|
|
Articles from this month's issue of the Berean News |
Perspectiveby Larry UrbaniakThis is the 40th anniversary for this column. Hard to believe, but I wrote the first “Perspective” for the March 1963 “Berean News”. I dug back in my “archives” (really a basement filing cabinet) and reread my first column. It was titled “The Third World Power?” Note the question mark. In that first article, I wrote about the European Common Market. There were then just six members in it. There were five other nations trying to join. I speculated how four of them would probably become members within a year. I also expressed doubt that England (the fifth) would ever become a member. Why did I write about all this? As I explained in that column, Bible students had been predicting for years that Europe would again be united in some way. The ten toes of Daniel’s image and the ten horns of John’s beast were said to represent ten nations or kingdoms of Europe. The reunification of these ten nations was then considered by some to be one of the most significant events just prior the Lord’s return. The title of my first column referred to the possibility of a reunited Europe becoming the third world power. The United States and the U.S.S.R. were, of course, then the two world powers. I also gave the history of the Common Market and statistics to show its potential economic and political power. Good thing I ended the title with a question mark. I was not dogmatic about any of this, but merely presented it all as possibilities of prophetic fulfillment. The tone of my writing, however, did leave the impression that I expected it to happen. I sure was wrong. England has been in the Common Market for a long time now. There are presently more than ten nations in it. And the U.S.S.R. no longer exists. The real point of my first column was that we should pay more attention to bible prophecies. And while I still think that is true, my view on the purpose of prophecies ha changed somewhat. I no longer think that the main purpose of prophecies is to predict the future. I recently read a quote from Isaac Newton which I would like to share with you. By the way, Isaac Newton was not only one of the greatest scientists who ever lived (if not the greatest), but he also was quite a Bible scholar, who studied the Bible daily. He wrote over a million words of Biblical commentary. The quote which follows is taken from his “Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John:” “The folly of Interpreters has been to foretell times and things by this Prophecy, as if God designed to make them Prophets. By this rashness they have not only exposed themselves, but brought the Prophecy also into contempt. The design of God was much otherwise. He gave this and the Prophecies of the Old Testament, not to gratify men’s curiosities by enabling them to foreknow things, but that after they were fulfilled they might be interpreted by the event, and his own Providence, not the Interpreters, be then manifested thereby to the world.” That first column of mine was not the only time I have been wrong about how I expected prophecy to be fulfilled. I am not alone. Christian history is filled with prophetic interpretations that turned out to be wrong. (Remember all the recent predictions about the year 2000.) And all too often proponents of particular interpretations (especially chronological ones) have refused to admit their errors long after such errors were apparent to almost every one else. This has sometimes hurt the witness of Christianity. And it certainly has kept many Christians from studying prophecy at all. It seems that most of us fall into one of two extremes. Either we tend to avoid studying prophecies at all because we feel overwhelmed by them and have seen too much confusion and antagonism generated by them. Or we become hooked by prophecies to the extent that they are all we study. We then become an “expert” who propounds a particular theory and sets about to convince all others of the rightness of our viewpoint and the errors of any others. We need a balance. We should not avoid the study of Biblical prophecy. We need to study all that is in the Bible if we are to be true students of it. We should not, however, get carried away and become predictors or dogmatic interpreters. Prophecies need to be kept in proper perspective. |
|
Roy's Reflections You are the Light of the World There is in each one of us, the primitive fear of darkness. We can remember how it was when as little children, we were afraid of the dark. We had to have a night-light, or we had to be comforted by having someone come to us and try to take away our fear. In Irish Folklore, there is the story of a country doctor who one night went to a farmhouse where a woman was about to give birth. As the woman labored, the doctor asked her husband to assist him by holding a gas lantern up high in order to illuminate the makeshift delivery room. Before long, the courageous mother delivered a wonderful healthy baby boy. Then the doctor made a surprise announcement; a second child was due to arrive. Whereupon, the mother produced a wonderful, healthy baby girl. The husband was considerably shaken by the unexpected birth of twins. You can imagine, therefore, his complete astonishment when he heard the doctor say, "We're not finished here yet. It looks like it's going to be triplets." To which the stunned father, still holding the lantern aloft, replied, "It must be the light that's attracting them!" "I am the light of the world," says the Lord Jesus. And we are here together now because we are attracted to the Light. In John's Gospel we read, "The man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God" (John. 3:21). God loves us so much that He sends us light. And from the first book to the last in the Bible, you can feel the inspired authors being caught up in the joy of knowing that God sends the light unfailingly -- light to overcome the darkness of our lives. In the very first verses of the creation story in the Bible, we read that everything was covered with darkness. And so the very first thing God does is create light. "Let there be light, and there was light, and God saw that it was good," Scripture tells us. Over-and-over again, in the Book of Psalms, we hear the refrain: "The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?" In the Book of Job, in the midst of all his suffering and questioning, Job says, "Yet does the Lord lead me as a light in the darkness." In the Book of Isaiah, when the prophet is pondering the coming of the Messiah, he speaks these beautiful words: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." That is the meaning of the coming of the Messiah. God sends His Light-of-Lights into the world. Then, when we get into the New Testament, Jesus becomes the climax to all of this. Jesus becomes the shining light of God's Love. Thus, we read in John's Gospel, "He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.” (John. 1:2-4,9). One of the best definitions of "light" that science has been able to come up with is that it is a form of radiation that stimulates the nerve-endings of our eyes. This might well suggest to us that Christ is the Divine radiation that stimulates all the nerve-endings of our soul -- making it possible for us to have a clear vision of what life is all about, making it possible for us to begin to make sense of it all. We come to Jesus, the Light of the World, in the abiding hope that our eyes may be opened to the "Why?" of life itself. We open our eyes and we look to the Light of the World for assurance that the sorrow and suffering endured by a person born blind, or by a cancer victim, or by a victim of violence, or by a person with AIDS, or by a grieving parent or a lonely widow, are not suffered in vain. We open our eyes and look to Jesus for assurance that in His Father's Plan, good overcomes evil, light overcomes darkness. We open our eyes and we look to Jesus for assurance that the promise of everlasting life and eternal joy will be kept, and, secure in that vision, with eyes wide open, we follow Jesus. We hear Jesus say to His followers, “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp to put it under a tub. They put it on a lamp stand, where it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, your light must shine in the sight of men, so that, seeing your good works, they may give the praise to your Father in Heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16) We are told, in Jesus' own words, “we are the light of the world” and "by our fruits will they know us”. The fruits of the Light of the World are love and caring, forgiveness and compassion, peace and good will. May all who daily come into personal contact with us, see our good works, and be attracted by our shining light. |
|
Welcome one and all to our:
59th Annual May Convention May 3 - 4, 2003 Berean Bible Students Church Saturday, May 3, 2003"Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." Rev. 2:10b Chairman: Jon Larson 11:45 - 1:00 Lunch
4:00 Fellowship Sunday, May 4, 2003"Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!" Phil. 3:1 Chairman: Roy Boswell 8:15 Continental Breakfast Accommodations: Nursery Nursery Director: Jeanne Dalesandro Children ages 3 - 12 Sunday School Director: Faith Schwebke Teenagers Youth for Truth Director: David Elliott
|
|
A Daughter's Heart
Amazing Grace “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Pet 4:10 There are many aspects of grace, such as the unmerited favor of daily forgiveness of our sins and sinful ways, the constant grace of the power that works through us each day, and the many favors of our daily physical provisions. The one aspect of grace I’d like to reflect on today is how we are chosen to be used to bless others. It is constantly amazing to me how God condescends to use us fallen and imperfect beings to bless one another. He could have chosen to directly bless each person he want to, without using a middleman. He has all power and authority, and is perfectly able to directly arrange the circumstances in people’s lives in order to bless them without our help, isn’t he? Wouldn’t things get done better and more efficiently if he did it that way? Moms will understand the comparison to letting a child help do something around the house, like fold the laundry. It is inevitable that the task will take much longer to finish when we are being “helped” than it would take if we did it on our own, but it’s all part of the relationship we have with our children. We’re spending time with them, guiding them as they grow, and helping them learn the skills they need to live their lives. The rewards in the long run are worth the extra time it takes. That’s how God has chosen to deal with us. He spends time with us, guiding us as we grow, and helping us to learn the skills we need to live our lives. He demonstrates his great love for us every day, then waits for us to respond to his love by asking to be used to show his love to others. It may not be as efficient as accomplishing his will all on his own, but it adds so much more dimension to the blessing! When he uses us to bless others, we are also blessed, along with all who witness it. I think that must really be the most efficient arrangement after all! Thank you, Father, for choosing to use us, as unworthy as we are, to bless those around us. Help us to always be willing and anxious to be used in your service so that your blessings may be multiplied. Thank you for using this way of demonstrating your love to us all!
|