Take it easy on the tip, take it easy. Take it easy, brother. Take it easy. To the channel, everybody, it is a special day because we are on Lake Fork, the infamous, and I'm with Buddy Craig. All y'all love Buddy Craig. The first time we ever came out here, we got rained out but we were majestified by the beauty of the lake. We're gonna get up on pad and run, maybe try some top water real quick and then just talk about some old tines. But we're just gonna go after some vases and then see what happens. It's gorgeous, bro. Look at that. Just a little bit of rain happening and I think we're gonna have calm conditions but you know the herons are flying off. It's just one of them pretty overcast days. We're hoping we're gonna get a little top water action. Okay, there we go. Yeah, it's only two feet here. It's just a flat. Get it. I don't see the shad in here though. You don't see them? Oh my! Had them right on the edge. I don't even look at him. Yeah. Got tip-wrapped. That would help you but it's so tantalizing to throw this popper right here.  Here you get him. I want you to catch one. That might have been a nice one. That was kind of just suckage. Oh, this little stretch looks... Juicy! Juicy doesn't... Juicy! Oh man. Oh man! Come here, baby! Juicy one, yeah. Oh, that's cool. A little fork bass on the frog. Man, they just look different out here. You know what I mean? They have man fins.  He ate his weedies. Sweet. First fish on the filthy frog. Nice little girthy largemouth.  That was, yeah. That was one of those ones where you're like, man, if you don't eat it, he ought to. It's probably one of those little residential bass, you know? Just lives there. Kerploppy. Yeah, I've got some other rods in there for other stuff. Just goofing. Just goofing to see. I remember when we started coming out here like after school was out. That was one of the big deals. We threw a lot of crankbaits when I had the tin can. And you guys had the Skeeter. I think my sister also had a giant on. Yes, I was in the boat. Or I was next to, I remember. It was in the cove or fixing to go to.  I had the boat. It jumped behind the boat, and it was like an eight or nine. And I was like, oh my god. And she was like, what? What? Was that a guy? What? I think we need to stay in the top water room for a while. Yeah, well, it's overcast. I concur. You know what I'm saying? I concur. They got bit twice. Yeah. You're right. You're right. They just get kind of chasey with this overcast. Cast over there and try to hit that treetop. Perfect. Yeah. Whoa. There's Fort, baby. Oh my god. There she blows. What was that? Blocked that monster down there? I mean, bleh. Come on. I was bed fishing off this duck house one time.  Really? Yeah. For disturbing his ducks. True story.  And I was like, no. No, it wouldn't, sir. Brandon said something. It was like, I mean, I'll call the game ward right now. You know, we're fishing this puff of water. And you can just, you know, the guy was, he was so old. He didn't get it. He was like, all right. He started going up there to get his gun. He said, I'll be right back. This guy, yeah, this guy is so old. He does not care. Oh, now this is prime real estate right here, son. Six foot. This is where you just get that little short cast and get cracked. That bite that just scares you. It's like, blah, blah. You set the hook way too early. You got something from yesterday that you pointed? Yeah. I'm going to catch one too. That scared me. I thought it was real so that you got the good. That's something you would do to me for sure. Oh, God. What even was that? That was just my run. What even was that? Oh, dude, you've got to get under this tree. I'm going to pause right here until you get done. Stickers, I'm pulling out of this braid, OK? I'm on all fours, but I'm not. Greg, I don't know. I don't know if this is our pocket. There's a lot of pockets out here. What are those on the bottom there?  That's good, because that's the bass should be on the bottom when you're seeing it like that. Come right off the spawn. I'm going to hang out here and tend to 15 foot till about mid-June. OK, we made a switch. I think that was necessary. Good timing, sir? Yeah, good timing. He ate it, completely ate it. Dude, it's gone. I was like, is that a fish? And it just kept moving.  Look at that.  Oh, gosh, dude, he's got a hole in his whole bottom lip. Oh, good. That's a forkfish. Just beat up post spawns. Look at the march on his side. Second cast with the worm. We said, you know, we're just not getting that top worm bite anymore. We've got to switch it up. Did he completely eat it? Yeah, let me get the pliers on this, dude. Hole in the bottom lip. I've never seen that before. Here you go. Big old, fat, black and blue fleck worm. That's a nice four pounder. Oh, yeah. He's got algae growing on him. I know, look at that. That thing's going to die, sir. Better let him go. OK, right on the stump, in like six, seven feet of water, buddy. Good call. Good call. We were both thinking, we're like, man, we have top water dreams, but just ain't going right now. Let's get out to worm. So just tied up two fresh rods. Hopefully there's more of that to come. It's almost a given if I take my chesty off, I'm going to catch one. So I think purposely I should just leave it off at times, try to catch a double digit. I like that game plan. I'm throwing the seven inch black and blue, too. The famous slick fork color. Give it the old big clop. Favorite memory on fork, give it to me. Got that time two hours ago when you dumped over the side of the boat. Now, the favorite memory is you catching that donkey with the guide, sun going in and out. You could see the bad, couldn't see the bad, could see the bad, couldn't see the bad. And then you just, you set the hook and then you started. Definitely. I mean, I don't know that there's another better memory than that. As a father to son gift, our dad's got us a trip out to fork. When we were what grade? I think I was a junior or sophomore and you were a junior or senior. 11th, 12th grade, something like that. And we came out of here together, we got a guide. And it was, it was a majestic change in my life. I mean, I tell that story quite a bit here, but that's why I named my channel Lake Fort Guys because this place could be very frustrating and also magical moments. And Craig was with me when I caught my first nine pounder.  And there was one that was even bigger. It was over 10 that we were trying to catch. And Craig was working on it. It was deep and the sun kept going in and out. We couldn't see, never caught it. But we've been coming back here since, every once in a while, trying to get, get these majestic big bass. You're right, there's a lot of stumps in between there. Hold on, man. Back has been denied in here a lot. Oh, I just got hammered, dude. Yeah, I'm telling you. God, dude, one just picked it up right there under the boat. Dropped it. Oh, got it. Get him, Craig. On the board, man. No more doughnut.  Oh, yeah. You let him know you were on the other end. Take that. What do you think about that? I've learned a date. That one's much healthier, though. Yeah, no holes in the lip. All right, a little eight to 12 foot wormen. That's pretty typical when you and I fish together. It's like, ham hog, exciting bite, great hook set, and then doing city. Got him. Sir, yes, sir. Yes, sir. Look how big that is. Folks, I'm sorry. You know me. You know me. You know I got to do it. We were just islanding around on a bass point. And then I saw, I saw him. So Craig's got a big worm. He's dropping in the middle of the tree. And I'm, got me a little crappie grub. I'm just going to catch a few for, got a little blackened recipe of him and meaning to show you guys. I think there's big bass that never even leave these trees. They just, they eat these crappie and bluegill out here. You're around. They spawn in the trees. It's pretty violent. Oh, that's a bigger one. That's a big crappie. Look at the size of that thing. That's bigger than the bass I got. See, there's some three-pounders out here, man. Some hogs. That's going to be the perfect one for the blackened one. Mega clump. Moving in. It's weird to see fish glued on the bottom of the overcast. See, the fish almost look like the bottom. Yeah. Sir, they're just glued. Oh, god.  I just got freaking hammered for sure, a bass. They're here. This is what we're doing the rest of the day. Just keep it on the bottom. I am so fired up. Just got freaking mega blasted right there. I don't know what happened. I think you just had the tail and I jerked him too early. My heart is pounding, just to know what it could be. Frogs are coming off. We found the bass. We found the bass offshore, my friend. Can I swing it? Yeah, I should. Yeah, watch that rod tip. Oh, dude, they're on the bottom. Just grabbing. There you go. Good job, buddy. Good job, buddy. Oh, god, I just got hammered right there. Get in there, man. Get in there. Sorry.  Look at that track spot. Dude, that's a pretty fish. That is pretty. That's cool. It's like light green with some zebra spots. That was a cool bite, Justin. You were right. Just dragging it on the bottom. Let's go. Let's go. See, dude, they're all like that. They're like three to five. That was a nice fish. Yeah. So when I saw them on the graph, I was like, those are either magnum white bass or it's just a lot of largesse, or both mixed in. I definitely felt the first bite. You got to reel down and kind of be patient, huh? You do perfect. You just want to reel down and see if you feel pressure and then just move it, right? Like, is this going anywhere here? You got another one. You got another one? Oh, dude, big it. Get him, son. Oh, boy, this could be a hammer. This could be a hammer. Take it easy, close to the boat. Take it easy, close to the boat. It's staying down. It's just doing what it wants right now. Nice one, dude. Nice one. Another three, four pounder. We found the school of big largesse. Oh my god. Dude. Dude, we can go. Very next cast. Very next cast, right? That's my man throwing that mando worm right there. That's a pretty one. That's another one. Baby, first time offshore fishing with a worm, huh? Man, I'm not a big deep water fish. 25 feet of water. 25 feet of water. Well, what's going on is I'm with like fork on like fork. I mean, I think that's what's the difference here. But let's go. Get back in there. Yeah, you get back in there. This is no joke. I want you in there. Let's go. Craig's throwing that plum color 10 inch mando right now. I think we're going to get another one. He's going to get another one. I'm so excited, man. Such a fun bite. When they get schooled up to, they'll like, you know, they'll have like feeding times. But they'll get, like if you get one to go, you know, they'll get excited and they'll start eating.  Oh my. That hook set. Oh, that's big. Easy on that drag. Is the drag set? I don't know. Justin, that's a big one. That's the biggest. OK. That's very big, dude. Back off the drag just a hair.  Justin, that's very big. He's pulling you good. This might be a catfish. No, it ain't. Craig hooked up again. Justin. I know, dude. I'm so pumped for you, brother. That's big. This has got to be a catfish, dude. No. You don't think so? No. Here it comes. Here it comes. Big bass. Big bass. I need to help you with this one, brother. You got him? You got him? Take it easy on the tip. Take it easy. Take it easy, brother. Take it easy. Oh my god. That's one of them big ones we were talking about. It's not like a catfish. It wasn't going anywhere. I didn't see how he was hooked. Did you see? He's hooked good. You're fine. You going to grab him? Bring it over here. How about the mouth and body on that, baby, right there, son? Oh my gosh. Justin, are you kidding me with this? Yeah, brother. That's offshore fishing. It's offshore fishing on the fork, baby. That might be my PV, man. Dude, it's big. I'm pretty sure that's my PV. I'm going to say at least a seven. Probably in the eights. That's definitely not. So it's definitely Lake PV, right? Do you think that's your biggest bass on fork? Yeah, definitely. My biggest previously is like six and a half. Oh my gosh. All right, stick them in the well for just a second. Nice. Dude, I want to get back in there. Dude, I am enjoying. You know there's a donkey in there. This is incredible.  What make my year? Talk about a full circle.  Fast forward, I don't want to talk about how many years forward, but fast forward several years. I'm fishing your worm on the lake where it started and catch this donkey. Unbelievable. Hey, let's go. Let's freaking go. Let's go. That is the best moment if I've ever seen it before. Oh, for sure. Don't do it to me. Blow on batteries. I have to get them on there quick and weigh them. I'm not feeding you right now. Yeah, I mean, it's a seven for sure, maybe an eight. It's my biggest fish out of the lake for sure. The Mondo worm for Mondos. That's my PV right there. Definitely a lake PV. Fork PV, lake PV. Oh, here we go. Yes, sir. Strong swim off too, baby. Let's go. Let's go get another. That right there was a moment we're going to be talking about forever. Gosh, when you set the hook on that thing, and that being the Mondo worm, man, that's special to me. And I told him, I was like, dude, if you could catch a Mondo on the Mondo worm that would make my year. Just did. So if you don't smash the like button, something is drastically wrong with you. I am perfectly content sitting here, watching Craig shank more Mondos. But I also want to get out there myself. So I'm going to pick up a rod.  I'm going to drag it around. Y'all, we've got fish that are starting to move out from the spawn. We fished early shallow. Still got some scattered fish like up in the stumps. But this is like when they're first starting to move out in waves out deep.  We got it on a 3 eighths ounce weight. It could probably go up to a half ounce. We're fishing plum. It's one of my favorite summertime colors is plum. Anything purple, really, and just dragging it still on the bottom. Waiting for that thump. Reel down all your slack out of the hook set, because it's deep. And then just pull up, just like you saw Craig do. Let's go get another one. What do you say? I was like, Tom, you hit the green right here. I'll put $50K of my own money to church. Get him. Get him. Get him? It's a little one. He was on that tree. He's basically right below the boat, right in the top of the schnozzle. Not quite as big as yours, Craig, but if that guy hangs around there long enough, your fish will eat him. Yeah, it's true I did. I'm about to catch another big crappie. There's larges down there. Well, you've got a handle on that worm. I'm just investigating. What if I hook an eight pounder on this thing? Got him. Prop diesel, son. Jeremy, I got a fish I want to hang on. Sorry, I felt my line tugging. Yeah, let me get this nine pounder off real quick. There we go. Got a couple on these trees here. Got a lasso there. Gosh, that's bigger than I thought. Another one. I mean, that's just like a nice three pounder. That's a nice three pounder, but it's not making the cup for us today. I felt a thump on my rod. There's something about setting the hook deep. And it's like, I don't know what's coming up here, but. Well, plus in the case of that one, he might have been swimming at you. Yeah. It's one thing, like, for probably the big ones, where you set it and it goes nowhere, but you feel it swimming like, oh. So yeah, when you set that hook on that big one, it was like, it didn't go anywhere. And then it just, when you feel that head shake, it is not moving. That's when it's like, oh, Sally. Oh my God. I'm rolling. You want to land them? I got them. Sure? Yeah. Got a good one on. Oh my God. Oh yes, sir. Oh my God, let's go. Let's freaking go, baby. You want to get them or you got them? You want to get them for me? Yeah. He's still got a little action left. Dude, he was on the base of the tree. I think you got me beat, dude. No, no, no, no. They're sitting that seat. He's not as big as yours, but still a really nice one. Whoo, baby! Nice fish, man. Heck yeah, bro. Look how healthy that is. That's good, you know. Five and a half, maybe getting on that six zone. On that Slim Shake, seven inch. Hold that sucker up, bro. Ready? Nice fish. Dude, I love setting the hook. And it's just, you hear the line screaming? It's like, eee! And it's that initial to stop. Yes. Yeah, it's so awesome, guys. So the action has kind of slowed down out here. And we're still dragging worms. But you know, we haven't found those, like the wolf pack, the initial wolf pack that we found. We're still, we're still trying to just, I don't know. We've stayed out here another hour trying to chase that bite, but the wolf pack's gone. We're just kind of catching little individuals. And I had a couple of little ones and now just busted that nice one. Right there, right at the base of a tree. Boom! How healthy is it? Really nice fish. Look at the tail. That's the healthiest looking tail I've seen. Yeah, really fat, really thick. That's a really healthy post spawn fish. You can see some of the sores like from the spawn, you know, but it's been eating good. So seven inch, slim shake, baby. Big, big worm, big fish. Craig's selling that Mondo worm, so I wanted to switch it up, but really nice. Another sloppy toad out of Lake Fork on the offshore bite. Offshore worm bite, gotta love it. Let him go back into the deeps. See ya, my dude. Yeah, baby! This is kind of like a homecoming video, honestly. It's like a homecoming video, us coming back here where we really had the bond of fishing at Fork and instilled bass fishing in us. Probably, I don't know. Yeah, it was probably that first or second trip out here we just decided, all right, let's bass fish forever. Let's be best buds and bass fish forever. So anyway, I needed that fish right there too. Just a nice solid. I love hearing that line. Yee! I love hearing you go, there's a bite. There's a bite, boo! So good, man. So good! Making sure they're not bass. Got him. Oh, that might be a big crappie, or a bass. This might be a big crappie. Serious. This could be my PB crappie. It's a drum. Wow. Yeah! That means everything's eating out of here. Ah, there he is. Yo, goo fish. There we go. Just catching them all out here today. Craig's made two casts, got two bites. Got him. Ooh, sun. A crappie? This has to be another drum. It's something big. I found the goop, I found the goopers. Yeah. Got a school of them. We're on him, boys. Drop him down. Drum roll, please. Drum roll. We're gonna give it one last dangle here. Later in the day, we gotta get back to the kiddos.  Coming in low and slow. We need you here. Still got us. Still got him in here. Oh, I got a bite. I got a bite. I got a bite. Feels really small. It gyrated my tip. We're gonna send us home on a hook set. Oh, oh, oh. Well, what a last cast. Oh. I'm eakin' it out, inch by inch. Try to make it happen here. I don't think it's gonna happen, folks. But, heck of a day. Heck of a day, heck of a homecoming here with my buddy Craig.   Okay, folks, we're gonna sign it off for the day. Got three cropping the box. Gotta get home, clean them, a bud. Caught himself an eight-pounder. New PB, new Lake PB. Got to see a taste of the offshore bite that I think is gonna be developing here over the next few weeks and really over the summer. It's happening when they first really start moving out and it becomes just, if you could find them, it becomes really, really fun. Key thing you gotta do is make contact with the bottom. That's hard sometimes. We got lucky, we got like a break in the wind. But try to go as light as you can on your weight without, with still being able to fill the bottom. We were using three-eighths ounce today, Tungsten. Started to bump up to the half, but it just, it changes your fall rate. And I think that was really key on making our worms. You know, when we come up through the tree or a little piece of cover, just bump it, it just falls slower and you tend to get more bites of lighter weight you can get away with. I will leave a link for the hammer hook as well. That has become my favorite hook. I use it on everything from flipping, worming, weightless baits, whatever. So that'll be linked down below and you just go ahead, if you haven't already, go ahead and smash the like button for Craig making appearance, catching PBs, slamming LBs. I had to get a little crappie action in, but you guys know. It's all about the largemouth out here on Lake Fork. So let's crank it up. Let's head on in. I will see you guys soon. God bless you. Later.


Heavenly Father, thank you for this great day that you've given unto us as a family.  Pray for your protection, pray for your guidance, Father. Pray for them to get the wisdom to know how to apply whatever you have been taught by your teachers Jehovah. Pray for her also, Jehovah, that you're going to bless her. All her undertaking, Father Jehovah. Commit everybody into thy mighty hands. Pray for your divine obedience and for all the students, Father, and all the teachers that you're teaching us today, Father Jehovah, as well as the handover course, Father Jehovah. That's everything that we've learned before your honor and glory, Father Jehovah. Commit everything, giving and trusting in the mighty name of God, and Jesus Christ, amen. Amen. Thank you so much. Yes. So last class, we started off with Colossians. We had a brief introduction to the background of Colossae. And then, you know, we looked at the first two chapters and we covered some very important, you know, spiritual principles in the first two chapters. So, now today we will cover the next two chapters and, you know, Colossae being quite a short letter. We would be finishing it off today. So, if we can have maybe one person read out verse one of chapter three, Colossians chapter three verse one, if someone could read out, you know, we'll get started. Yes. Any questions? Yeah. If then you have been raised with Christ, say the things that are about where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Yes. So, he reminds the readers that Christ has been, that we have been raised up with Christ. Just as Christ was raised up in him, we too also were raised up. And because of this new status that we have, we must set our hearts on things about where Christ is seated. You know, rather than going on thinking about our lives as mere human beings on this earth with an earthly status, we stop thinking that way and we recognize that we have been raised with Christ. And so, now our status is completely different. And so, in line with our new status, we choose to set our heart on the things which are above, you know, rather than the things which are on the earth. So, you know, this chapter begins with a word since, which means, you know, it's based on the entire argument that was already presented to us in the previous chapter. So, what are the two main things that we've talked about in the previous chapter? Paul points out to the Colossian believers that their status is very high. They were not, they didn't undergo, you know, any circumcision procedure as little babies, you know, it is not a circumcision procedure, which some human person did on them. No, these Colossian believers have been circumcised divinely by Jesus Christ himself. And what's the circumcision that he did?  That entire thing was just cut off, circumcised, done away with crucified. And so now they have risen up in Christ to an entirely new way of life. And so, because of that, you know, they need to set their hearts on things above. The other thing that we, the other main point that we saw in the previous chapter is that earlier, when, you know, they were still living as those spiritually dead people cut off from the presence of God, even as they were living in that condition, at that time, they were linked, they were bound to human traditions and human laws and things like that, you know. But now, now when they died with Christ, they also automatically died to all the laws which were controlling them. Because I mean, legal laws can only control a person who is, you know, yeah. So what was I saying? Yeah, the, yeah, a person who is alive is subject to the laws and rules and regulations which have been imposed upon the people in that place. But once the person is dead, no law can control that person any longer because that person is dead. So he's not only dead to the world, he's also dead to the laws.  No, once he's dead, he no longer has to, you know, bother with all the income tax laws and all of that. It no longer can bind him, it can no longer control him. So which is why, you know, Paul says in the previous chapter, Colossians chapter two, maybe we can first look at Colossians chapter two versus 11 and 12, which are talking about this divine circumcision. And then after that, maybe we can look at how these laws can no longer control a person who is now dead. So if someone could read out for us, Colossians two, 11 to 12, please. So we have now been, you know, crucified and buried with Christ. So it says we are having been buried with him in the baptism. So we are technically dead people, dead to the world, dead to all the rules in it, which is, you know, reaffirmed at the end of the chapter. So if you could also read out Colossians two, 20 and 21, Colossians two, 20 and 21. If with Christ you died the elemental spirit of the world, why have you been still alive in the world? Do you send me to privilege regulations? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. Yeah. So all of those rules applied to people who are living. But he says you people died to all of that.  So now you don't even need to follow any of it. So he says, why as though you still, you know, were alive in the world, why as though you still belong to the world, do you even bother to submit to those rules? Those things do not even apply to you any longer, okay, is what he says. And then, yeah, just to address this issue that's mentioned here, unable to access the notes message, no preview available. So, okay, it says that the file is in the owner's trash, is it? So which means I have somehow sent it off to the trash probably. Yes, I cannot, we cannot access it, there's a message that says that. Oh my, so maybe, you know, for my driver have actually sent it into the trash, which is why it's no longer showing. So which means I need to again do that. So yeah, without fail, you know, after the class, I will again repost it and I'll make sure that it's sitting in my drive and hasn't gone into the trash or anything. I must have accidentally deleted it, that must be the problem. Thank you. Oh yeah, sure, sure, I'll take care of that. So we have talked about how we, just a minute please, yeah, we've talked about how we have you know, died with Christ. Now we don't stay dead, we have also risen, that's another fact. So spiritually, we have now risen up along with Christ and we now have a new way of life. So when we were those spiritually dead people earlier at that time, we were linked to human laws, human traditions and all of that. Now that we have been raised with Christ as a new, you know, into a new way of life, now we are linked to something else. We are linked to a new way of life, to a new set of, you know, commandments that are given. We are in fact linked to a new person. Earlier we were linked to Satan and to sin. Now we are linked to Jesus Christ and our life is in him. So in every way, our status has completely changed. Now physically, we are still on the earth. Physically, we are still in the human body, that is there, that fact is there. But at the spiritual level, everything has changed for us. So except for the fact that we are, I know, not yet inside heaven and that we are still living in these physical bodies, except for that everything else about our life has completely changed. And so we choose to start thinking ourselves in terms of our new status in Christ by faith, which is why, you know, it says the Christian life is all about living by faith. So we no longer continue to look at ourselves as people confined to the earth, confined to the way of life that the other people are confined to. No, now we have realized that because of Christ, by faith, we can live in a new and different way. So which is why it says in verse 2, set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, because now there has been a complete status change. So it would be rather foolish to continue setting our minds on the things which were, you know, pertaining to our previous status. We no longer have that we no longer are those people. So it would be very, very foolish to continue setting our mind on those earthly things. I'd like to bring in an example, you know, just to kind of help us understand the great contrast between who we were earlier and who we are now. The example is in itself a rather extremely silly example.  I'm not bringing in some new kind of a theology or a new kind of doctrine or anything. And it's a rather silly example, but it does bring out the great contrast between who we were earlier and who we are now. Okay, so picture of fish, a little fish somewhere in the ocean, you know, somewhere in the near the ocean, deep down near the ocean bed. And then you have all these, you know, water plants, the ocean plants down there. And this thing is kind of swimming around over there, you know, on the ocean bed. And it eats the larvae which are there, you know, among those plants. And that's just basically its existence. That's all it knows. All it knows in life is this ocean life where it swims among those, you know, reeds and plants and all of that. It eats the larvae over there. That's it. That's just its life. So, you know, to elaborate on this rather silly example, let's picture this fish crucified and raised up to an entirely new status and identity, a human identity, let us say. So earlier, all this fish was also fish. All it knew was the ocean life. Now, it has been raised up to a new life, a new identity. And now its identity is that of a human being. Now just think of the contrast between ocean life and life, the human life that humans have is such a huge contrast, right? And life in the ocean, at the ocean, on the ocean bed is so restricted, so minimal. Life that humans live, so elaborate. They can operate in the water. They can operate on land. And my goodness, they operate at a high, at a much higher level than little fish. The main problem with this example is that, you know, we think in the example we would have to kind of maybe think more in physical terms, whereas what has happened to us is more in the spiritual realm. So there are great restrictions in this example. But think of the great contrast that has now resulted. So now this fish is being told, don't just think of your life, you know, as just the ocean life. Start thinking of this much bigger life that you have been given. A human identity is what you have now received, you know. So start thinking and operating along those lines. So for the fish to actually absorb this and start walking in this new way of life is going to take a radical mind change, you know. It's going to involve a lot of renewing of its mind, where it starts thinking at a much higher level. And that is something, you know, something similar to that has happened to us. Human level is so restricted and so minimal compared to the life that we now have in Christ. No longer are we just thinking earthly realm. Now we've been promoted into the heavenly realm, a life which is linked with Christ himself, you know. So we would now have to start thinking at a much higher level. Now when we start thinking in this way, everything that the scripture is asking us to do starts making more sense and we also start realizing that yes, I now actually have the capacity to live in this new way. So it is so important to understand that there's a very radical change, a very great, amazing transformation that has occurred when we step out from this earthly thing that, you know, to which we were restricted until now. And now we have been promoted to a whole new realm altogether. And we are now being asked to live out this new life by faith. Okay. So it's like it's something that is extremely radical that has happened to us. And the scripture asks us to start renewing our mind and aligning ourselves to this higher way of life. Okay. So now, you know, thinking along these lines of a little fish in the water and a human completely whole new level, just kind of thinking along those lines, you know, let's look at verse three and verse four. If someone could read out for us versus three and four, please. So you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is alive appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. So at the moment, physically, yes, it's very true. We are still like on this earth. We still, you know, the way Jesus walked into that room, you know, without even entering through the door, he just literally walked in through the wall that you know, because of his resurrected body. So he did that. Now we cannot do that. We still have not received our resurrected bodies. So yes, there are a whole bunch of restrictions that we still experience in the natural realm in our physical bodies.  Now we are a new creation. So in our spirit being, we are operating at a whole new level and our life is now hidden with Christ in God. You know, Paul, when he's talking about this in another place, he says, I no longer live. Christ lives in me now. Christ lives through me, you know. So it's an entirely higher level of existence. So it says over here, your life is now hidden with Christ in God. And in fact, because of this, you know, because right now you're still, I know, because now you're experiencing the first level of this new existence, this new life in Christ.  You see, on that day, we will appear with him with resurrected bodies, just like him. Because when the second coming happens, you know, that's when basically when we will all be resurrected. The unbelievers will be resurrected for eternal death and damnation. We, on the other hand, would be eternally resurrected to spend our lives in him. So what we are experiencing in verse three is the first phase where our life is now already hidden with Christ. We already begin to operate in the spiritual realm in our new status. But when it comes to physical things, yes, that we will have to wait for verse four, which is in the future. Because when Christ appears, we will also appear with him in glory with new resurrected bodies that he has given us. So these are all the, these are all, this is the background that Paul, you know, has tried to establish in chapters two and three, the beginning of chapter three. And now based on that he says, now because of these realities, these established realities, therefore he says, you need to start living in this way versus five onwards, he starts explaining the practical implications of this new lifestyle. You know, this new status that we have been given. So if we can have someone read out versus five, six and seven, please. Therefore put to death your members, which are on the earth, bonnication, uncleanness, passion, even desire, covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of the civilians in which you yourselves once walked when you liked, when you lived in them. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Please go ahead. Yeah. Verse seven. Yeah, you want me to verse? Yeah, if you could just, very sorry, if you could just read verse seven again. In which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. Yes. So you see, when we had this only our earthly status, we were like everyone else. The same way they walked in the earth life. We also walked in the earth life. We didn't know anything better. We did. We could not access anything better. So the same way they walked, we also walked the same method, the same coping mechanisms that they used to cope with life with everyday life on this earth. We also used the same coping mechanisms. We didn't have anything better. But now, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, because now we have received a new status, it says, put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature. We no longer have to use those coping mechanisms to cope with everyday life. Now we've been given better way of living. We are now able to live in a better way. So to go back to that fish example, earlier all that fish could do is live exactly the way all the other fish are living. It could not aspire to anything higher, but now it's a transformed fish. So now it's not supposed to live anymore exactly the way the other fish are living. It's now supposed to start entering into its human identity. In that example we used, we were looking at the contrast between fish and humans. So now this little fish is going to start trying to put on its human at much higher level characteristics and start walking at that level. So you know it's going to take a lot of renewing and it's going to take a lot of, in fact a lot of divine activity would have to happen for it to be able to operate at this new level. But the thing is the starting point is that it needs to realize that it should no longer allow itself to be held down by the earthly restrictions and limitations. The people of the world they say this is the only way to live. You see you have to lie if you don't lie.  You got to lie if you don't tell lies. How will you survive? And the same with the world will say you see there are these sinful things you have to do them because that's the way of the world. If you don't operate along these earthly principles which are established, how do you live? How do you support your family? How do you manage? You see they're literally restricted to that level. But now we need to understand that we have a higher level of life because we have Christ on our side. Our life is now hidden in Christ. So we no longer have to be this helpless people. We can now live in a completely new and different way. So in the same way that fish has to tell itself I will no longer be held down, tied down by the ocean life. I can now progress to a higher level of life in the same way we believers we tell ourselves I will no longer be held down, tied down by this earthly things you know it talks about them it talks about impurity and evil desires and greed and idolatry. These are the things which are holding me down, binding me and restricting me to this earthly life which I don't need to be part of any longer. I don't have to have an earth life anymore. We can I can now have a new way of life in Christ. So I need to be I can now operate at a higher level and so I choose to start thinking along the new way of life you know I start thinking along those lines. So yeah if someone can read out verse 8 verse 8 it reads but now you must also read yourselves of all such things as this anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Ah if you could also read out verses 9 and 10 please. Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in the knowledge in the image of its creator. So you know the people who are living over here and are restricted to the earth life because their life is not yet hidden in Christ they have to resort to these things.  So these are all the old self and its practices is what it says at the end of verse 9. So you know these are the old self with its practices but we no longer have to be tied down by this old life because you know that was literally crucified, done away with it was circumcised and taken away and we no longer have to follow the practices which are linked to this old life you know so which is why it says do not lie to each other. So for an unbeliever if he does not lie he's probably going to get himself into serious trouble so the only way out for him is to bend the rules to compromise to cheat. We don't need to do that we can take a stand and say no I will maintain my integrity I will stay truthful and I will be honest even though I am in this very very tight situation yes if I were to lie and deceive my you know um employer I could maybe escape but no I will not do that. Why because my life is now hidden in Christ. So Christ will now take care of my life he will take care of or no whatever I require to be able to live in a new way and so this believer chooses to take a stand earlier in his past life he too used to lie and deceive but now he decides no no no this is not the way out I will take a stand and I will choose to be honest and then he will wait and see you know how the Lord will work out the situation for him. So now he's not operating you know using our example he's not operating no longer in that in that little restricted fish life he's now advanced to a higher way of living because he's no longer restricted to the ocean he's now operating at the land level you know he's at in a whole new realm it's a very higher much higher way of life and so God Jesus Christ in whom his life is hidden Jesus Christ will help him he will back him up he will you know help him and so this person begins to discover you know their mind is now being renewed and they begin to discover oh when you live when you live in this new and different way Jesus Christ actually comes through for you he actually helps you to live out in this new way and so he begins to discover that this new way of life you know this God's will is pleasing and it is you know it is good and it is perfect he starts discovering the you know the reality that is contained over here in your Romans chapter you know 12 so yeah in fact if we could you know someone could read out Romans chapter 12 verse 2 it reads sorry 11 to 11 Romans chapter 12 verse 2 Romans 12 verse 2 be not conformed to the patterns of this world but be be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may know the that you may know that you may know able to test sorry and approve God's will is good please eat i'm perfect will yeah so the person begins to practice God's will starts putting God's will into practice you know because they have decided you know i'm not going to think in the old way in the restricted earthly way i can now think at a much higher level and so they start aligning themselves with this with with their new identity and who they are when they start doing that and they start testing and practicing God's will they make this amazing discovery that God actually comes through for them there's a whole new level of operation at which you can you know operate now and they begin to discover that this will of God is good and acceptable and perfect so it's like a new revelation it's a whole new way of life that they start learning you know so it takes time to kind of grasp these things you know just to go back to that rather you know limited example of that fish you see that fish the first day it discovers and it and it and it and it is told this fact that now it can actually go up to the surface of the water and directly breathe in the air it's like unbelievable it's something that it's never ever done you know it's always you know swallowed the water and then the oxygen in the water is absorbed by the gills and all of that process so now it's being told you can actually go up to the surface of the water stick out your you know mouth and your nose or whatever you can actually breathe in directly that you can breathe in the air directly it's something unbelievable it's something that no fish has ever done and now this fish is being told you're now transformed you've been raised to a new way of life do this so the fish literally just sits over there maybe for for a few days absorbing this new truth that is being revealed to it about its identity is this something that I can do is it really I can I live a life like this all the fish around me are living in a different way they're living the restricted ocean life I can actually go up to the surface and do this breathe in the air directly is it even possible and then it says no no no this is the truth so you know it actually goes up to the surface to test it out to put into practice what it has been told and it discovers oh my goodness I actually did that I was actually able to do that and it begins to realize that there's a whole new level at which you can operate so you know what Romans chapter 12 one and two is telling about it's it's something that you're literally walking into on a daily basis on a daily basis you choose to offer your body as a living sacrifice you know it's something that people all around you are not doing they think that if you do something like that that's like death you know you're literally dying I mean you're giving up your interests you're you're you're literally killing yourself is the way the world sees it and this and so they for them it's like a big no but you are now beginning to walk in this new way of life and it's just so too radical it's just too different but because you believe in the scripture because you believe in this Jesus Christ who is telling you these things you decide okay fine I'm gonna test it I'm gonna try it out I'm gonna practice it and so you start aligning your mind with the mind of Christ and you say okay this literally looks like death what God is asking me to do he's asking me not to lie and if I don't lie I'm finished I'm literally going to be a living sacrifice you know is but I will do this I will choose to do this and as you do it your mind starts getting renewed and you make an amazing discovery that this God that this will of God is actually good and acceptable and perfect so your life starts changing you start becoming this new person that you were meant to be and then because of that like it says over here in the in this verse you have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator so without your realizing it you start looking like your creator you start becoming like him into his image why because gradually you're grasping this very very radical new truths I mean you know you talk to anyone on earth and you say you know I'm going to be a sacrifice that's a good you know you're killing yourself you want to die your future is going to die your hopes and dreams are going to die that's what happens when you become a sacrifice but you're saying no no no I'll be a living sacrifice and Jesus Christ in whom my life is hidden he will take care of me he will give me his life he will see to it that my life is made that things are taken care of you know out of his spiritual riches he will cater to me so it's alright for me to die on a daily basis and the other person you know too he will not even understand what you're saying because this is an entirely new way of life and we start to live at this level so we no longer have to be people who are you know living in immorality impurity we no longer have to give in to anger and rage and slander we no longer have to operate at this low level in which we were earlier because now we have an entirely new identity and like this little fish on a day by day basis we are absorbing these new truths we're saying oh my goodness is it really real can I actually live like this let me try it out let me do it and so we start doing Romans 12 one to two and we start discovering that yes it is possible to live at a whole new level in a whole new way and that is why you know we we do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices take it off that was circumcised it was put off it was done away with you don't even have to put on that old self again so take off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self and this new self how does it start becoming more and more new it starts learning it starts getting renewed in knowledge and so even as it gains it's even as it starts learning new things it starts trying out these new things and practicing them so you know maybe after the first one month this now this little fish it now learns a new thing oh I can actually go out onto the land and sit over there for five minutes something that no fish could ever do okay it's very very bad example please I mean you know understand the restrictions of this example that I'm trying to use but I'm just trying to bring out the radical difference there is between ocean life and you know the human life and in our case this earthly life and the heavenly realm where we are now seated with Christ extremely radical you know difference between the two and so now this fish has to take this next next step of faith in our example it actually has to you know go to the beach and actually get out of the water and you know sit over there for five minutes it's like something extremely radical for that little fish to do and now you know in the same way Christ is now asking us to step into new things you see he's given us this new knowledge about who we are we don't have to operate the way the rest of the world has living in impurity and immorality and being stuck you know in this very restricted way of life we can operate it in an entirely new level but it takes faith to do that so you choose to trust God and say okay Lord you're telling me not to live the way the other people are doing yes I will trust you and I will actually walk out in faith and try out this new thing that you're telling me to do and even as you start doing it he gives you the power that you need to be able to live in this new way of life and so your mind is getting renewed in this new knowledge of who you are this new identity that you have and even as you start practicing this new knowledge of your new identity you start becoming into the image of your creator okay so that's basically what is being explained to us in verses nine and you know eight nine ten James put this puts this so beautifully you know so what James is telling us is exactly what we are seeing right now in Colossians chapter three verses eight nine ten so James chapter one twenty two to twenty five if someone could please read out that for us James chapter one verses twenty two to twenty five and you know think about all these things that we've been talking about and no read I mean even as you're reading those verses think about all these these these concepts which we have been meditating upon right now so James chapter one twenty two to twenty five James one twenty two to twenty five do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves do what it says anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like but whoever looked intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard but doing it they will be blessed in what they do you know I mean amazing passage it says don't just listen to the word and deceive yourselves because if you're just simply listening to the word and you're thinking oh fine you know this is it now I'm changed no you're deceiving yourself you also got to do what the word is saying it's not enough to just hear it you got to do it it's got to start becoming a reality in the way you're living on a daily basis if that is not happening and if you're just simply listening and gathering knowledge in your head then you're deceiving yourself you are not really becoming that new person so it says so here do not merely listen to the word and deceive yourself do what it says and then it goes on to give this amazing example it says anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says it's like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like you know to go back to our little fish example the fish takes a look in this new mirror which has which it has been given and it sees itself as a human radical thing radical change I mean it's just this little fish in the water but it looks in the mirror and sees oh my goodness I'm a human you know it's like a shock for it to see what it is and then what does it do it just goes away and it forgets what it is and it's pointless it's been given a new identity it's been raised to a new way of life but it forgets for who it is and it continues to live an ocean life that restricted you know ocean life on the ocean bed and that's very very sad so we believers we look into the scriptures the you know the mirror over here is the scripture the word of god when we look into it we see this new status that we have been given and we realize oh my goodness we are no longer just these you know like the other humans who are you know living restricted lives we are meant to operate at a whole new level because we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm we look at that and then we walk away and we forget who we are and we continue to live the earth life you know with all its restrictions and all its sinful coping mechanisms when we can actually you know we can cope with this life at a much higher level in Christ instead of doing that we go back to our old way of life what's the point we have deceived ourselves and nothing has changed in our lives and so it says over here but whoever looks intently no not just you know take a peek now and then and then forget what you have seen but looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it not forgetting what they have heard but doing it they will be blessed in what they do you are meant to have a blessed life you are meant to literally live as though you are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm and you know which we actually are but most of us don't live like that because we are not looking intently and understanding on a daily basis who we are and living at that level yes at the intellectual level we accept that we are seated with Christ but our lifestyle doesn't show that because we have set our mind still on earthly things we have not unchained ourselves from these earthly things and we have not set our mind now at that higher spiritual realm and see it says over here do that it says look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom because this this this these scriptures which are talking about you they can unchain you from this restricted life that you've been living you can be released to live at a higher level of freedom you know where you're no longer being held down by all these unclean things which are holding you down you can operate at a higher level of freedom and so if you continue in this new way of life not forgetting who you are now but you know living it out in your everyday life it says they will be blessed in what they do you will be blessed in every area of your life you know in your job in your career in your family life in your relationships in your in in your role in society you will be blessed in all that you do so we are being called to something much higher you know so this is something that we need to grasp as a reality we need to look into the mirror of God's word take a very very good look at who we are and once we realize who we are we start operating at that level you know if okay we still have four minutes so just to you know give another example something that just you know spoke to me a lot it really helped me to start seeing myself differently you know if you look in google you know you have all these pictures images you know I'm sure you must have seen them you have a cat sitting in front of a mirror and when it looks in the mirror on the in the reflection it sees a lion and you know you have a you have a Bible scripture written next to that you know picture and it says you know it says like you know look at yourself in a new way or something like that I mean you know you have all these different things written over there next to that image so you know you have a cat sitting over there and it's looking at its reflection and it sees itself as a lion and you know we are told it's the way Christian should be you should no longer see yourself as you know a common house cat you got to see yourself as a lion but actually if you look at that picture it's it's bluff right it's fake it's fake that cat is still a cat and it's just thinking that it is a lion but in reality it's just a house cat and that is not what Christ has done for us no no no you're not a house cat anymore you actually are a lion and so when you look at when you look into the mirror of God's word what you're seeing the reflection that you're seeing is of an actual lion you know you're not you're not faking it you're not a house cat telling yourself I'm a lion I'm a lion I'm a lion no you've been transformed into an actual lion so you know this this um I I just accidentally came across this you know and I think it was in YouTube uh somewhere out there you know in one of these um one of these national parks I think in Africa or something uh they had put up this large you know mirror kind of a thing not using glass uh but you know because the animals can harm themselves some kind of reflective material it's almost like an actual mirror they've put this over there and you have this bunch of lions walking up to that and they're like you know very puzzled because they can see another lion over there in the reflection and they're kind of going behind the that mirror and they're looking to see whether there's a lion hiding over there and the lions are like very confused and they're looking at this reflection you know what they're looking at they're looking at themselves they're seeing who they are they are not house cats they're lions so when you look into the mirror of God's word please look at who you actually are in Jesus Christ you're operating at a whole new level all the other people around you are house cats they are restricted to this earthly way of life but you even though on the out you outward you know appearance you still look like a house cat you have not received your you know your resurrected body you are not in the in the heavenly realm yes there are still human restrictions but at the spiritual level you really are you know in the image of Christ you really are seated with him in the heavenly realm so when you look into the mirror of God's word please don't see a house cat see who you are in Christ and realize that you're not faking it you actually are that new transformed person because you were made into a new creation the old is gone behold look the new has come realize who we so so when we start seeing ourselves like this then this whole new way of life that you know that this New Testament goes on talking about starts making sense because now you realize oh I'm no longer a house cat with all the house cat restrictions I really am a lion okay again these are all just examples that I'm using please it's not some new doctrine that I'm bringing in just very very weak examples that I'm using to try and bring out the amazing transformation that Christ has actually worked in us and he wants us to be living at that level all right so so these are very very weak examples that are being used to bring out a very amazing reality about who we are in Jesus Christ all right so okay so therefore you know we choose to take off the old self and its practices we are no longer confined to that we choose to put on the new life which is being renewed in knowledge and because it is being renewed in knowledge it starts becoming into the image of its creator okay so yeah so that was up to verse 10 we will look at verse 11 onwards once we get back from our break so at 10 o'clock you know if we can all log back in thank you


Let's look at how a play in American football will end, and more specifically what constitutes a tackle in American football. This is a key concept to understand because, except for a few cases like a team scoring or an incomplete pass, pretty much every other offensive play that you see throughout a game will end in one of these ways. Each time that a play ends, wherever the ball is when that player goes down, will become the line of scrimmage for the next play. We'll also look at a few ways how a player can go down voluntarily and why they may want to do that. So all that said, we're going to look at five different ways to end a play, but as we'll see 98% of the time it's going to be one of the first three. The first way is the most common. This is when a player is down by contact. This means that a defensive player has touched the ball carrier in some way and then subsequently some part of the ball carrier's body other than his hands or his feet makes contact with the ground. So this is probably what you picture in your head when you're thinking about tackling in football or rugby. Basically it's one guy trying to pull down the guy with the ball while he in turn is trying to stay on his feet for as long as he can. Usually this will mean that the defensive player will give the ball carrier a big bear hug and haul him to the ground, but he could also push him hard enough that it would make the ball carrier lose its balance and fall over. One final point to make on this is that the defensive player's contact does not necessarily have to be the cause of the ball carriers falling over. So even if a player with the ball loses his balance without touching anyone, maybe he's trying to jump or spin around the defender and on the way by the defender's fingernail likely grazes the ball carrier's forearm and then the guy with the ball falls down just because he's lost his balance on his own, that still counts as being down by contact because there was contact and now the ball carrier is down. The second way is stopping a runner's forward progress, which is when one or more defenders manages to stop the ball carrier from moving forward anymore, either by standing in front of him or holding him back from behind. Once a player has the ball and is looking to run forward, because of what we just looked at, one of their main goals is not to go down and lots of players will get good at maintaining their balance no matter how hard the defense tries to pull them down. So rather than force defending players to resort to perhaps trying to pick up a ball carrier and body slamming him on the ground, the rules just say, look, if you can stop a guy moving forward for a few seconds, that's good enough.  So the ref can blow his whistle and stop the play because forward progress has stopped. You may also hear forward progress discussed as to where the ball will be placed for the next play. So if a player with the ball runs forward, say, to the ten yard line and a defensive player hits him there and pushes him back five yards where he falls over, because he made it to the ten, that's where the ball will be placed because that's where the contact began. You might hear the announcer say something like forward progress took him to the ten yard line. On the other hand, if he runs to the ten and then turns around on his own and tries to run across the field, goes back five yards in the process and then gets tackled, then that ball will be placed at the fifteen. So while it is not tackling in the traditional sense, when a ball carrier goes out of bounds, the result is the same as if he had been tackled at that spot. So wherever the ball is when he steps out of bounds, will become the next line of scrimmage. If the player is along the sidelines for a defensive player, shoving the ball carrier out will obviously be easier than tackling him. But if it's late in a half, the ball carrier may decide to go out of bounds on purpose in order to stop the clock. So if a player goes down close to the sidelines, the referee will signal to the guy running the clock whether or not he went out of bounds. So if he stays in, the rep will wind his arm like a windmill, which is the signal to keep the clock running. Or if he went out, then he will do a shoving motion as an homage to Frank Underwood and that one ridiculous scene of House of Cards. The final two ways of ending a play are the other ways of doing so voluntarily. The first is if the runner slides feet first. If a player does this, it's almost always going to be the quarterback. So while running backs and wide receivers will do everything they can to avoid going down no matter how many defenders hit them, quarterbacks will usually avoid contact if they can. So for example, if there are five yards to go for the first down and the quarterback manages to run six, and he sees a few defenders waiting for him ahead, he's probably going to do the smart thing and give himself up and slide down so he doesn't get hit very hard by one of them. This might also happen late in a game if there's a turnover rather than trying to say return an interception for a touchdown and risk another fumble.  This is when the quarterback will receive the snap from the center and he just kneels down on one knee, or as it is sometimes called, taking a knee.  So there you have it, five ways that a play can end. A traditional down by contact tackle, stopping forward progress, going out of bounds, either voluntarily or not, sliding and taking a knee. And it's in one of those ways that almost every play will end.


This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. The economic situation in Italy is worrying investors and may have cost its prime minister his job. Like Greece, Italy is facing pressure to make unpopular cuts in government spending. Silvio Berlusconi sought to enact measures meant to satisfy his country's creditors. On early November 8th, Mr. Berlusconi won a budget vote in Italy's lower house of parliament. But the prime minister lost something else. A majority of lawmakers in the lower house refused to vote. It appeared Mr. Berlusconi had lost their support. He announced that he would resign after parliament passed budget-cutting measures. Italian government debt is about 120% the size of the country's economy. That is second only to Greece in Europe. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have all required rescue loans to help them pay creditors. But unlike those nations, Italy has the third largest economy using the euro. And it is among the 10 largest economies in the world. On November 7th, European finance ministers met in Brussels to discuss the deepening debt crisis among nations using the euro. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Ali Ren said Italy needed to enact reforms. It is essential now that Italy will stick to its fiscal targets, ensure their implementation and intensify the structural reforms that can boost growth and job creation. Italy recently faced an increase in borrowing costs that topped 7%. Unlike Greece, Italy's budget deficit is not out of control. Of greatest concern, however, is Italy's lack of growth and job creation. Financial officials and market watchers are also concerned that Italy's debt problems may be too big to solve for the 17 nations using the euro. European leaders have yet to agree on the size and conditions of a rescue fund or plan. In Brussels, Dutch finance minister Jan Kieste-Jager said the rescue fund needed to be bigger. But he said budget reform of euro nations was important too. We have to increase the capacity of the emergency fund. That's very important, but it's not the only thing. Economic reforms and budget cuts in countries currently under attack of the financial markets are at least as important than more money in the emergency fund. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villareal. Special English is VOA's daily source of news and information for people learning English. Go to voaspecialenglish.com for transcripts and MP3s of our stories and for the classroom, our e-learning platform.