Providence in the Incarnation of Christ (2)

Layton Talbert The following is an excerpt from the book, Not by Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God (Greenville, S.C.: BJU Press, 2001). Part 1 recounted the providential context of the birth of Christ in history (politics, commerce, language) and then began discussing providential arrangements of specific circumstances including matters concerning John’s conception and…

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Providence in the Incarnation of Christ (1)

Layton Talbert The following is an excerpt from the book, Not by Chance: Learning to Trust a Sovereign God (Greenville, S.C.: BJU Press, 2001). Pieces of a jigsaw puzzle make little sense by themselves. Each by itself is unfinished, incomplete. Each raises questions that can be answered only as it is fitted into its proper…

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The Providence of God in History

Edward M. Panosian Frontline ♦ July/August 1997 “Providence” is a beautiful word. God is providentially ordering the steps of His children and providing for their needs. This word “providence’ probably has more meaning to us in this generation of video than it has had before. Linguistically the root of the word “providence” is two simple…

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Stranded in the Brazilian Desert

Bill Griffin Brazilians call the semi-arid desert of Brazil its “wild west.” Cowboys ride horseback, and oxcarts squeak along at their slow pace. This area, known as the Sertao, is populated with a large group of small towns and is fanatically Roman Catholic. The people show great respect to the priest, bowing before him and…

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Providential Dullness? Luke 18:34

Layton Talbert The writers of the synoptic Gospels record three occasions on which the Lord Jesus explicitly forewarned his disciples of His approaching betrayal, death and resurrection. (See a harmony of the Gospels to compare the exact parallel passages.) The first occasion prompted Peter’s rebuke of the Lord and the Lord’s rebuke in reply (Mt.16/…

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Misfortune or Providence?

Excerpted from Letters from a Soviet Prison Camp by Mikhail Khorev (Grummersbach, West Germany: Missionswerk Friedenstimme, 1986). Reprinted 1989 by Baker Book House. Used by permission. Born in 1931, Mikhail Khorev was imprisoned for his faith and ministry in the former Soviet Union in the 1950s and again from 1980 to 1986. Plagued from birth…

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God’s Viewpoint of Hurricane Sandy

Joel Arnold 50 deaths. Somewhere between 20 and 50 billion dollars. Both numbers still rising. It’s been a costly week. Meanwhile, everyone from politicians to climate scientists is ready to seize the opportunity. We suffered a disaster. The nation is temporarily focused on one thing. Let the competition for audience and influence begin. There is…

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Discerning The Will Of God In Unclear Circumstances

This excerpt appeared in FrontLine Jan/Feb, 1997. How May a Christian Discover the Will of God and His Own Duty under Dark and Doubtful Providences? Providence in concurrence with the Word may give some encouragement to us in our way; but no testimony of Providence is to be accepted against the Word. If Scripture and…

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