God's Power

Mankind has developed powerful and terrible weapons of destruction over the years and more are probably being developed as we speak. The atom and hydrogen bombs already exist and we know their destructive power. Whole cities, even countries, can be destroyed by just one of these bombs and we know that our country has many hundreds of these pointed right at us. We have returned the favor and pointed some right back.

Pakistan is a country with nuclear weapons and there has been much fear around the world as to what is going to happen to them. With the recent assassination of the former Prime Minister, there has been much turmoil in that country and much concern that the nuclear arsenal may fall into the hands of terrorists who have no resignation about using them.

There is no stretch of the imagination to see somewhere down the road, that one man, or group of people, with vengeance, extremism, and hatred in their hearts may someday control such inconceivable force. It may be in Pakistan or some other country, but there will surely be someone willing to set off such bombs.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to stop such people for it is "the power of God unto salvation" (Romans 1:16.) The gospel teaches that real power lies with God and that people filled with hate can learn to live in love and peace with all mankind. The power does not lie in us (II Corinthians 4:7) but in God. The gospel has the power to cast down the strongholds of the mind, human reasoning, and to capture hearts for Christ (II Corinthians 10:3-5.) We must learn to keep our focus on God and keep preaching His word for therein lies the power to have real "peace on earth toward those of goodwill" (Luke 2:15.) Yes, we need to stand against error but should do so with the gospel realizing that God Himself will one day destroy this world (II Peter 3:10.) Now that is real power and everyone needs to be ready.

A Shadow of Things to Come

This past week has been unusual as far as weather is concerned. Not only have we seen much rain, but thunderstorms as well. Some areas around central Kentucky even saw tornadoes and other parts of the Midwest dealt with even more destructive weather as thunderstorms and tornadoes were more widespread. We are reminded that many folks fear the shadows of dark clouds for they know the storm is coming.

The casting of shadows many times leads to fear. The shadow of the hawk causes the hen to sound a warning to her brood to take cover. In ancient times, the shadow of the moon upon the earth during an eclipse was seen as a bad omen.

Shadows are not all bad however. Seeking the shadow of a tree can cause much relief on a hot, summer's day. In like token, the Old Testament was a shadow of "good things to come" (Hebrews 10:1.) The apostle Paul reminds us that "the things written in former days were written for our learning, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4.) The Old Testament contains examples (I Corinthians 10:6) for us so as not to repeat their mistakes.

A study of the Old Testament will yield many treats for serious students of the Bible. We learn about the nature of sin (Romans 7:7), and the holiness of God (I Peter 1:15-16.) We learn about how God punishes sin and the separation from God it causes. But we also learn about the coming Messiah that would take away sin. The law was intended to lead us to Christ and teach us of Him (Galatians 4:1-4) and was never intended to be in permanent force since Jesus came to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-18.) Once fulfilled, it was to end but while it is not in force today there is much to be gained by a study of it. Don't be guilty of ignoring those holy scriptures that revealed the coming Messiah.