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SSC to Celebrate Constitution Day Wednesday
Read moreWomen on Mission met Sept. 11 at the Wewoka First Baptist Church Parlor.
Read moreThis week, we begin to investigate five possible reasons God allows evil to exist, which can be extracted from the biblical text. First, the Bible is quite clear that God allows evil to exist as a form of punishment for sin. Second, some evil comes about due to the consequences of others’ sin. Third, some evil comes about due to the consequences of evil done by spiritual beings. Fourth, the biblical text indicates that God allows evil to exist as a pathway to the greater good. And fifth, the biblical text suggests that some evil is beyond our finite human ability to understand. It becomes very clear, very early, that God has set forward in the Bible the reality of an if/then structure of how people “are to be” in the world. By that, I mean one need not read too far into the Bible to see that God establishes the first behav-ior based contractual agreement with mankind. It is an agreement between God and man principally and primarily based on understanding the proper ordering of reality: the Creator over creation. In this inaugural covenant, God states that man may eat the fruit of any of the trees in the Garden but may not eat of the Tree of Life, or they will “surely die.” It is nothing less than if you do that, then, this will happen. Direct, straightforward, and easy to understand: if/then. It is a daily and life-long fact of life. How often have you heard a similar ultimatum from parents, teachers, law enforcement, employers, spouses, siblings, friends, enemies, etc. etc? In all these cases, there is an understood expectation and a warning about what will happen if things go wrong. This same if/ then covenant structure is repeated throughout the biblical text in the various covenants God makes with mankind throughout biblical history. The Adamic Covenant, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and the New Covenant are all examples of particular agreements established at various times between God and mankind. And each covenant is laid out with the same structure: if you do that, then this will happen. In the Bible, this structure is otherwise termed “blessings and curses.” The most powerful of which is recorded in Deuteronomy 28, which is divided into two sections titled Blessings for Obedience (vv 1-14) and Curses for Disobedience (vv 15-68). Of the blessings, Moses speaks to the Israelites: “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.” So opens the accounting of the unimaginable favor that shall come upon them and overtake them. God will bless His people with a great increase in their numbers and herds of livestock. The rains will be abundant and timely. Their enemies will melt before them, and He will bless them in their land. This is an agreement between the Creator and the creature; it is a covenant formed by two willing parties based upon a simple premise established by God: “The Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself. . . . if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, and if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them” (13b–14).
Read moreFrom The Files of The Seminole Producer
Read more(StatePoint) Enjoying the warm weather and your home’s outdoor living areas is one of the best parts of the year, especially when these areas are well-maintained. Now that warm weather is here, check out these hassle- free ways to refresh your patio, deck, and garden for maximum fun and relaxation for you and your furry friends: Prep for Entertaining Take some time to create the right atmosphere for entertaining guests and making picture- perfect memories. Hang string lights above decks and patios for a touch of ambiance and to boost visibility after nightfall. Pathways and perimeters should also be well-lit to ensure guests can easily navigate your outdoor spaces.
Read moreWhile the state legislature passes laws on underground carbon sequestration, researchers are analyzing how lessons learned from wastewater injection- induced earthquakes could inform the growing carbon storage industry.
Read moreAn early morning street-level view of Downtown Seminole. (Staff photo by Andy Wilson)
Read moreMore than 122,000 Oklahoma students are developing leadership and career skills as members of Oklahoma CareerTech student organizations, setting an all-time high for the fourth consecutive year.
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