pastor || writer || speaker
When looking at the life of Joseph in Genesis 40-41, I noticed some striking aspects about the timeline of Joseph's journey. Joseph was sold into slavery at 17 years of age according to Genesis 37:2. By the end of Genesis 41, Joseph is 30 years old (41:46). Two years pass between the end of chapter …
Continue reading "Five Elements of Waiting on God: insights from the life of Joseph"
Following the last two days of reflection on prayer and God's sovereignty, today's post is taken from a letter I wrote in response to someone asking me questions about why we pray if God is sovereign. I've found this to be one of the most regular questions people ask me about prayer and I hope …
Continue reading "Why Pray if God is Sovereign? [30 Days of Prayer]"
“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10) If the first part of …
Continue reading "The Mystery of Prayer to a Sovereign God, part 2 [30 Days of Prayer]"
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15) One pervasive problem of prayer is how our prayers relate to the sovereignty of God. If God is all-knowing and rules over …
Continue reading "The Mystery of Prayer to a Sovereign God, part 1 [30 Days of Prayer]"
Let’s reflect on four aspects of suffering that we see in the life of Joseph: Joseph’s family dynamic brought suffering down upon him. Joseph did not choose to be born into the dysfunctional and broken family system of Abraham's generations, but that was the context of his birth and growth. The tensions between Joseph and …
Matthew Erickson 