Drawn (2016 Rerun)

Posted on October 16, 2026 by Pete

When it comes to the dynamics of our salvation there is much to evoke awe and wonder.

Start with a debt we could not pay because of transgressions against a holy God, and that the debt was paid in full by Another. And that that “Another” was none other than God’s own Son. Or the fact that not only did we not have to pay that which we owed, but that we also received that which we could never earn–a holy standing before God. Our accounts were wiped clean of what we owed for the wages of sin, and then were credited anew with the righteousness of Christ.

Then add to this the fact that we have been adopted by the Father as sons and daughters making us joint-heirs with Christ. And how do we know that for sure? Oh yeah, let’s not forget the Spirit of adoption we received when we believed. The very presence of God dwelling inside us, our guarantee and seal that we are His forever. His active agency in our lives manifesting itself as our Advocate, our Comforter, our Counselor, and our Teacher leading us into all truth.

Can I get an, “Unreal!” from the congregation?!?!

And how about the work the Father has begun in us? The forming of the very nature and likeness of His Son within us. And what about the hope set before us? An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, being kept in heaven for us. And the assurance that sustains us? That one day we will see our Savior face-to-face . . . faith giving way to sight . . . suffering and tears gone, replaced with the joy and glory of being in His presence.

And that’s not even scratching the surface of the great salvation that is ours. Volumes have been written with salvation as their inexhaustible subject! Myriads of songs have been sung with salvation as their inexpressible grand theme!

But there’s something else about this jaw-dropping salvation that I was reminded of this morning as I read in John 6.

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” ~ Jesus

(John 6:44a ESV)

Drawn. That’s what I was, drawn to salvation.

I was not bright enough to know I had a problem much less that I needed a Savior. I was so enamored with me as a creation that I never gave a thought to any claim on me that the Creator might have. I was lost, but didn’t know it. So I can’t say that I was seeking. I was blind but everything seemed pretty clear to me. I was dead, and so I had no idea what real life looked like. I’d love to take a bit of credit and say that “I found Him” . . . but in reality, He found me.

Yes, I came to Jesus. But only because I was drawn to Jesus.

The original word for “draw” can mean “to drag off.” And, in my case, that’s probably closer to the truth. Not that I came to the cross kicking and screaming, but not that I came really willingly either. Took some pretty extreme circumstance to get my attention; some pretty persistent conversations before I had ears to hear; a pretty impactful crusade event before I was really ready to come, just as I am.

No way I was going to run to the Father’s arms apart from His impelling work within me. I was drawn.

And why me? No idea. But for God’s desire that all should be saved, and God’s determination that grace should abound, I have no explanation other than “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1Tim. 1:15). No boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14). No explanation, other than Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me (Gal. 2:20).

How amazing is our salvation? Pretty!

And isn’t it awe-invoking that we were drawn by God Himself into such a great salvation? Pretty much!

What can I do but thank You
What can I do but give my life to You
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

~ Paul Baloche ~

All because of His amazing grace. Only for His everlasting glory!

Amen?

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A Gracious Thing (2018 Remix)

Posted on October 13, 2026 by Pete

Those who have known grace should show grace. I buy that. Those whose sins have been forgiven through no merit of their own but only by the finished work of the cross should forgive the sins of others. Makes sense to me. Those who have been blessed should bless. Okay, I can run with that. Those for whom Christ suffered unjustly should be willing to suffer unjustly themselves. What?!? Um . . . let me think about that one for a bit.

For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in His steps.

(1Peter2:19-21 ESV)

A gracious thing . . . a charis quality. That’s how the Spirit describes it — twice.

Enduring suffering and sorrows which have come upon you through no fault of your own. Doing good and yet not being treated very good. That, says Peter, is a gracious thing in the sight of God. What’s more, it’s a thing to which you have been called.

As I think about it, there is a lot about “the call” that is easy to be okay with. Called out of darkness. Called into light. Called to be set apart as saints. Called to be holy. Called to be adopted as full heirs in God’s family. Called to receive an inheritance in heaven. Called to be a messenger of good news. Who’s not up for that call? Who’s not ready to drink abundantly from that fountain of grace?

But called to suffer? And that, unjustly? Hmm . . .

The brothers and sisters Peter wrote to were suffering because they were Christians. Because they had responded to God’s grace and goodness, they were now the subjects of the enemy’s hate and harassment. They were exiled for their faith. And while “leaving town” might have gotten them out of “the frying pan” for a season, they were still in the midst of “the fire.” And the flames were only going to increase– for some, literally!

Yet to endure such unfair and unjust circumstance, when mindful of God, is a gracious thing.

To trust in the provision of the Great Provider in the midst of trial is commendable before the Creator. To remain faithful to Him who is always faithful, is pleasing to the Father. To hang in there, even when the hanging hurts, because you really do believe that all things will work together for good (Rom. 8:28) and know that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Heb. 13:5) is, in and of itself, a sweet-smelling sacrifice to the One who is sovereign.

Not sure the gracious thing necessarily becomes an easy thing when mindful of God, but it does become a doable thing. For His power is made manifest in our weakness (2Cor. 12:9) and His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). And that’s a gracious thing.

A thing only because of His grace. A thing only for His glory.

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Free To Be Servants (2019 Remix)

Posted on October 12, 2026 by Pete

When you know who you are, it goes a long way to being who you should be. What identifies you will drive you. If you view yourself as impoverished, you’ll live like a poor person–either languishing because of a perceived lack of resources or, striving to acquire what you think you need in order to shed your poverty.

That’s why, at least in part, I think Peter wrote his letter to those displaced by persecution. As exiles, as sojourners, as those who had no place to call home, it would have been easy to be discouraged. To see themselves as displaced outcasts could have easily led them to live as those who wandered about aimlessly. To think of themselves as unclaimed orphans would have tempted them seek to be more like those who seemed to fit in better with society.

But they weren’t outcasts, they were part of a chosen community, gathered under the banner of a “living hope” and with the promise of a future home. So, Peter reminds them that, having been born again into God’s forever family and becoming a joint heir with Christ, they had the assurance of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” kept for them in heaven (1:3-4).

And, he wanted them to know that they weren’t orphans, alone and on their own, needing to rely on their own wisdom and resources to get through each day. But, in fact, as God’s children they were being guarded by God’s power for “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:5).

In reality, they had been chosen of God to be “living stones being built up as a spiritual house”, a new priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession and glory (2:5a, 9a).

Sojourners and exiles? Sure. But they were also saints and ambassadors!

Peter knew that they needed to know who they were in Christ if they were going to live as they should for Christ.

And, apparently, they needed to know they were people who were free if they were going to fulfill their call to live as servants.

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

(1Peter 2:15-16 ESV)

I like verses like verse 15. Wanna know what the will of God is? Listen up, Peter says, here it is . . . do good!

But then you come to verse 16 and, for me at least, it kind of stops me in my tracks with its apparent contradiction.

Live as people who are free . . . living as servants of God.

Huh? Chew on that.

It seems they needed to be reminded that when they were born again, they were freeborn. That, through the finished work of the cross, they ceased to be slaves to sin and death. What’s more, the heavy yoke of the Mosaic law had been removed and now they were unrestrained and unfettered from any and all performance-based obligation.

Yet, these emancipated people were then to subject themselves as servants of God. To again consider themselves a people of servile condition, devoted to Another to the disregard of their own interests. Willingly abdicating the throne of their own will and subjecting themselves as slaves to God’s will.

Free to be servants. Really?

Yup! We may be “free indeed” (Jn. 8:36), but, as Paul reminded the Corinthians, we are also “not our own” (1Cor. 6:19).

If we really believe we are the redeemed, then we should be eager to live as those “bought with a price” (1Cor. 6:20). If we embrace our identity as a holy priesthood, then we’ll want “to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:5b). The more we lean into our reality as a royal priesthood, then the greater our desire to “proclaim the excellencies” of the One who called us “out darkness and into His marvelous light” (2:9b).

When we really know who we are, then we are truly free to be who we are.

Free to be servants.

All because of grace. Only for His glory.

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Nothing Too Hard for Him (2021 Remix)

Posted on October 7, 2026 by Pete

When he came to Jeremiah with a “good deal”, cousin Hanamel must have thought it was a long shot. The Chaldeans had laid siege to Jerusalem, which meant its massive Babylon-based army was already occupying a lot of the land surrounding Jerusalem — so you gotta know real estate just wasn’t moving like it once had. But still cousin Hanamel comes to Jeremiah and presents to him an “opportunity” to buy a little fixer-upper on a couple of acres at a real reasonable price. (Did I mention it probably has a marauding hoard occupying it?)

But to everyone’s surprise, Jeremiah’s in. He signs on the bottom line, hands over 17 shekels of silver, takes hold of the deeds of purchase, and seals them away until it’s time to take possession of the land. (Did I mention the marauding hoard, the most powerful fighting force on earth at the time, overrunning the land?)

So what’s up with that?

Well, if you read Jeremiah 32, before Hanamel ever approaches Jeremiah the LORD tells Jeremiah that his cousin is going to come to him with an offer and Jeremiah is not to refuse it. Buy the land, says the LORD. Okay, says obedient Jeremiah.

But then, after the deal’s done and the witnesses have left, Jeremiah goes into his prayer closet and says to the LORD, “What?”

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying: ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is You who have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for You. . . . Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What You spoke has come to pass, and behold, You see it. Yet You, O Lord GOD, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses” —  though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.'”

(Jeremiah 32:16-17, 24-25 ESV)

What grabs me this morning is that before asking God what’s going on, Jeremiah first acknowledges who God is. Jeremiah reminds himself that God is the Creator of heaven and earth (v.17); that He is the Caregiver and Court Arbiter showing “steadfast love to thousands” but repaying “the guilt of the fathers to their children” (v. 18-19); that He is the Deliverer from Egypt (v.20-22) and the Director of the Chaldeans (v. 23b-24). And in that context, Jeremiah tries to make sense of God the Realtor.

And the LORD will answer Jeremiah’s questioning prayer and explain to him the plan. But what also grabs me is that the LORD doesn’t immediately address what Jeremiah doesn’t understand but begins with affirming and emphasizing what Jeremiah already knows.

The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for Me?”

(Jeremiah 32:26-27 ESV)

Is anything too hard for Me? . . .

Implied answer? Nope!

That’s the starting point for making sense of the nonsensical.

Being reminded of who God is helps us deal with trying to figure out what God’s doing. Knowing He is the Creator has a way of putting into perspective the chaos. Believing that nothing is to hard for Him calms the concerns of what seems too much for us.

I’m not dealing with a siege. Not wondering whether or not I’ve made a bad real estate deal. But I look at what’s on my horizon and, at times, it can seem a bit overwhelming. And a still small voice whispers from the words on the page, “Is anything too hard for Me?”

Nope!

So, by His grace and for His glory . . .

I’ll trust in the LORD with all my heart. I’ll lean not to my own understanding. In all my ways I will acknowledge Him. Confident that He’ll make straight my paths. (Prov. 3:5-6)

‘Cause nothing is too hard for Him.

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Fill ‘er Up! (2009 Rerun)

Posted on October 6, 2026 by Pete

“Satisfied with My goodness” . . . that’s the phrase I chewed on this morning. Here are some thoughts that were captured from my New King James days.

So, a follow up thought to yesterday’s “Living Water” musings. Jeremiah 30 and 31 continue to be relatively “upbeat” as they center on God’s determination to restore Israel and Judah. And as I read about what God has in store for His ancient people, I can’t help but apply it as an insight to God’s heart and determination for those of us who are no longer “excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” but “now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:12-13).

This morning it’s a word that twice appears the NKJV that grabs my eye. The word is “satiate.” It’s not used in the NIV or NASB and apart from one other place in Jeremiah, it’s Greek root is not translated “satiate” anywhere else in Scriptures. The Greek word is ravah . . . and is found 14 times in the Old Testament. Words used in the NKJV to translate it are satisfied, watered, filled, drenched, bathed, soaked, satiated . . . and in a few instances it is translated “drink” . . . “take your fill” . . . and “be made drunk.” So you can see the theme and get the overall meaning . . . the idea of pouring it on . . . taking it in until there’s no room to take more in . . . and be absolutely filled and satisfied.

And so, through Jeremiah, the Lord promises concerning these worn and torn exiles:

“. . . their souls shall be like a well-watered garden
       and they shall sorrow no more at all.

I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance
       and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness.

For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

(Jeremiah 31:12b, 14, 25 NKJV)

God can make the soul like a well-watered garden . . . God can fill to overflowing with abundance out of His goodness . . . God can water to complete replenishing the dry, parched ground of the inner man. And not only can God do that . . . it’s His desire to do that for His people. And it’s not about what’s happening on the outside, but about what’s going down on the inside. Satiating of the soul isn’t necessarily accomplished by making everything right in our worlds (although it might help) . . . but it’s about filling us up on the inside to the point where we are overflowing and what’s going on in the soul pours out on what’s going on around us.

And God’s “watering can” is the Holy Spirit, isn’t it? Isn’t that the living water Jesus promised to the woman at the well? “Sir, give me this water,” she says to Jesus, “that I may not thirst” (John 4:15). “Fill ‘er up,” she says to the Savior. And Jesus says, “I’m all over it (not really, Pete’s paraphrase) . . . but first go, call your husband, and come here” (4:16). He offers the satiating, living water of the Holy Spirit to those who know their need and come to Him to meet that need. “Chicken Soup” isn’t going to satisfy my soul . . . I need Living Water to be poured out to overflowing. And I need to believe that God wants to satiate . . . that God is able to satiate. And so, I to come to Him, in all my brokenness and need, and receive the water that is able to satiate my soul.

Father, thank You that you desire to replenish the soul. My desire is to keep cleared away the sin which so easily clogs things up and “besets us” (Heb. 12:1 KJV) and to drink deep of the satiating water You offer.

Fill ‘er up . . .

By Your grace. For Your glory.

Amen.

Here’s a link to a 2009 song that I posted back then — a blast from my past and worth listening to again. Click here to listen to Fill My Cup

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Let My Words Be Your Words

Posted on October 5, 2026 by Pete

What were they thinking? If the god they said they spoke for was really God, wouldn’t that god know that they were making it all up? Or were their hearts so darkened and deceived that they sincerely believed that their thoughts must be His thoughts and their ways His ways, so attuned to their own agenda that they thought it must be His? Either way, they were far away.

But what if they had known, what if they had really believed, that their God was a God at hand?

“Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name.”

(Jeremiah 23:23-25a ESV)

A God at hand . . . that’s the phrase that I’m chewing on this morning.

Believing that an omnipresent God really is omnipresent — that He really is present in all places at all times.

Believing that an omniscient God really is omniscient — that not only is He near, but He hears.

So, what would it look like to live life with, and for, a God at hand?

Well, based on this morning’s reading, it would mean that at the very least I’d think twice about saying God said stuff when maybe He didn’t really say it. That I’d be wary of putting my words in His mouth. That I’d be cautious of representing my wisdom as His way. That I’d be slow to overly assert that my discernment is, in fact, His dictate.

If He were near, there’d be a fear. A fear manifest through an awe-invoked care towards representing His Word.

There’d be a humility and not a haughtiness.

Am I a God at hand? Yes, Lord, You are. Let my words truly be Your words.

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.

(2Timothy 2:15-17a ESV)

Oh, that I might rightly handle God’s word.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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We All Stumble

Posted on September 30, 2026 by Pete

I don’t do a lot of social media . . . but, I guess, enough. Enough to have seen the video clip from a Senate Committee hearing of a rude exchange over a geographically misplaced basketball game. What was supposed to be a “gotcha” moment fizzled as it turned out the senator’s facts were apparently not factual. It’s the sort of video clip that thrives within social media feeds because of how “cringe-y” it is. A little embarrassing, even to watch. Maybe that’s why James’ exhortation jumps off the page this morning.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways.

(James 3:1-2a ESV)

For we all stumble in many ways . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

James, the pragmatic, has been talking about “religion that is pure and undefiled” (James 1:27a). He has been highlighting external indicators that reveal something of one’s spiritual condition. Things like showing partiality (James 2:1-13), things like genuine faith being accompanied by good works (James 2:14-28). This morning, things like the corruption that can be wrought through communication (James 3:1-12).

And James doesn’t hold back. The corruption can be catastrophic for “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.” This “small member” capable of “staining the whole body.” This hidden part able to set on fire “the entire course of life” with the very fire of hell. Somewhat pessimistic? Or realistic? Over the top? Or on point?

So, says James, you who think you have something to say to others, be careful. For we all stumble in many ways . . .

Oh, the self-regulation that comes from the sober admission that we all stumble in many ways.

As Calvin puts it:

For there is nothing which serves more to moderate extreme rigor
than the knowledge of our own infirmity.

Ours is a loud, combative age. Quick to speak. Ready to pounce. And that, too often, within the church, as well. But humility comes from honest self-realization. Grace is generated when we remember that we all stumble in many ways.

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

(James 1:19-20 ESV)

True religion, pure religion, while a bold religion, is also a tender religion.

Because we all stumble in many ways.

That’s why we need abundant grace. That why God gets all the glory.

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An Idol in Every Home

Posted on September 29, 2026 by Pete

A god for every city and an altar for every street. Don’t know why that’s what popped this morning, but it did.

I’m reading Jeremiah 10 and 11 and hovering over the prophetic word as the LORD pleads with His people, “Learn not the way of the nations” (10:2). Ways which are idolatrous ways. Customs which are vain customs (10:3-5). And then the Spirit leads Jeremiah to do a side-by-side comparison, comparing the LORD, “the living God and the everlasting King (10:10), with the “stupid and foolish” idols, the works of the craftsman and the goldsmith (10:8-9). Bottom line? There is no comparison for “there is none like You, O LORD” (10:6).

But the people wouldn’t listen. Their hearts were hardened. Their eyes blind, and their ears deaf, and their brains on autopilot. And the idol industry flourished in Judah.

For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.

(Jeremiah 11:13 ESV)

A god for every city. An altar for every street. That’s a whole lot of idolatry going on!

So much so that the “way of the nations” must have seemed pretty commonplace for the people of God. As the saying goes, it had become “the air they breathed.”

And as I read it, I try and connect it. Is it really possible to have that many idols spread around town and spread throughout the land? Or is just Jeremiah using some prophetic license to employ some prophetic hyperbole?

And the cultural equivalent that comes to mind is “expressive individualism.” The belief that true meaning is found in expressing inner feelings; that identity is founded in psychological convictions; that human fulfillment is realized by fulfilling personal desires; that being authentic is found in being one’s self. And that, it seems to me, is idolatry — replacing the Creator with a created thing.

The way of our world is the way crafted by our own wisdom in order to make our own way. And if that is left to each man and to each woman, then it seems we too have a god in every city and an altar for every street and an idol in every home. And that’s a lot of idols! Perhaps the idol industry is flourishing in our land as well.

And rather than point the finger, I feel like I need to confess a failure. Rather than be quick to judge others, I need to be thoughtful in self-examination. Because, in our world, “expressive individualism” IS the air we breathe and it would be foolish to think it hasn’t invaded, at least to some degree, the inner workings of His church.

And so, I pray Jeremiah’s prayer . . .

I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,
       that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;
       not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

(Jeremiah 10:23:24)

The way of man is not in himself . . . Correct me, O LORD . . .

Test my heart, Father. Deal with its idolatries.

Not in judgment, but in justice. Not through condemnation but through consecration.

For the price for my sinful idolatry has already been paid in full on Calvary’s cross. And the remedy for my wrongful worship is found not in myself but “in Him”, found in my union with Your Son. What’s more, the power to remove the “stupid and foolish” things I have set up on the street corners of my life comes not from my might nor by my strength but by Your Spirit.

Cleanse my home. Purify my heart.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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A View from the Second Floor

Posted on September 25, 2026 by Pete

Since February, I have been anticipating getting to the part of my reading plan that takes me through Ecclesiastes. How come? Because a book I read back then shifted my paradigm on how I might read through the Preacher’s musings on how all things are but “vanity of vanities” (Eccl. 1:2). In Bobby Jamieson’s Everything is Never Enough he frames Ecclesiastes as a three-story house, with each floor giving a different perspective on life. And this morning, my reading let me visit the second floor.

When I’ve read Ecclesiastes in the past, using Jamieson’s filter, I have for the most part been preoccupied with the ground floor – the futility of, and the frustration from, all that is done “under the sun” (Eccl. 2:17). The floor that leads to the conclusion that “under the sun . . . all is vanity and a striving after wind” (Eccl. 1:14). The original word for vanity, hevel, means a vapor or a mist, thus life is but a striving after wind. Pretty depressing stuff, actually.

So, in past readings of Ecclesiastes the value was found pretty much in the reminder to “seek the things that are above” and “set my mind on things that are above” (Col. 3:1-2) and not focus and live for the hevel of things below. Good stuff, as far as it goes. But is the joy of the Lord intended only for a place and time that is there and then? Or can there be joy even in the toil of the here and now?

Welcome to the second floor!

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from Him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases Him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy.

(Ecclesiastes 2:24-26a ESV)

From the hand of God . . . that’s worth chewing on. Eating, drinking, toiling, enjoyment . . . all from the hand of God. All a gift from God.

Enjoyment . . . even under the sun, even amidst the hevel. The preacher understanding that happiness is found not in what we can achieve but in what we have received.

To be sure, much of life is a vanishing vapor. But equally to be sure everything good is an enduring gift from God (James 1:17). A gift to be enjoyed. A gift for which to give thanks. A gift which can act as foretaste of what is yet to come, of that which is waiting for us “above the sun.”

Wisdom, knowledge, and joy all gifts from the hand of God. That’s the view from the second floor that Jamieson’s book prepared me for. And I can’t wait to visit it repeatedly as I work my way through the Preacher’s tales of ground-floor woe. For in those visits to the middle floor there is wonder and worship.

So, though I am all too aware of the encompassing clouds of ground floor realities, I take a few moments to pause on the second floor. And I offer praise from the second floor, giving thanks for every gift from the hand of God.

Gifts which are sourced in His grace. Gifts which are to be enjoyed for His glory.

Thanx, Bobby.

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Wearing the Crown

Posted on September 24, 2026 by Pete

A sister went home to be with the Lord last night.

For many years, she was but a casual acquaintance, but over the past four years someone I’ve connected with, more often than not, pretty much on a weekly basis. Drawing alongside her through what has been a long, hard season of suffering and endurance. Getting to know her as she has had to wrestle with compounding hardships she could never have imagined. On several occasions, sitting with her as she asked the “Why, Lord?” and the “How long, Lord?” questions that are often asked when one is in the fires of trial. And, more than once hearing her testify repeatedly throughout that time, “I love Jesus!”

And as I pause and chew on this promise in James this morning, I think of her . . .

Blessed is the man [the woman] who remains steadfast under trial, for when he [she] has stood the test he [she] will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.

(James 1:12 ESV)

She wasn’t perfect. Didn’t have everything figured out. Really had no choice but to walk by faith and not by sight. But I can bear witness that she remained steadfast under trial and often bore witness that she was one of those who love Him.

She stood the test.

And while I sit here under the sorrow of her departure, she is there wearing the crown in her Savior’s presence.

And so, while we grieve, we do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1Thess. 4:13).

Go rest high, sister.

All because of God’s grace.

That you might forever behold God’s glory.

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