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Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
by Tom Kelley
We use them on an almost daily basis. They power many infrequently used items and also some that are constanly used. They are batteries. Yeah, the good ole A, AA, AAA, B, C, D and 9 volt. We have them in games, pda's, phones; you name it, batteries power it. Batteries were, for the longest time acredited to the work of Alessandro Volta. Hence the term, "volt", to describe their power.
However, less than fifty years ago a clay jar some five inches high and three inches across began to change our previously held historical view of the battery. A group of clay jars made by the Parthians around 200 B. C. were being displayed in the National Museum of Iraq. In 1960 the aforementioned five by three inch jar was re-examined and the old data re-instated for study. What they found was very remarkable.
In its original state, the jar had a narrow iron rod set directly in the center of it and sticking out of the mouth of the jar. The top of the jar was sealed with asphalt. Inside the jar was a sheet of copper that had been rolled into a tube which sat on a copper disk. The iron rod was suspended in the center of the tube. The scientists examining it suddenly realized that if you introduced an acidic liquid such as vinegar the jar became a battery which produced from 1.5 to 2 volts.
The jar's secret had finally been unearthed. No one even wanted to think that batteries could have existed in 200 B. C. The jar had remained a mystery all that time. The asphalt, the iron rod, the copper tube; none of it made sense until it was examined carefully. For millennia the very nature of God had been a mystery. Many had seen glimpses but no one had been able to truly view the Father God.
"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory." 1 Timothy 3:16 "Jesus said to him, '...he who has seen me has seen the Father." John 14:9 The mystery is revealed. Jesus introduced us to His Father and invited us to join Him in His Father's presence. Time to embrace the mystery.
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...He was the Minister of the Minorsville Christian Church located near Stamping Ground, KY.
...Becky and Tom have three children; John, single and in worship ministry in Nicholasville, Kentucky; Sean, married (Jennifer, elementary school teacher) with twins (Grace and Patrick, b.d. 10/31/04) and regional director of Papa John's Pizza in Central KY; Kara, married (Vince Taylor, prison guard) and working with Hospice East in Winchester, KY.
...Tom went to be with the Lord on November 13, 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have been touched by Tom's writings please send an email to Tom's son at jkelley@catalystchristian.net
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