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Weather Bulletin

Issued At: 5:00 p.m., 29 November 2009

  Northeast monsoon affecting Northern and Eastern Luzon.

Metro Manila

Partly cloudy to at times cloudy with isolated rainshowers
24°C to 32°C
Moderate to Strong:
Northeast
Manila Bay:
Moderate to Rough

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PCSO Lotto Results
Lotto Results 11/28/2009
6Digit: 4 7 8 6 5 4
Lotto 6/42: 19 05 15 42 27 40
PowerLotto: 38 41 42 33 50 03
Swertres: 006 * 314 * 393

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Alipio: Reversing time Isaiah 38: 1-6, 21-22, 7-8


THIS story from the book of Isaiah contains our greatest fear and our greatest wish as human beings.

Of course, our greatest fear is of our own death. Hezekiah, the king of ancient Israel was mortally ill. The prophet of God came to warn him to put his house in order for the end was near. Hezekiah wept bitterly and prayed for more time - the greatest wish for human beings. God heard his prayer and sent Isaiah to tell the king that he should go to the temple where he would be healed. Hezekiah asked for a sign to know when he should go to the temple. Isaiah said he would make the shadow cast by the sun on the stairway go back ten steps. So the sun went back the ten steps it had advanced. This reversal of time gave Hezekiah ten more years of life and good health.

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How many times have we wished that time could be reversed?

Perhaps we missed the opportunity of a lifetime because of fear of failure. We didn't go to college because we thought we could make more money as a tradesman. Stuck in our job for years, we have often wondered what would happen if we could turn back the hands of the clock. We might have married the girl of our dreams but she wasn't from the same social class as our family. We married "properly" and have spent a lifetime wishing we could reverse time and have a second chance.

We may remember our early years as parents when we were too busy to comprehend the miracle of our young children. How we wish we could do it over and savor every day of their growth and change. We can never reverse time but we can save time by living each day to the fullest.

***

This column last week, October 24-25, had a whole line missing. The last two sentences should have read: "But Isaiah's awe and guilt were purifying rather than humiliating - he was literally "scared righteous". We are not likely to confront God in the dramatic way Isaiah did, but we surely know enough of God's holiness and power to be scared righteous at the thought of standing in his presence."


Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on November 1, 2009.