“But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
—2 Peter 3:13
On December 2, 1942 in the late afternoon, a group of U.S. scientists huddled together on an abandoned football field near the University of Chicago, and there produced for the first time in human history controlled nuclear fission chain reaction.
Just three years later President Harry Truman gave the order to drop the bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. That bomb leveled two-thirds of that city, and what the world saw at that time was devastation like we've never seen before, and I pray we never see again.
With the explosion of that atomic bomb and the other that followed, a new age came to the world, the Atomic Age. When they experimented with the bomb in New Mexico, a scientist watched it, tears coursed down his face and he cried out, "Oh, my God, we have created hell!"
The prospects for global destruction are greater than ever before. It's not just the preachers and the evangelists that are saying this now, but the social scientists and the nuclear scientists and the ecologists are all predicting devastation in our times; that a final holocaust is coming. And we wonder is there any hope?
But the fact is there is hope for the Christian. There is a new world coming. And while this world as we know it will one day explode with fire, it will not be at the hand of man, but it will be at the hand of God, and the same fire that destroys this current age will fashion a new age and a new world order in which righteousness dwells forever.
THE SAME GOD WHO CREATED THE WORLD IN THE BEGINNING, NOW CONTROLS THIS WORLD AND HE'S IN CHARGE OF IT.
Friday, March 29, 2019
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
2 Timothy 2:20–22
If you grew up going to church, youth camps, Christian school, revival meetings, and teen rallies, you almost certainly heard many messages on the topic “Flee youthful lusts.” That is vitally important, and never more than now as our culture goes deeper and deeper into tolerance and promotion of sin. But this vital warning is not just for young people. Though the Bible does not tell us how old Timothy was when he received this final letter from Paul, according to church history and tradition, he was probably at least in his forties and may have been fifty years old. Yet Timothy still needed to be reminded to flee youthful lusts.
While it would be nice if temptation left us alone once we got old enough, that is simply not the case. Though they may take different forms, the same basic evil desires remain in our hearts. Even as adults who have walked with God for years, we are still at risk from youthful lusts, and we must remain on guard. The devil is willing to lay traps that will not spring for years or even decades. He is faithful and consistent in his evil work, and he is not discouraged if we resist temptation today. Even when Jesus resisted him, Satan only left for a time. “And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season” (Luke 4:13).
Today's Growth Principle:
Age is no protection against temptation, and we can never afford to let down our guard against sin.
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