Brian loved football. In tenth-grade he was diagnosed with cancer in his left leg and endured chemotherapy. He lost his hair, but returned to sports. Then cancer came raging back. The doctors wanted to remove Brian’s leg above the knee. Brian wanted to play football. He had two years left and decided to postpone theContinue reading “God is Good.”
Category Archives: God is sovereign
Leadership, Cannibalism, Supply and Demand.
It’s easy to pray about your home and family—the little world around you. But God controls EVERYTHING. When the world is suffering, God can fix it. The burden of leadership weighed heavily on the king of Israel when Samaria was under siege. His people were starving. “As the king was passing by on the cityContinue reading “Leadership, Cannibalism, Supply and Demand.”
There Are No Small Parts, Only Small Actors.
Auditioning for a Shakespeare play is an adventure—you never know what role you might receive. From a pool of college students a director might cast human roles of all ages plus monsters, ghosts, and fantastic creatures of all kinds. Perhaps you hoped to play Fairy Queen Titania, but find yourself cast as “fairy number two.”Continue reading “There Are No Small Parts, Only Small Actors.”
The Lord in Heaven Laughs.
“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.”
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.”