Sermon: Divinely Scheduled Appointments, Part 1 (Acts 8:26-40) | Oct 24, 2021
Tag Archives: providence
Repurposing | Bible Gleanings – January 1-2, 2022
An old coffee mug could sit comfortably on your desk as a container for pens and pencils. You could paint used soup cans and reuse them as miniature flower pots. That worn-out wooden ladder in your shed could be fastened horizontally to the wall as a small bookshelf. There are hundreds of household items that can be recycled for a new purpose. The landfill doesn’t have to be their final home.
Using something for a purpose other than its original intended use is called repurposing or “upcycling.” This creative hobby generates joy for DIY enthusiasts, as well as growing viewership for handyman television shows where the host(s) specialize in finding new uses for old junk. But although repurposing has enjoyed much interest recently, there is only One who has been giving new purpose to seemingly purposeless things since the beginning of time: God. In His divine providence, the sovereign Lord uses things you would never think of to accomplish His good purposes.
The Bible is replete with “repurposing” stories where God used seemingly inconsequential, meaningless, or even evil things to fulfill His indestructible plan of redemption. Joseph never would have ruled in Egypt if the Midianite traders hadn’t discovered him in the pit his brothers tossed him into (Genesis 37:28). If Moses’ mother had not sent him downstream in a basket on the Nile, where he was found by Pharaoh’s daughter, he would never have led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 2:1-10). Ruth would never have met and married Boaz in his barley fields if she hadn’t gone there to help Naomi survive the famine (Ruth 1:22). Mary and Joseph only went to Bethlehem, the prophesied birthplace of the Messiah, because of Caesar’s simple decree to pay taxes (Luke 2:1-3). The Samaritan woman encountered and was transformed by Jesus because she went out to draw water (John 4:7). And none of us would possess the gift of salvation were it not for an ugly crucifix planted atop Golgotha’s hill (John 19:17).
God gave a new purpose to a pit, a basket, a field, a decree, a water pail, and a Roman cross. The Scripture is unequivocally clear: God specializes in repurposing. That’s why Paul wrote, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Because of God’s providence, there is always purpose in your pain, meaning in the mundane, and significance in your strain. Hope in the Lord to repurpose all things in your life for good and His glory. Or as Solomon counseled, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
A Frightening Flight | Bible Gleanings – Nov 14-15, 2020
A Frightening Flight
Every passenger thought this was the end. The aircraft was unsteady as it flew through rough air currents. The turbulence was extreme, causing screams of terror as the plane’s seats rocked. Luggage was spilling out. People held on to whatever they could. Some people were praying through tears. Flight attendants tried to keep everyone calm. Panic had seized everyone on the plane—except for one little boy.
How could this be? How could one youngster be peaceful in such chaos? Well, his father was the pilot. Although the plane was in turmoil, and life itself seemed to be coming to an end, the boy’s father was trustworthy and skillful enough to land the plane safely despite the pandemonium. He was experiencing a rocky ride just like everyone else—but he had no reason to panic because his father was in control.
Can we all agree that the year 2020 has been a tumultuous plane ride through turbulence from hell? Wildfires have burned through thousands of acres of our West Coast. Political and ideological wildfires have likewise burned in our major cities. The coronavirus pandemic has seized our normal way of life. This virus has robbed us of our income and our loved ones, in many cases. And without question, this election season (which is far from over) has been the most chaotic and divisive in our nation’s history. It definitely looks like this plane is going down.
Maybe you can relate. Maybe you are flying through turbulence and your life is marked by conflict, confusion, and commotion. Friend, the only way you can retain peace in the chaos of life is if you know the Pilot. If you know Christ as your Savior, then the Lord God of the universe is your heavenly Father and He is a trustworthy pilot. Your plane might seem out of control, but God is always in control and He will get you to your destination—even if you have to fly through turbulence. Psalm 93 says, “The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting” (vv. 1-2).
God is in control and He reigns in heaven upon His throne—nothing can ever change that—not a virus, not a president, or a personal trouble. That is why it is wise to obey the words of Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Will you trust the Pilot of your life to safely land your plane?
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
The Movie of Your Life | Bible Gleanings—November 7-8, 2020
The Movie of Your Life
Walt Disney released the first full-length animated movie in 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It was one-of-a-kind and enjoyed an enormous amount of box office success. Producing the film was a gargantuan task and an outstanding achievement, to say the least. Back in the late 30’s, there were no iPhones, computers, or user-friendly editing programs. So, how did they do it?
A documentary explained that Disney employees stacked glass panes with drawings and shifted them around to simulate movement. The process was essentially a sophisticated flipbook. Disney artists drew over one million pictures for this particular movie. And each image flashed onto the screen for a mere one twenty-fourth of a second! You can watch the film today at regular speed, and it all seems so simple. Millions of pictures, hours of meticulous editing, and a considerable amount of money all poured into a film that lasts only an hour and a half.
Life is just like a movie, isn’t it? Your life is short: “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14b). Yet, the Lord God is using a million different events to ensure your life plays out the way He’s planned. You are in the movie at “regular speed,” living day by day, as each scene unfolds by the hour. The sovereign Lord of the universe has put infinite thought, skill, and careful attention into every detail of your life’s movie. Only He knows the movie of your life from beginning to end because He is directing it.
And like a movie, your life has painful scenes and happy ones. Maybe your life has had more of the former than the latter. As long as you are the Lord’s child by faith in Christ, you can take heart in knowing that God is working everything out (good things and bad things) for your good. That’s what the Bible says: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The movie of your life is incomplete right now. God won’t be finished with it until you take your final breath. You have to wait for God to complete it – you can’t hit fast-forward.
While you wait, trust the process and the God who is behind it. Walk in obedience empowered by grace, and hope in the Lord and His plan for your good and His glory. David wisely tells you, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act” (Psalm 37:5). As the scenes of your life play out, will you trust in the Lord?
Bible Gleanings is a widely-read weekend devotional column, written for the Murray Ledger & Times in Calloway County, Kentucky.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He pastored the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky for six years. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English Shepherd), and Dot (Bluetick Beagle).
Day 17: If the Fates Allow?
“So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.” —Matthew 1:17
One of the most beautiful Christmas songs is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It reminisces about all the joyful Christmases shared with family and friends and wishes the same to be enjoyed by all who hear it. However, one line in the song reflects a faulty (but common) understanding of the ordering of the universe: “Through the years we all will be together, if the fates allow.” Fate is the ordering of events outside of human control, usually by some unknown supernatural power. And in the song, fate is credited as making possible or impossible the togetherness of family and friends. Some have recognized the error of this and rightly modified the lyrics to say, “If the Lord allows.”
Fate has nothing to do with the development or unfolding of anything. Only the Lord is sovereign and in control of all situations and events. If the Lord permits something to occur, it will—if He does not, it cannot occur. And this wonderful and comforting truth of God’s sovereignty pulses in every verse of Matthew’s seemingly unnecessary genealogy. To demonstrate God’s rule in the world and His commitment to fulfill His plan, Matthew traces God’s providential hand through history beginning with Abraham and ending at the birth of Jesus Christ (see vv. 2-17).
Many things occurred in those thousands of years that should have obliterated God’s plan to save sinners through Christ, but the will of God prevailed. During the period of time from Abraham to David, there were wars, famines, debauchery, idolatry, and destruction. Many things happened that even threatened the existence of the Davidic line—the one Jesus had to be born into. But God’s plan revealed to Abraham to bless all families of the earth through his offspring was indestructible, unstoppable, and immutable (Genesis 12:1-3). Despite all of this, God fulfilled His word by bringing forth, “the son of David, the son of Abraham” at the right time (Matthew 1:1b).
God’s plan never fails—it never fails for you, either. It might take some time to see it fulfilled and things may appear to be hindering it, but as Matthew’s genealogy demonstrates—nothing can stop the plan of God. As Job of old proclaimed, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2). You need not depend on fate—you need only to trust the Lord.
Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot.
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