- 5/19/2013 Shepard designs dream room
- 5/19/2013 Sue Jolly Award will honor student Mock Trial Team member
- 5/19/2013 Anglican Church to host homeless meeting
- 5/19/2013 North Augusta bookings
- 5/19/2013 Suspect sought in theft of Walmart cell phones
- 5/19/2013 STEMfest exposes students to principles of science, technology
- 5/19/2013 North Augusta crime blotter
- 5/19/2013 North Augusta High School hosts 309 student runners
- 5/19/2013 Predators fall to Knights in walk-off fashion
- 5/12/2013 Predators stumble against Knights, face uphill battle
- 5/12/2013 Lady Predators have to win to stay in
- 5/12/2013 Phil Schaefer reflects on North Augusta history
- 5/12/2013 North Augusta golf team’s season ends in Sumter
- 5/12/2013 NAHS grad named SEC Men’s Golf Freshman of the Year
- 5/12/2013 World’s No. 1 disc golfer pays a visit to Hippodrome
- 5/19/2013 Column: Downtown developments: Vacations less and less important
- 5/19/2013 Wrinkles: Recognizing mothers and angels
- 5/19/2013 Phragments from Phyllis: A mother’s a mother for the rest of her life
- 5/19/2013 Letter: Bring the troops home from Afghanistan
- 5/19/2013 Column: New PASS exams intended to benefit student performance
- 5/19/2013 Chaplain's corner: In his hand
- 5/12/2013 Column: The best of both borders
- 5/12/2013 Chaplain’s Corner: A mother’s joy
- 5/12/2013 Downtown developments: Bad customer service, part two
- 5/12/2013 Letter: Riverkeeper is a benefit to North Augustans
NEWS FROM THE FRONT PORCH: Superheroes of the Bible
When I was a young girl, I had no fear of intruders breaking into our home.
My daddy was the strongest man in the land, and at the slightest sound outside, he was out there checking it out - protecting his family.
Have you thought lately how nice it would be if someone physically, morally, mentally and spiritually strong would step in and right some of societal wrongs? Like a superhero of sorts?
Did you know that there was once a consecutive lineup of 12 superheroes that really lived? One was a Rambo-like national hero that straightened out the national scene for 80 years. Another was a woman that defeated one of the nation's strongest enemies and took things over for 40 years.
The last superhero in this lineup was the most incredible. He killed a lion with his bare hands, and later picked up the nearest thing lying on the ground and killed an entire army.
His last act was his greatest as he nearly wiped out an entire country of enemies and died with them.
He was so special that an angel appeared to his childless parents and gave them special instructions regarding his pre-birth care and how to raise him to a young man.
When the father asked the angel's name, the angel told him that his name was too far beyond the father's understanding to mention.
Then the angel left in a flame of fire, leaving the couple exclaiming that they had been in the presence of God.
The parents kept the instructions given to them by the angel regarding the young man.
As he grew up, women were very attracted to him and the wrong ones became his undoing.
The nation's enemies soon became aware of this weakness and used on of their own women to take Samson down.
The lives of these superheroes illustrated mankind's need for the ultimate superhero.
One that was beyond man but yet understood man. God answered, and Heaven's best came.
Superhero Samson was born with God's help to a childless couple.
The ultimate hero Jesus Christ was born of a virgin.
Samson's life mingled the purposes of God with human weakness and sin.
Jesus lived without sin.
Samson loved women to their harm; Jesus loves women and men for their good.
Samson died because of his own sins.
Jesus died for the sins of all mankind.
Samson's accomplishments were temporary.
Jesus' are eternal.
God provided partial deliverances through the 12 superheroes or "judges" of the Old Testament to give a foretaste of the full and complete salvation that would one day be won by His Son.
By God's eternal plan to provide a perfect sacrifice and deliverance from sin by a perfect Savior, God made it possible to temporarily use and honor the faith of someone as morally weak as Samson.
Dianne Brady is an author and speaker and can be reached at gracekeeper@comcast.net.
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