LightGrams
November 9, 2023
Volume 27, Number 30
Life was significantly disrupted a few weeks ago in Athens, Greece. Work was proceeding on a major construction project when a 500-pound bomb from World War 2 was unearthed. Everything came to a stop as experts were called in. For the next two days people were instructed to not travel in that neighborhood, and apartment buildings were evacuated. On October 26 the bomb was defused without incident. No explosion was involved, and everything turned out well.
Was it really necessary to cause such disruption in the lives of hundreds of residents? Absolutely. The bomb represented the potential for destruction had it been detonated. True, seven decades had passed since the bomb was dropped from an aircraft, but it still possessed the power to destroy.
Earlier this year scientists in Europe set out to solve the massacre of 34 people whose remains from 5,000 years ago were found in a cave in Germany. They constructed crude weapons, such as have been associated with “Stone Age” times and used the weapons to smash artificial skulls. Though the weapons were simulated to be very, very old, they still had the power to be lethal.
To change the subject slightly, have you heard of the not in the devil’s tale? “Tim, don’t you mean, ‘the knot in the devil’s tail’?” No, I spelled it correctly, for in Genesis 3:4 Satan added the small word “not” to his tale to Eve. Though God had warned that eating from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden would lead to death, Satan argued “You will not surely die.” That old lie is still lethal.
This is an ancient weapon used by Satan to destroy good lives. Isaiah 5:20 frames the problem with these words: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.” Such tactics will cause many to be lost.
An important principle to engrave on our hearts is this claim from Psalm 119:160: “The entirety of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.” What does that mean? That the words of God found in the Bible are true; they do not change over time.
The world commonly rejects what God has taught in favor of what their flesh desires. “How can this be wrong when it feels so right?” in a song made famous by singer Barbara Mandrell in 1972. That’s the problem in a nutshell; people will trust their feelings more than they trust God, and a bomb is detonated. Behind it all Satan is whispering, “It is not wrong! Go ahead; enjoy.”
Can we trust Jesus in John 10:10 when He rips the mask from Satan’s face to expose him as a thief, a murderer, and a destroyer? On the other hand, Jesus stakes His own claim: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
The choice is ours to make: Do we trust the ancient words of the Son of God who gave His life for us, or will we turn instead to the “not” in the devil’s tale? Choose wisely!
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
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Copyright, 2023, Timothy D. Hall. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the New King James Version (Copyright, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc.).
“LightGrams” is produced by the Central Church of Christ, 2722 Oakland Avenue, Johnson City, Tennessee, 37601, and is written by Tim Hall, minister. It is sent free of charge every Thursday to all who request it. To subscribe or to receive more information, write to “[email protected]” (our E-mail address), to the U.S. mail address above, or call (423) 282-1571.
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