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Artificial Intelligence

Google suite leverages conversational AI for customer support

The Progressive Rise of Generative AI: A Conversation With David Wong and Joel Hron

generative ai and conversational ai

This suggests AI assistance may already be reducing person-to-person interactions in some online communities. It’s a good reason for regulators to promote healthy competition by limiting monopolies in the AI sector, and to fund public interest technology development. Artificial intelligence (AI) prophets and newsmongers are forecasting the end of the generative AI hype, with talk of an impending catastrophic “model collapse”. The valuations of early-stage startups are usually based on their growth potential and the skill and reputation of their founding team.

generative ai and conversational ai

And then again, after seeing all of that information, I can continue the conversation that same way to drill down into that information and then maybe even take action to automate. And again, this goes back to that idea of having things integrated across the tech stack to be involved in all of the data and all of the different areas of customer interactions across that entire journey to make this possible. At least I am still trying to help people understand how that applies in very tangible, impactful, immediate use cases to their business. Because it still feels like a big project that’ll take a long time and take a lot of money.

Input or training data

The same researchers, however, also emphasized the need for AI-centric Requirements Engineering (RE) frameworks that incorporate ethics and trustworthiness. Collectively, these studies demonstrate AI’s potential in enhancing RE processes while highlighting the continued importance of human expertise for ensuring the validity and applicability of generated requirements. In the field of computing education, only a few papers have surveyed the literature on LLMs and their implications for software engineering education. Neumann et al. (2023) conduct a rapid gray literature review of papers published up to January 2023 and present challenges and opportunities that emerge from the release of ChatGPT.

  • In other words, Kore.ai is putting its technology in the hands of more non-technical users by removing the need for in-house AI or developer expertise.
  • According to one recent estimate, generative AI will need to produce US$600 billion in annual revenue to justify current investments – and this figure is likely to grow to US$1 trillion in the coming years.
  • OpenAI says developers building GPTs will have to review the company’s updated usage policies and GPT brand guidelines to ensure their GPTs are compliant before they’re eligible for listing in the GPT Store.

The development of photorealistic avatars will enable more engaging face-to-face interactions, while deeper personalization based on user profiles and history will tailor conversations to individual needs and preferences. In the coming years, the technology is poised to become even smarter, more contextual and more human-like. Most generative AI models lack explainability, as it’s often difficult or impossible to understand the decision-making processes behind their results. Conversely, predictive AI estimates are more explainable because they’re grounded on numbers and statistics.

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WHO will make the surveys and training materials for SARAH public for the benefit of public research into artificial intelligence and health. Here, AI can handle repetitive tasks like inventory tracking or order processing at a speed and accuracy unattainable by humans. Automation also extends to service-oriented tasks, where AI systems streamline customer support interactions or assist with internal operations like HR management. Furthermore, ChatGPT’s availability and quick response time significantly impact student engagement (Zielinski et al., 2023). Unlike traditional methods, where students may need to search for information through web browsing or rely on human assistance, ChatGPT provides immediate answers and guidance.

As you can see in this example, YouTube’s conversational AI bot is accessible via an “Ask” button below video clips (for those who have access). When you tap on the “Ask” prompt, the bot then provides suggestions for questions that you may be interested in based on the clip that you’re watching, while you’re also able to enter your own prompts to explore additional topics. YouTube is expanding access to its conversational AI tool, which is essentially its own AI chatbot that can provide answers to queries within your video engagement options.

generative ai and conversational ai

Moreover, the integration of ChatGPT enables personalized and differentiated learning. Students can ask questions in their own words and receive tailored responses based on their specific formulations. This feature allows educators to address individual student needs and provide targeted support. By analyzing the responses generated by ChatGPT, educators can gain insights into students’ understanding ChatGPT and adapt their instructional strategies, fostering personalized learning experiences that cater to each student’s unique requirements. In conclusion, the use of ChatGPT in education has the potential to influence student engagement and learning outcomes positively. Its personalized interaction, prompt responses, and access to a wide range of knowledge contribute to an enriched learning experience.

Chatbots

It underscores the importance of addressing challenges, establishing ethical guidelines, and leveraging the strengths of ChatGPT while recognizing the vital role of human educators. By doing so, educational institutions can harness the advantages of ChatGPT to enhance student engagement, improve learning outcomes, and foster responsible and ethical use of AI technology in education. This systematic literature review studied the impact of ChatGPT in education by reviewing 70 scientific research articles published between 2022 and 2023.

This watermark, along with accompanying metadata, makes sure that users can identify the use of AI-generated content – fostering more trust and transparency so that advertisers and viewers are both aware of the content’s origin. Generative AI promises personalised online content, potentially enhancing and customising a user experience. It can also broaden access to content – for instance, via instant language translations or by making it easier for people with disabilities to access content. Chatbot tutors, for instance, are set to transform educational settings by providing real-time, personalised instruction and support.

TfNSW to build internal generative AI chatbot – iTnews

TfNSW to build internal generative AI chatbot.

Posted: Wed, 06 Nov 2024 20:05:00 GMT [source]

Toner also said that Sam Altman gave the board inaccurate information about the safety processes the company had in place and that he didn’t disclose his involvement in the OpenAI Startup Fund. OpenAI has found that GPT-4o, which powers the recently launched alpha of Advanced Voice Mode in ChatGPT, can behave in strange ways. In a new “red teaming” report, OpenAI reveals some of GPT-4o’s weirder quirks, like mimicking the voice of the person speaking to it or randomly shouting in the middle of a conversation. OpenAI has banned a cluster of ChatGPT accounts linked to an Iranian influence operation that was generating content about the U.S. presidential election.

IBM watsonx Platform: Compliance obligations to controls mapping

Despite this drawback, Dialpad Ai has strong generative AI features that other contact center solutions lack, like sentiment analysis and real-time transcription. Comprehensive employee training is necessary in introducing generative AI into contact centers for effective use. Every team member should understand how to interact with AI tools and accurately interpret AI-generated insights. Aside from developing relevant technical skills, training should cover GenAI’s capabilities and limitations. GenAI systems customize responses to each customer’s needs and preferences with the help of advanced analytics. Combined with sentiment analysis and faster response times, this takes the customer experience to the next level.

The company claims that these capabilities enable secure and scalable generative and conversational AI solutions, which have the power to enhance customer experience, employee engagement, and operational efficiency. XO Automation AI leverages LLM and GenAI tech with a no-code interface to help enterprises design, build, and manage AI chatbots for automating customer interactions across 40+ voice and digital channels. At a packed event at the Seattle-based tech giant’s lavish second headquarters in the Washington DC suburbs, Limp demonstrated the new Alexa for a room full of reporters and cheering employees. Alexa showed how it could respond in a joyful voice, and how it could write a message to his friends to remind them to watch the upcoming Vanderbilt football game and send it to his phone.

We can all contribute to driving the course towards the positive use of what could be humanity’s greatest innovation, or its worst. When we looked at how the EU, UK and US were attempting to build regulatory frameworks around these issues, our main observation was that they are falling into the trap of overlooking the potential for AI to aggravate socioeconomic inequalities. That said, the diagnostic performance of some expert physicians may not be improved by AI. Another study focusing on radiology found that AI can in fact cause incorrect diagnoses in situations that otherwise would have been correctly assessed.

Because they fluently answer questions, humans can reach overoptimistic conclusions about their capabilities and deploy the models in situations they are not suited for. However, researchers found that without high-quality human data, AI systems trained on AI-made data get dumber and dumber as each model learns from the previous one. AI can take the mundane tasks away from human agents – reducing workforce churn and ostensibly resulting in human employees that are more experienced, specialized, and willing / able to address complex customer needs. Agent assist helps agents retrieve the most relevant information about a customer quickly and significantly reduce the amount of after-call work time by automatically filling in customer information collected. Nurturing and empowering this hybrid workforce of human and digital agents brings a human touch to the effectiveness and efficiency of digital channels.

The Rise of Conversational AI Applications

Sierra didn’t specify the exact models it uses but said they include LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic PBC and Meta Platforms Inc., among others. Such improvements show the tangible benefits that AI-driven tools provide small businesses, helping them to optimize and streamline their advertising efforts and achieve better outcomes with their campaigns. Advertisers who have adopted the conversational AI experience report notable enhancements in the quality and efficiency of their campaigns. Google’s tool boosts Ad Strength scores, a key metric assessing ad content’s relevance, quality, and diversity.

generative ai and conversational ai

Software quality assurance refers to the systematic processes and activities designed to ensure that software meets specified requirements and quality standards. This involves the implementation of various practices such as code reviews, testing, and audits to identify defects and ensure the reliability, efficiency, and security of the software. In quality assurance, AI is being applied to generate test cases (Guilherme and Vincenzi, 2023), reproduce bug reports (Kang et al., 2023), localize faults (Li H. et al., 2023), and suggest code patches (Xia et al., 2023). LLMs can use requirements specifications and code context to generate relevant test scenarios and oracles (Okanović et al., 2020; Brie et al., 2023). By analyzing bug reports and comparing code versions, they can often pinpoint the root cause of errors and even suggest fixes (Tony et al., 2022; Dantas et al., 2023). AI-based static code analyzers are also improving in their ability to pinpoint style issues and spot potential bugs and security flaws (Pan and Lyu, 2023; Xia et al., 2023).

MetroHealth to Test Conversational AI With Cancer Patients

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OpenAI announced it’s rolling out a feature that allows users to search through their ChatGPT chat histories on the web. The new feature will let users bring up an old chat to remember something or pick back up a chat right where it was left off. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Search, an evolution of the SearchGPT prototype it unveiled this summer. Powered by a fine-tuned version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, ChatGPT Search serves up information and photos from the web along with links to relevant sources, at which point you can ask follow-up questions to refine an ongoing search. If there are any changes to the delivery schedule, such as delays or rescheduling, the chatbot can promptly notify the customer and provide updated information. Imagine you are visiting an online clothing retailer’s website and start a chat with their chatbot to inquire about a pair of jeans.

The training data for conversational AI, for instance, is trained on data sets with human dialogue so it understands the flow of language and responds to the user in a more natural manner. Meanwhile, generative AI uses neural networks to identify patterns in its training data. By identifying these patterns and taking note of human ChatGPT App responses and feedback, generative AI programs learn to create more accurate content. And that while in many ways we’re talking a lot about large language models and artificial intelligence at large. The capacity for AI tools to understand sentiment and create personalized answers is where most automated chatbots today fail.

Kore.ai Introduces GALE: An “Industry-First” Generative AI Playground – CX Today

Kore.ai Introduces GALE: An “Industry-First” Generative AI Playground.

Posted: Tue, 16 Jul 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

The core value proposition of Conversational AI applications will result in a quantum jump in the application user experience. The user experience will instead be one where the human specifies the end state or goal—the outcome—that is to be achieved and any constraints, all while using a conversational interface as is appropriate. The job of decomposing the high-level workflow into subtasks, executing those subtasks, and directing the detailed subtask interactions will be delegated to an AI component we refer to as the AI Orchestrator.

The alpha version is now available to a small group of ChatGPT Plus users, and the company says the feature will gradually roll out to all Plus users in the fall of 2024. The release follows controversy surrounding the voice’s similarity to Scarlett Johansson, leading OpenAI to delay its release. After a delay, OpenAI is finally rolling out Advanced Voice Mode to an expanded set of ChatGPT’s paying customers. AVM is also getting a revamped design — the feature is now represented by a blue animated sphere instead of the animated black dots that were presented back in May.

Deloitte’s 2024 Life Sciences and Health Care Generative AI Outlook Survey reveals that 75% of healthcare companies are experimenting with this technology. By turning insights into actions, AI-driven automation optimizes processes ranging from supply chain optimization to customer relationship management. While the possibilities are endless, the Generative AI in organizations 2024 report from the Capgemini Research Institute highlights that only 24% of organizations have actively generative ai and conversational ai incorporated gen AI in their business functions. That message resonated with Tallahassee State College, Florida, which will deploy the solution to design and orchestrate interactions with its students. Such features include automated and configurable no-code bot flows, customer intent mapping, and post-conversation summarization. In other words, Kore.ai is putting its technology in the hands of more non-technical users by removing the need for in-house AI or developer expertise.

Research indicates that AI has significant potential to transform software management practices. The analysis of project repositories and development metrics by AI systems could provide unprecedented insights into project dynamics and team performance (Voria et al., 2022). Conversational AI agents show promise as virtual project assistants, offering real-time project updates and early issue detection (Matthies et al., 2019).

  • Any bias inherent in the training data fed to Gemini could lead to wariness among users.
  • With Boost.ai, companies can access the latest generative AI technology, alongside machine learning and natural language understanding capabilities for both voice bots and chatbots.
  • “Impersonating chatbots in a code review exercise to teach software engineering best practices,” in IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON), 1634–1642.
  • This consistency ensures that every customer receives the same high-quality service, regardless of interaction channel or time.
  • AI has been gaining importance in the contact center – from the first flush of IVR to today’s ecosystem including ML, NLU, natural language processing (NLP), automatic speech recognition (ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), and speech-to-text (STT) processing.

“A chatterbot sensitive to student’s context to help on software engineering education,” in XLIV Latin American Computer Conference (CLEI) (São Paulo), 839–848. Software maintenance and evolution phase involves modifying and updating software after its initial release. Research indicates AI’s potential to revolutionize this area by automating documentation updates (Khan and Uddin, 2022), identifying refactoring opportunities (Rodriguez et al., 2023), and aiding system migration (Su et al., 2023). AI analysis of code repositories could transform maintenance planning and risk assessment by revealing important trends, anomalies, and undocumented dependencies (Le and Zhang, 2023). However, AI’s effectiveness often depends on precise input prompts (Le and Zhang, 2023; Rodriguez et al., 2023), and consistent performance across different software environments remains challenging (Su et al., 2023). Advances in AI knowledge representations and reasoning capabilities are essential if AI is to play a larger role in guiding software evolution (Rodriguez et al., 2023).

Transparency, source attribution, user education, and regular review and auditing processes are additional components that contribute to the ethical deployment of ChatGPT (Khan et al., 2023). Transparently informing users that they are interacting with an AI chatbot and establishing clear attribution guidelines for sources the system uses promote transparency and academic integrity. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. User education programs should be implemented to familiarize students with AI chatbots’ capabilities and limitations and encourage responsible use. Regular review and auditing processes help ensure ongoing adherence to ethical guidelines and provide opportunities for improvement and refinement. Regular monitoring and evaluation of the use of ChatGPT should be conducted to assess its effectiveness and address any ethical concerns that may arise.

Omar H. Fares does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. An Australian mayor has publicly announced he may sue OpenAI for defamation due to ChatGPT’s false claims that he had served time in prison for bribery. There are multiple AI-powered chatbot competitors such as Together, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, and developers are creating open source alternatives.

The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by University of Sharjah, OpenUAE Research and Development Group. The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation. Perhaps the most important thing to remember about AI is that, just like people, it can misstep in many different ways. One of the central tasks of adopting an ethical AI strategy is TEVV, or testing, evaluation, validation and verification. For example, consider a company that uses AI to monitor employee browsing histories to detect insider threats.

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Форекс Брокеры

AirMarkets: обзор Форекс брокера, рейтинг и отзывы клиентов

AirMarkets минимальный депозит

Ориентация AirMarkets на удовлетворение потребностей пользователей и приверженность прозрачности делают брокера достойным внимания на вашем торговом пути. AirMarkets предлагает множество уникальных функций и инструментов, направленных на улучшение процесса принятия решений трейдерами и предоставление информации о тенденциях рынка и торговой практике. Среди этих функций — push-уведомления, которые позволяют трейдерам в режиме реального времени получать информацию о событиях на рынке и новостях, влияющих на их торговые решения. Компания AirMarkets формирует собой проверенного форекс-брокера, который является контрагентом ведущих компаний на британском рынке. Годом создания AirMarkets стал 2006, ориентируясь на трейдинг в Великобритании.

Рейтинг Брокеров 2025

Для безопасного пополнения личного счета и снятия средств брокер разработал специальную технологию безопасных платежей под названием AirMarkets Wallet. С его помощью можно проводить деньги между кошельком и вашими счетами в компании. Данная технология также защищает средства клиента от рыночных колебаний валюты. Международная брокерская компания AirMarkets значительно улучшила условия торговли. Честно сказать, пока все выглядит сыровато, а на сайте вся информация по этому вопросу не имеет понятной структуры и разбросана по разделам.

Деятельность брокера AirMarkets отмечена многими наградами, в частности, компания была признана лучшим мировым брокеров в 2012 году. Сохранить моё имя, email и адрес сайта в этом браузере для последующих моих комментариев. Каждый клиент с депозитом свыше 2 000$ может получить кредитный бонус на сумму 8 000$ для совершения торговых операций на рынке Форекс. Бонус действует до конца 2016 года.Чтобы принять участие в программе, нужно открыть счет и пополнить его на 2000$. После этого, нужно подать заявку на участие и получить кредит. Трейдер может снимать всю полученную прибыль от торговых операций.

В пользу надежности говорит и то, что FCA регулируется одной из самых надежных компаний. Имя брокера не связано с громкими скандалами, учитывая более чем 10-летний стаж на рынке, это тоже можно занести в актив компании. Подробнее о лицензиях и регулировании можно прочитать на сайте AirMarkets.ru.

Торгуемые инструменты

В общей сложности в компании насчитывается более 200 сотрудников, которые работают с клиентами из более чем 170 стран. Форекс брокер AirMarkets получает котировки от нескольких крупных поставщиков, в число которых входят Commerzbank и JPMorgan Chase. Графики активов доступны только на торговых платформах, которые предоставляет компания. Отдельной информационной демонстрации с котировками на сайте не предусмотрено. Международный брокер AirMarkets, который начал свою деятельность в 2006 году. Индивидуальная система работы основана на том, что компания предлагает агентские услуги, которые не биржа позволяют трейдеру и брокеру конфликтовать из-за получения прибыли.

Прочный фундамент с возможностью роста

Более полное количество позволило бы еще больше повысить рейтинг компании. При выборе брокера доверие и безопасность являются первостепенными соображениями. В этом разделе мы рассмотрим приверженность AirMarkets принципам надежности, соответствия нормативным требованиям, предотвращения мошенничества и безопасности клиентских средств. Если Вы стали жертвой мошенничества брокера AirMarkets Pro, можете рассказать об этом в комментариях.

  1. Все положительные отзывы оставляют сотрудники компании, на сайте перманентный спам положительными отзыва от AirMarkets, Не рекомендуется для торговли.
  2. Компания была основана в 2006 году и на сегодняшний день имеет представительства в более чем 170 странах мира.
  3. Торговые платформы AirMarkets предлагают солидный и разнообразный набор опций, поддерживая платформы MetaTrader, мобильный трейдинг и веб-трейдинг.
  4. В случае, если аккаунт уже есть на Робо, лучше как можно быстрее снять средства и поместить их на счет одного из брокеров, которые работают с РФ.
  5. Инвесторы, скупавшие активы на заемные средства, могут начать распродажи…

Это вполне закономерно, так как когда дело касается личных финансов или инвестиционных решений, хочется получить наиболее оптимальный вариант. Об этом и будет речь в статье — как выбрать брокера для торговли на форекс или на фондовом рынке. Инвестиционных инструментов у брокера нет, как и сервиса по копированию сделок других трейдеров. Историю торговли можно посмотреть только в торговых терминалах. На аккаунтах пользователей сайта такой сервис не предусмотрен.

  1. Это возможность торговать большими суммами, используя небольшой капитал.
  2. По данным WorldForex вывод для граждан РФ составляет те же 30 минут, что и для трейдеров из других стран.
  3. Ниже представлен список документов, необходимых для верификации профиля клиента.
  4. Клиент имеет возможность открыть счета нескольких типов, основываясь на своих предпочтениях.
  5. Основатели предлагают воспользоваться авторским кошельком для хранения средств AirMarkets Wallet.
  6. На счетах МТ5 вы не сможете перекрывать (локировать) свои позиции, поэтому рассчитайте свою торговую стратегию таким образом, чтобы не использовать встречные ордера.
  7. Претензий к брокеру не имею, хочу лишь похвалить за хороший сервис и уважительное отношение к клиентам.

С течением времени организовывается доступность сервиса в России. Возрастает капитализация брокера, а множественные отзывы трейдеров отмечают релевантность в работе. А с другой стороны, трейдер получает возможность торговать микролотами (0,01 от стандартного). И более того, можно будет свободно пользоваться практически любой существующей торговой стратегией. Компания проводит https://airmarkets.live/ прямой трейдинг, выводя сделки клиентов сразу на биржу Форекс. В терминале брокера есть 52 валютных инструмента и 26 инвестиционных актива.

По оценке Finance Magnates, AirMarkets входит в ТОП-10 крупнейших розничных брокеров в мире. Компания имеет лицензии регуляторов FCA (Великобритания) и CySEC (Кипр). Компания предлагает свыше 300 торговых инструментов, включая более 70 валютных пар, CFD на акции крупнейших мировых компаний, фьючерсы на индексы стран, сельскохозяйственные товары и энергоносители. Особенностями торговых платформ является то, что они работают в веб-режиме, без необходимости скачивания программы и привязки к одному месту работы. Все, что нужно, чтобы начать торговать — это доступ в интернет.

Компания предоставляет достаточно выгодные условия сотрудничества по партнерской программе. Можно стать представляющим партнером, а также онлайн партнером по рекламе, получая за это определенный процент отчислений (можно выбирать варианты выплаты комиссий). Минимальный депозит AirMarkets составляет $1000 и эквивалент в других валютах.

AirMarkets минимальный депозит

Обучающие материалы представлены небольшой подборкой книг и видеозаписями вебинаров от сотрудников организации. Кроме этого все желающие могут изучить трейдинг по курсам, доступ к которым открыт на главной странице сайта. Возможно, сказываются ограничения регуляторов, но у брокера не проводятся соревнования трейдерского мастерства, и полностью отсутствуют бонусные программы. Торговые платформы MT4 и MT5, как и у всех брокеров, скачиваются с App Store и Google Play в виде сторонних программ. Компания AirMarkets есть в официальном списке брокеров, работающих с данными приложениями.

Вся представленная на сайте Obrokerah.ru информация, включая графики, котировки и аналитические публикации носит информационный характер и не является указаниями к инвестированию денежных средств. Obrokerah.ru не несет ответственности за возможную утрату капитала, возникшую в результате использования информации на данном сайте. Операции на международном валютном рынке Форекс содержат в себе высокий уровень риска и подходят не всем инвесторам. Прежде чем начинать торговлю на рынке Форекс или с использованием других торговых инструментов, таких как CFD или криптовалюты, вы должны оценить уровень своей подготовки и допустимый уровень риска. Инвестируйте только свободные https://airmarkets.world/ средства, которые Вы готовы подвергнуть таким рискам.

Заключение сделок происходит за 0.1 с, как на клиентских, так и на инвестиционных RAMM счетах. Этот брокер работает с российскими клиентами, поэтому можно регистрироваться на российские данные и торговать на бирже без страха блокировки аккаунта. Кроме того, компания принимает карты выданные банками и ЭПС России, что удобно при пополнении и выводе средств. Если непредвзято оценить компанию, то она тянет на крепкого середняка, ничем особым не выделяясь на фоне остальных. Для крупных инвесторов действуют специальные условия работы. Кроме сухой информации и обзоров рынка, учебный центр брокера представляет интересные исследования различных аспектов, которые могут оказать влияние на деятельность трейдера.

Основные задачи FINMA — защищать интересы инвесторов, кредиторов, а также поддерживать высокий статус швейцарской банковской системы. Для этого в любой момент от любой компании могут потребовать документы на отчетность, или же даже приедут проверять квалификацию сотрудников компании. С момента получения письма можно пополнять счет и начинать торговлю. Эксперты делают новостные сводки, публикуют важную информацию и помогают следить за рынком. Присутствует калькулятор трейдера, экономический календарь и т.д.

Categories
Sober living

5-Step Liquid Marijuana Shot Recipe Marijuana Shot

liquid marijuana alcohol drink

Like that dankness is something to mask, instead of something to embrace. They’re all over the place—head shops, grocery stores, gas stations. And we thought it was about time someone stepped in to fix that.

liquid marijuana alcohol drink

Can I substitute any ingredients in the Liquid Marijuana cocktail if I don’t have them?

By accessing this site, you agree to our Terms and conditions. We created this website to share all our bartending knowledge with you.

Liquid Marijuana Cocktail

The cannabinoids present in cannabis, such as THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system, producing various effects. It’s worth mentioning that the strains of cannabis used in liquid marijuana drinks can vary, each with its own unique properties and effects. For the most palatable experience, select complementary brands of superior quality. With its robust, peppery characteristics, Captain Morgan is a dependable option for spiced rum.

Ingredients  1x2x3x

  • With the Liquid Marijuana cocktail recipe, you’ve got the key to unlock a world of tropical, fruity cocktails that are sure to be a hit at any gathering.
  • The peanut butter in chicken satay also pairs well with the rum, making it an excellent dish to go with liquid marijuana.
  • Start with a low dosage and gradually increase if desired effects are not achieved.
  • At just 147 calories, you must be wary of letting this low-calorie drink go to your head.
  • Consider garnishing each glass with a slice of fresh pineapple or maraschino cherry to add a pop of color and flavor.
  • It’s important to find the right balance for your own body and to always prioritize responsible consumption.

Yes, you can substitute some ingredients in the Liquid Marijuana cocktail. If you don’t have coconut rum, you can use any light rum with a dash of coconut essence. Although it contains three types of alcoholic spirits, the fruit and garnishes temper the overall ABV rating. Unlike a straight shooter, which may be 40%, liquid marijuana shots come in at 15-20%.

Explore the reasons why this shot is an absolute must-try for those in search of an unforgettable imbibing experience. There are plenty of cocktail recipes for you to drink and try making on your own. However, not many people have attempted the Liquid Marijuana Cocktail. This green drink is a recipe that may not even be available in most bars around the world because of some misconceptions. Pairing some tasty treats with your liquid marijuana shot recipe is a great way to soak up some alcohol and add a touch of class to your evening. Other strains are also available, with popular options like Cherry Pie and Purple Punch working well with liquid marijuana cocktails.

It is simply a playful name for a fruity and refreshing cocktail. The Summer sun is quickly approaching, which means it’s almost time for the outdoor gatherings, barbeques, music festivals, parties, and socializing that come with the warm season. All these hot summer fun activities often include refreshing beverages of the alcoholic variety to help keep things cool and social. Spiked seltzers, canned cocktails, and cold beers are likely found in summer coolers everywhere. THC drinks, also known as “cannabis drinks,” liquid marijuana alcohol drink “weed drinks,” and “weed beverages,” may be the answer.

Recommended Glassware For Your Next Party

While cannabis drinks have many benefits, it is important to use them responsibly. Like any cannabis product, cannabis drinks can have side effects, especially if consumed in high doses. Users should always start with a low dose and gradually increase their intake until they find their optimal serving size. Currently, most commercial THC-infused drinks are like soda or pop and have a carbonation to them. However, they do not contain alcohol unless otherwise specified on the package, so be sure to read the cannabis label carefully. Since they do contain THC, they are only available for purchase from a local dispensary.

The THC is matched with equal amounts of CBD and terpenes, bringing you a full-spectrum entourage effect. There are no synthetic cannabinoids, no added flavors, no sugar, no alcohol. Cannabinoids and terpenes are extracted from fresh flower (never frozen) using plant-based solvents for an all-natural earthiness that tastes like the plant you love. You’ll find colorful cans of THC-infused drinks with the zing of cucumber and peach. Just about every floral, fruity, and herbal note imaginable pops up in canna drinks and seltzers—except for one. Humans have been consuming cannabis via beverages for years.

They can guide you on your journey, offering legal access to medical marijuana with their national network of marijuana doctors. It’s not rocket science, but it does require a keen sense of balance and a love for great-tasting drinks. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the joyous process of mixing up this party shot. Put all measured ingredients in glass and fill the remainder with pineapple juice. Oh, and don’t miss some killer mocktail recipes to get you started. Just like with cannabis flower, the effects may vary from person to person.

  • Bhang was known to be used as an anesthetic, sleep aid, anti-phlegmatic, and for increasing appetite.
  • Although it contains three types of alcoholic spirits, the fruit and garnishes temper the overall ABV rating.
  • Some individuals produce natural liquid marijuana, bottle them, and sell them on the market.
  • It’s not rocket science, but it does require a keen sense of balance and a love for great-tasting drinks.
  • The “Liquid Marijuana” cocktail is a tropical-themed drink that is made with a combination of ingredients such as pineapple juice, coconut rum, blue curaçao, and lime juice.
  • FlavorFix.com is the premiere source for cannabis, CBD, and spirits, news, finance, entertainment and culture.
  • For example, a classic Margarita might range from 10% to 15% alcohol by volume, depending on the recipe, making the Liquid Marijuana a moderately strong cocktail choice.

Food Pairing Options with a Liquid Marijuana Cocktail

And while THC drinks are currently making waves, consuming THC by drinking is a practice that has been around for a while. To garnish a Liquid Marijuana cocktail effectively, consider using a pineapple slice or wedge to enhance the tropical vibe. A maraschino cherry or a sprig of mint can also add color contrast and a fresh aroma. Optionally, rimming the glass with sugar or coconut flakes can add texture and visual appeal.

If you’re a fan of sweet and fruity cocktails, you can make at home, liquid marijuana shots are the perfect appetizer for a night at home. Below, we show you what is in a liquid marijuana shot recipe and discuss why it’s called liquid marijuana, to begin with. If you’ve got an excess of spirits at home and want to try out a new cocktail, this popular cocktail couldn’t be simpler to bring together. And with low-ABV cocktails growing in popularity, you can change the ratios to achieve your perfect drink. Here’s our guide to the perfect liquid marijuana cocktail recipe.

Categories
Финтех

VPS для трейдинга: что это и как правильно выбрать виртуальный сервер

VPS позволяет запускать торговую платформу со стабильной производительностью, не завися от личного интернет-соединения или компьютера. Cloud4box – довольно молодой хостинг, специализирующийся на услуге аренды виртуальных и выделенных серверов. Одни из немногих, кто дает VDS на тест, правда всего на 24 часа, но это уже кое что. Для виртуализации используется KVM, что сжигание токенов снижает вероятность оверселлинга ресурсов. В качестве дополнительных услуг провайдер предлагает защиту от DDoS и администрирование сервера, а также сетевое облачное хранилище данных. Цены у КлаудФоБокс ниже рыночных, но уже не являются рекордно-низкими, на рынке есть и дешевле.

Выбираем торговую стратегию правильно

Для чего нужен VPS в трейдинге

Основной смысл модели в том, что после большой бычьей свечи появляется маленькая медвежья, которая указывает на нерешительность рынка и ослабление быков. Это особенно важно для тех, кто ищет точки выхода из длинных позиций или планирует входить в рынок с короткими позициями. vps для форекс Медвежий Харами можно наблюдать как на дневных графиках, так и на более долгосрочных временных периодах, что делает его универсальным инструментом для разных типов трейдинга.

  • Минус использования хостинга только один ― не все брокеры или компании выполняют обещания и работают без сбоев.
  • Использование такого индекса, как индекс относительной силы (RSI) в сочетании с паттерном Медвежий Харами подсказывает трейдерам, как выявить перекупленность или перепроданность рынка.
  • VPS позволяет этим системам работать без сбоев и зависимостей от локального оборудования.
  • С ними вы уже сможете начать полноценно использовать VPS-сервер для своей торговли.
  • Скользящие средние оказывают значительное влияние на анализ рыночной ситуации, помогая трейдерам распознавать тренд и отсекать ложные сигналы.

Подключение и настройка сервера для трейдинга

Уровни Фибоначчи широко применяются для определения возможных точек коррекции цены. Если Медвежий Харами появляется вблизи одного из ключевых уровней коррекции Фибоначчи (50% или 61.8%), это может указывать на вероятный разворот текущего тренда. Трейдеры любят использовать этот момент для ожидания отката до ключевого уровня, что позволяет им войти в сделку по более привлекательной цене.

Недостатки выделенного сервера для торговли на рынке Форекс

Для чего нужен VPS в трейдинге

Все сервера 1Cloud размещаются на оборудовании Cisco и используют СХД NetApp, что принципиально отличает компанию от большинства в лучшую сторону по уровню технологий. Можно построить частное облако с использованием хранилищ S3 и Swift API. Единственным минусом можно назвать цены выше среднего по рынку. Но пользователи отзываются о сервисе в положительном ключе, нарекания почти отсутствуют. VDSina — это проект компании МакХост, сосредоточенный на VDS и аренде выделенных серверов. Все виртуальные сервера предоставляются исключительно на SSD-дисках и технологии KVM-виртуализации.

Чем значение ПИНГ меньше, тем выше вероятность, что ваш ордер будет обработан по лучшей цене. Компания VPS24hour предоставляет трейдерам недорогие и надежные VPS-серверы из Европы (Франция, Нидерланды, Германия), работающие на базе современного серверного оборудования марки Dell. VPS предоставляет стабильное соединение, круглосуточный доступ и защиту от сбоев, что делает его более предпочтительным выбором для трейдеров, чем домашний компьютер. Трейдеру не нужно беспокоиться о внезапных отключениях интернета или перебоях с электричеством.

В статье мы подробно рассмотрим, как распознавать Медвежий Харами, каковы его основные характеристики и какие эффективные торговые стратегии помогут торговать по модели Медвежий Харами. Также рассмотрим Бычий паттерн Харами, который является противоположностью Медвежьего Харами и сигнализирует о возможном начале восходящего движения. Медвежий паттерн Харами — это популярная свечная модель технического анализа, которая используется для предсказания разворота тренда. Когда она формируется на графике, это может указывать на возможное окончание восходящего тренда и начало снижения цен, известное как медвежье движение. Трейдеры используют паттерн, чтобы определить момент, когда лучше выйти из длинной позиции или войти в короткую. Цены на сервера в среднем выше, чем по рынку, но это оправдывается качеством и стабильностью услуг.

VPS (virtual private server) – один из вариантов хостинга, который предоставляет в аренду виртуальный сервер с постоянным обеспечением работоспособности. Если говорить простым языком, то у вас будет доступ к компьютеру, который постоянно работает. В большинстве случаев хостинги занимающиеся VPS серверами для трейдинга сразу по умолчанию на удаленном рабочем столе создают папку “Автозагрузка”.

Для чего нужен VPS в трейдинге

Определение модели свечей Медвежий Харами снижает риски и увеличивает вероятность успешных сделок. FirstVDS – наследник компании ISPSystem, впоследствии ставший самостоятельным хостером с отдельным бизнесом. Именно ФёстВДС открыл на российском рынке новую нишу недорогих виртуальных серверов и был в этом практически пионером, как следствие собирая на себя все “шишки” первопроходца. Основой бизнеса является предоставление в аренду виртуальных серверов. А также осуществляет регистрацию доменов в самых популярных зонах. Сервера расположены еще в Московском М-9, в Санкт-Петербурге, Казани, Екатеринбурге и Новосибирске.

Для чего нужен VPS в трейдинге

Это подходит не всем, но многие трейдеры подходят под требования и могут получить VPS сервер для форекс бесплатно. Информацию можно посмотреть на сайте компании или уточнить у службы поддержки. VPS (или VDS) ― обычный компьютер, расположенный в специальном дата-центре.

Еще одной из ситуаций может быть большое количество запущенных терминалов и неразбериха в том на каком терминале что работает. В случае если все настроено верно, вам откроется удаленный рабочий стол вашего VPS сервера. При следующих подключениях к VPS серверу вводить и проставлять все эти данные будет не нужно, все сохранится в операционной системе. Программа торгует по уникальной логике, задача которой не просто фиксировать прибыль, но и использовать накопленную прибыль как подушку безопасности, которая значительно сокращает просадку по балансу. Вся информация, представленная на сайте, носит исключительно информационный характер и не является рекомендацией или руководством к действию. Сайт livetouring.org создан исключительно для предоставления информации, и мы никогда не запрашиваем у вас деньги или личные данные.

На VPS-серверах, предназначенных для трейдинга, не рекомендуется запускать сторонние приложения, включая программы для рассылки сообщений электронной почты. Если вы не специалист в unix системах, то не следует заказывать VPS сервера с операционными системами Linux, Ubuntu, Debian и прочими. Для легкой и привычной работы заказывайте сервера только на Windows системах. Торгую роботами с помощью vps от робофорекс — условия одни из самых лайтовых, обрывов нет — можно спокойно оставлять на ночь, хотя на первых порах ночью вставал проверял, сейчас уже доверяю. Главное ставить только проверенные стратегии, а то можно проснуться, а денег уже нет.

Большая часть программного обеспечения для трейдеров создано под Windows, поэтому для торговли на валютном и срочных рынках стоит выбирать VPS/VDS с операционной системой Windows Server. Это гарантирует нормальную работу самых популярных торговых терминалов MetaTrader 4 или 5 и QUIK. Хостеры именно с такими серверами представлены в этой подборке.

За пределами России, RuVDS размещается в дата-центрах Швейцарии, Великобритании, Германии и в Нидерландах, а также в Казахстане. Для этого трейдеру следует установить на сервер торговое программное обеспечение, зачастую, это торговая платформа MetaTrader 4 или MetaTrader 5. Для синхронизации потребуется приложение FreeFileSync, его бесплатного функционала будет достаточно для нужд синхронизации нескольких терминалов. Для синхронизации нужно выбрать один терминал, назовем его “главным” и терминалы с которыми будет синхронизироваться “главный” терминал. После нажатия на кнопку подключения вам может быть выдано предупреждение о проверки подлинности удаленного компьютера. Помните что при работе торговых терминалов MetaTrader в случае обращения к истории финансового инструмента, может потребоваться больше памяти на жестком диске.

На таких серверах связь вообще не должна пропадать, если пропала 2-3 раза я сразу меняю сервер. Потестируйте VPS для форекс для МТ5, который предлагает Roboforex.У них при депозите 500$ предоставляется бесплатно. При желании можно установить дополнительный софт ― тестеры стратегий, аналитические программы, системы мониторинга.

Доступ оформляется на месяц, но есть выгодные предложения при оформлении сразу на большой срок.

Categories
IT Освіта

Чим Займається Qa Engineer І Що Потрібно Вміти Для Цієї Роботи

Якщо ж QA Engineer пише автотести — він вже наполовину програміст. Одне з призначень тестування — qa engineer курси це виявити дефекти у програмному забезпеченні й, звісно ж, виправити їх. Складність виправлення дефекту на різних етапах циклу розробки програмного забезпечення буде різною. Quality Assurance — це найширший спектр діяльності. Quality Assurance спрямоване на побудову процесів контролю якості задля забезпечення певного рівня якості.

Кар’єрні Перспективи: Скільки Заробляє Qa Engineer Та Куди Може Рости

  • Тому й на багатьох проєктах потрібні окремі люди для цього.
  • Успішний QA повинен виявляти інтерес до всього, що відбувається навколо його роботи.
  • Якщо це комбінація навичок, може бути напрям Head/Lead»..

Все залежить від проєкту, фінансових можливостей та потреб у якості продукту. Є проєкти, де потрібні обидва QA, є проєкти, де потрібні тільки QA Automation, а є такі, де QA Manual. Пропозицій пройти курси тестувальників за три місяці і отримувати шалені гроші в IT – сотні і тисячі. На жаль, але через таких експрес-курсів ринок переповнений малограмотним Джун, які відразу хочуть більшу зарплату.

qa engineer це

📚 У Яких Напрямах Qa Потрібно Мати Додаткові Знання Та Навички

Але перелік вимог до кандидата більше залежить від специфіки продукту й загалом компанії — те, що цінується однією, може зовсім не мати значення для іншої. Робота QA інженера потребує стратегічного та аналітичного мислення, хорошої пам’яті та зібраності (бо часто треба тримати в голові кілька  паралельних задач і вміти швидко змінювати фокус). В усьому ІТ-світі зараз зростає потреба саме в QA automation, тож є сенс у тому, щоб не зупинятися на ручному тестуванні, якщо ви його вже опанували, а рухатись далі.

qa engineer це

Як Успішно Провести Співбесіду: Загальні Поради It-рекрутерам

qa engineer це

Ті, кого цікавить менеджмент чи коучинг, можуть спробувати себе в ролі Development Manager, People Manager чи Release Train Engineer, який контролює роботу скрам-майстрів. General QA – цей фахівець розуміється і на мануальному, і на автоматизованому тестуванні. Тобто QA Engineer проробляє усі можливі сценарії та на їх основі пише тест-кейси.

Налагоджувальник Технологічного Обладнання, Take A Look At Technician У Берегове

У процесі Quality Assurance може брати участь уся команда, яка працює над проектом. Це фахівець, який може виконувати деякі задачі самостійно, а деякі — за допомогою інших. Зазвичай робота Junior контролюється більш досвідченими інженерами. Компенсація може варіюватися від 600$ до 1100$ на місяць. Існує безліч поглядів на те, які навички потрібні QA Engineer, але часто вони формуються на основі власного досвіду в певній компанії та сфері бізнесу. Взаємодіяти з контрактами можна через різні тестнети чи мейннет.

Важливо описати всі сценарії, за якими кінцеві користувачі продукту будуть або потенційно можуть із ним взаємодіяти. «На першому мітингу ви можете замість своєї оцінки поставити знак питання. Або вибрати число на основі того, що поставили інші учасники команди.

Але треба розуміти, що таке метод смартконтракту, вміти прочитати транзакцію, відправити транзакцію різними способами. Automation QA Engineer відповідає за створення, тестування та впровадження автоматизованих рішень для перевірення якості програм. Основне завдання — переконатися, що ПЗ відповідає вимогам якості, не містить помилок і працює так, як очікувалося. Automation QA пишуть код для автоматизованих скриптів тестування, що моделюють взаємодію користувачів і перевіряють різні функції програм.

Будь-який софт, сайт або програма вимагає перевірки якості перед запуском у реліз. Це пов’язано з тим, що програмісти не завжди розуміють, як користувач взаємодіятиме з продуктом, а також не можуть передбачити всі нестандартні ситуації у його роботі. Тоді на допомогу приходить QA engineering та Quality Assurance Engineer. Тестувальник перевіряє програмне забезпечення на наявність дефектів та допомагає їх усунути. З кожним наступним етапом вартість виправлення дефекту стає все більшою. Якщо дефекти виявлені на етапі побудови дизайну, то для того, щоб їх виправити, треба не тільки змінити дизайн.

А як щодо QA automation engineer — які знання необхідні для опанування цієї професії? Розпитали Soft Engineer компанії SimCorp Інесу Сторожеву, що таке автоматизоване тестування і в чому його відмінність від  ручного. Опануй на курсі основні знання та навички, що потрібні для ефективної роботи тестувальника ПЗ, отримуючи практичний досвід та глибоке розуміння кожного аспекту тестування. Навчись аналізувати вимоги, працювати з JIRA, створювати та управляти тестовою документацією, виконувати навантажувальне тестування та ефективно використовувати сучасні інструменти. Так що там, такий студент може освоїти цю спеціальність і без курсів, просто займаючись пару годин в день. Цей фахівець – невіддільна частина команди на кожному етапі розробки ПЗ – від обговорення вимог до продукту аж до фінального його релізу.

Курс також занурює студентів у різні аспекти та типи тестування, від юніт-тестування до інтеграційного. Основи роботи з базами даних допоможуть у тестуванні продуктів, що взаємодіють з даними. Тестувальник повинен бути достатньо винахідливим, щоб підходити до перевірки виконаної роботи не тривіально. Також потрібно розуміти, що доведеться багато спілкуватися з людьми, і це не та професія, де можна сховатися за монітором, щоб вас ніхто не чіпав». «Я б порадив моніторити DOU/Djinni для розуміння нагальних потреб ринку.

qa engineer це

Студенти завжди можуть отримати консультацію від викладачів, менторів чи курс-координаторів, залежно від запиту. Залежно від проєкту, можуть бути й інші вимоги, але даний список — це основні загальні вимоги в компанії Cloud Works. IT-сфера з кожним днем ​​розширюється, з’являються нові напрямки і професії. Щоб залишатися в темі і дізнаватися всі деталі першим, читай рубрику від Kharkiv IT Cluster «Професії в IT». Ти вже взяв участь у цій акції, шукай промокод в себе на e-mail. Найважливіше, що треба зробити перед тим, як вести розмову, що таке Quality Assurance (QA), — це розібратися з термінологією.

Всім, хто працює в ІТ, часто доводиться спілкуватися англійською мовою із клієнтами чи партнерами. Щоб студент працевлаштувався, з ним працює HR-менеджер. Він знаходить актуальні вакансії, допомагає підготуватися до співбесіди, прокачати резюме та дає зворотний зв’язок, над чим ще варто попрацювати. Виходить, що Quality Assurance включає в себе Quality Control, який включає в себе тестування ПЗ. Але як завжди є багато чого з категорії it depends. 3к за ручного і 6к за автомейшена це не дуже відрізняється?

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Sober living

Dozens Died in Sober Living Homes as Arizona Fumbled Fraud Response

Living with a recovering alcoholic can be a challenging experience, but it can also be rewarding. Seeing someone struggle and grow stronger every day is one of the toughest things a person can face. It takes patience, understanding, and emotional support for someone who is working to overcome addiction. Treatment providers are available 24/7 to answer your questions about rehab, whether it’s for you or a loved one.

Consider the Sanctuary Recovery Foundation

I learned this firsthand when I began intentionally going on dry dates as part of my commitment to my first “dry January” in 2017. The exercise opened my eyes to how alcohol can affect even the early stages of a romantic partnership. From the very beginning, some of my first dates scoffed at my commitment to sobriety—even though I didn’t mind if they drank. And it may be extra-challenging for partners to cohabitate when they fall on opposite sides of that spectrum, with one drinking heavily and the other in recovery from alcohol use disorder (AUD).

This tool acts as a lifeline, connecting members to an expansive network of support and guidance. By navigating the directory, individuals find local gatherings that offer personalized support tailored to their unique experiences and needs. The locator not only enhances accessibility to crucial meetings but also strengthens the foundation for a robust recovery strategy.

Many of these NA bars double as community gathering spots, with game nights, live music, mindful mixology classes, even crocheting circles. Whatever your motivation, “adult beverages” have never tasted so sweet—or bitter, balanced or tart. Legal | Privacy PolicyInformation on this site is provided for informational purposes. It is not meant to replace the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professional.

Living with a Recovering Alcoholic

  • Growing up in a home where alcohol use is common can leave lasting scars.
  • They also sell bottles for shipping nationwide via a mobile app.
  • Before he committed to recovery, Rose’s husband was oblivious to the family’s problems.
  • If the alcoholic is a parent, the effects of the situation will be lasting.

If you’re the loved one of someone in either group, it’s important to know how to deal with an alcoholic effectively if you want to help them get well. Rather than growing resentment for the individual struggling with alcohol addiction, it’s important to try and encourage open and honest communication. Alateen is similar to Al-Anon but it’s for children of alcoholics.

Still Behavioral Health Group is available 24/7 to discuss your treatment options. Their representatives will discuss whether their facility may be an option for you. These calls are Sober Houses Rules That You Should Follow offered at no cost to you and with no obligation to enter into treatment.

Exploring AA Meetings Directory’s Impact on Texas Sobriety

At Outpatient LA, we are a https://yourhealthmagazine.net/article/addiction/sober-houses-rules-that-you-should-follow/ leading outpatient drug rehab that helps patients safely overcome addiction and heal their physical, mental, and spiritual wellness for the better. That’s why we provide a comprehensive range of outpatient addiction treatment options so you can receive the individualized care that best meets your recovery needs. Contact us today to learn more about how we can support your recovery journey. If you love someone with an alcohol use disorder, there will be good days, hard days, and ‘not sure I can keep dealing with this’ days. While love alone can’t fix the problem, there are things you can do to support your loved one while protecting your own well-being.

living with a sober alcoholic

Empowerment Through the AA Meetings Locator

Their professional status or personal success can make it hard to approach them about having a “problem” with alcohol. If you find it difficult to make new, sober friends, try joining a support group. Spending more time with supportive loved ones and planning activities for the entire family can also help you develop a healthier lifestyle and avoid situations in which you would normally drink or use drugs. It is important for an alcoholic in early recovery to be in an atmosphere where a sober living lifestyle is promoted. Alcohol should be taken away from the home and an end to activities where there’s a possibility of alcohol or drug use.

Jeffrey Hustito was one of at least two Native Americans to die in sober living homes in December 2022 as AHCCCS tried to root out fraud by suspending payments to providers. At least 10 behavioral health providers, including Beyond4Wallz, received suspension notices from AHCCCS that month. Behavioral health outpatient clinics drove the most significant increase, with officials later saying that many of these facilities were part of the multilayered scheme to defraud Medicaid. The clinics would often coordinate with unregulated sober living homes to house patients eligible for the program. The clinics would then pay the homes for supplying patients, using a cut of the outsize profits they made billing the American Indian Health Program. The alcoholic’s anonymous methodology seamlessly bridges the gap between emotional sobriety and mental health, acknowledging the intrinsic connection between the two.

As such, Murthy is pushing for cancer warnings on all alcoholic beverages in the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, recently issued a warning about the health dangers of alcohol. He said that research supports the idea that regular alcohol consumption is linked to cancer. People who are 99% sober or dry by default are those who rarely drink but make the odd exception. It can make sense for those of us who don’t want to put pressure on ourselves with a ‘drinker’ or ‘non-drinker’ label and removes the angst of counting days. This continued up until December 2021, when ‘a glass of red’ whilst wrapping the last of the kids’ Christmas presents turned into much more.

Ways To Cope With Addiction …

At Transitions Recovery, we’re helping our clients beat the urge to drink. Instead of turning to the bottle, you can turn to a support system to guide you along your journey of sobriety. Your loved one is on the road to recovery, but it’s not an easy path. It’s full of temptations, and while you mean well, the doubt and fear you have could be casting a shadow over your lives. In addition to learning how to manage these emotions, group therapy teaches participants how to handle stressful situations better. If someone gets upset at work, they don’t have to bottle up their anger; they can express themselves freely and safely.

‘Are you sure you’re in a safe place?’

After all, you can’t hang around your drug dealer or old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long. We thrive on the company of others, whether they share our beliefs or characteristics or not. The following guidelines have proven invaluable for family members caught in the predicament of living with an alcoholic they love.

By Buddy TBuddy T is a writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Because he is a member of a support group that stresses the importance of anonymity at the public level, he does not use his photograph or his real name on this website. Although these new activities are healthy and productive, they can be a stumbling block to lasting recovery if they become a transfer addiction to fill the void left by the original addiction. Shame is having negative beliefs about yourself and your self-worth. People in recovery can experience a lot of shame simply for having become addicted in the first place.

This is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit, and it is greater than any human power. An alcoholic can die without alcohol, which is why medically supervised detox may be necessary for some. And if that weren’t enough, the spirit of an addict is empty, broken, and dark. No human power and no amount of love can compete with the hold that the disease of addiction has on its prey. Do not fool yourself into thinking you can make your loved one stop.

So, it’s extra helpful to have a support network available to you when you need it. A therapist can help you learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult. A mental health professional can help you cope with some of the challenges you’ll face on your path to sobriety. Whether you’re seeking to approach the topic for the first time or looking for ways to encourage recovery, the guidance here will help you navigate this challenging path with empathy and care. Friends and family can also support the alcoholic by taking on responsibilities that prevent the alcoholic from getting treatment, such as work, child care and chores. Harmony Rose, author of “Married Under the Influence,” had common preconceived notions of what an alcoholic was before alcoholism devastated her marriage.

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Monday Night Bible Study

REVELATION 2:12-17

REVELATION 2:12-17

V-12: And to the church in Pergamos write, these thing says he who has the sharp two edged
sword:
V-13: “I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to
My name and did not deny my faith even in the days when Antipas was My faithful
martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
V-14: But I have a few things against you, because you have those who hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat
things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
V-15: Thus you also have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
V-16: Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of
My mouth.
V-17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who
overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone,
and on that stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.”

Pergamos was the provincial capitol of Asia Minor. It had been the capitol for over 400 years, going back to the time of the break up of the kingdom of Alexander the great. This was the beginning of the Selecuid kingdom. After Attalus died in 133B.C., he willed Asia minor to Rome, where Pergamos remained the capitol.

Its geographical location made it an interesting site for a capitol city. The city was perched high on a cone-shaped hill overlooking the Caicus River Valley. It was not on any major trade routes and thus was not a major center of trade. From its location, one could see the Mediterranean Sea just 15 miles away, and any traveler coming through the river valley would certainly be impressed.

Instead of commercial greatness, Pergamos was the cultural center of Asia Minor. It had the second largest library in the ancient world, second only to the one in Alexandria, Egypt. A Pergamene king called Eumenes started a centuries-long feud with the Egyptians when he tried to hire the chief librarian away from Alexandria. Ptolemy, the ruler in Egypt at that time, promptly arrested the librarian and placed an embargo on papyrus to Pergamos. The people of Pergamos, not to be deterred, set about and developed parchment, which eventually replaced papyrus in the ancient world.

Pergamos was also a great religious center for Asia Minor, especially as the keeper of the Greek way of worship. Two of the most popular sites were the Temple of Athene and the Altar of Zeus. They both were 800 feet up on the mountain and could be seen by anyone approaching the city. Historians say that the Altar of Zeus stood 40 ft high on a large projection of rock and from a distance looked like a gigantic throne. Around its base was a majestic carving depicting the victory of the Greek gods over the barbarians’ giants. Smoke went up from the altar all day long from the continual sacrifices being made.

More important, Pregamos was the home to the god Asciepios. If there was any god who would be known as the god of Pergamos, it would have been Asciepios. He was the god of healing. People came from all over the ancient world to Pergamos for healing. It may have been the closest thing to a teaching hospital then known in the ancient world.

What probably caused Pergamos to be called the seat of Satan is that it was the capitol of Asia Minor. This made it not only the administrative center but also the center of emperor worship itself. While other cities jousted for position to build this temple or that temple to an emperor, Pergamos was the definite center for Emperor worship in Asia Minor, and they took that very seriously. Emperor worship was the only form of worship in the empire that could require punishment by death if one failed to concur. This wasn’t during all times and wasn’t always carried out in all places, but it was a fact.

This is pointed out in verse 12, where Jesus refers to Himself as ‘He who has the two edged-sword.’ Roman governors were divided into two classes – those who had the ius gladii and those who didn’t. The ius gladii would be one who had the power of the sword, thus having power over life and death. In Pergamos the governor had the ius gladii, and there was always a chance for the congregation to have that power wielded against them; but Jesus wants them to remember that HE is the one with the two-edged sword. Jesus has the final say. While the power of Rome might be satanically powerful, it would never be as powerful as the risen Christ.

This is not the first time the two-edged sword is mentioned in Revelation. It is also noted in Revelation 1:16. What I said there also applies to this scripture. It comes from Genesis 3:24, when God expels Adam and Eve out of the Garden. There is placed an angel with a two-edged sword, which turns every which way in order to keep them out. Also, in Hebrews 4:12, Paul talks about the two- edged sword as the word of God, “For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Hebrews text speaks more clearly to verse 16, where Jesus says that He will come among them and slay them with the sword in His mouth. The “them” refers to the teachers of the doctrine of Balaam and the Nicolaitans. Piercing the division between the true believers and the heretics, the sword of His mouth is Christ’s word. It is with His word that He will defeat them – and it is the same with us! It is with Christ’s word that we will be able to defeat the heretics of our day. Not logic, not philosophy, not psychology, but with Christ’s word.

Jesus said, “I know where you stay.” Jesus uses an interesting word here, the Greek word katoikein, which means a permanent dwelling. In most cases when referring to where a Christian lives or stays, the New Testament writers use the Greek word paroikein, which means a traveler or sojourner. Why? The common thought is that we as Christians upon receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are no longer of this world. We are now seekers and citizens of the Kingdom of God, and we are not expecting to permanently dwell here. This world is not our kingdom and not our home – and often the world does not even want us here…. But in this passage, the word katoikein is used to denote that we also follow the Lord who overcame the world. As Christians we are called not to escape the slings and arrows that the world throws at us but to conquer. The work of the Christian is to stand firm even in the face of persecution and possible martyrdom and witness to the Gospel of Jesus. Regarding the man who was executed, Antipas, Jesus calls a faithful witness. Too often this Greek word gets translated as martyr, but the Greek is actually martus, which translates as witness. Unfortunately, for a true disciple a faithful witness can leads to martyrdom. It is one thing to proclaim Jesus in our Bible study group, Sunday school class, or worship service. It is another to stand firm in our faith where our faith is met with even violent opposition….

Let’s be real – this is happening more and more in our world today. There is opposition within the church against fellow believers. Those who believe in the authority of Scripture are being called names, denounced, and vilified because of holding to scriptural correctness above politics or whatever society says is correct at the moment. Their definition of correct continues to change with the wind. There is also a growing opposition to Christian faith in our local communities as well as officials all the way to the top tiers of the government.

Friedrich Nietzsche, the French philosopher, is best known for his writing in which he supposedly proclaimed, “ God is dead.” Nietzsche was taken out of context. He saw the world around him and all the changes that were happening which at the time seemed like a very quick pace. He saw the societal changes and said basically that the ways of the church and the worship of God at the time was not meeting the need of the people of that time. Now this is a discussion for another day, but there were a lot of changes in the study of theology, especially out of Germany, which had spread throughout Europe and also to the United States which made that true. However, Nietzsche also wrote that there would always be a god, because humanity would make one to put in His place. Imagine that insight….

We see this today with the fascist leftist medias attacks on the faith of those who believe in the authority of Scripture. The Bible itself is being jammed into the category of hate speech. It is being called exclusive. Laws are in the process of being passed which will cancel a Christian’s right to free speech if they disagree with the social justice culture. There are talks of indoctrinating people to believe as the government thinks one ought to believe. Some of the people in the 2021 president’s administration believe that those who will not bow should be imprisoned in special camps. Look at what is happening in China regarding the imprisonment of Islamic believers and the enforcing of slave labor. There has been even talk of holocaust-type murders of Islamic believers in China, where the Christian church is also persecuted. As the violence and deceptive speech of the cancel culture and social justice warriors are rammed down peoples’ throats – and all media is being controlled to the point where dissenting voices are canceled, censored, or silenced – who’s to say the same thing will not happen in the U.S. ? Jesus is telling the congregation at Pergamos, and the congregations of today, that He is proud of their witness in the face of deadly opposition. He is telling them – and us – to continue to stay where we are, stand, and witness, even if it means death. He reminds us that He has overcome the world, no matter what the happenings around us look like. (We shall see later that the death of Antipas will be revisited when we talk about the stone and the name written on it.)

Who are the heretics? Well, apparently there are two groups and not one, as in Ephesus. The first are those who hold the doctrine of Balaam. Balaam was a great sorcerer who was contracted by Balak, the king of Moab, to cast a curse on the Children of Israel as they were passing through Moab on their way to the Promise Land. Balaam tried three times, but the Lord God only gave him blessings to pronounce. Yet Balaam told Balak that while the Lord God would not allow him to curse Israel, Balak could get them to curse themselves by going in the back door and tempting the children of Israel to blaspheme through the women of Moab. Thus, the children of Israel sinned against God by doing the same things mentioned in verse 14, sacrificing and eating things sacrificed to idols and committing sexual immorality. We have already noted that Pergamemes saw themselves as the keepers of pure Greek culture, as well as taking pride in their support of the emperor cult; and most Greek temples and their worship included male and female prostitutes. Unless you knew of a good Jewish butcher, all meats sold in the marketplace had been sacrificed to idols. The meat was not a problem unless it was eaten at a pagan temple as part of a pagan celebration. This purchase location would also be the same time that a person might be seduced into sexual immorality with a temple prostitute. Now, one might say, “ OK, just stay away from pagan temple functions.” But the Christians had family that were not Christians, and temples were the places for birthday celebrations, weddings, and many other secular social events. Apparently the congregation at Pergamos had become lax in the scrutiny of some of the fellow believers. While not all were guilty of these sins – maybe not even the majority – the congregation was not holding each another accountable.

The second group of heretics was the Nicolaitans. Again, go to my writing on Ephesus and reread. These were the early form of gnosticism, which would become an even greater problem in about 50 years (the flesh was not important, only the spirit mattered). The Christian lifestyle was nonexistent for them. What one did, what one ate, and where one worshiped were not important. These folks evolved to believe that Jesus did not exist as a human but was only was spirit. He didn’t die on the cross. Sin was of the flesh, and Jesus was all spirit. Thus, He didn’t have to die, and the life lived in the flesh was not important – only the spirit was important. Again, these people were not in the majority, but they were also not being held accountable. What a false compassion – where the feelings and desires of persons takes precedence over the Sovereignty, Authority, Will, Holiness and Righteousness of God!

We can see this in the break- up of major Christian denominations today. Where Scriptural authority is set aside and sin is ignored or disclaimed to support a false compassion for the feelings of persons. Where is the real compassion, when we are willing to condemn a person to Hell because we are unwilling to confront their sin since we don’t want to hurt their feelings? We act like Luke telling Darth Vader, “I see the good in you.” But we fail to compare the good in them to the righteousness and holiness of God. The people of the congregation in Pergamos were willing sell their fellow members short because they did not want to ruffle feathers or hurt feelings.

Jesus tells the believers of Pergamos that if they are not willing to confront their fellow congregational members, then He will, by the sword in His mouth. Remember the words of Paul in Hebrews, “The word of is like a two edged sword.” Jesus says He is going to fight the heresy with His word; and because His word can sever between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, He can deal with the heretics without harming the faithful. Isn’t it interesting that while we try to handle things by political maneuvering, Jesus says, “I will handle it through My word.”

Again, let those with an ear (singular) hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the overcomers, to those who are faithful to the end, Jesus promises three rewards: 1) I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. It is believed by Hebrew scholars that one of the signs of the Messiah will be that He will feed the remnant with the manna from heaven as God did the children of Israel in the wilderness. This was the sign Jesus used in His own ministry with the feedings of the 4000 and 5000. Here Jesus is telling them that they will not have to worry about food or meat sacrificed to idols because they will eat at His heavenly table and eat His heavenly food. 2) I will give them a white stone. In the ancient culture of the day, there were a couple of different thoughts about the white stone; but since we are talking about end time and judgment, I believe the correct thought is one based on the judicial practices of the day. In a court case, unlike today, there was usually more than one judge. The judges would hear all sides of the case and then would pronounce their judgment, not by speaking but by casting stones. Each judge would have a white stone and a black stone. The black stone was if they found against a person, and the white stone was for if they found for a person. Similar to this was that in the early priesthood of Israel, a priest sought the will of God through the urim and the thummin. While the color of the urim and the thummin are not known, it is greatly believed that they were stones. The urim and the thummin are not mentioned again after the 7th chapter of Nehemiah. Jesus is telling the overcomers, both in Pergamos and in today, that He has cast for us the white stone. We win!!
3) There will be a name on the stone, a name that no one knows but the one who receives it. Now, most people want to make a big deal about the secrecy of the name, that no one will know it except they who receive it. But I would like to share that the name is not the secret. The name is mentioned in Rev.2:13 of our present study and was mentioned earlier in our study in Rev. 1:5. It is the name given to Antipas and the name given by God the Father to Jesus in Rev. 1:5 – Faithful Witness. You may say, “But Dap, Jesus calls Antipas a faithful martyr.” Please remember the Greek word for martyr is literally witness. The secret is not the name. The secret is that only the one who overcomes can understand the meaning behind the name…..

Let’s review:
1.) Jesus is the one with the two-edged sword in His mouth. Jesus is the one who speaks the truth of
God. His word is truth. The power of His word is greater than the sword of Rome.
2.) Jesus knows their works, the hardship of where they dwell, and their faithfulness even in
persecution unto death.
3.) Jesus has one shortcoming against them, found in two areas: their failure to hold accountable those who are not constant in the faith (those who adhere to the doctrine of of Ballam) and those who refuse to adhere to the basic beliefs of the faith (the Nicolaitans).
4.) If they do not repent and do their duty as faithful believers, Jesus Himself will come and deal with
the unfaithful THROUGH HIS WORD.
5.) To the overcomers, Jesus will give three rewards: 1) They will be allowed to eat the bread of Heaven saved for those who overcome. 2) They will be judged righteous via the white stone.
3) They will be given the name that Jesus was given by the Father and which Jesus gave Antipas – that of Faithful Witness.

AMEN

In Christ,

The Dap

Remember to pray Psalm 91 in the first person daily. If you want to be more empowered, pray Psalms 23, 27, and 121 as well.

Categories
Blog

What Is a Disciple? – Consecration

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WHAT IS A DISCIPLE?
Consecration

The second step in sanctification is consecration. After having been separated to do the will of God, one must consecrate self. That is what is interesting – the person or the people have to do it. God does not consecrate us. We have to do it.

What is actually meant by the term consecration? It is the call for us to prepare ourselves to do the work the Father has set us aside to do. In the Old Testament, before the Levites could perform the work of caring for the Tabernacle and its articles, they had to consecrate themselves. Before Aaron and his sons could take on the responsibilities of the priesthood, they had to consecrate themselves.
Before the High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, he would have to re-consecrate himself before each Day of Atonement.

Consecration is the admission that you have been separated out for a purpose beyond yourself which you are not able to do on your own.

There are several words used in the Old Testament for ‘consecration’ or ‘consecrated’. One such word (found in Exodus 28:41, 29:9, 29:33 and 29:35 as well as in I Chronicles 29:5, 11 Chronicles 13:9 and Ezekiel 43:26) is male’ (pronounced maw-lay). It is defined as to replenish, to restore, to bring to religious fulfillment. Another word is qadash (pronounced kaw-dash), found in Exodus 28:3 and 30:30. It means to be ceremonially clean, to prepare, dedicate, purify someone are some article for holy service. Yet another term is nazar (pronounced naw-zar’), found in Numbers 6:12. which means to abstain from unclean food, drink, and impure lifestyle. Finally, there is the Hebrew word charam (pronounced khaw’-ram). Found in Micah 4:13, its definition is to devote for religious purposes.

In the New Testament there are two Greek words used for ‘consecration’. One is egkainizo (pronounced eng-kahee-nid’-zo). Found in Hebrews 10:26, it means to renew or rededicate oneself. The other is teleloo (pronounced tel-i-o’-o). Found in Hebrews 7:28, it means to complete, to finish, to make ready for service.

In general, then, all of these terms call upon a person to do what it takes be ready to serve God in some way, to change what they are doing and make themselves ready for what God wants them to do.

One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the story of David bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It is found in both I Samuel and I Chronicles. What a brilliant political move in centralizing his government in Jerusalem! Part of his strategy was to centralize the faith by bringing the Ark from Kirjath Jearim to a tabernacle spot he had prepared in Jerusalem. David meets with all the leaders and heads of families in Israel and sets the date to move the Ark. Instead of transporting the Ark the appropriate way (as described in Exodus and Numbers), they place it on an ox cart and start the journey toward Jerusalem with music and celebration. The ox stumbles, and the cart tilts in a way that could cause the Ark to fall off. Uzza, a Levite, put out his hand to the Ark to stabilize it, and when he did he was struck dead. Immediately, the entire group atmosphere changed from party time and celebration to awe and fear. The procession stopped, and the Ark was left at the home of another Levite, Obed-Edom, for 3 months.

For those three months, Obed- Edom was so blessed by God that David had to figure out a way to get the Ark moved on to Jerusalem, and eventually he figured out what they were doing wrong. It is described in I Chronicles 15:11-15: (11) “And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites: for Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel and Amminadab. (12) He said to them, ‘You are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites; consecrate (qadash) yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it. (13) For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order.’ (14) So the priests and the Levites consecrated themselves to bring up the Ark of the LORD God of Israel. (15) And the children of the Levites bore the Ark of God on their shoulders, by the poles, as Moses had commanded according to the word of the LORD”

Many people think and teach that Uzza was killed because he just touched the Ark. Not so. Uzza was not consecrated, thus he was not only not prepared for the function of transporting the Ark but also he and his fellow Levites had not even prepared themselves to learn the proper method for transportation. The last time the Ark had been moved was during the time of Eli and Samuel. Therefore, David orders them to prepare themselves spiritually and mentally and to do it right this time.

Consecration is a work or process in which we must be involved before we can be used by God. The priests and Levites had to cleanse and purify their thoughts and lives and rededicate themselves for this holy service they were being called upon to provide.

The best example of consecration in the New Testament is again Jesus Himself. In my last article, I quoted from Matthew 3:13, the story of Jesus coming to the Jordan to be baptized by John. This exemplified Jesus being separated out for the work of salvation that the Father was calling Him to do. The actual act of baptism was Jesus’ consecration.

Truthfully, baptism is an act of consecration for all Christians. Unfortunately, we don’t all or always look at it that way. In my Methodist tradition, we believe in baptism as a consecration of the faith community for the person being baptized. The responsibility for that person’s faith and spiritual well being is as much on the congregation as the individual being baptized. A large part of our liturgy is aimed as much or more at the congregation than at the one being baptized. Therefore, we practice baptism of infants and young children, with the parents and congregation pledging to live their lives in such way that the child will be brought up in Christian nurture and eventually their own confirmation. I remember while growing up in my home church we had a pastor who when baptizing a young child or infant would in his robe parade up and down the aisle with the child in his arms and instruct the congregation in no uncertain terms what their responsibility was in this sacrament.

A person is never baptized without training or teaching about what baptism is. When I was baptized I went through 7 weeks of confirmation classes. As a pastor, I have taught confirmation classes for both youth and adults. This would include consultation with youths’ parents. Of course when baptizing an infant, there was consultation with the parents as to their responsibility. I did everything I could to prepare the ones to be baptized for this event. When taught properly and done in the proper manner, baptism is a point of consecration for all involved in the event.

Okay, Dap, if consecration is a time of preparation, how was Jesus prepared when He was baptized? Well, lets go back to the Gospel of Matthew 3:16, “When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.” As I said last week, Jesus’ baptism was not an act of repentance, but an act of submission. Through this submission, Jesus received the one thing necessary for the completion of His ministry, the Holy Spirit. In His act of consecration, Jesus received God’s power to do God’s saving work. Now, if the Son of God needs the Power of God to do God’s work, what does that say about the rest of us?

Let’s go to Acts 2:1-4, “(1) When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. (2) And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as a rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. (3) Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. (4) And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Jesus had told the disciples (recorded in Luke 24:49) that they would receive the promise of the Father, but they needed to tarry in Jerusalem until they would be given the power from on high. Before then, the disciples had deserted Jesus, and although they had begun to come around, they were not ready for the work Jesus had called them to do. They were told to tarry, to wait upon the Father, to wait for the power from on high. Remember Isaiah 40:31, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” The disciples waited for the Holy Spirit, and when the Holy Spirit came, the same men who fled at Jesus’ arrest preached His crucifixion and resurrection – and on that day, 3000 people were saved…

The priests and Levites in David’s day had to consecrate and prepare themselves before they could move the Ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. The disciples had to consecrate themselves, prepare themselves, by waiting for the day of Pentecost, for the promise of the Father, the Power from on high, to begin the work of the church. Jesus prepared Himself, consecrated Himself for the work of salvation that the Father had given Him to do by receiving the Holy Spirit through His baptism.

ANY disciple in the process of seeking God’s face, seeking God’s will, and desiring God to work through him/her must also tarry and wait upon the Lord to receive the Power from on high, the Holy Spirit. For without the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. We truly are powerless to do the work of God.

I see this as the biggest problem in the church of Jesus Christ today. We are so busy walking in our own wisdom, believing we are smarter than God. Doing our own will and claiming it is God’s (or if He were smart, it would be…). We run on the emptiness of our own strength because we are afraid to submit to His real strength. We are too busy asking ourselves, “What would Jesus do?’ We fail to ask Jesus, “What are You doing?”

Believers, CONSECRATE yourselves. Ask Jesus what He doing, then ask Him to work through you to do it. Realize that what He is doing you will never accomplish within your own strength. Just ask Jesus to give you the POWER from on high and wait for Him to answer your prayer. Then and only them will you be able to move to step #3 – participation!

AMEN
The Dap

Remember to pray Psalm 91 in the first person each day. If you want to be even more empowered, also pray Psalms 23, 27, and 121 in the first person each day.

Categories
Monday Night Bible Study

Revelation 2:8-11

Revelation 2:8-11

8) And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, “These things says the First and the Last,
who was dead and came to life:
9) I know your works, tribulation and poverty (but you are rich); and I know the blasphemy
of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
10) Do not fear any of those things you are about to suffer. Indeed the devil is about to throw
some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11) He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes
shall not be hurt by the second death.”

Smyrna is second in line because it was second only to Ephesus in greatness among the cities of Asia Minor (although they never thought of themselves as second to anyone!). Unlike Ephesus. which basically does not exist today, Smyrna was the site of the present day city of Izmir. Smyrna was situated about 40 miles north of Ephesus and commanded the mouth of the Hermus River valley. This fed into a natural land-sided harbor which could easily be defended. It also stood at the end of the crossroads to Lydia and Phygia, which gave Smyrna command of all the trade through the rich Hermus valley.

Smyrna was a very wealthy city. It was also a very beautiful city. Originally founded by Greek colonists around 1000 B.C. it was destroyed by Lydians about 600 B.C. For almost 400 years it was nothing but a collection of small villages scattered about. Then in 200 B.C. a gentleman by the name of Lysimachus put together a project to reconstruct the city as a planned whole, and Smyrna thus became the first planned city. Its streets were set off in perfect squares with one main thoroughfare arising from the harbor and one crossing it around the Pagos ( the mountain that rose up from the harbor). All the temples and buildings were planned as they were built up the side of the Pagos. The city was aesthetically beautiful and was known as the Jewel of Asia Minor.

Not only was it aesthetically beautiful, but because of its position on the coast, it caught the westerly wind continuously from the sea, which made it a pleasant place to live – except for one problem. All the city’s waste was emptied from the river into the harbor, and at times the aroma was a little less than desirable. Well, I guess you can’t have everything…

Smyrna was similar to Ephesus in that it was also a free city, which meant it did not have to have Roman troops stationed there and had total self government. The City of Smyrna was very proud of their alliance with Rome. In fact, they were never conquered by Rome. They had thrown in their lot with Rome before Rome became a super power. They vied with other cities for the right to be the first to build temples to the emperors. This would be one of the areas of persecution for the church in Smyrna because of the city’s love of Rome and their desire to show it by emperor worship.

The other source of persecution came from the fact that there was a huge Jewish population in Smyrna. This was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was that many Christian converts came from Gentiles who were interested in the belief in a one true God as opposed to polytheism. But they were not interested enough to become proselytes (namely, circumcision). Thus, the Christian faith which talked about the circumcision of the heart instead of the physical kind would seem more to their liking. The curse was that Judaism appealed a lot more to women than to men, and many of these women were wives of the wealthy and influential of the city as well as the wives of many of the government leaders. This made it especially easy to get the governing authorities involved in any persecution the Jews wanted to hand out upon the congregation, or cast a blind eye to whatever the Jews wanted to do to the believers. The Christians in Smyrna were under attack from two enemies in the city. Six slanders were often used to accuse the Christian in Smyrna

1) The taking of the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist used the words, ‘This is My body and My
blood.’ Thus, the Christians were often accused of being cannibals.
2) Because Christians called their common meal the Agape or love feast, they were accused of holding
orgies.
3) Because not everyone within a family became believers, Christians were accused of splitting up
families and destroying family values.
4) Because Christians had no carved or molten images for worship, they were called heathen.
5) Because they would not swear loyalty to Caesar and burn incense and worship at his temple, they
were traitors.
6) Because Christians believed in the powerful return of Jesus and the Kingdom of Heaven this would
bring, they were insurrectionists.

Cannibalism, orgies, family destruction, heathen, traitorous, and insurrectionist….The congregation in Smyrna was really up against it.

Jesus begins in verse 8 by telling the Smyrna Christians that He is the First and the Last. If we will remember from chapter 1, verse 11, the Greek here is saying that Jesus is the foremost one who was before the beginning. And the last in the Greek means as far from the last as you can get. In this Jesus is reminding the congregation that He is the Eternal One, the One who was alive before there was any creation and the One who will be around after there is no creation. He also reminds them that He is the One who was dead (the Greek here actually means a corpse, lifeless), yet now He is alive (the Greek meaning alive eternally, a life without end). There is also a play of words on the history of Smyrna here. Remember, Smyrna was alive from 1000 B.C. until around 600 B.C. and then was destroyed. It was rebuilt around 200BC and was at this time thriving, vying to be the greatest city in Asia Minor, considered a leading city in the entire Roman Empire. They are totally full of themselves and do not suspect their end. Jesus is reminding the Christians in Smyrna that He is the only eternal One and that in the same way the city of Smyrna cast their lot with a temporary empire like Rome, if they continue with faith in Him, the truly Eternal One, they will be the true overcomers.

In verse 9 Jesus reveals three things He knows about them. 1) He knows of their works. They are true to their Gospel calling. Unlike the Ephesians, knew what their first work and their first love was. They even understood the distress in their lives and continued to proclaim the Gospel and call sinners unto repentance. They maintained a heart for the lost. 2) Jesus knows their tribulation. The Greek for tribulation is thlipsis, which means to crush, press, squeeze, to break in any way possible. This congregation was being attacked from two sides – the folks who condemned them for not worshiping the emperor and the Jews whose position was threatened by loss of possible proselytes from their synagogue to a gospel of a risen Lord who offers eternal life. 3) Jesus knows their poverty. In the Greek there are two words used for the poor. One is penia, referring to a person who is not wealthy, one who has to work for a living. This IS NOT the Greek word used here. The Greek used here is ptocheia, referring to a person who has absolutely nothing, totally destitute, without job or resources of any kind. Yet the Lord tells them they are rich. They are rich in faith. They are rich in love from Christ to them and from them to the lost. They are rich in works, the true works of the church of Christ.

Why would the Christians of Smyrna be so poor in such a wealthy city? Because they were suffering for their faith. In a city where emperor worship was not just practiced bur expected, a Christian who refused to bow to Caesar or pay tribute to Caesar suffered from the cancel culture of that day. They had no 4th Amendment. There was no such thing as illegal search and seizure. The mob could enter and destroy any Christians home or business (if they had one), take what they wanted, and make the remainder unusable. Kind of reminds you of the actions that took place this summer in the USA with no punitive action taken. It wasn’t something that was continuous, but the Christians living in Smyrna lived under this type of threat at all times. As an aside here, the exact same things happened to the early Methodist of the 1700’s in England. In early 18th century England, Methodist were dragged out of their home and beaten or thrown into jail. The men could be forced into the army to fight the wars that were happening at that time. Methodist homes and meeting houses could be (and were) destroyed or irreparably damaged. John and Charles Wesley were both arrested by authorities. They were both seized by mobs and beaten and dragged down streets and around towns. If you need proof, read the journals of both Charles and John Wesley. The Jews in Russia were subject to the same treatment. The Christians of Smyrna were subject to the same abuse.

Another reason the Christians in Smyrna were so poor is also found in verse 9. Jesus says He knows of the blasphemy of the Jews. The Greek for blasphemy is blasphemia, meaning to vilify someone, to slander them, to tell falsehoods about them, to lie and speak evil of them and against God. The Jews were the primary instigators against the congregation at Smyrna. They propagated the six slanders mentioned earlier in this writing. Jesus calls them the synagogue of Satan, the Greek literally meaning slanderer, adversary, and accuser. This is what the Jews of Smyrna did and in so doing got the whole city stirred up against the Christians.

Yet in verse 10, Jesus tell the congregation in Smyrna not to fear. Then He follows it up with things that would make one fear. He tells them they are about to suffer. He doesn’t tell them what the total sum of their suffering is going to be, though probably a lot more of the same already mentioned. He specifically says that the devil will throw some of them in prison. The Greek for devil, diabolos, means the one who is full of falsehood and lies, one who slanders and whose main purpose is to lead people away from God and into sin. They will all suffer tribulation and will be tested. The good news is that it will be for a short time. The phrase “ten days” unfortunately does not mean a literal ten days. It does, however, refer to a short period of time. He tells them to be faithful until death, which indicates some will die under the persecution.

Here Jesus tells them of one of their two rewards: 1) Being faithful (Greek word pistos, meaning faithful in duty to oneself and to others, true fidelity) even unto even unto death results in Jesus’ giving them the crown of eternal Life, a life without end. The Greek here for life is zoie, which can either mean just life in general or, as in Scripture, eternal life without end. The interesting fact here is Jesus says the crown of eternal life. There are again two words for “crown” in the Greek. One is diadema, which means a royal crown worn by a king or emperor. The second word is the one found in our text, stephanos, which carries with it the joy of victory. Smyrna had an area where athletic events were held that were were prominent in the city. Victors in these events would receive a laurel crown. Smyrna was also called the crown of Asia Minor, thus one side of their coins would have a victors crown inscribed on it. City officials who left their jobs with great accomplishments, or others who had done great feats, would have coins fashioned with their wearing a crown of victory on one side. The crown was part of the strong imagery and tradition for the city of Smyrna. So it is interesting that Jesus promises a victor’s crown for the reward of the faithful believer. But His reward is not a laurel crown that will wilt, dry out, crumble, and disappear. Rather, it is an eternal crown that remains with the one who has been given eternal life.

Verse 11 begins with, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Then Jesus reveals the second reward for the faithful: 2) There is a promise that they who overcome will not be hurt, damaged, or harmed by the second death. Teachers of the Bible make a big deal about the Sadducees and their not believing in the resurrection of the dead, but most Jews believed in an eternal life. As a matter of fact, the term “second death” is only found a couple of times in the New Testament. The term is not Christian, it comes from Orthodox Judaism. The Orthodox Jews believed that when a person died, they went to a place where their spirits remained until they were judged. At the time of judgment is when they would go to their eternal home, Heaven or Hell. The Catholic concept of Purgatory actually derives from this Orthodox Judaism belief. Jesus promises the believers at Smyrna that they who are faithful till the end, until death, will not face the second death. Here the word for death is not the word for a corpse. It is thanatos, meaning destruction, perdition, misery, implying both physical death and exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience. The residents of Smyrna may be able to kill the Christian believers in this world, but the faithful will wear the eternal crown of eternal life in the next.

The sufferings of the Christians in Smyrna were not just historical suffering. Humanity has not really moved forward or grown past such atrocities. They are happening in Iran, Pakistan, China, North Korea, Argentina, Venezuela, and other countries in this world today. I really hate to say it, but the way things are going in Washington DC, they may be happening soon in this this country as well.

Let’s Sum it up:
1) Jesus is the First and the Last, He who was dead but now lives.
2) Jesus knows Smyrna’s condition, their works, their tribulation, and their poverty.
3) Jesus tells them that they are rich in what matters – their first work, their first love, their heart for
the unsaved.
4) He knows the false charges that have been brought against them and who brought them – Jews not
following God but following Satan
5) Do not fear the testing that is coming: more tribulation, imprisonment, even death. But it will be for
a short period of time.
6) Those who are faithful until death and those who overcome will receive the eternal crown of eternal life and freedom from the second death.

In Christ –
The Dap

Remember to pray the 91st Psalm in the first person daily. If you want to be even more empowered, pray the 23rd, the 27th, and the 121st in first person as well.