Pilgrim's Ponderings

Let me tell you a story, it’s the story of a man who lived in a rather corrupt time and was surrounded by rather corrupt people. He had cried and prayed to God for a change and for some form of judgment upon the godlessness and moral absence that he saw wherever he looked within his nation, especially in its leadership and governance. It was on his heart to pray for God’s deliverance from this sad state of affairs that his country had been reduced to. He had been praying for long and God had begun to seem distant and quiet. Suddenly though he heard from God. And the answer he got was not what he expected. God was watching all along and He had a plan all along. But the answer was coming in the form of a new government. Unfortunately though, the reputation that went ahead of this government was not really one that assured the heart. Sure it may have been a government that brought prosperity to its people and some would even dare to rank it among the top most beautiful government...

So many times I have found myself backed into a corner and wondering why God would allow something to happen in my life or in someone else's life or in the world at large. When I get confused or I get scared I go to my favourite place - the Word of God. On one such occassion I found my hope and my inspiration in the most unusual place in the pages of the Bible. I was in the index, Yes!!!!! You heard me right. I had not reached the book of Genesis, the first book of the bible... i stopped short and just kept looking at the table of contents. As I read through the table before me my mind got fixed on a thought and I was greatly encouraged. What if God intended your suffering to… Get your attention (The story of Hezekiah) Get someone else’s attention (The story of Hosea) Change your heart (The story of Jonah) Change someone else’s heart (The story of Daniel and the king of Persia) Introduce you to Christ (The story of the criminal on the cross) ...

I walked into a Christian bookstore recently and was browsing for something to read. As I looked around I noticed that a large number of books were addressing the topic of leadership. It’s one of the most talked about, written about and taught about topics in our world today. Whether it’s in the church or outside everyone is looking for and celebrating good leaders. In my mind’s eye I tried to wander through the halls of my mental library of books I have read and found that I too had read quite a large number of books on the issue of leadership. There are so many authors and pastors with new insights or new ways of sharing old insights. Everyone is into the “leadership development” movement. With all this teaching and development I sadly noticed another truth as well. With so many leaders being trained up we were severely lacking shepherds. So what’s the difference between them? Isn’t a shepherd a leader? You’re right in saying that but in the post-modern world we live in we have ...