“Mann traoch, Gott Lauch” is a Yiddish proverb: “man plans, God laughs.” God is in control. How could He not laugh? We plan for success, but God chuckles, allowing humbling failure. Or perhaps we prepare for a few failures—but God laughs and sends only victories. That too is humbling as we realize victory was notContinue reading “The Lord in Heaven Laughs.”
Category Archives: God is sovereign
He’s a ‘Creative.’
It has become fashionable to describe people as “creatives,” converting the adjective to a noun. I’ve heard the trendy, slangy noun used to describe musicians, artists, marketers, even entrepreneurs. The Bible records the biography of an interesting “Creative.” He showed up at a party ready to stump the crowd with a riddle he had written. Continue reading “He’s a ‘Creative.’”
The Storyteller.
John Bisagno was a world-class orator. Mama always said he had a “flair for the dramatic.” The man could tell a story. He understood suspense and drama and the quiet moments and anticipation. He could sweep a crowd into a moment—and the payoff would be spectacular. But no one has a “flair for the dramatic”Continue reading “The Storyteller.”
Judgment of the Gods.
We expect God to judge people. He punishes evil people throughout the Bible. He punished Cain by banishment. He punished the pagan world with a flood. He punished Sodom and Gomorrah with fire from heaven. He punished idolatrous, treasonous Israelites when the earth swallowed them in an earthquake. But did you know God also judgesContinue reading “Judgment of the Gods.”
Anticipating What God Might Do.
God prepares us before he calls us. Often we are born with the gifts we will need, and our experience births in us a desire to work in the area of those gifts. Some of us will have an overwhelming desire to DO the work, but no idea HOW to do it. Have you everContinue reading “Anticipating What God Might Do.”
Courtroom Drama.
Like so many of the rich and powerful, Job seems to have spent his share of time arguing before judges. Then after his life has been all but destroyed, he repeatedly complains there is no judge to hear his case. Why not? Because it is God whom he wishes to sue. “If one wanted toContinue reading “Courtroom Drama.”
Integrity Builds Courage & Wisdom.
Nothing builds COURAGE and WISDOM faster than integrity. Integrity builds courage because it requires people to do things they find frightening. Integrity builds wisdom because the good decisions it requires draw a person out of darkness and into the light. Both Job and his friends are men of integrity. (But only Job is a manContinue reading “Integrity Builds Courage & Wisdom.”
Good News! The Bible is Not All Good News. Job 5:7
Some Christians greatly dislike Ecclesiastes–preachers, included. I think they don’t understand it. Ecclesiastes is a gut-check. If you are optimistic, if every message you speak is “turn that frown upside-down,” you are missing the gut of the Bible. THE BIBLE IS FOR PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS—REAL problems, that can’t be fixed by clichés and bumper-sticker theology.Continue reading “Good News! The Bible is Not All Good News. Job 5:7”
Do We Blame God When Bad Things Happen?
Job was the wealthiest man of his time, “the greatest man among all the people of the east.” He had 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, and thousands of other animals, servants without number, and ten grown children he adored. Then in a single moment he lost it all—including his children. Did he blame God? Here’s theContinue reading “Do We Blame God When Bad Things Happen?”
“It Was Not You, But God…”
By God’s grace, terrible things can have positive outcomes. Romans 8:28 says “God causes all things to work together for good….” God is sovereign—He is the Ruler and King of the universe. He fashions the worst things into good. More than twenty years after they sold him into slavery, Joseph revealed his identity to hisContinue reading ““It Was Not You, But God…””
Household Words: 