Carey Nieuwhof has written At Your Best to help knowledge workers do what they are best at, at their best time. He first chronicles the difficulties that many people have today being overworked, overcommitted, and overstressed. He then confronts the lies we tell ourselves about our life: "To revive some semblance of hope amid all…
Christians and Jews have long recognized the Song of Songs to be one of the most mysterious books of the Bible. One medieval Jewish commentary, Saadia, claimed the book was like a lock whose keys had been lost. When reading the book, a host of questions arise like, "How 'literally' should the book be taken?"…
If bad things happen to believers, they will immediately begin thinking about God. His hand is the most effective at impressing upon us the need for patience and calm thinking. If Joseph kept thinking about how he was betrayed by his brothers, he could have never forgiven them. Instead, he turned toward the Lord, which…
1. Be humble. It is an honor to be in a leadership position. Your team is counting on you to make the right decisions. 2. Don’t act like you know everything. You don’t. The team knows that. Ask smart questions. 3. Listen. Ask for advice and heed it. 4. Treat people with respect. Regardless of rank, everyone is…
On the first official date with my (now) wife, we had finished eating at a restaurant and decided to drive around the city we were in. I didn’t really know the city that well so we just headed off in the direction of the downtown area. Once downtown, I made a turn and just started…
The crisis of leadership in our churches, businesses and governments is largely due to this one dilemma: men have been given power, but they are unprepared to handle it. The time of ruling is a tremendous test of character, for the king will be sorely tested to his influence in humility, for the benefit of…
The servant of God, who is encouraged by all the Scriptures that speak of God's care for him, will add the passages which teach that all people are under God's power. His power will either encourage their minds or curb their wickedness, preventing them from causing harm. It is the Lord who gives favor, not…
Those who argue that God's providence can be used as a cover for sin can be easily refuted by meditating on God's providence. Meditating on his providence produces the best and sweetest fruit in our lives. Therefore, Christians will always direct their eyes to God as the principle cause of events because they know that…
Some people class past events as belonging to simple providence. They believe that whatever happened in the past, whether theft or adultery or murder happened without God's intervention. Therefore, they ask, "Why should the thief be punished for robbing a person for whom the Lord chose to punish with poverty? Why should the murderer be…
Regarding future event, king Solomon easily reconciles human choice with divine providence. While Solomon derides anyone who would presume to do anything without God, as if they were not ruled by his hand, he also says, "A man's heart devises his ways but the Lord directs his steps" (Prov 16:9). What Solomon means is that…