Alfred Nobel has left the whole world with a false impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1867 he found that nitroglycerin could be turned into a paste by mixing it with diatomaceous earth, formed into rods that could be dropped inside of predrilled holes, and then fitted with a blasting cap for detonation. From that day forward, nothing would ever look the same again. Rocks would be split and mountains overturned. The entire earth was destined to be irreversibly shaken by its power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But before any of that could be realized, Mr. Nobel first had to name<\/em> these explosive sticks. He settled on the word \u201cdynamite<\/em>\u201d, which is an expression derived from a particular Greek term \u201cdunamis<\/em>\u201d. Incidentally, that same word is used 120 times by New Testament authors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Some of you think this is just a matter of semantics”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Dunamis is the kind of power Jesus displayed in the Gospels<\/em> when He delivered people from sickness, darkness, and death (Lk.4:36, Mk.5:30, Mt.14:2<\/strong>). After His ministry came to an end, Christ Himself was raised from the grave by that same power (I Cor.6:14<\/strong>). Then, throughout the Acts narrative<\/em>, dunamis is highlighted as one of the defining attributes of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8<\/strong>). Over and over again, the word is used to identify the power of God. The Scriptures clearly reveal that dynamite has been changing the landscape of history long before 1867.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE ORIGINAL DYNAMITE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For centuries after its New Testament inception, dunamis enjoyed a reputation, not for destroying<\/em>, but for repairing<\/em> the damage done by sin. It reversed<\/em> physical death, restored<\/em> spiritual stability, and reestablished<\/em> sound minds. When dunamis was first introduced, it was seen as something that kept things from falling apart, and the entire world was beginning to understand that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until Alfred came along and blew the whole thing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through a simple misuse of terms, mankind has been led to believe that the greatest power on earth is seen when things are blasted to smithereens, when really, true dunamis has the exact opposite effect. Real<\/em> dynamite holds everything together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE MYSTERIOUS FORCE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Nasa scientists, there is a \u201cstrong force<\/em>\u201d estimated to be 100 trillion, trillion, trillion times greater than gravity. They don\u2019t know what it is<\/em>; they only know that it\u2019s there<\/em>. Yet it\u2019s this \u2018force\u2019 that keeps every proton<\/em> in every atom,<\/em> in every molecule<\/em>, in everything<\/u><\/em> and everyone<\/u><\/em>, from being repelled by neighboring protons. Even though it\u2019s in their nature to resist one another, these protons inexplicably hold together. And if it weren\u2019t for this \u201cstrong force<\/em>\u201d, the entire universe would explode like\u2026 well\u2026 a stick of dynamite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE REAL DUNAMIS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews 1:3<\/strong> answers the mystery that befuddles Nasa scientists. God\u2019s word declares that Christ is the one responsible for holding the protons together, \u201cfor He<\/em> upholds the universe by His (dunamis) power<\/em>\u201d. Jesus Himself is the \u201cstrong force<\/em>\u201d, which means the greatest display of power isn’t when nitroglycerin pulverizes a hillside, but when Christ keeps everything intact. Even the mightiest explosions are unimpressive when compared with His power to suppress it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s the power that holds the Christian together when they would naturally blow up. Dunamis restrains your sinful impulses. It stops you from retaliating when it\u2019s in your own strength to do so, which keeps the nucleus of the church from splintering into dozens of offended fragments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Alfred blew the whole thing up”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n In short, dunamis is the power to maintain<\/em>, endure<\/em>, and withstand<\/em> the natural forces that would otherwise devastate<\/em>, destroy<\/em>, and repel<\/em>. Without dunamis, the probability of our working together in a close relationship, and staying together until the very end, is reduced to nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n POWER ON DISPLAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning about the incompatibility of protons, Russian physicist George Gamow once said, \u201cevery object is a potential nuclear explosive<\/em>\u201d, which is a scary thought. Even more frightening, however, is that it includes me and you. We all have the capacity to explode and destroy what Christ has joined together. Only dunamis can keep that from happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christians sometimes dream of harnessing the power of God so they can perform signs & wonders. But who really cares whether you can bedazzle people with miracles, if, in the end, you spiritually implode, abandon what\u2019s right, and destroy your own life? The greater power is the power to submit, commit, unite, and persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We need to understand what real power looks like and appreciate it for what it is. Some people think this is all just a matter of semantics, but power like this deserves respect. It\u2019s never safe to play with dynamite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alfred Nobel has left the whole world with a false impression. In 1867 he found that nitroglycerin could be turned into a paste by mixing it with diatomaceous earth, formed into rods that could be dropped inside of predrilled holes, and then fitted with a blasting cap for detonation. From that day forward, nothing would … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":16134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pastors-notes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16132"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16152,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132\/revisions\/16152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.jfbduluth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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