to the man with five amounts of money. for the man who uses well what he has been given shall be given more. but the man who does not use well what he has been given, even that small amount will be taken from him. send that wicked, lazy servant away. he will be punished. " ( first voice ) jesus is like the wealthy man who went away on a journey. we who are followers of jesus are like the servants. god has given each of us the ability to do different things well. some of us are good at making things ; some of us are good speakers ; some of us are good at helping others. there are many different things that we can do that will help others to know about jesus. jesus wants us to work well at these things and not to get tired of telling others about him. jesus will be very displeased if we do not use the things that god has given us, or if we hide the message


about jesus. jesus wants us to work well at these things and not to get tired of telling others about him. jesus will be very displeased if we do not use the things that god has given us, or if we hide the message of god from others. if we do well the things that jesus has asked us to do, then when he returns to the world, he will be very pleased with us and we will share in his joy for ever. picture 13 : jesus is baptized mark 1 : 4 - 11 mark was one of jesus ' friends. he wrote down many of the things that jesus said and did. we will listen to some of these stories now. mark tells us that jesus cared very much about people, especially those who were poor and outcast. he also tells us how jesus used his great power ( as god ' s son ) to help people, as he healed many people of their sicknesses. mark begins his book by telling us about a man called john. john was sent by god as a special messenger ( prophet ) to the israelite people. john lived by himself, away from the towns, out in the desert. but great crowds of people came to hear his message. ( for many years god had said to the israelites that one day he would send a man to them who would help them. he would take away their sins and be their king [ leader ] forever. ) john said to the people, " get ready! very soon the messiah ( god ' s man ) will come. you must turn away from your sin and do the things that please god. then you will be ready to meet the messiah ( god ' s man ). " some of the people wanted to follow john ' s message, so john baptized ( immersed ) them in the river jordan. this was a sign that they wanted god to forgive their sins and that from then on they would do the things that pleased god ( john said, " the messiah [ god ' s man ], who is coming soon, is much greater than i am. i baptize you with water. he will baptize you with god ' s spirit. ) then jesus came to see john. jesus had not started telling god ' s message to others yet. jesus asked john to baptize him. john was surprised that jesus asked him, because jesus had never done anything wrong. jesus wanted to show people that he was a man who was obedient to god, and that he was going to please god in everything he


baptize him. john was surprised that jesus asked him, because jesus had never done anything wrong. jesus wanted to show people that he was a man who was obedient to god, and that he was going to please god in everything he did. he also wanted to show people that he was beginning his work as god ' s man to help people. so john baptized jesus in the river jordan. as jesus was coming up out of the water, people saw god ' s spirit come down gently on jesus in the form of a dove. then they heard god ' s voice speaking to jesus from heaven. god said, " you are my son, whom i love. i am very pleased with you. " yes, jesus was a man who obeyed god, but he was also god ' s son, and everything he did pleased god. jesus was ready now to begin his work of telling god ' s message to people, and of using his power to help people. you listen and you will hear some stories about the wonderful things he did. picture 14 : jesus calls helpers ( disciples ) mark 1 : 14 - 20 god had sent jesus to do a special work. now jesus began his ministry ( work ). he went through all the places in israel, teaching the people about god. he said, " now is the time for you people to come to god. turn away from your sins and follow ( obey ) this good message that i am giving you. " jesus also did many wonderful things to help people. jesus also wanted other people to do this work with him. one day jesus was walking along the shore beside the lake of galilee, and he saw some men that he knew. peter and andrew were brothers, and they were fishermen. they were throwing a net out into the sea to catch some fish. jesus said to them, " you come and be my followers ( be my disciples, work with me ). i will teach you how to catch men ( and make them followers of god ). so peter and andrew left their fishing nets behind and went with jesus. jesus walked on a little further and came to two more men, who were getting their nets ready for fishing. their names were james and john. jesus talked to them and asked them also to come with him and to be his followers. straight away they left their nets and their boat and went with jesus. there were many people who followed jesus to listen to his teaching, and to see the wonderful things he did. jesus chose twelve men to be his special followers


to be his followers. straight away they left their nets and their boat and went with jesus. there were many people who followed jesus to listen to his teaching, and to see the wonderful things he did. jesus chose twelve men to be his special followers ( friends, disciples ). ( their names were : peter ; james ; john ; andrew ; philip ; bartholomew ; matthew ; thomas ; james, son of alphaeus ; thaddaeus ; simon the zealot ; and judas iscariot. ) these twelve men stayed with jesus all the time. jesus taught them about god the father, god the spirit, and about himself. he taught them that he was god ' s son and showed this was true by the many great things he did. he also taught them that he was going to die on a cross as a payment for the sins of all people, but that he would rise from the dead after three days. jesus taught men so that they could go and teach others. jesus wanted people all around the world to hear his message. today too, jesus wants people to be his followers and work with him. jesus wants men and women, boys and girls, to be his disciples. jesus wants us to study his word so that we know all about him, and he wants us to tell other people about him. jesus said that if people want to be his disciples they must forget about pleasing themselves and think instead about pleasing others. we must also be prepared to suffer hardship, just as jesus did. if we love jesus and want to please him most of all, then this will not be too difficult for us to do. remember, being a disciple of jesus is the best thing that we could ever be. picture 15 : a man is made clean mark 1 : 40 - 45 jesus continued to travel from place to place, teaching the people about god. one day a man came to jesus and knelt in front of him. this man had a terrible skin disease called leprosy. because the man had leprosy the people made him leave his home and family and go away and live by himself. he was not allowed to go near anyone, and if anyone came near to him he had to shout, " unclean! unclean! " and make people stay away from him. people were very frightened to go near a leper in case they caught the terrible disease too. at that time there was no way that leprosy could be cured. eventually this disease would make the man die. jesus didn ' t run away from this man


very frightened to go near a leper in case they caught the terrible disease too. at that time there was no way that leprosy could be cured. eventually this disease would make the man die. jesus didn ' t run away from this man. jesus showed great love for this man and came close to him. the man believed that jesus could help him and so he said to jesus, " if you want to, you can make me clean. " ( heal my leprosy ). then jesus did something that no one ever did. he reached out and touched the man. jesus said to him, " of course i want to help you. be clean! " as soon as jesus said that, the man ' s leprosy was cured. his skin became clean and good again and he was able to go back and live with his family and friends that man was very happy indeed. jesus was able to do this great miracle ( work ) because he is god. he is the one who made all things, and he has power to cure any sickness that people have. jesus loved that man and wanted to help him. jesus loves each one of us too. jesus knows about the sin that is in our hearts, but he still loves us and wants to help us. sin is like that terrible skin disease of leprosy. sin makes unclean in the sight of god, and sin separates us from god. ( because he is holy ). if we come to jesus he will reach out to us and help us. if we ask him to, he will take away our sins and make our hearts clean. but if we want him to do this we have to turn away from our sins, and do the things he tells us in his word. ( if we are already disciples of jesus then we can think about this story. jesus really loved this man with the terrible skin disease. he didn ' t run away from him. he wanted to help him. we know people like this too. perhaps they don ' t have a terrible disease, but for some reason we don ' t like to be seen with them. maybe they are from another clan, or perhaps they are always rude to us. whatever it is, we need to love these people, just like jesus would. we must reach out to them and try and help them. then we may be able to share with them the message of god ' s love for them. ) picture 16 : a paralysed man walks mark 2 : 1 - 12 jesus was staying in


must reach out to them and try and help them. then we may be able to share with them the message of god ' s love for them. ) picture 16 : a paralysed man walks mark 2 : 1 - 12 jesus was staying in a place called capernaum, just by the lake of galilee. people heard that he was there and soon a great crowd of people came to his house. there were so many people that no one could even get in the door. they all listened carefully as he taught them about god. a group of people came up to the house, and four of them were carrying a man who was paralysed. they wanted to take the man to jesus, but because the house was so crowded they couldn ' t get inside. however, this didn ' t stop them from trying to get to jesus. they carried the paralysed man up the steps at the side of the house and onto the ( flat ) roof. they made a big hole in the roof, just above where jesus was located. then they lowered the man down on his sleeping mat, right in front of where jesus was standing. jesus was not angry with them for doing this. no, he was pleased. jesus could see that these people really loved their friend who was paralysed. he could also see that they believed that he ( jesus ) could help them. so jesus said to the paralysed man, " your sins are forgiven! " the people had not expected jesus to say that. they thought he would have said something about the man ' s sickness. some of the people there were religious teachers. " who does this man think he is? god is the only one who can forgive sins. this man is not god. he is only a man. " jesus knew what the religious teachers were thinking, so he said to them, " you don ' t believe that i have the power ( authority ) to forgive people ' s sins, do you? but which would be easier for me to do ; to say to this man that his sins are forgiven, or to tell him to get up and walk? so i will prove to you that i do have authority to do both of those things. " then jesus spoke to the paralysed man and said, " get up now. pick up your sleeping mat and go home1 " the man got up straight away, picked up his mat and walked through the crowd. the people were very astonished when this happened. they had never seen anything like this before. they


get up now. pick up your sleeping mat and go home1 " the man got up straight away, picked up his mat and walked through the crowd. the people were very astonished when this happened. they had never seen anything like this before. they praised god that such a great miracle ( work ) should happen to this man who was paralysed. now they knew that jesus had great power to heal people who were sick. they also knew that he had the power to forgive people ' s sins. jesus was a man, but he was also god, and he had the power ( authority ) to do the things that he said. perhaps you feel like the man who was paralysed. you don ' t have any power to do the things that are good and right. if you ask jesus, he can forgive your sins and make you strong to do the things that please god. this is the most important thing that can happen to you. picture 17 : a withered hand & hard hearts mark 3 : 1 - 6 many years before, god had given some laws to the israelites through one of their great leaders, moses. these laws helped the people to understand about god and to live good lives. but some of the israelite teachers added many more laws. many of these laws were about the israelites special ( holy ) day, the sabbath, which was the last day of the week, saturday. the israelites were not allowed to work on the sabbath, and there were many other things that they were not allowed to do. many of them forgot that there were lots of good things that they could do on that day. one sabbath ( saturday ) jesus was in the meeting house with many other israelites. one of the men there had a hand that was crippled ( withered ). some of the israelite leaders were there and they watched jesus closely to see if he would heal the man. they thought it would be very wrong for jesus to do this, because it would be like working on the sabbath. these people didn ' t really care about the man who was crippled. they thought it was more important that people should obey the israelite rules. jesus spoke to the man with the crippled hand and asked him to stand out in front of all the people. then jesus spoke to everyone. he said, " what does our law allow us to do on the sabbath? to help people or to harm them? to save a man ' s life, or to destroy it? ' the people realised that what jesus was saying was


to everyone. he said, " what does our law allow us to do on the sabbath? to help people or to harm them? to save a man ' s life, or to destroy it? ' the people realised that what jesus was saying was right, but they didn ' t want to admit that the way they kept some of their rules was wrong. so nobody answered jesus. they said nothing. this made jesus angry, as he saw that these people had so little love for the man who was crippled. then jesus said to the man with the crippled hand, " stretch out your hand! " the man did that, and straight away it was restored ( made good again ), and was just as good as his other hand. the man was very happy, but some of the israelite leaders were very angry at what jesus had done. they began to make plans about how they could get rid of jesus. we would agree that these men were wrong to have so little feeling ( love, pity ) for the man with the crippled hand. but sometimes we are like that too. we say that other people should follow god ' s word in exactly the same way that we do. if they don ' t, we say that they are wrong, and sometimes we become angry with them. we should remember that jesus showed us that caring for people is more important than keeping rules. it is very important that we follow god ' s word correctly, but if we do that it should not keep us from loving and helping others. no, rather it should help us to love and care for others even more. picture 18 : jesus calms the storm mark 4 : 35 - 41 jesus was by the lake of galilee and was teaching the people about god. soon many people were there listening, and they crowded in on him. so he got into a fishing boat just near the water ' s edge and taught the people from there. at the end of the day jesus was very tired, and wanted to get away from the crowd. so he said to his disciples, " let ' s go over to the other side of the lake ". they agreed, and they all set off in the boat. jesus settled himself down in the rear of the boat to have a sleep. then a fierce storm struck the boat. the waves became very rough and so much water came into the boat that it was ready to sink. many of the disciples were fishermen. they had sailed on this lake for many years and they knew all about storms, but this storm was too strong


. the waves became very rough and so much water came into the boat that it was ready to sink. many of the disciples were fishermen. they had sailed on this lake for many years and they knew all about storms, but this storm was too strong for them. they became frightened and thought they would soon die. they were upset that jesus was still asleep, so they woke him up and said to him, " teacher, look at this storm! we are all about to drown and you are still sleeping. don ' t you care what happens to us? " jesus got up and spoke to the wind and the waves. " quiet! be still! ", he said. immediately the wind died down and the sea became calm. then jesus spoke to his disciples, " why are you so frightened? don ' t you have faith in me yet? " the disciples were astonished and still frightened. they had never seen anything like this before. they said to each other, " what sort of person is jesus? he is much greater than we ever realized. even the winds and the waves do what he says! " the disciples were beginning to learn about jesus. they had heard his message, and had seen some of his great miracles ( works ). they were starting to understand that jesus was much more than an ordinary man ; that he was indeed the son of god. he was the one who had authority ( power ) over all things, which he himself had created. they were starting to learn that in times of great trouble and difficulty they could trust jesus to help them. jesus is just the same today. if we are his disciples ( followers ) then he is a friend who is ready to help us. but what a friend he is! he has great authority ( power ) over all things, and he has great power to help us. sometimes we have difficulties and trials. ( these are like the storm that came upon jesus and his disciples in the boat. ) jesus knows all about these things that happen to us. he can take away our fears and bring peace to our hearts. picture 19 : a woman is healed mark 5 : 25 - 34 jesus and his disciples came back across the lake in the boat. a big crowd of people was there to meet them when they arrived. one man came straight away to jesus and fell at his feet. this man ' s name was jairus. he was the leader of the synagogue ( place where the israelites met to worship god ). jairus told jesus that his twelve year old daughter was very


straight away to jesus and fell at his feet. this man ' s name was jairus. he was the leader of the synagogue ( place where the israelites met to worship god ). jairus told jesus that his twelve year old daughter was very sick, and he asked jesus to come quickly and heal her, or else she would die. jesus and his disciples set off with jairus to go to his house, and a big crowd of people went with them. there was a woman in the crowd who was very sick. she had suffered from severe bleeding for 12 years. she had been to many doctors and had spent all her money trying to get better. instead, her sickness only got worse. she had heard about jesus and came to see if he could help her. now she had seen jesus she felt sure he could help her. but she was too embarrassed to speak openly about her sickness. ( the israelite law said that she was ritually unclean, and any one she touched would also be ritually unclean for 7 days. ) this woman believed that if she could just touch a part of jesus ' coat, then she would be well again. she thought she could do this in the crowd and no one else would know. so as the crowd moved along the woman moved closer and closer to jesus. then she reached out and touched jesus ' coat. straight away her sickness was cured ( the bleeding stopped ). the woman was very happy that she had been made well, and she was also pleased that no one seemed to have noticed what she had done. then jesus stopped and looked around. he knew that power had gone out from him to heal someone. jesus said, " who touched my coat? " jesus ' disciples were surprised to hear jesus ask this question, because so many people were crowding around him and touching him. however, jesus kept looking at the people around him. the woman realized that she could not hide herself any longer. she came trembling with fear and knelt at jesus ' feet. she told jesus everything that had happened. jesus was not angry with her ; no, he was very pleased to hear what she had done. jesus said to her, " daughter, ( suitable greeting ) because you believed in me ( that i could heal you ) you have been made well. so, don ' t be upset ( concerned ). go home in peace and be free from your trouble ( sickness ). jesus showed the people that he had the power to cure sickness. he also showed that he knows about the things


made well. so, don ' t be upset ( concerned ). go home in peace and be free from your trouble ( sickness ). jesus showed the people that he had the power to cure sickness. he also showed that he knows about the things that people like to keep hidden. perhaps there are things in your life that you want to keep hidden from other people. things that are not sicknesses, but are the bad actions and thoughts that we would be ashamed to tell to others. jesus knows all about these things and he wants to help us. we can come to jesus, tell him about these things, and ask him to take away our sins. he will do this, and he will make us strong to do the things that please god. we must have faith in ( believe in ) jesus just like the woman did. we must tell jesus about these things and trust him to help us. picture 20 : a dead child lives mark 5 : 22 - 24, 35 - 43 ( jesus had just healed a woman who had been sick with severe bleeding, and he was talking to her. ) jairus was the leader of the local synagogue and he was waiting for jesus to come to his house. jairus ' daughter was very sick. just then some servants arrived who had come from jairus ' house. they said to jairus, " your daughter is dead. there is no need any more to ask the teacher ( jesus ) to come. " jairus was very sad when he heard this, but jesus said to him, " don ' t be frightened by what they have said. you must continue to believe that i can still help your daughter. " then jesus stopped all the people from following him any further. he took with him only three of his disciples, peter, james and john, as well as jairus, and they went on to jairus ' house. when they arrived at jairus ' house, there were many people there. they were all crying loudly and making a lot of noise, because the girl was dead. jesus went into the house and said to the people, " why are you making all this noise and crying? the girl is not dead, she is only asleep. " the people were not happy to hear this from jesus, and they laughed scornfully at him. so jesus made everyone leave the house except jairus and his wife, and his three disciples. they went into the room where the girl was lying in bed. jesus went up to her, took her hand and said. " little


not an israelite. and normally the israelites would not have anything to do with greek people. this woman had a daughter who was possessed by an evil spirit, and she was very worried about her. she came and knelt in front of jesus and pleaded with him to drive the evil spirit out of her daughter. at first jesus did not speak to her, but she kept on asking jesus to help her daughter. then jesus said to her, " i came to help the israelite people. if i help you, it would be like a father giving his children ' s food to the dogs. " jesus really loved this woman and her daughter, and he wanted to help them. he was testing this woman to see if she really believed that israel ' s god could help her. the woman said to jesus, " yes, that is right ( not to give the children ' s food to the dogs ) but even the dogs eat the crumbs ( scraps ) that fall from the table. " jesus was very pleased with what the woman said, and he said to her, " that was a good answer. now i know that you do believe very strongly that god can help you. i have done what you have asked for, and you can go home now. i have driven out the evil spirit from your daughter. " the woman was very pleased and went back to her home. there she found her daughter lying quietly on her bed, and the evil spirit had left her. this story helps us to understand how god loves all people. sometimes we find it very difficult to like people who live in other countries and who are very different from us. god is not like that. god loves all people in all countries. all people must come to god in the same way. they must believe that god is the one who can help them, and that he can help them only through his son jesus. if we love jesus and obey his teaching, then we are brought into god ' s family, and it doesn ' t matter what country we come from. we learn from this story too, that satan is trying to control people everywhere. but jesus ' power is much stronger than satan ' s. if we are prepared to come to jesus and ask him to help us, jesus can free us from the power of satan wherever we are. jesus can bring peace to our hearts, and he can help us to live a life that pleases god. picture 22 : a deaf and dumb man hears and speaks mark 7 : 31 - 37 jesus and his


the power of satan wherever we are. jesus can bring peace to our hearts, and he can help us to live a life that pleases god. picture 22 : a deaf and dumb man hears and speaks mark 7 : 31 - 37 jesus and his disciples left the place of tyre and came back to the lake of galilee. on the way they met a group of people who brought a man to jesus. this man was deaf and could not speak properly. the people urged jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him. jesus knew that the man would feel embarrassed with so many people standing around and staring at him, so he took the man away from the crowd by himself. then jesus put his fingers gently in the man ' s ears. he also spat on his fingers and touched the man ' s tongue. jesus looked up to heaven, and gave a deep sigh, because he was very sorry for the man. then he gave a command, " open! " straight away the man could hear clearly, and he could also speak properly. the people were amazed and happy to see what jesus had done. jesus asked the people to keep all these things quietly to themselves, but instead they kept on telling other people. they kept saying, " everything that jesus does, he does very well! he can even make deaf people hear, and dumb people speak. ( he must be the man the prophets spoke about many years ago. he must be god ' s chosen man, the messiah. ) " the people were very excited to see what jesus did to that man. we know how important it is to be able to hear clearly and to speak properly. it is good to know that jesus ' power is so great that he could help this man with his problem. it is even more important for each of us to be able to hear clearly the word of god, and for each of us to be able to speak clearly to others about jesus. perhaps we need to ask jesus to touch our ears so that we can hear god ' s word clearly. perhaps we need to ask him to touch our tongues so that we can praise god and speak clearly to others about him. picture 23 : jesus makes the blind to see mark 8 : 22 - 26 ( jesus and his disciples came to a place on the shore of the lake of galilee, called bethsaida. this was the home village of peter and andrew, james and john, who were some of jesus ' disciples. ) some of the people brought a blind man to jesus. they asked jesus to touch


of the lake of galilee, called bethsaida. this was the home village of peter and andrew, james and john, who were some of jesus ' disciples. ) some of the people brought a blind man to jesus. they asked jesus to touch the blind man so that he could see again. jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, away from all the people. when they were in a quiet place, by themselves, jesus took some of his saliva and put it on the man ' s eyes. then he put his hands on the man ' s eyes and said, " can you see anything now? " the man looked around him and said, " yes, i can see people ( but i can ' t see them clearly ). they look like trees, only they are walking around. jesus put his hands on the man ' s eyes again, and then the man could see everything very clearly. the man was amazed and very happy. he wanted to rush off and tell everyone what jesus had done, but jesus told him to go straight back to his own home, and not even to go into the village. jesus knew that if the man went into the village it would cause a big commotion, and this would make it difficult for jesus to help other people. the man was so happy that he could now see everything around him. before, he had been in darkness, and it had been difficult for him to do anything. now he could see! it is the same for us when we come to know jesus. if we love jesus and carefully obey his teaching, then he brings his light into our hearts and minds. jesus teaches us from his word, the bible, so that we can see what are the right things for us to do. jesus leads us by his spirit and we follow the ways that he knows are best for us. jesus said. " i am the light of the world, anyone who follows me will not walk in the darkness. " when we are walking in the light with jesus, then we can see clearly to show his way to other people. we can bring people to jesus, just like the people of bethsaida brought the blind man to him. picture 24 : jesus ' power over satan mark 9 : 14 - 31 jesus went with three of his disciples, peter, james and john, to another place. the other disciples were together and a man brought his son to them. the man was worried because his son was possessed by a dumb evil spirit. the disciples tried


jesus went with three of his disciples, peter, james and john, to another place. the other disciples were together and a man brought his son to them. the man was worried because his son was possessed by a dumb evil spirit. the disciples tried to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn ' t. soon a big crowd of people gathered and some of them started to argue with the disciples. just then jesus came to them with peter, james and john. jesus said to the people, " what is the trouble? " the father of the boy came and spoke to jesus. i brought my son to you so you could heal him. he is possessed by a dumb evil spirit that throws him onto the ground, so that he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth and his body becomes rigid. i asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn ' t. jesus spoke to the man and to his disciples and said, " the problem is that your faith in god is so small. ( you don ' t believe that god has enough power to help you. ) bring the boy to me! " so they brought the boy to jesus. when the evil spirit in the boy saw jesus, he made the boy fall to the ground and roll around, foaming at the mouth and grinding his teeth. jesus said to the father, " how long has he been like this? " the father said, " ever since he was a small child. many times the evil spirit has made him fall into the fire or the water to try and kill him. oh please take pity on us and help us if you can! " jesus said, " if you really believe that god ' s power is very great, then it is possible for him to do everything you can think of. " the man said, " i do believe that god is able to help us, but my faith in god is very weak. help me to have a strong faith in god. " jesus saw that many people were running towards them to see what was happening, so he spoke to the evil spirit in the boy, " come out of him you deaf and dumb evil spirit, and never enter him again! " the evil spirit gave a loud scream, shook the boy strongly, and came out of him. the boy lay on the ground and some people said that he was dead. jesus came and took him by the hand and helped him to stand up. then the boy was quite all right. everyone was amazed and happy when they saw what


of him. the boy lay on the ground and some people said that he was dead. jesus came and took him by the hand and helped him to stand up. then the boy was quite all right. everyone was amazed and happy when they saw what the power of god had done. later, when all the people had gone away, jesus ' disciples asked him, " why couldn ' t we cast out the evil spirit? " jesus said, " to be able to do this, you need to spend much time in prayer with god. " this story shows us that jesus ' power is very great. jesus is much stronger than satan and all the evil spirits. jesus is the son of god, and has power ( authority ) over all things in this world. if we are people who love jesus and obey his teaching, then jesus lives in us and he wants to show his power through our lives ( through the things we do and say ). with our own strength we cannot overcome satan and the evil spirits, and we cannot do the things that please god. god knows that we cannot do these things by ourselves. jesus lives in us and he can help us to do and say the things that please god. he can give us the power to overcome satan and the evil spirits. we need to spend much time in prayer with god so that we can get to know him well. then other people will see god ' s great power at work in our lives.


| epa rules show corn ethanol reduces emissions | the environmental protection agency has finalized new rules which show that corn ethanol complies with the 20 percent reduction in emissions required by the renewable fuels standard. the rfs is a 2007 federal law which mandates increased use of biofuels. epa ’ s emissions modeling includes indirect land use changes presumably caused by increased ethanol production. rule calculations were expanded to include an additional 100 countries. epa found that even when accounting for changes in land use attributed to increased ethanol production, corn ethanol creates significantly fewer emissions than gasoline. todd sneller, nebraska ethanol board administrator, said epa ’ s rules confirmed the ethanol industry ’ s commitment to an environmentally friendly alternative fuel. “ epa ’ s decision proves that the ethanol industry continues to improve its green credentials, ” sneller said. “ as fossil fuels become more expensive and dirty, renewable fuels like ethanol are proving to be more efficient and environmentally friendly than ever. ” the issue of lifecycle emissions in the ethanol production process will be a featured presentation at the ethanol 2010 : emerging issues forum, april 8 - 9 in omaha. dr. steffen mueller, a principal economist at the university of illinois at chicago, will deliver the presentation, “ critical accounting : documenting efficiency in ethanol production. ” mueller conducts research on emissions and energy use of the ethanol production process.


a survey of brdf representation for computer graphics cs348c, winter 1997 whether they are generated from theoretical models or measured, brdfs for computer graphics need efficient representations. we examine the representations that have been proposed, including data tables, analytic models, splines, spherical harmonics, wavelets, and zernike polynomials. this evaluation suggests that most are lacking in flexibility, compactness, or computational efficiency. we propose some approaches to improving on these methods by making greater use of the symmetry of brdfs. historically, the reflection properties modeled by computer graphics renderers have been limited. despite their physical inaccuracy, simple models such as the phong model remain popular. true photorealism, however, requires more sophisticated and elaborate models of surface properties. it is difficult to establish exactly how far one should go in elaborating the surface model. a truly complete representation of the reflective behavior of a surface might take into account such phenomena as polarization, scattering, fluorescence, and phosphorescence, all of which might vary with position on the surface. therefore, the variables in this complete function would be : once we have eliminated all these variables, we are left with a reflectance function of the angles of the incident and reflected angles only. this function is called the bidirectional reflectance distribution function ( brdf ). the brdf is defined on the cross product of two hemispheres, and is therefore a function of four ( scalar ) variables : where e is the irradiance, that is the incident flux per unit area, and l is the reflected radiance, or the reflected flux per unit area per unit solid angle. the units of brdf are thus inverse steradians. intuitively the brdf represents, for each incoming angle, the amount of light that is scattered in each outgoing angle. for a lambertian ( perfectly diffuse ) surface, for example, the brdf is constant, and equal to ( the factor of pi is necessary so that the brdf is correctly normalized. ) more complicated brdfs will, of course, have angular dependence. brdfs to be used in rendering may either be obtained from theoretical models of reflection at a surface, or may be measured directly. each of these presents its own set of challenges. in either case, however, the result is a four - dimensional function ( ignoring color for the moment ), and efficient methods of storing and computing this function must be found. there are many methods presented in the literature,


its own set of challenges. in either case, however, the result is a four - dimensional function ( ignoring color for the moment ), and efficient methods of storing and computing this function must be found. there are many methods presented in the literature, varying in flexibility, physical correctness, and space and time efficiency. in this paper we will explore some of the issues in acquiring and representing brdfs. we will start with a look at the papers on brdfs arising from physical models, monte carlo simulation, and actual measurement. then, we will consider the various papers on brdf storage and representation, focusing on the tradeoffs in correctness, flexibility, and efficiency. finally, we will present some new ideas on how to make brdf storage more efficient, and how to re - introduce some of the dimensions we removed earlier. the brdfs used in computer graphics can be either computed from analytical models or captured. we will look at several papers representing the state of the art in both cases. over the past twenty years, a variety of physically - based brdf models of increasing sophistication have been proposed. we will look closely at one of the more recent, and more complex, models in this series, namely that proposed by [ he 91 ]. this model contains most of the features common to these models, starting with specific assumptions about the surface microgeometry, and considering factors such as as self - shadowing, fresnel reflection, the effects of the wave nature of light, and subsurface scattering. the result is a model with a small number of parameters that can, at least in theory, be measured from an actual surface. most of the currently popular theoretical models start with the assumption that the large - scale brdf is the result of fine - scale roughness of the surface. this roughness is described by a collection of microfacets with random sizes and orientations. the statistical distribution of sizes has traditionally been taken to be gaussian, because this distribution is easy to work with and has many mathematically - desirable properties. each facet is taken to be a perfect reflector, obeying the physical laws of reflection for dielectrics. it is assumed that light can interreflect off of several facets before leaving the surface, and that the facets, due to their orientations, can occlude each other. in addition, he ' s model assumes that the facets might be of size comparable to the wavelength of light. this means that the


the surface, and that the facets, due to their orientations, can occlude each other. in addition, he ' s model assumes that the facets might be of size comparable to the wavelength of light. this means that the wave nature of light, and hence phenomena such as interference, must be taken into account. the final model for the brdf is extremely complex, but agrees well with actual measured brdfs. specular reflection at grazing angles predicted by theoretical models this model does a good job of accounting for the many physical phenomena seen as a result of a rough - surface model, and predicts actual observed phenomena better than older, simpler models. it cannot, however, make any predictions for surfaces that cannot be modeled as having randomly - oriented microfacets. in particular, it cannot model any nonisotropic surfaces. these are surfaces, such as woven cloth or brushed aluminum, for which the brdf is not independent of azimuth. therefore, he ' s model, despite its complexity, is clearly inadequate for predicting all brdfs that could potentially be of interest in computer graphics. instead of extending the purely theoretical models to surfaces of more complex microgeometry, [ westin 92 ] adopts a simulation - based method of determining the brdfs of more complex surfaces. since they are able to start with any desired microgeometry, there is no inherent restriction on the kinds of surfaces their method can model. for example, they have been able to model the reflection characteristics of velvet and brushed aluminum. doughnut rendered using brdf derived from velvet microgeometry brushed aluminum teapot using anisotropic brdf derived using westin ' s method the process begins with a scene of arbitrary geometry, representing the microgeometry of a small surface patch. since the scene is used as input to a ray tracer, the surfaces within the scene can use any known brdf, and can even be made transparent. the ray tracer follows light incident at random points on the sample as it bounces around the scene, and eventually is scattered back. the algorithm computes, for each incoming angle, the average amount of light reflected into each outgoing angle. thus, the algorithm approximately determines the brdf of a surface patch having the given microgeometry. as an alternative to computing a brdf from some model, one might try to measure the reflectance properties of some sample. the technical challenges involved in doing this are considerable, partly because of the fact that the brdf


given microgeometry. as an alternative to computing a brdf from some model, one might try to measure the reflectance properties of some sample. the technical challenges involved in doing this are considerable, partly because of the fact that the brdf is a function of four dimensions. in addition, there are problems with light source and camera stability, with variations in surface geometry, and with interreflection. in fact, one recent survey of brdf measurement laboratories found huge variations in the results reported for identical samples. [ leonard 93 ] for this reason, there has been very little work in trying to use measured brdfs for computer graphics work. large variation in measured brdfs of the same sample one paper that does present a method for acquiring brdfs is [ ward 92 ]. instead of distributing the necessary four degrees of freedom among surface, camera, and light source motion, as is customary in brdf measurement, ward built an imaging reflectometer that uses the two degrees of freedom inherent in a camera imaging system to reduce the number of moving parts. the complete system includes a collimated light source, a half - silvered hemispherical mirror, and a fisheye lens. thus, the system captures the light reflected into all directions at once, since the mirror reflects all the reflected light back to the fisheye lens. conventional brdf measuring apparatus ward ' s brdf measuring setup the clever optical setup of ward ' s device allowed him to acquire a complete brdf in only a few minutes, including time to manually rotate the sample. the quality of the data, however, was not very high. this diagram from ward ' s paper shows the large amount of noise present in the data he acquired, and the limitations on his field of view. since ward fit his data to a model with a small number of free parameters, these were not major problems. they confirm, however, how difficult it is to measure brdfs, even with careful attention to the measuring apparatus. noise and missing data in one slice of ward ' s measured brdf given the size and high dimensionality of brdfs, techniques must be developed to store and compute them efficiently. after a brief look at simple techniques, like storing and interpolating raw data samples or evaluating physically - based models on the fly, we will focus on a collection of representations that allow brdfs to be stored compactly, and computed efficiently when needed. these techniques, to various degrees, make use of the smoothness and symmetry properties of most brdf


models on the fly, we will focus on a collection of representations that allow brdfs to be stored compactly, and computed efficiently when needed. these techniques, to various degrees, make use of the smoothness and symmetry properties of most brdfs that make them easier to compress than arbitrary four - dimensional functions. the simplest method of brdf representation one might envision would be to sample the brdf on some regular ( or irregular ) grid, and interpolate among the samples when needed. this is, in fact, a popular method in conventional scatterometry, and data obtained from large brdf measurement laboratories is likely to be presented in this format. despite its simplicity, it has a number of drawbacks for use in computer graphics. first, raw data obtained from measurement is likely to be noisy, as has already been seen [ leonard 93, ward 92 ]. this leads to noisy surfaces in the images produced using these brdfs. although this is not a problem in domains such as thermal simulation [ arnold 89 ], it is highly objectionable in computer graphics. even if the raw data obtained were perfect, it would still not be suitable for direct use because of missing data. it is impractical to measure the brdf for angles near grazing angles or, with most apparatus, near the backscatter angle. this means that there will be holes in the data wherever the incident and outgoing directions are very close, as well as near the horizons of both the incoming and outgoing angles. since grazing - angle brdfs have a large effect on the human perception of surfaces, it is important to have a carefully smoothed and extrapolated brdf near the horizon, rather than one extrapolated from raw ( noisy ) data. missing data can also occur because of time constraints in measuring the brdf. because of the four degrees of freedom necessary for brdf measurement, brdf scans can take a very long time. for this reason, it is common to measure only a relatively small number of 2 - d slices through the four - dimensional space [ leonard 93 ]. as a result, interpolation between these slices is not likely to yield a satisfactory value for the brdf of intermediate points. finally, even if the sampled data were correct and complete ( e. g. obtained from a theoretical model or monte carlo simulation ), the storage of samples is very inefficient because of the size of the brdf. storing a complete brdf sufficiently densely for computer graphics needs is likely to require millions of


g. obtained from a theoretical model or monte carlo simulation ), the storage of samples is very inefficient because of the size of the brdf. storing a complete brdf sufficiently densely for computer graphics needs is likely to require millions of points, and accessing this data during rendering would significantly slow down a renderer. again, it is the domain of computer graphics that places specific needs on the denseness at which brdfs need to be stored. ian ashdown has obtained good results in luminaire research by using brdfs and luminaire photometry data sampled on rather sparse grids [ ashdown 92 ]. a common tactic in graphics is to fit measured brdfs to analytic models. these models typically have a very small number of free parameters, and so the fit can cope rather easily with noise and missing data. in addition, since only these best - fit parameters need to be known to reconstruct a brdf, storage is very efficient. nevertheless, using these theoretical models is problematic because of computational complexity and the comparative lack of flexibility. because of their complexity, theoretical models of brdfs tend to be inefficient to compute. for example, evaluating he ' s model requires computing many terms of a slowly - converging series [ he 92 ]. since during rendering this must be done for a large number of incoming and reflected directions, the evaluation of the brdf can significantly slow down rendering time. a more serious drawback to using theoretical models is their lack of flexibility. each model, to be mathematically feasible, must make certain restrictive assumptions on the class of surfaces it can model. one consequence of this has been the emergence of a large class of ad - hoc empirical models. for example, [ ward 92 ] presents an " elliptical gaussian " model that is capable of modeling certain kinds of anisotropy, such as that associated with brushed metals. it is a simple modification to a rough - surface model, with two roughness parameters ( in each of two mutually perpendicular directions ) instead of one. ad - hoc brdf models have been used for a long time, and each domain has its favorites. one of the first such models was the minnaert brdf [ minnaert 41 ], developed to characterize the reflectance of the moon : as can be seen, it is a diffuse ( lambertian ) brdf with extra lightening towards the horizons, controlled by the " limb darkening parameter " k. models like these are often useful, but


characterize the reflectance of the moon : as can be seen, it is a diffuse ( lambertian ) brdf with extra lightening towards the horizons, controlled by the " limb darkening parameter " k. models like these are often useful, but they cannot be seen as a good general solution in the domain of photorealistic rendering. aside from issues of physical correctness, these models are applicable for only narrow classes of surfaces. therefore, human intervention is required to find a model most nearly applicable for a given surface, and even then there is no guarantee that such a model exists. it is necessary, therefore, to find a framework for representing arbitrary brdfs, without the waste associated with storing point samples. four techniques popular in recent years use splines, spherical harmonics, wavelets, and polynomials on a disk, respectively. one simple extension of interpolating raw data samples is to use spline patches to represent the brdf. in this way, a much sparser grid can be used, and the resulting brdf is smoother. in addition, noisy and missing data are not as problematic, since they are handled by the spline fitting algorithm. a further advantage is that the splines are relatively easy to compute. nevertheless, a spline representation of a complete brdf can still require a large amount of storage. [ he 92 ] presents an interesting hybrid representation based on their analytic model, by using a precomputed spline to simplify the computationally difficult parts of the equation. the authors report a large speedup without sacrificing accuracy. in addition, because the spline represents only a small component in the full equation, the storage costs are small. the major problem with spline representations is that they do not explicitly use the symmetry of most brdfs. that is, a complex, anisotropic brdf will probably require about the same storage as a simple, isotropic one. the only way to represent the symmetry is by combining the spline with an analytic model, thus greatly restricting the kinds of brdfs that are representable. there is no smooth, graceful degradation in the storage costs associated with increasingly complex brdfs. a currently very common method of storing brdfs is by projecting them onto spherical harmonics. these are the spherical analogues of sines and cosines, in that they form a smooth orthonormal basis for functions on the sphere, and are localized in the frequency domain. these properties are useful, since it is easy to


these are the spherical analogues of sines and cosines, in that they form a smooth orthonormal basis for functions on the sphere, and are localized in the frequency domain. these properties are useful, since it is easy to project a brdf onto the basis of spherical harmonics, and since smooth, simple brdfs will have fewer nonzero ( or at least nonnegligible ) coefficients than complex ones. the most complete treatment to date of using spherical harmonics to represent brdfs is [ westin 92 ]. it turns out that a naive implementation of brdf representation in terms of spherical harmonics has several problems. first, since the brdf is defined on the product of two hemispheres, rather than two spheres, there is the question of how to fill in the missing hemispheres of data. next, truncation of high - frequency coefficients is likely to cause " ringing ", because of the sharp edges in frequency space. finally, even moderately complex brdfs require large numbers of spherical harmonic basis functions to be represented correctly. [ westin 92 ] uses a number of mathematical tricks to overcome some of these limitations. first, the authors choose to fill the " missing " hemispheres with copies of available data, rather than with zeroes. this has the effect of introducing a symmetry into the function, which causes the coefficients of all odd harmonics to be zero. next, instead of representing just the brdf, the function they actually store is this enforces continuity at the " equators " of the spheres, and helps to reduce ringing. they also artificially dampen certain high - frequency coefficients to soften the edges in frequency space, and reduce ringing even further. a final important feature used to simplify the brdf representation and increase its physical correctness is the fact that helmholtz reciprocity is enforced. this principle, arising from the physics of reflection, states that the brdf must remain the same if the angles of incidence and reflection are interchanged. therefore, the ( four - dimensional ) matrix of spherical harmonic coefficients must be symmetric under interchange of incoming and outgoing angles. this not only reduces the storage requirements of the matrix, but also enforces some basic constraints on physical correctness. the spherical harmonic representation is an attractive one for describing brdfs, because of the mathematical and conceptual simplicity of the model. nevertheless, even with westin ' s improvements, the number of coefficients required to represent even moderately complex brdfs is large. very specular surfaces


an attractive one for describing brdfs, because of the mathematical and conceptual simplicity of the model. nevertheless, even with westin ' s improvements, the number of coefficients required to represent even moderately complex brdfs is large. very specular surfaces can be expected to require impractically large numbers of coefficients to represent the sharp reflective peaks accurately. one may summarize the problems with the spherical harmonic representation by pointing out that though the basis functions are well - localized in the frequency domain, they are not at all localized in the spatial domain. therefore, sharp features in the brdfs will cause ringing in other areas unless a large number of coefficients is used. on the other hand, representations that are localized in space, such as splines, require many coefficients even when the surfaces are smooth. therefore, what is really necessary are functions localized in both the spatial and frequency domains. the research conducted into wavelets has shown that it is possible to find such functions, group them into orthonormal bases, and develop efficient algorithms for computing them. the particular implementation of wavelets we will consider is that of the " second - generation " wavelets of sweldens and schroder. by using what they refer to as a lifting scheme, they are able to construct wavelets on nearly arbitrary domains, without the mathematical difficulty and other limitations associated with classical " first - generation " wavelets. the resulting wavelets have compact support, smoothness ( decay towards high frequencies ), and vanishing moments ( decay towards low frequencies ). wavelet coefficients can be computed efficiently by means of a " fast wavelet transform ". [ schroder 95 ] describes a basis of second - generation wavelets adapted for representing functions on a sphere. the functions are stored on a subdivided icosahedron, and several classes of wavelets suitable for that basis were found. the authors report good results in storing brdfs using these bases, even using relatively small numbers of coefficients. they also point out that this representation is particularly well - suited for hierarchical illumination algorithms, and multiresolution analysis. successive subdivisions of icosahedron according to the paper, the main cost associated with computing the wavelet representation is determining the optimum set of coefficients to keep. since this must be done once per brdf, however, this is not a major drawback. the computation required to compute the brdf for one particular pair of incoming and outgoing angles, which is the computation performed in most conventional renderers, is proportional to the depth to which the tree of


, however, this is not a major drawback. the computation required to compute the brdf for one particular pair of incoming and outgoing angles, which is the computation performed in most conventional renderers, is proportional to the depth to which the tree of coefficients must be expanded, which is approximately logarithmic in the number of coefficients. this compares favorably with the spherical harmonic representation, which requires computation time proportional to the number of coefficients. wavelet representations of one piece of a brdf images use 19, 73, and 203 nonzero coefficients, respectively the preceding two approaches have been sphere - based, in that they look at functions on a hemisphere as a special case of functions on a sphere. an alternative approach is to map the points on a hemisphere onto a disk. one recent paper explores this possibility, looking at representing brdfs in terms of an orthonormal basis of functions on the unit disk. [ koenderink 96 ] starts with the zernike polynomials, commonly used in physical optics. these functions are then projected onto a hemisphere using an equal - area mapping. the " cross - product " of these sets of functions is now suitable for representing functions defined on a pair of hemispheres. the authors the observe that the set of representable functions can be restricted to those satisfying reciprocity by forming a new basis from particular linear combinations of the original basis functions. thus, the paper develops a representation very similar to that used in [ westin 92 ], but optimized for the hemisphere rather than the sphere. unfortunately, the hemispherical basis shares many of the faults of the spherical harmonic basis. the basis functions are not spatially localized, and representations in terms of the basis are susceptible to ringing. in addition, evaluating the brdf at a particular incoming and outgoing angle requires computation time proportional to the number of nonzero coefficients. therefore, the storage and computation costs of using the zernike - based representation are likely to be considerable. creating a basis specialized to the hemisphere, though, is a good idea, and might be applicable to other methods, such as wavelets. we will now look at some areas for possible future research in brdf representation. in general, there is a need both for more efficient and computationally inexpensive brdf representations, and for extended ( especially spatially - varying ) brdfs. it is interesting to note that the most popular surface reflectance model currently in use is the phong model. the reason for this is simplicity - the phong model


coefficients. a final idea for improving brdf representation deals with color. most papers on representation pay little attention to color, assuming that whatever representation is chosen can simply be repeated three times for the red, green, and blue components. it might make more sense, though, to use an hsv basis to represent color. for many brdfs, the variation in one or more of these components will be minimal. for example, many plastics will exhibit variation only in saturation and value, while metals will vary only in value, except near grazing. switching to an hsv basis should require little change in the representation algorithms, except perhaps to deal with the wrap - around of the hue component. true photorealistic rendering will require that we re - introduce some of the dimensions we dropped from the brdf. for example, to obtain physically accurate results when there are multiple reflections in a scene, we need a better model of color, and some provisions for polarization. color should be fairly easy to improve, either by sampling the visible spectrum or by using some basis functions. polarization, however, is more difficult, since in the general case we need to account for linear, circular, elliptical, or random polarization, or combinations of all of these. a simple start might be to represent the brdfs for linearly polarized incident rays only, storing the values for polarization parallel and perpendicular to the plane of incidence. this will allow for the modeling of the most important polarization - related effect, namely the total linear polarization of light reflected at brewster ' s angle from a dielectric. the most important dimensions to be added, though, are the spatial ones. brdfs naturally vary with position on a surface, and it is important to model this variation. the problem is, of course, that adding these two additional dimensions will greatly increase the size of the data set. although it should be possible to represent entire six - dimensional spatially - varying brdfs directly, it is probably much more practical to use some approximate methods. for example, one can conceive of a surface representation that has a small set of basis brdfs, and a sampled or procedurally generated " texture mask " that modulates between them. this would be a natural extension of conventional texture maps and bumpmaps, and should be capable of accurately reproducing a large class of real - world materials. it might also be interesting to incorporate brdfs into texture synthesis algorithms, such as those presented in [ heeger 95 ]


maps and bumpmaps, and should be capable of accurately reproducing a large class of real - world materials. it might also be interesting to incorporate brdfs into texture synthesis algorithms, such as those presented in [ heeger 95 ] and [ lewis 89 ]. one motivating example of a situation where this might be useful is the speckle associated with materials such as sandstone. the brdf in this situation has sharp specular peaks that vary randomly in orientation throughout the surface. other examples include coarsely - brushed finishes on metals, or cloth. many representations for brdfs have been proposed in the computer graphics literature. of those considered here, the one based on wavelets seems to be the most space efficient and quickest to compute. more work is needed to make the method more stable and free of artifacts, possibly by making use of more symmetries and constraints. the most important area for future research, however, is in efficiently extending brdf representation to accomodate spatial | [ arnold 89 ] | | arnold, c. b. and beard, j. l. " an erim perspective on brdf measurement technology ", spie vol. 1165 scatter from optical components, 1989. | | [ ashdown 92 ] | | ashdown, i. " near - field photometry : a new approach ", 1992. | | [ he 91 ] | | he, x., torrance, k., sillon, f., and greenberg, d. " a comprehensive physical model for light reflection ", siggraph 1991. | | [ he 92 ] | | he, x., heynen, p., phillips, r., torrance, k., salesin, d., and greenberg, d. " a fast and accurate light reflection model ", siggraph 1992. | | [ heeger 95 ] | | heeger, d. and bergen, j. " pyramid - based texture analysis / synthesis ", siggraph 1995. | | [ koenderink 96 ] | | koenderink, j. j., van doorn, a. j., and stavridi, m. " bidirectional reflection distribution function expressed in terms of surface scattering modes ", eccv 1996. | | [ leonard 93 ] | | leonard, t. a. and rudolph, p. " brdf round robin test of astm e1392 ", spie vol. 1995 optical scattering


background : the heartless president of the fictional nation of panem uses the annual “ hunger games ” raise up victorious human “ idols ” that would unify the masses and distract its hungry slaves. according to his rules, twenty - four youths are chosen by lottery to kill each other until only one is left. and while they fight for their lives, the eyes of every household across the land are glued to the televised killing fields. that ’ s the law! george orwell ’ s 1984 : “ behind winston ’ s back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away …. the telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. … you had to live … in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard. ” the hunger games are far more than a fictional fantasy. they serve as warnings that illustrate the corruption of our human nature and the duplicity of today ’ s trusted leaders. in the first book, the deadly games ended with two winners instead of one : katniss and peeta. they had disobeyed the rules ; each refused to kill the other. the masses loved it, but president snow was furious. instead of building solidarity, the games had fueled a growing rebellion against the wealthy and well - armed capitol, the control center of panem. in the third book, the seventeen - year - old katniss becomes the symbol of the rising rebellion. dressed in her triumphant mockingjay uniform, she is televised and celebrated across the country by rebel leaders. in the end, the rebels win. but it ’ s a sad victory! coin, the female rebel leader proves to be more corrupt than snow, her predecessor. and when she gains control of the nation, katniss is no longer wanted and kept out of sight. human history is full of such outcomes. the soviet union is a good example. most of lenin ’ s revolutionaries were eventually killed by stalin, who tolerated no competition. in england, where elite financiers funded the bolshevik revolution, only a few voices dared speak up in alarm. george orwell may have been one of the most effective critics of soviet communism and its british supporters. aldous huxley was more subtle. the powerful huxley family had long been steeped in the socialist vision of a totalitarian world government, and his brother julian became the first head of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization ( unesco ). remember, alger hiss, the communist who advised president roosevelt to cede eastern europe to stalin ( yalta, february 4 - 11,


and his brother julian became the first head of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization ( unesco ). remember, alger hiss, the communist who advised president roosevelt to cede eastern europe to stalin ( yalta, february 4 - 11, 1945 ). some months later he presided over the first gathering of the united nations in san francisco. neil postman, who wrote “ amusing ourselves to death ”, understood their goals and strategies well. to illustrate brainwashing, he drew an interesting contrast between huxley ’ s brave new world and orwell ’ s 1984 : “ orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. orwell feared we would become a captive culture. huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies …. [ in 1984 ] people are controlled by inflicting pain. in brave new world, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. in short, orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. huxley feared that what we love will ruin us. ” postman ’ s insights fit our times. today ’ s spiritual war against god, his people and their freedom is being waged on both fronts. the oppressive assaults on liberty, privacy and traditional values fit orwell ’ s vision. the flood of images and suggestions that distort beliefs, twist values and trivialize christianity, fit huxley ’ s vision. yet, while orwellian oppression intimidates the masses into silence and conformity, its terror also awakens faith and stirs resistance. in contrast, huxley ’ s “ feelies ” simply dull our thinking and distract our attention until myth and trivia become the norm, while biblical conviction becomes an intolerable expression of deviance and extremism. the discarded mockingjay and her sad reflections badly burned in a fiery explosion that killed her sister, katniss tries to understand what happened. the final battles between the rebel forces and the capitol have blurred together in her tormented mind. who did what? why? nothing made sense! she agonizes over the lies and deceptions — especially the unconscionable killing of countless innocent children : “ that a capitol hovercraft manned by rebels bombed the children to bring a speedy end to the war. but if this was the case, why didn ’ t the capitol fire on the enemy? children are precious to 13, or so it has always seemed. well


’ m sure i ’ m being watched round the clock. for all i know, i ’ m on live television at this very moment …. the surveillance makes almost any suicide attempt impossible …. “ what if they ’ re not going to kill me? what if they have more plans for me? a new way to remake, train, and use me? … “ snow thought the hunger games were an efficient means of control. coin thought the parachutes [ the explosives that killed the children ] would expedite the war. but in the end, who does it benefit? no one. ” [ p. 375 - 377 ] a short trial is held, and katniss is released to go “ home. ” a plane brings her back to district 12, then she travels by cart through her devastated home region : “ as i near the ruins of my old house, the road becomes thick with carts. the meadow ’ s gone, or at least dramatically altered. a deep pit has been dug, and they ’ re lining it with bones, a mass grave for my people … “ we learn to keep busy again …. a few hundred others return because, whatever has happened, this is our home. with the mines closed, they plow the ash into the earth and plant food. machines from the capitol break ground for a new factory where we will make medicines …. ” [ p. 385 - 388 ] war is horrible! but that fact is easily forgotten by those who have spent their lives in the safety of america. in contrast, eastern europeans who suffered through the consecutive reigns of hitler and stalin may never forget! ( see the bombing of dresden and soviet depravity ) but there is still hope! how dark and deceptive the world is without god! the people of panem think and act like hopeless people today. those who dare take a stand against evil may win for a season. but freedom without genuine faith never lasts long. today ’ s battles against biblical christianity illustrate the problem. and the natural result is cultural corruption and crumbling liberty. if only our leaders would follow these guidelines : “ jesus said … ‘ if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ’ ” john 8 : 31 the world ’ s pagan cultures have always included some kind of occult or unbiblical worship, but so has western culture. the historical list of idols is endless : the sun, moon, trees, rocks, fictional gods,


john 8 : 31 the world ’ s pagan cultures have always included some kind of occult or unbiblical worship, but so has western culture. the historical list of idols is endless : the sun, moon, trees, rocks, fictional gods, politicians, kings, talented singers, beautiful entertainers, military leaders … or simply oneself. [ twist of faith, chpt. 7 ] today ’ s blend of human imagination and digital communication is fast multiplying that list. do you wonder how many hours a week the average teen spends with his mind immersed in digital fantasy worlds featuring man - made idols that can be manipulated? how prepared will he or she be to handle the challenges ahead? alger hiss co - authored of the un charter. the blueprint for america ’ s replacement was written over sixty years ago, but few ordinary americans saw the danger. after all, our media and entertainment industries are masters at distracting the masses and creating feel - good fantasy versions of a brave new world or the more orwellian hunger games. huxley and orwell illustrate two different kinds of seduction and tyranny. a seducer will blind and deceive us, while the tyrant may control our bodies but not our minds. orwell ’ s totalitarianism may seem more deadly, but huxley ’ s “ feelies ” and trivia is a far greater threat to clear thinking, moral values, biblical faith and the strength of our nation. in other words, what huxley described in brave new world laid the foundation for today ’ s amoral choices, sensual seductions, occult deceptions and rising orwellian tyranny. the pattern — not the details – of israel ’ s ancient history ( on the right ) will continue until the wonderful moment when our lord returns. “ therefore we do not lose heart. even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory … ” 2 corinthians 4 : 16 - 18 “ for the lord himself will descend from heaven …. and the dead in christ will rise first. then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air. and thus we shall always be with the lord. ” 1 thessalonians 4 : 16 - 17 1. george orwell, 1984 [ also titled nineteen eighty - four ], published in 1949


variation is a term used in genetic science, and concerns the emergence of different varieties, or species. this genetic phenomenon causes individuals or groups within a given species to possess different features from others. for example, all human beings on earth possess essentially the same genetic information. but thanks to the variation potential permitted by that genetic information, some people have round eyes, or red hair, or a long nose, or are short and stocky in stature. darwinists, however, seek to portray variation within a species as evidence for evolution. the fact is, however, that variations constitute no such thing, because variation consists of the emergence of different combinations of genetic information that already exists, and cannot endow individuals with any new genetic information or characteristics. variation is always restricted by existing genetic information. these boundaries are known as the gene pool in genetic science. ( see the gene pool. ) darwin, however, thought that variation had no limits when he proposed his theory267, and he depicted various examples of variation as the most important evidence for evolution in his book the origin of species. all human beings on earth share basically the same genetic information, but thanks to the variation potential permitted by this genetic information, they often look very different from one another. according to darwin, for example, farmers mating different variations of cow in order to obtain breeds with better yields of milk would eventually turn cows into another species altogether. darwin ’ s idea of limitless change stemmed from the primitive level of science in his day. as a result of similar experiments on living things in the 20th century, however, science revealed a principle known as genetic homeostasis. this principle revealed that all attempts to change a living species by means of interbreeding ( forming different variations ) were in vain, and that between species, there were unbreachable walls. in other words, it was absolutely impossible for cattle to evolve into another species as the result of farmers mating different breeds to produce different variations, as darwin had claimed would happen. luther burbank, one of the world ’ s foremost authorities on the subject of genetic hybrids, expresses a similar truth : “ there are limits to the development possible, and these limits follow a law. ” 268 thousands of years of collective experience have shown that the amount of biological change obtained using cross - breeding is always limited, and that there is a limit to the variations that any one species can undergo. indeed, in the introduction to their book natural limits to biological change professor of biology lane p. lester and the molecular biologist raymond g. bohli


breeding is always limited, and that there is a limit to the variations that any one species can undergo. indeed, in the introduction to their book natural limits to biological change professor of biology lane p. lester and the molecular biologist raymond g. bohlin wrote : that populations of living organisms may change in their anatomy, physiology, genetic structure, etc., over a period of time is beyond question. what remains elusive is the answer to the question, how much change is possible, and by what genetic mechanism will these changes take place? plant and animal breeders can marshal an impressive array of examples to demonstrate the extent to which living systems can be altered. but when a breeder begins with a dog, he ends up with a dog — a rather strange looking one, perhaps, but a dog nonetheless. a fruit fly remains a fruit fly ; a rose, a rose, and so on. 269 variations and their various changes are restricted inside the bounds of a species ’ genetic information, and they can never add new genetic information to species. for that reason, no variation can be regarded as an example of evolution. the danish scientist w. l. johannsen summarizes the situation : the variations upon which darwin and wallace placed their emphasis cannot be selectively pushed beyond a certain point, that such variability does not contain the secret of “ indefinite departure. ” 270 the fact that there are different human races in the world or the differences between parents and children can be explained in terms of variation. yet there is no question of any new component being added to their gene pool. for example, no matter how much you seek to enrich their species, cats will always remain cats, and will never evolve into any other mammal. it is impossible for the sophisticated sonar system in a marine mammal to emerge through recombination. ( see recombination. ) variation may account for the differences between human races, but it can never provide any basis for the claim that apes developed into human beings. vestigial organs thesis one claim that long occupied a place in the literature of evolution but was quietly abandoned once it was realized to be false is the concept of vestigial organs. some evolutionists, however, still imagine that such organs represent major evidence for evolution and seek to portray them as such. a century or so ago, the claim was put forward that some living things had organs that were inherited from their ancestors, but which had gradually become smaller and even functionless from lack of use. the tonsils, which evolutionists long sought to define as


century or so ago, the claim was put forward that some living things had organs that were inherited from their ancestors, but which had gradually become smaller and even functionless from lack of use. the tonsils, which evolutionists long sought to define as vestigial organs, have been found to play an important role in protecting against throat in fections, particularly up until adulthood. those organs were in fact ones whose functions had not yet been identified. and so, the long list of organs believed by evolutionists to be vestigial grew ever shorter. the list of originally proposed by the german anatomist r. wiedersheim in 1895 contain approximately 100 organs, including the human appendix and the coccyx. but the appendix was eventually realized to be a part of the lymph system that combats microbes entering the body, as was stated in one medical reference source in 1997 : other bodily organs and tissues — - the thymus, liver, spleen, appendix, bone marrow, and small collections of lymphatic tissue such as the tonsils in the throat and peyer ’ s patch in the small intestine — are also part of the lymphatic system. they too help the body fight infection. 271 the tonsils, which also appeared on that same list of vestigial organs, were likewise discovered to play an important role against infections, especially up until adulthood. ( like the appendix, tonsils sometimes become infected by the very bacteria they seek to combat, and so must be surgically removed. ) the coccyx, the end of the backbone, was seen to provide support for the bones around the pelvic bone and to be a point of fixation for certain small muscles. in the years that followed, other organs regarded as vestigial were shown to serve specific purposes : the thymus gland activates the body ’ s defense system by setting the t cells into action. the pineal gland is responsible for the production of important hormones. the thyroid establishes balanced growth in babies and children. the pituitary ensures that various hormone glands are functioning correctly. today, many evolutionists accept that the myth of vestigial organs stemmed from sheer ignorance. the evolutionist biologist s. r. scadding expresses this in an article published in the magazine evolutionary theory : since it is not possible to unambiguously identify useless structures, and since the structure of the argument used is not scientifically valid, i conclude that ‘ vestigial organs ’ provide no special evidence for the


published in the magazine evolutionary theory : since it is not possible to unambiguously identify useless structures, and since the structure of the argument used is not scientifically valid, i conclude that ‘ vestigial organs ’ provide no special evidence for the theory of evolution. 272 evolutionists also make a significant logical error in their claim that vestigial organs in living things are a legacy from their ancestors : some organs referred to as “ vestigial ” are not present in the species claimed to be the forerunners of man. for example, some apes have no appendix. the zoologist professor hannington enoch, an opponent of the vestigial organ thesis, sets out this error of logic : apes possess an appendix, whereas their less immediate relatives, the lower apes, do not ; but it appears again among the still lower mammals such as the opossum. how can the evolutionists account for this? 273 the scenario of vestigial organs put forward by evolutionists contains its own internal inconsistencies, besides being scientifically erroneous. we humans have no vestigial organs inherited from our supposed ancestors, because humans did not evolve randomly from other living things, but were fully and perfectly created in the form we have today. it has now been realized that the appendix ( below ), which evolutionist biologists imagined to be vestigial, plays an important role in the body ' s immune system. the lowest bone in the spinal column, known as the coccyx, is al so not vestigial, but a point for muscles to at tach to.


may 23, 2013, iron in diet news & features for about a decade, a project called harvestplus has been promoting an idea for fighting malnutrition in the third world : develop crops with higher levels of vitamins and minerals. now harvestplus will get a chance to put its plan into action. it received a $ 25 million grant last week from the bill and melinda gates foundation giving it the money to jump - start its effort. the approach represents ' ' a new paradigm of agriculture as an instrument for public health, ' ' said joachim voss, director general of the international center for tropical agriculture in colombia, an organization involved in the harvestplus program. the first goal will be to increase levels of iron, zinc and vitamin a in third world staple crops like rice, wheat, cassava and beans. surviving the heat think it ' s hot, eh? had enough of 90 - degree days? tired of coming back from lunch to have a colleague ask if you have been splashing around in a fountain, when it ' s just sweat that ' s soaking through your shirt? sorry, but you don ' t know hot. a new study has found the first physical clue to the cause of restless leg syndrome, a condition that disturbs the sleep of millions of americans. the syndrome, which causes sufferers to move their legs frequently to avoid unpleasant sensations like tingling and throbbing, particularly at night, has sometimes been considered psychological. pregnancy and childbirth are rife with hazards. those factors under personal control - - like weight issues and poor nutrition, overwork or lack of fitness - - should not become additional burdens. unfortunately, for many millions of women of childbearing age, one or more of these problems compromise their chances of having a healthy, full - term pregnancy and increase the health risks to both mothers and their babies. with growing concerns about the adequacy of the nation ' s blood supply, blood bank officials may welcome a new study suggesting that people with an uncommon blood disease can make suitable donors. the study, published last week in the journal of the american medical association, looked at people with hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder in which they retain too much iron in their blood. the overabundance of iron can lead to organ damage. ace inhibitors are among the most widely used drugs used to treat heart disease and high blood pressure. but despite their proven benefits, many patients find they cannot take them because they bring on a persistent dry cough. now researchers believe that iron supplements may be the


ace inhibitors are among the most widely used drugs used to treat heart disease and high blood pressure. but despite their proven benefits, many patients find they cannot take them because they bring on a persistent dry cough. now researchers believe that iron supplements may be the remedy. writing in the current issue of hypertension : journal of the american heart association, scientists say it appears that small amounts of iron can suppress the cough. pitter - patter geckos have admirable stick - to - itiveness, as anyone who has watched one of the lizards scamper across a ceiling can attest. but just how they are able to adhere to surfaces has never been completely understood. now, scientists at berkeley, stanford and lewis and clark college have gone a long way toward solving the riddle. geckos don ' t use suction, or friction or some kind of gluelike secretion. instead, they appear to rely on the weak molecular interactions known as van der waals forces for their staying power. from fries to fuel diesel engines are hardly picky eaters. in addition to petroleum - based fuel, they will run, relatively cleanly, on just about any kind of vegetable oil. but a driver can ' t simply pour a bottle of mazola into the tank. a bit of chemistry has to take place first. and there, alas, is the rub. converting vegetable oil into diesel fuel takes time, can be done only in batches and creates a waste water problem. the late dr. benjamin spock, arguably the most influential pediatrician of all time, has left children and their parents with a surprising and rather demanding legacy : advice that they stick to a vegetarian diet devoid of all dairy products after the age of 2. in the seventh edition of his world - famous book, ' ' baby and child care, ' ' issued last month by pocket books just weeks after his death at age 94, dr. spock recommends an approach to childhood nutrition that many experts, including his co - author, dr. steven j. parker, consider too extreme and likely to result in nutritional deficiencies unless it is very carefully planned and executed. generations of americans have been exhorted to eat spinach or liver for the iron that supposedly made popeye ' s muscles bulge or to take iron - rich tonics like geritol to revive their ' ' tired blood. ' ' but while some iron in the diet is critical for health and life itself, the overconsumption or overabsorption of this well -


to take iron - rich tonics like geritol to revive their ' ' tired blood. ' ' but while some iron in the diet is critical for health and life itself, the overconsumption or overabsorption of this well - known mineral is now under intense scrutiny as a possible cause or contributor to killer ailments like heart disease and cancer as well as serious infections. the story of iron is a classic illustration of ' ' just because a little is good does not mean more is better. ' ' iron is essential to the formation of the oxygen - carrying pigments : hemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in the muscles. but people should not take iron supplements or stuff themselves with iron - rich foods unless medical tests have demonstrated an iron deficiency, those who study iron overload warn. some researchers are also concerned about the widespread use of vitamin c supplements, which can enhance the absorption of dietary iron when both are present in the gut at the same time. and questions have been raised about the wisdom of fortifying cereals and bread with iron in a country like the united states where a lot of iron - rich meat is consumed by most people. the idea is to fertilize the sea with iron, creating such a bloom of sea plants that they gulp down tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and curb the buildup of this climate - warming gas. long derided as foolish and politically dangerous, the idea has now been put to the test after years of foot dragging and has given strikingly good results, stirring hot debate over whether ecological tinkering might help save the planet from climatic disaster. an international group of researchers is working to develop nutrient - enriched varieties of rice, corn and other common food crops to help prevent malnutrition, disease and death in millions of the world ' s poorest people. wheat varieties that are twice as adept as commonly grown strains at extracting zinc and iron from the soil and packing the minerals into seeds have already been developed by robin graham, a plant scientist at the university of adelaide ' s waite agricultural research institute in australia. twenty years ago, nutritionists routinely predicted dire consequences for people who did not eat meat. today it ' s difficult to find a nutritionist who will not, at least grudgingly, admit that a vegetarian diet, especially a lacto - ovo one, which includes milk and eggs, can even be perfectly adequate for proper growth. and there are those who will tell you that vegetarians are likely to have a better