As Loren stood with his father, gazing at a beautiful Minnesota lake, the little four-year-old asked: "Daddy, who
made this lake?" "God made it," replied his dad, "and God
made those trees and all this beautiful scenery."
There was a moment's silence. Then, placing his hands
on his hips, little Loren said: "He sure did a good job!"
Yes, He did, yet this scenery was nothing compared with
the glory this earth will know when Christ returns to reign.
If earth's rivers and lakes, its mountains and valleys, its
landscapes and seascapes can now be so breath-taking, so
awe-inspiring, what will be its beauty when prophecy is
fulfilled and the curse removed!
"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them [God's
people, Israel] and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
"It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:
the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel
and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of
our God."
"...for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the
desert.
"And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land
springs of water..."
"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa. 35:1,2,6,
7,10).
To the Reader:
Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years
ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers.
When many of these articles were later compiled in book
form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the
Preface:
"It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column,
Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for
many years, so that local, national and international
events are discussed as if they occurred only recently.
Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left
them just as they were when first published. This, we
felt, would add to the interest, especially since our
readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper
articles."
We hope that you'll agree that while some of the
references in these articles are dated, the spiritual
truths taught therein are timeless.