How can God allow suffering and evil in the world? from A Passion for Life on Vimeo. HT: JT
How are we to understand the relationship between God’s sovereignty (he is in control of all things) and our decisions (we are responsible moral agents)?
Both these things are true: God is sovereign and is in control of all things. Human choices in no way diminish the sovereignty of God. Human beings are responsible moral agents. God is in no way morally responsible for sin.…
“Pride rots in winter”
C. John Miller: I have found that there is nothing like testings of the soul to drive me to Christ and break my pride. Samuel Rutherford says, “Pride rots in winter,” indicating that we must have much need of humbling…
Christians need not be intellectually troubled that they can’t explain why God allows evil.
A theodicy is “a defense of God’s goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil.” A theodicy speaks to the question, “If God is good and all-powerful, how do we explain the existence of evil.” So how do…
How Luther Comforted His Wife on September 20, 1542
Today in 1542 Luther’s 14 year old daughter Magdalena lay gravely ill with the plague. “Luther knelt beside her bed and begged God to release her from the pain. When she died and the carpenters were nailing down the lid…
Philip Yancey on Wounded Healers
Philip Yancey: Another woman, in Wisconsin, lost her only son in a Marine Corps helicopter crash. For years she could not escape the dark cloud of grief. She kept her son’s room intact just as he had left it. Eventually,…
Just be wordlessly there for hurting people. At times, “Silence is eloquent sympathy.”
Os Guinness: But again, the one thing is clear: if we do not know the answers, it is better not to say . . . It is Job’s friends with whom God is angry. Speaking piously when they were ignorant,…
Lessons From a Hospice Chaplain
A pastor friend of mine took a position as a hospice chaplain six months ago. Recently, he wrote six lessons God has taught him in those first six months. ****************** Here are six things I am learning about the spiritual…
The Rockford, IL Polio Epidemic of 1945
Jesus delivers us from our fear of death. I once visited with a lady in her home who had polio during the terrible Rockford Polio epidemic in 1945. It was an awful time for Rockford. There were over 380 cases…
A Geography Lesson from a Pastor with Cancer
Pastor and sometimes blogger David Wayne is struggling with cancer. Our gracious and sovereign God is refining him and I make it a point to consider his posts carefully. Surely there is much to learn from him during this season.…