By Michael E. Brooks

"Give unto the Lord O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty ... The Lord sat enthroned at the flood, and the Lord sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace" (Psalm 29:1-4,10,11).

Storms are awe-inspiring. In southern Bangladesh we have for the past five days been in the path of a low-pressure system coming up from the Bay of Bengal. We have had almost constant rain and several days of strong winds. At times there has been lightening and thunder. We have surely heard "the voice of the Lord." Our experience here pales however beside that of the witnesses of hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan in the southeastern United States and the islands of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Winds up to 150 miles per hour, rainfall measured in feet, and billions of dollars in damage are evidence of the power of such storms.

During this same season, other parts of the world have also experienced hurricanes or typhoons. Japan was hard hit, and other parts of Asia have also been struck. No doubt there were storms elsewhere that did not receive the same attention. Constant in all these occurrences is the tremendous power of the forces of nature, and the wonder with which we observe them.

In Psalm 29 David is describing the glory of God as revealed not in destructive storm, but in the life-giving rainfall which Israel receives coming out of the Mediterranean Sea. First there are the clouds and the lightening and thunder over the Sea (vv. 3,4). Then comes the wind, blowing the trees along the coastal ridges (vv. 5-7). Finally there is the rain itself falling on the interior, accompanied by wind and the sound of thunder (vv 8,9). Evident in each of these is the power and glory of God. The rain is his gift. Nature is His domain.

This conviction is not without problems. It is easy and uplifting to credit God with the blessed gift of rain which enables our crops and gardens to prosper. His "smile" in the beauty of the sunrise, and his warm embrace in the golden glow of a spring afternoon are pleasant affirmations of faith. But if God is credited with the blessings of Nature's bounty, is he also to be blamed for the destruction of nature's wrath? Scores of people have died in these recent storms. Thousands of homes have been destroyed. Is this to God's glory? Does it compel our praise?

These are not easy questions with which to wrestle. God's role in human suffering has always been one of the greatest philosophical and theological problems known to us. There are no pat answers.

Perhaps we need to recognize that God's nature is as infinite and complex as the manifestations of nature in the world of his creation. There is gentle life-giving rain, and there is destructive, hurricane. So too, God is love, and yet he is also the God of wrath and everlasting destruction. These concepts are not easy to reconcile. Yet they are repeatedly and clearly affirmed in Scripture. It seems to me that they are just as clearly affirmed in the revelation of nature. God's love is seen in the gentle rain, his wrath in the storm. Does that mean that every victim of storm is an intended recipient of judgment? No, but it is a demonstration of the complexity and infinitude of the nature of our God. And it is motive for our worship and our awe.

by Kevin Cauley

"An event to remember! A great time for all!" What do you make of the previous phrases? We are all used to seeing such phrases in bulletins, flyers, newspapers and other advertisements. But do the words indicate when the event will take place? Did the event already happen? Is it happening right now? Will it happen in the future? You don't know, do you? Why is that? It is because there were no verbs attached to the phrase. If one were to add "It was" to the beginning of each phrase, then we would understand that the event has passed. If one were to add "This is" to the beginning, we would see that we are currently participating in it. If one were to add, "It will be," then, well, you get the picture. The tense of verbs is important in our language because tense tells us when action happens -- past, present, or future.

One of the things that make the Greek language difficult is that the Greeks thought about the concept of "tense" differently from our concept today. We think of tense in a very temporal way. That is, we associate tense primarily with time. Past tense = past time. Future tense = future time. But the Greek language didn't quite express tense in that way. Oh, yes, the Greek speaker knew the past, present, and future, but the tense of Greek verbs didn't quite express things along that line. The focus of the Greek verb was more in reference to the action of the thing being done as opposed to the time of the thing being done.

In Greek, the past tense was represented in two different ways. One way was to talk about actions that were completed. For completed actions, the Greek used the aorist tense. "John baptized Jesus." There is a completed action. But there was also the imperfect tense, which, in Greek, is considered more a function of the present tense verb, because the action is continuing for a period of time. "Jesus was healing the sick." There is ongoing action, but in past time. Both verb tenses describe what English speakers would see as action occurring in past time, but the Greek mind focused upon the completion or ongoing nature of the action. The present tense Greek verb, in this regard, represents ongoing action, as opposed to completed action. The future tense verb represents potential action that has not yet begun. Greek also has the perfect tense which expresses action that began in the past and completed in the past but had lasting effects.

1 Corinthians 15:1 serves as a good illustration of these distinctions. Paul writes, "Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain." Paul said, "I make known." This is a present tense verb that indicates that Paul is currently engaged in doing this action as he is writing. "I preached" is an aorist tense verb, meaning that Paul had completed the action of preaching (publicly, orally) to them in the past. "Ye received" is another aorist tense verb indicating that the Corinthians had completed the action of receiving the gospel prior, i.e. they accepted it. "Ye stand" is a perfect tense verb indicating that they began standing in it in the past, and they are continuing to stand in it. "Are saved" is a present tense verb meaning that as Paul writes to them, they are continuing to be saved by the gospel. "Hold fast" is another present tense verb meaning to continue to hold fast. "I preached" is an aorist tense verb meaning that Paul had completed that action prior. And finally, "ye believed" is an aorist tense verb meaning that they had completed the action of believing at some point in the past.

The Greek verb is different from the English verb in that it considers state of action above consideration of time. I hope that as you continue to read these columns that you will keep in mind these differences in tense in the Greek New Testament -- aorist, imperfect, present, future, and perfect. As we discuss various passages I hope you will remember the difference between completed action, ongoing action, and completed action with lasting effects. Reference to action is the primary way in which the Greek verb communicates tense.

by Don Ruhl

Read Proverbs 1 and 2

Why is the Book of Proverbs in the Bible? Proverbs 1:2-7 answers the question. Let me give you verse two,

for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; (Proverbs 1:2, NIV).

You will never meet a successful person who first did not recognize his or her need for wisdom, discipline, and insight. Do you need those? To whom then should you go but to the Lord? To what book then should you turn but Proverbs? Read a chapter of Proverbs every day that corresponds to the day. For example, on the twenty-third day of the month, read Proverbs 23. Do that for a year and see what happens to your wisdom, discipline, and insight. Do it for a lifetime and watch what happens!