Some years ago I happened upon a quaint little town in the hill country of Virginia. Business establishments, jammed one against another, crowded the narrow main street. Here and there I could see an alley between buildings.
Repeated attempts to blow up airplanes and to perpetuate other acts of terror around the world show just how fragile even the tightest security programs can be. Security measures can be evaded or things can slip through. Admittedly, many acts of terrorism have been averted, but all it would take is one huge disaster to shake up the world even more than after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.
The electric clock hands sweep silently through the wintry night. Then the jarring buzz—fivethirty a.m.—time to get up again. I take it for granted every morning. Sure, the electricity may go off, but rarely. There’s always the old faithful wind-up alarm clock in case of emergencies.
What would you do if a huge slab of ice came crashing through your roof and smashed on the floor right in front of you? You’d probably jump in momentary dismay, wouldn’t you?
Long ago the writer of the Bible Book of Judges made this observation about his generation: “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). The Book of Judges goes on to illustrate this observation. The writer was speaking about the professed people of God, not the “heathen” around them. Furthermore, the people did what was right in their own eyes, not so much because they did not have a king to tell them what to do, but because they had abandoned their God and the teachings of His Word, the Bible.
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.
“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.