Strike Four, You’re Out! Maybe Not.

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Pete

It’s just not a good look for Judah. I’m reading Genesis 37 and 38 this morning and, for some reason (maybe an illuminating Spirit reason?), Judah, the fourth-born of Jacob, becomes the center of attention. And this as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5) echoes, for some reason, in the background.

First, it’s Judah who comes up with the plan to sell Joseph into slavery.

Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

(Genesis 37:26-27 ESV)

Okay . . . maybe he gets a little credit for not going along with the initial plan to kill Joseph (Gen. 37:18-20). But come on, if he was respected enough by the others so that they went with the “let’s sell him” Plan B, then he was respected enough to be heeded if had said instead, “No way! Send the boy back to dad.”

His brothers listened to him . . . Strike one, Judah.

And then, he deconstructs.

It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her.

(Genesis 38:1-2 ESV)

Judah went down . . .

Not long after the Joseph thing, “at that time”, Judah bails on the brothers and goes “down” — both geographically and spiritually — to Canaan. And there, he takes a wife. Like literally “takes” her — no mention of loving her, just took her. And so, he marries a Canaanite woman despite the family prohibition (Gen. 24:3, 28:1). Strike two, sir.

Then Judah commits the same sin God judged (by death) his second son for. He prevents his widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar, from having children by his son. (Read that whole mess in Gen. 38:6-11). Strike three! Heavy sigh.

But wait! There’s more! Can there be a strike four? Apparently. Here’s what happens after Judah’s wife dies.

When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

(Genesis 38:13-16 ESV)

What a mess! Judah sleeps with his daughter-in-law. And, she conceives. So, Judah covers it up. But there’s no hiding that twins are born. (Read the rest of the story).

So, how am I feeling about Judah? Not so good. How high is he ranking in my estimation? Not all that high. How judge-y am I prone to be? More than I want to admit?

More than I want to admit because, echoing in my mind throughout the story is the reminder that the Son of God came into this world through this man’s lineage. Not only is Judah recorded in the divine line of Jesus the Christ, but so are the twins and — scandal beyond scandal — so is Tamar, the Canaanite woman who disguised herself as a prostitute and was impregnated by her father-in-law (Matt. 1:3).

Who would include that in their family tree? Not this guy. Much less include it as part of the birth story of the Savior of the world.

But beyond that — even more jaw-dropping — is the awareness that the spotless Lamb of God will be known in glory, and throughout eternity, as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.“

And so, I read Genesis 37 and 38 and grace is flooding the life of this guy who I’d be inclined to count out (with a strike to spare).

And I’m reminded that Judah is exactly the sort of person through whom God chooses to manifest His power and His patience in bringing about His promises. And that I’m more Judah than I’d care to admit. But thank God I’m more Judah than I could ever deserve. Kind of how grace works, isn’t it?

Kind of amazing? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Amazing grace! Amazing God!

O’ what a Savior!

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Fear and Comfort

Posted on January 13, 2026 by Pete

For now, the pressure was off. For now, as a result of Saul’s encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1-30), Operation “Persecute the Church” had been derailed and the focus had shifted to silencing Saul who was himself now proclaiming that Jesus was, in fact, the Son of God and proving that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 9:20, 22). And so, writes Dr. Luke, for now at least “the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up” (Acts 9:31a).

But what captures my attention is that intertwined with this period of peace was fear and comfort.

And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

(Acts 9:31b ESV)

The fear of the Lord . . . the comfort of the Holy Spirit . . .

Fear and comfort. Seems like the two are meant to go together. Kind of like peanut butter and jam, salt and pepper, cookies and milk. Where you find one, you might expect the other to be by its side. Kind of like Batman and Robin, Abbott and Costello, Wayne and Shuster (your welcome, my Canadian friends). Fear and comfort — found hand in hand in the early church.

Fear of the Lord . . . Hmm, not just an Old Testament thing. I guess you might expect that if the fear of the Lord really is “the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10), and if wisdom is a thing needed for all ages. Living in the knowledge of the greatness of who God is — the Father who loves with a steadfast love and sent His Son to redeem man, but also the Creator who requires a reckoning from His creation and will one day require all to stand before Him.

Navigating life with the ever-present awareness of who Jesus is — that while He is “gentle and lowly in heart” and always inviting all who are weary to come (Matt. 11:28-30), He is also the coming King of kings and Lord of lords, pictured in John’s vision arrayed in splendor and ready for battle, a sword coming from His mouth (Rev. 19:15-16) — a symbol informing all with ears to hear that He will return to judge the nations.

Our God is an awesome God. His Son is a glorious Savior. Bow the knee. Face to the ground. Not in cowering dismay but in heartfelt, soul-inviting reverence and worship. The early church, walked in the fear of the Lord.

The also walked in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. They did life in the comfort of the Comforter, in the encouragement of the Encourager, in the strength of the heaven-sent Strengthener. Though formal persecution may have known a temporary cease-fire, the tumult of day-to-day life continued. These new believers still needed to navigate swimming against the current, fighting the uphill battle. Showing up as children of kingdom light while still living in a world enveloped with deepening darkness. And they found the power to do so through the Paraclete, the indwelling, ever present, Spirit of God. They walked in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way? To be sure. Fear and comfort, for it’s how to walk unencumbered? To be sure as well.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Truth in the Heart

Posted on January 12, 2026 by Pete

It strikes me as a kind of “Sermon on the Mount” song. A song about the ideal worshiper, the perfect follower — in my case, what I hope the “final product” looks like, what I hope is becoming a reality, as I’m being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29). And at its heart, it seems to me, is a conversation within the heart.

O LORD, who shall sojourn in Your tent?
       Who shall dwell on Your holy hill?

He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
       and speaks truth in his heart.

(Psalm 15:1-2 ESV)

Speaks truth in his heart . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

The song begins with a profound question — who has access to the place where the glory dwells? And yet it provides a pretty simple answer — the one who walks blamelessly. Well, that counts me out right off the bat.

But note that the blameless walk, is bound to an inner talk — to speaking truth in the heart. Seems that when the inner conversation is grounded in what is real the outer conduct will eventually manifest itself in what is right.

Note also that, in this song, the examples of what is right all have to do other people. What is spoken of others (Ps. 15:3), what is valued in others (Ps. 15:4a), what is sacrificed for others (Ps. 15:4b-5a). While the blameless walk may encompass much, much more, it is certainly characterized by nothing less than how we treat our friends, our neighbors, and the innocent.

So, how we see others, how we treat others, comes out of an inner conversation. An inner conversation that begins with the truth of God revealing the heart of God to us. An inner conversation that begins with the words of Christ shaping the mind of Christ within us. An inner conversation acknowledging the grace we’ve known through Spirit overflowing as a spirit of grace from us. An inner conversation sourced from truth in the heart which manifests itself in doing what is right . . . even if it hurts (Ps. 15:4b).

He who does these things shall never be moved.

(Psalm 15:5b ESV)

Word of God speak. Heart of mine heed. Truth of God transform.

Only by Your grace. Always for Your glory.

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Not of Man

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Pete

You’d think that the fact that the guys they had locked up in prison and put under a guard’s watch were gone (Acts 5:17-19) — though the prison was still locked and the guards never moved (Acts 5:23) — would have been enough for them to pause, take stock, and at least wonder to themselves, “Hey, maybe this is of God.” But nope! Instead, the high priest and his party of Sadducees doubled down. They went from being “filled with jealousy” (Acts 5:17) to being filled with murderous rage (Acts 5:33). If a prison couldn’t stop these followers of Jesus from talking about His resurrection, they reasoned, then death would. Crazy!

But a cooler head prevailed. A Pharisee named Gamaliel speaks up. Hey guys, he says (kinda), this isn’t our first rodeo — there have been others who had a Messiah complex, who’ve tried to sell a Messiah conspiracy, and they’ve vanished. If this is that, then there’s nothing to get wound up about.

But this wasn’t that. This was not of man.

“So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” ~ Gamaliel

(Acts 5:38-39 ESV)

If this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

If this program is merely human, it will fall apart (MSG). It will collapse of its own accord (Philips). It will come to nothing (NKJV). Literally, it will “dissolve,” it will “disunite.”

If this Christianity thing is just a fad, it’ll fade. If it’s of man, it’ll never make it.

Guess what? Not of man!

Two-thousand years later and still, the resurrection stands. Millennia have passed and yet the testimony continues. In this modern age, unlike any age before, still a people testifies that God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever and that He has sent His Son to redeem for Himself a people. His living Son. His ruling Son. His returning Son. His saving Son.

If this plan is of man, it will fail . . But it ain’t and it hasn’t. It is of God.

“The Christ is Jesus” (Acts 5:42). That’s what was proclaimed then, it’s still being proclaimed now. There is “forgiveness of sins” through Jesus (Acts 5:31). The witness of the apostles long ago, the continuing testimony of the Spirit today (Acts 5:32).

The gospel — the power for salvation — has not failed, faltered, or faded. For it is not of man, it is the power of God (Rom. 1:16).

Just sit in that. Far from failing, the good news of the kingdom come continues to flourish through lives lived that transcend the world’s skepticism, cynicism, jealousy, and rage.

Whatever tempest about us, whatever turmoil within us, we know that what has secured us is not of man, but of God. It is our anchor. It is our refuge. It is our hope.

You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart! (“I Serve a Risen Savior”, Alfred Henry Ackley)

Not of man.

But by God’s unfailing grace and for God’s all-deserving glory.

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Thanx Lord, I Needed That

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Pete

Awoke this morning burdened. Burdened about world affairs. Wondering how such big and consequential things can happen in such a relatively short period of time. Wondering how perceived stability can give way so suddenly to unpredictable uncertainty. Wondering what’s going on and what’s gonna happen.

Then I read Psalm 8, and the wondering gives way to wonder.

After chewing on it briefly, I went back into my journal to see what I’d written over the years about such a heart-lifting song. Surprised that it wasn’t much. Only time was back in 2009 — 17 years ago! Oh, but how it “hit the spot”, met the need, as it further lifted my heart by reminding me to lift my eyes.

Thanx Lord. I needed that!

Here are those thoughts . . .

I’m reading Psalm 8 this morning and it occurs to me that sometimes we just need to stop and look up . . . look way up! Yeah, there’s a lot to think about with the coming day . . . places to go . . . people to see . . . stuff to do . . . matters to worry about (I’m pretty good at worrying . . . ). But looking up has a way of putting things into perspective . . .

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
       The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
       And the son of man that You visit him?

(Psalm 8:3-4 NKJV)

Great observations result in great questions . . . and sometimes, pretty neat answers!

I’m thinking about the heavens as being the work of the fingers of God.

Now when I think of somebody working with their hands I think of creativity and construction. But when I think of somebody working with their fingers it takes it to a “next level.” I think of intricate work . . . delicate work . . . detailed work. I think of fine craftsmanship, and I think of the object that is being worked on or created as being much, much smaller than the one who is working on it.

Actually, the image of a watchmaker comes to mind. Hunched over the open watch back, with a magnifying glass stuck in one eye and fine tools of the trade being worked with his fingers, the watchmaker puts in place the many fine gears and springs and mechanics of a precision time tool and then sets it in motion.

God is the watchmaker . . . the heavens are the watch . . . and I am a speck of dust beneath the gears . . . Is it any wonder that the Psalmist bookends this Psalm with the declaration, “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent (or majestic) is Your name in all the earth (just one gear in the watch)” (8:1,9)?

Look up . . . way up . . . and see if you don’t find a “wow!” welling up inside you and an “amen!” coming to your lips as the Psalmist praises the Creator and proclaims, “You have set Your glory above the heavens!” And then the question . . . the worship evoking question . . . “What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man, that You visit him?” And David only knew the half of it.

David would marvel that God made us just slightly lower than heavenly beings . . . in the image of the triune God. David’s heart is lifted as He considers that the One who made the moon and stars . . . that the Creator of the galaxies . . . determined to crown people with glory and honor and give them such a privileged place in His creation. But David had no idea the depths of God’s love for people and the degree to which He would condescend to “visit them.”

Those same fingers which masterfully created the heavens would also work with wood on earth . . . they became carpenter fingers . . . the Creator invaded the creation. Those hands which fashioned the galaxies would eventually be stretched out on a Roman cross and pierced through with rusty spikes . . . salvation not being something that God could work from afar, but something needing the hands of the Master intricately involved in securing man’s redemption. “What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You visit Him?”

Oh, how looking up puts things into perspective. How it brings to mind the might of God . . . how it floods the heart with the love of God . . . how it causes the knee to bend with worship for God . . . “O LORD, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.”

Father, as 2009 begins at the same torrid pace with which 2008 finished, I do need to take time to look up . . . and look around . . . and marvel at the work of Your fingers. I need to remember that you are mindful of man . . . that you are mindful of this man in this chair. Beyond the circumstance, I need to know from time to time that I am your “twice secured” precious possession . . . You created me . . . and You redeemed me. I am the work of Your hands . . . I am the prize of Calvary’s cross. I am made in the image of God . . . and I’m being conformed to the image of Christ.

And so, I look up . . . way up . . . and say, “Wow!” . . . and declare, “My Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth. Be glorified my God. Amen!”

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But He Lingered

Posted on January 6, 2026 by Pete

It’s a pretty incredible story. One of God’s condescension. One of Abraham’s intercession. And one of Lot’s almost unimaginable hesitation. Or is it all that unimaginable?

Genesis 18, Abraham’s just hanging out when the LORD, accompanied by two angels, appears to him. After a prepared meal and some pre-natal planning, the LORD lets Abraham in on His present mission: “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to Me” (Gen. 18:20-21). Spoiler alert . . . it’s as bad as the “outcry” indicates.

Abraham knew S & G’s reputation, for that’s where his nephew, Lot, had chosen to live with his herds, his possessions, and his people. And knowing S & G’s reputation — that the Lord would find little to redeem in that place — Abraham begins to intercede for “the righteous within the city” (Gen. 18:22-33). If there’s fifty righteous, asks Abraham, Lord, will you still destroy the city? How about forty-five? How about forty? And so he goes, and so the LORD graciously consents, until finally the LORD answers, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” Another spoiler alert . . . there ain’t even ten.

But there was Lot. Peter, led by the Spirit, refers to him as “righteous Lot” (2Peter 2:7). And so, before the LORD destroys S & G, the angels are first to usher Lot and his family out of the city to a place of safety.

Lot is warned by the angels of the destruction to come, and Lot has no reason to think it won’t happen — it’s gonna happen. So, he gathers his family (Gen 19:12-14).

But then, I read this and it causes me to pause.

As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

Genesis 19:15-16 ESV)

But he lingered . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

The sin is great. The judgment is coming. The angel rescue team is present. But he lingered.

Lot hesitated. He delayed. He tarried. He was reluctant to leave. How come?

Was it because of the large herds and the many possessions he would have to leave behind — his life’s work? Was it because the utter wickedness of S & G had a way of making his selective, compromising wickedness (Gen. 19:4-8) seem not as bad in comparison — at least in S & G he had a relative righteousness? Whatever the reason, though faced with imminent destruction, Lot lingered.

Lingered from fleeing from sin. Hesitated about choosing the way of the LORD over “the fleeting pleasures of sin” (Heb. 11:25). Reluctant to abandon the allures of darkness for the sake of life to the full. Hmm . . .

Instead of judging Lot and asking, “How could he?” — instead of simply finding a moral in this story, I find a mirror.

What causes me to linger? What causes me to hesitate? Where does the reluctance come from — pride, possessions, power — that makes me think twice about fleeing sin?

For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?

(Romans 7:22-24 ESV)

It is the LORD who will deliver.

The angels seized Lot. They took him by the hand and brought him out . . . the LORD being merciful to him.

Lot’s righteousness ultimately was the righteousness that comes by faith. His rescue the rescue that comes through the gospel. Not earned, not through performance and, as Lot attests, certainly not through perfection.

Though I may repeatedly linger, He steadfastly loves. Though I tarry, He still takes me by the hand.

O, the abundant and abounding grace of God. Who can fathom it? Not this guy.

To God be the glory!

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A God of Seeing

Posted on January 5, 2026 by Pete

She was the “other woman.” Not cherished but chattel. Outside the family, outside the promises. The “Plan B” that should never have been conceived much less should have been forced to conceive herself. The penultimate object lesson of what can happen when we lean unto our own understanding (Prov. 3:6) and determine that by our might, and by our power — not by His Spirit — we will make things happen (Zec. 4:6).

She is Hagar. An Egyptian servant until, one day, she is the enlisted surrogate to “save” God’s promise. Sarai’s solution to having a baby.

But then, this innocent, humble bystander, after losing her innocence and becoming pregnant with Abram’s child, becomes a contemptuous, arrogant, despising source of tension in the house. And Sarai’s response? A little crazy if you think about it.

“Look what you’ve done,” she says, in effect, to her husband, “the woman I gave you so that she could give me a child is now looking down on me. And I don’t like it! And it’s your fault! Do something!” To which Abram, responds, “You do something, she’s your servant.” And Sarai does something, she “dealt harshly with her.” So much so, that Hagar needed to flee.

What a mess!

But out of the mess, a message — our God is a God of seeing.

The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the LORD also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” . . . So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.”

(Genesis 16:7-10, 13 ESV)

A God of seeing . . .

Seeing the mistakes. Seeing the consequences and collateral damage from men’s (and women’s) machinations. Seeing the mess.

And this God of seeing is the God who looks after me.

For He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6). A God who engages and intervenes. Even in the mess.

A God able to sympathize with our weakness as, through His Son, He “passed through the heavens”, entered our world, and lived among the mess. “One who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). One who found Himself in His own mess and “offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death” (Heb. 5:7). One fully qualified, in all respects, to see and to look after me in my mess — whether it’s a mess from no fault of my own or a mess of my own making.

Behold our God!

Know that our God beholds us.

He is a God of seeing. He is the God who looks after me.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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In the Middle of a Big Thing

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Pete

“Amazed and astonished.”

“Amazed and perplexed.”

That’s how the Spirit moves Dr. Luke to capture in a couple of words the reaction of those who were there on the day the Spirit was poured out (Acts 2:7, 12). The reaction of “Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians” — all devout men dwelling in Jerusalem on that day when the followers of Jesus gave utterance in each one’s own language (Acts 2:8-11). Whatever it was they were experiencing, they knew it was big thing.

Peter tried to explain to them just how big.

This is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
       that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
       and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
              and your young men shall see visions,
              and your old men shall dream dreams;
       even on my male servants and female servants
              in those days I will pour out My Spirit, and they shall prophesy.'”

(Acts 2:16-18 ESV)

Whatever they were experiencing that day, however they tried to process what was happening, Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, connects it to an ancient prophet who spoke of the last days. This thing, says Peter, is the ushering in of that thing. So, it’s a big thing.

And, as I’m sitting here this morning thinking about heading into a new year, I’m struck that I’m in the middle of that big thing. I’m living proof of the Spirit poured out in the last days.

Not because I prophesy, see visions, or dream dreams — though I have had a divine thought or two, been impressed on occasion with an unexplainable impression, and seen in my mind’s eye what can only be imagined — but because I’ve known the Spirit bearing witness with my spirit of my adoption as a child of God (Rom. 8:15-16). Because I’ve seen things and understood things in the Scriptures breathed out by God that can only be seen and understood as the Spirit of God illuminates them (1Cor. 2:10-16). Because I’ve known a power beyond my power — along with a peace that passes understanding — to endure what, for me, would have been naturally beyond endurance.

All this, and more, evidence of the truth that those who are Christ’s have been baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ (1Cor. 12:12-13) and drink of that Spirit. Evidence of the promise that we have been sealed by the Spirit as a guarantee of what is yet to come (Eph. 1:13-14).

So, entering ’26 I’m reminded this morning that I’m part of something big.

Just how big? Pretty big!

I’m part of the “now but not yet” kingdom — the Kingdom of Heaven ushered in by Christ’s first coming yet to be fully manifested and known at Christ’s second coming. Whatever ’26 might bring, it’s bringing about the kingdom.

So, let’s set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:2).

‘Cause we’re in the middle of a big thing.

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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Jehovah Gennao

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Pete

Okay . . . Is it license or is it just uneducated freedom? Am I crossing some linguistic line?

I don’t know the original languages of the Scriptures. All I have is my handy-dandy online bible and the brief definitions and explanations provided by its Hebrew and Greek lexicons. So, while I might talk about the original languages, I’m really just passing on what these helps say about the words that grab my attention. I’m no expert — I don’t even show up on the radar of biblical languages expertise. But that doesn’t stop me from being intrigued by the nuances that can be found in the original.

Nor does it stop me from doing things with the original languages that I’m pretty sure you can’t do. Like combining Old Testament and New Testament words, mashing together Hebrew and Greek. Like I said, is it license or is it just uneducated freedom? I’m thinking it’s a bit of both. But here goes.

This morning, I encounter a last flare of Christmas awe as I read in Matthew’s gospel and process again the account of Jesus’ birth. And the mash up term I end up with after some noodling? Jehovah Gennao.

But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

(Matthew 1:20-21 ESV)

That which is conceived in her . . . That’s what I’m chewing on (did I mention with awe?) this morning.

If the technology had been available 2,000 years ago, would our nativity scenes today center around an ultrasound image rather than a baby in a manger? We hover in wonder over the imagined scene of the God who created all things becoming flesh and humbly, helplessly laying in a crib of straw as a baby. But before the Son of God was a baby, He was that which is conceived in her.

I read those words and they unexpectedly hit me — Jesus is that which is conceived in her. And so, I reach for my blue colored pencil and shade them as an insight into God the Son. And the wonder of another implication of Immanuel, God with Us, crashes over me like a wave.

And then this is where my uneducated freedom kicks in. As if, Immanuel, isn’t enough of a term for me, I start looking up words to come up with another way of describing the wonder of the “And the Word became flesh” (John 1:14). A phrase modeled after the more well-known, and more accurate, “Jehovah designations” such as: Jehovah-Jireh (The Lord Will Provide), Jehovah-Rapha (The Lord That Heals), Jehovah-Nissi (The Lord My Banner), Jehovah-Shalom (The Lord Is Peace), Jehovah-Raah (The Lord My Shepherd), Jehovah-Tsidkenu (The Lord Our Righteousness), and Jehovah-Shammah (The Lord Is There).

Jehovah, “I AM”. Is it at all appropriate to think in terms of the “I AM” as that which is conceived — I’m thinking it must be. The Greek word for “conceived” is gennao, which means “to be born” or “to be begotten”, so couldn’t I say (I guess I am) that Jesus, in a sense, might be thought of as Jehovah Gennao (The Lord to be Born)?

Jehovah Gennao. . . what an almost unimaginable lowly place for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to occupy. What humility was entered into by the Second Person of the Triune God in order to “save His people from their sins.” To coin a well-known seasonal phrase, “What love came down at Christmas!”

Maybe it’s crossing some linguistic line, but there’s something about meditating on Jehovah Gennao (The Lord Conceived) that red lines my awe-o-meter.

Jaw-dropping! Breathtaking! Fall on your knees!

What amazing grace! To God be all glory!

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The LORD Knows

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Pete

Back to the beginning of my reading plan. A new bible open on my desk. Colored pencils at hand. Let’s a get a jump start on 2026.

Something so grounding in these initial readings. Powerful reminders that God created (Genesis 1:1), God came (Matthew 1:1), God’s coming again (Acts 1:11), and God knows (Psalm 1:6). It’s that last reminder that’s captured my mediations this morning.

The songwriter begins Psalm 1 with a promise: “Blessed is the man . . .” The one who, by God’s grace, refuses the counsel, the way, and the seat of the wicked, sinners, and scoffers. The one who, according to Peterson’s paraphrase, “thrills to GOD s Word” and “chews on Scripture day and night” (The Message). And the blessing? A life likened to a flourishing tree “planted by streams of water.”

Hmm . . . a tree, . . . flowing water, . . . sounds familiar. Like something I read in Genesis 2 this morning. A tree that bears fruit in season, endures forever, and perpetually prospers.

So, take the sovereign, creating God of Genesis 1, make Him the guarantor of the promise of Psalm 1, and hey, you’ve got something to look forward to in the new year.

But then, there’s reality. The experiences — the ups and downs — of last year which have a way of tempering the expectations for this year. A reminder that the certainty of the prize doesn’t preclude setbacks and suffering as we run the race. And while we don’t know what the setbacks and sufferings might be in ’26, we can enter a new year confident in this, the LORD knows.

. . . for the LORD knows the way of the righteous . . .

(Psalm 1:6a ESV)

The LORD knows . . . Chew on that.

Kind of 101-level propositional truth for the believer. But if it’s true — and it is — it is profound truth. It is peace giving truth. And it is propelling truth . . . 2026 here I come.

For I am “the righteous”. Not because of my works or worth, but because I am “in Christ” and His righteousness is credited to my account.

And I have a “way”. A way put in place by the sovereign, creating God of Genesis 1. A way, just as with everything God creates (Gen. 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:21, 1:25, 1:31), which works together with all things for good (Rom. 8:28). And because the LORD has charted the way (MSG), the LORD knows the way of the righteous.

The LORD knows . .

I don’t know what ’26 holds. But the LORD knows. I don’t know what blessings and what trials await. But the LORD knows. All I really know is that the LORD knows.

He knows not with just some distant, removed, disengaged awareness, but knows intimately and experientially because Jesus was “made like His brothers in every respect” (Heb. 2:17) — a “way walker” Himself — so that He would be able to sympathize with our weakness (Heb. 4:15) and ready, willing, and able to dispense all-sufficient grace “so that the power of Christ may rest upon me” (2Cor. 12:9).

The LORD knows . . .

Not a bad thing to be reminded of heading into a new year. Amen?

By His grace. For His glory.

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