By Mrs. Bessie Wilbon
.. Just what determines destiny? Some people believe that
life follows the domino theory of events. When applied to
life, the domino theory declares that every human action is
- the inevitable consequence of prior conditions. In effect,
such philosophy holds that whatever a person says or does
he could not have done differently under the circum
stances. Under the domino theory of life, man is
^ considered to be an automaton. He does not really
"decide” to commit a dastardly crime nor do the heroic
-act; his deed, good or bad is inevitable. But the Bible
indicates that man can make choices and that he is
^responsible for the choices he makes. Furthei mure, those—
choices have a great part in determining destiny, not only
for himself but for others. Man does have a will, and
... ultimately the exercise of that will especially in regard to
his relationship to God, determines destiny.
Our lesson today deals with what happens to a nation
that chooses evil and scoffs at God’s way. It should serve to
warn us of the fate that awaits any people who persist in
ungodliness.
"The Lord has sent his messengers and prophets to
warn Israel and Judah: ‘Abandon your evil ways and obey
My commands which are contained in the Law I gave to
your ancestors and which I handed on to you through my
servants the prophets. But they would not obey ; they were
stubborn like their ancestors who had not trusted in the
, Lord their God. They refused to obey instructions, they did
not keep the covenant He had made with their an- -
cestors, and they disregarded His warnings,” (2 Kings
17:13-15). j
God did not let His people rush madly down the road to
destruction without attempting to stop them. He warned
them repeatedly against wicked practices not only by the
enactment of the law, but also by the special messages of
the prophets through the centuries. However, the people
would not listen but hardened their necks in determined
rebellion against Him. This obstinacy was particularly
terrible when one considers how powerfully attested some
of these prophets had been. They had called down fire from
heaven, blinded armies, raised the dead, healed lepers,
and foretold catastrophe; and yet their pleas were in vain!
The people broke the covenant that God had made with
their fathers atSinai. --:
“They sacrificed their sons and daughters as burnt
offerings to pagan gods; they consulted mediums and
fortunetellers, and they devoted themselves completely to
doing what is wrong in the Lord’s sight, and so aroused his
anger,” (2 Kings 17:17).
Several of the nations surrounding Israel sacrificed
babies by cremation as part of their worship of the god
Molech. God had severely warned His people against this
practice. That the Hebrews caused this to happen is a
horrifying revelation of the depth of their apostasy. We are
not surprised, however, that the Hebrews, having turned
from God, turned to&uch practices.
ine ultimate cause ot Israel s ruin was her persistent
rejection of God. The Hebrews had always been a small
people in comparison with Egypt. They had always been in
a stretch between the great poles of power in the ancient
eastern Mediterranean world. But in spite of all this, they
had been delivered again and again and had flourished.
God was their refuge and strength. He had rescued them
from Egypt and had led them into the promised land. He
was a greater resource than all the armed might of their
attackers. However, when they turned fron God and
becamafollowers of the cr uei.dfiities of the peoples around
them, they lost their sense of uniqueness, their identity and
their power. In time the Lord became very angry with
them. God's patience with His people was monumental,
but notjindxhaustible. At long last, the tumult and terror,
the inescapable judgment was executed.
We don’t worship calf gods of gold today, but we do
“worship” bonds, stocks, or real estate. We make deities
of po#er boats, fine homes, or extensive collections of
clothes. We make great efforts and go to great expense to
erect huge shrines to athletics and amusement. It is so
easy to forget the admonition of Jesus, “Take heed, and
beware of covetousness; for a man’s life corisisteth not in
the abundance of the things which he possesseth. These
attitudes we have are the same as those of the Hebrews
which led to their ultimate destruction.
God seeks only good; He wants only to bring us to life
abundant. The Messiah has come - Jesus has lived among
us, has been crucified, and has risen from the dead. His
Spirit lives in mighty power in His Church - in the lives of
His people. In Him we find weapons for our warfare that
can pull down strongholds of evil. How terribly tragic if
Jesus should have to say to us what He had to say to those
who rejected Him, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might
have life,” (John 5:40).
* The only reason God can’t help us is that we refuse to let
*HIm.
The Interdenominational Maas Choir
bo in concert, August 5 ul West C.hnrlntt* Hiph__
Jackson Will Lead Prayer Outside Republican Convention
Contined From Page IA
las Times Herald last week, ‘‘I think
you can say he’s assured the
ACORN people who worked on his
campaign that he would be in
Dallas. He did make that personal
commitment.” ACORN did not en
dorse Jackson’s campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomina
tion, but some local ACORN or
ganizations endorsed and worked
with local Jackson Ampaigns
across the country.
Confirmed speakers at a march
and rally scheduled for Saturday
evening, August 18, are former
Attorney General Ramsey Clark,
activist Dr. Benjamin-Spock^and -
Texas nuclear freeze activist Cissy
Farenthold. Performers Ronnie
Gilbert and Holly Near were in
vited to perform.
Participants from across the
country will pitch tents in a Dallas
park for the weekend, to dramatize
Harris Joins Rams
Continued From Page 1A
remaining on the schedule.
"I’ve made many friends at J.C.
Smith during my six-year stay on
- the westside campus,” he recalled,
naming Otis Stroud, Haskell Patton,
Ronald Armstrong, Horace Small,
Eddie McGirt, Kenny Powell, the
remainder of Johnson C. Smith
faculty and staff and the JCSU
alumni and friends.”
Harris said he would continue to
make his home in Charlotte and
would continue his involvement in
the Westside Optimist Club, the
Shriners and the Masons organi
zations.
CHS Schedule
Community Health Services will
be offering the following services
for August:
Thursday, August 2, Alzheimer's
Support Group will meet at noon at
St. John’s Baptist Church, 300
Hawthorne Ln., Lynn Chambers,
RN, will share fund raising tech
niques from the Statesville group.
Thursday, August 2, Alzheimer’s
Support Group will meet at 7 p.m.
Community Health Services Build
-in&_1.40L East Seventh- StrooL This
will be a meeting for small group
interaction.
Monday, August 6, Diabetes
Problem Solving and Support Group
will meet at 12:30 p.m. at Diabetes
Services Office, 1401 East Seventh
Street. Sheryn Northey, Clinical
Social Worker, is facilitator of the
group. Bring your own lunch,
beverages will be provided. For
more information, call 375-0172.
Tuesday, August 7, 14, 21 and 28,
m8h Blood Pressure Management
Program will meet at 7:30 p.m.,
Community Services Building, 1401
East Seventh Street. Celeste Hub
bard, RN, will discuss ways to
control blood pressure and the role
nutrition._
I Trichology Corner
Mr. Charles, R JJ.
QUESTION: I use a curl acti
| vator and oil spray in my curl but
It gets real oily and sometimes
•tarts running. Can this be
helped?
ANSWER: Yes. Remember
that curl activators and glyce
rine sprays are heat activated.
When you are home or in a cool
place the hair will appear much
dryer as you are applying these
conditioners Then as you move
about in the sun, humidity or
other heat, the hair gets very oily
to combat dryness As you build
up oil in you hair between
washings use a little less to get
the desired effect.
"When You Care Enough
To I.ook Your Very Beat"
The House o( Charlea .
the effects of Reagans policies on
low-income Americans.
A complete schedule of the week
end's events can be obtained
Organized by ACORN (Associa
tion of Community Organizations for
Reform Now), the Alliance for Jus
tice is a national campaign to
educate, register and mobilize low
income voters. It includes com
munity groups, labor unions,
churches, anti-nuclear and peace
groups and minority organizations
The Alliance has registered over
50.000 new voters since January, and
it has participated in legal and
direct action campaigns against
barriers to voter registration across
the country.
Contracts Approved
For County
Raleigh -Among the contracts ap
proved by the state Board of Trans
portation at its monthly meeting this
week were two affecting Mecklen
burg County.
The first contract calls for two
bridges and retaining walls on
1-277 in Charlotte. The bridges will
be located over Eldridge Street and
Southern Railway and over More
head and Mint Streets
The contract is the third in a
series of seven to be let on
1-277 between 1-77 and east Third
Street in Charlotte
Construction will begin in August
and is scheduled for completion in
June. 1986 The contract was
awarded to Lee Construction Co. of
Charlotte for $5,441,325 54
The second contract calls for the
paving of 2.7 miles of Harris
Boulevard from Boh Realty R0ad
(Secondary Road 2483t to' NC-115
and from east of NC-115 to David
Cox Road i Secondary Road 2485) in
Charlotte
This is the last in a series of
contracts to upgrade Harris Bou
levard from 1-77 at Reames Road to
1-85
Board of Transportation member
J Q. Burnette of Charlotte said that
construction will begin in August
and is scheduled for completion in
December.
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