Have you suffered an injury lately? Or perhaps you have suffered a financial loss or some other thing that has tested your faith? What does the Bible say about the feelings and attitudes Christians should have toward such things?
Worry is something we all face at one time or another in life. When I was a child, people were troubled about nuclear war and about the worldwide spread of communism. In late 2001, and since, many worried about terrorists and the possibility of death at their hands. A few years ago, the world feared a pandemic of deadly influenza. Now, people are worrying about a worldwide recession or depression. One is even tempted to worry about what will be the next traumatic event that we will have to worry about.
Over 60 years ago, C. S. Lewis wrote a book entitled The Great Divorce. The contents of this book are in the form of a dream somewhat on the order of Pilgrim’s Progress. Lewis dreams and imagines that he is accompanying a busload of people traveling from Hell to the outskirts of Heaven. Each “ghost” from Hell gets the opportunity to enter Heaven if he or she will just let go of his most cherished sins.
“I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”
And that message of hope at the birth of Christ hasn’t faded into oblivion with the march of the centuries. That Light, that Hope, that Peace still shines brightly after twenty centuries!
“Tremendous tidal waves and earthquakes will hit Florida within the next sixty days bringing untold destruction.” So predicted a woman who said she had gotten this message from God. Only the prayers of the saints, she warned, would save the state from destruction.
Some years ago, a couple in Canada had a baby boy. Their son was a healthy, contented baby except for one deformity. He was born without external ears. Without them, determining the direction of sounds would be extremely difficult.
It will soon be that time of year again! Before you know it Thanksgiving and Christmas will be upon us and then the New Year.
The world is filled with bad news. People have learned to feast on bad news for so long that one wonders if they would be contented to read only good news.
Millions have become energy conscious in recent years. Rising prices and shortages have made even the wealthy more sensitive. People are beginning to learn lessons in conservation they should have learned long ago.
The recent conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinian Arabs has highlighted the extent to which people will go to defend a cause. The conflict between Jews and Arabs is probably the oldest ongoing conflict on earth. Since the days of Abraham, some 4000 years ago, the conflict has raged. Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac was the ancestor of the Jewish people. Modern day Arabs trace their ancestry back to Ishmael. The Jewish Scriptures, what Christians call the Old Testament, even hint at this ongoing conflict.