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…
People who have learned of God's providence will neither grumble against God for adversity nor blame him for their own wickedness as Homer's Agamemnon does, "Blame not me, but Jupiter and fate!" On the other hand, they not be like the youth in Plautus who slip into despair as if they lives are hurried away…
Only those who worship God with reverence will make good use of the doctrine of God's providence. That's why so many people rage against the doctrine, even though they give more weight to their own reasoning ability that to God. Some people criticize us for believing that God's revealed will can be known from the…
As a ministry leader, you will want to set goals for yourself and for your ministry. Goal-setting is actually biblical as Jesus himself has given the church a goal of sorts when he commanded us to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Yet so often we fail to reach our ministry goals or we…
Leaders have to make decisions. Sometimes leaders are even paid to make decisions for a living. Most CEOs are not involved in the day-to-day execution of making products for their company. Instead, they are paid to make decisions about the future of the company. Even if you're not a CEO-level leader, as a ministry leader…
One of my goals as a pastor is to have a bunch of mini-Chris's running around the church. I want to people to think like me, act like me, and lead like me. Scary, huh!? But the apostle Paul embodied such a goal when he called to the Corinthians to be like him: "Be imitators…
"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable"Dwight. D. Eisnehower "Winging it" is not an acceptable ministry strategy. Show me a leader who doesn't spend time planning and I'll show you an ineffective leader. Planning is one of the most effective uses of a time for leaders because it sharpens their focus on what is really…
I've done things in my life that I'm not proud of, and after the fact, I have thought to myself, "That's not me." Maybe you've had a similar experience. We can probably all relate to those times when we surprise ourselves by how bad we can be. What motivates us to do those things? While…
When was the last time you felt like you had too much to do and not enough time to do it? What was your solution? Was it to "just work harder"? Or maybe you threw your hands up in despair and just walked away from the pile of working sitting on your desk or kitchen…
Raising Lazarus 