concerning the providence of God, and I'll sum that up as to what it means in a minute.

It's a little much, Bob.

Two things are on my mind by way of introduction before I pray and get into the meat of the matter.

One is to read a text from Jeremiah, which I'm reading from my devotions right now, and the

other is to tell you a story from lunch today with some pastors that I had.

The text is the last verse of Jeremiah 14, which says,

Are there any among the false gods of the nations

that can bring rain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

Art thou not he, O Lord our God?

We set our hope on thee,

for thou doest all these things.

A couple of things.

Even when he poses the question,

first he poses the question,

are there any gods who can bring rain?

And his answer is no.

Second question, he asks,

is can the heavens give showers?

Well, scientifically, surely everyone would say,

sure, where else does rain come from?

But the clouds, the heavens, the sky, that's what it means.

...