Earnest Counsel

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Pete

It’s an episode of “friends” that captures the spotlight in my Proverbs reading this morning.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
       profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
       and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend,
       and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near
       than a brother who is far away.

(Proverbs 27:6, 27:9, 27:10 ESV)

Welcoming, even valuing the wounds of a friend. When things get rough, opting for a friend who is near over family who is far away. Oh, the premium wisdom’s Teacher places on such friends.

And in an age where “friends” are numbered in the hundreds on social media, and in a culture where we are not really looking for friends to be face-to-face faithful but to be online followers, and where family is often exchanged for a tribe, how many have lost how much of knowing the true sweetness of a friend. For that, says the Teacher, is what real friendship is — sweet!

In ancient times oil and perfume were a luxury. To receive them was to make the heart glad, was to be a catalyst for delight and rejoicing. So too is the luxury of a friend’s earnest counsel. That’s the phrase from verse 9 that I’m chewing on this morning.

Earnest counsel . . . “Hearty counsel”, that’s how the NKJV renders it. Literally it’s “counsel of the soul.”

In a day when so much of our friend-talk can be consumed with the triviality of our favorite sports team’s performance or focused almost solely with tales in which we’re the protagonist, what a luxury to sit across the table from someone prepared to engage in meaty, soul-bearing, passion-producing earnest counsel.

In a day of algorithm-generated echo-chambers, how sweet to engage with someone willing to “be nosy”, and “meddle”, and “have an opinion”, even when it is not a shared opinion. Even when it might grate on us a bit — kind of like iron on iron.

Iron sharpens iron,
       and one man sharpens another.

(Proverbs 27:17 ESV)

Hearty conversations aren’t necessarily easy conversations. But to have a friend willing to go there? Well, that’s to be counted as sweet as oil and perfume.

Praise God for friends who engage in earnest counsel.

Requires God’s grace. But it too can be for God’s glory.

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Done Deal! But Not Done Dealing. (2018 Rerun)

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Pete

Ours is a faith of holy tensions. Many of our foundations and principles for navigating life as Christians are not just either/or, but rather both/and. For example, God is sovereign, and we have free will. Jesus will build His church, but we are to go and make disciples. We are to honor the king even though our citizenship is in heaven. All things are permissible, yet all things are not beneficial. And the list goes on. You get the idea.

Came across another this morning in my reading in Hebrews. A reminder that while “It is finished,” it too is still going on. Though our salvation is a done deal, our Savior is not yet done dealing with us.

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet. For by a single offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

(Hebrews 10:12-14 ESV)

He has made complete those who are being consecrated. He has made perfect those who are being purified. He has forever brought to fulfillment those who are still being formed. That’s the holy tension we live in.

Every morning, we can awake with full assurance of our salvation. Knowing that the work really is finished. That God really can love us no more than He already has through the demonstration of the cross. That our adoption is not pending while we prove ourselves in some foster care scenario, but that we have already been given the seal of the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15). And thus, we know that we are fellow heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). So much so, He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters (Heb. 2:11). In Him we really are complete (Col. 2:10 NKJV).

For by a single offering, He has perfected us.

And yet, we awake so many mornings aware of our imperfection. Conscious of our need for confession. Weary of our weakness. Feeling like failures. Flooded with the intimate knowledge that while He may have perfected us, we are far from perfect. Sinners saved by grace but still being saved from sin.

Having been set apart we are now being sanctified. Though the work is finished, Christ, through His Spirit, is finishing the work He has begun in us. That while we already possess His fullness, His desire is that we would also bear His likeness.

The weakness, the failure, the struggles, all contributing to form a crucible which brings the dross to the surface so that it might be removed. That what He declare as precious might, in actuality, increasingly be purified. And this, all through the dynamic of a Savior who, though being seated at the right hand of God, having completed the work through His once for all sacrifice for sin, yet is active on our behalf as He makes intercession for His saints so that He might save them to the uttermost (Heb.7:25).

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;
Search me and try me, Master, today.
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray.
Power, all power, surely is Thine,
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way;
Hold o’er my being absolute sway.
Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.

~ Adelaide Addison Pollard (1862-1934)

Done deal! But not done dealing.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Our HOV Lane

Posted on September 12, 2025 by Pete

Isaiah 35 looks forward to a day when the wilderness will be renewed. A day when the weak of hands and the feeble of knees and the anxious of heart will be redeemed. A day when “they shall see the glory of the LORD, the majesty of our God.” A day when “He will come and save you”. A day when the blind will see, the deaf will hear. A day when the lame shall leap, and the mute will sing as “waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (Isa. 35:1-6).

But that is not the end of it, that is not the destination. It is but the beginning — the beginning of a journey.

And a highway shall be there,
       and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;
       the unclean shall not pass over it.
It shall belong to those who walk on the way;
       even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
       nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;
they shall not be found there,
       but the redeemed shall walk there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return
       and come to Zion with singing;
everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;
       they shall obtain gladness and joy,
       and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isaiah 35:8-10 ESV)

The Way of Holiness . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning. Realizing afresh that’s what I’m traveling on this morning.

Not only rescued but given my own road. Not just made whole but given my own highway — the Highway of Holiness (NASB, NKJV, NLT).

My own lane. Only for the clean, those washed in the blood of the Lamb. “Clean in Christ” — that’s the toll rendered in order to travel on this exclusive road and yet it’s a toll available to all who believe (John 3:16).

A road that is sure, guaranteed to get you to where you need to be going.

A road that is safe, one that keeps lion and ravenous beast at bay.

A road that is song-filled, as the redeemed and the ransomed anticipate their return to Zion. As with singing they set their hearts toward their guaranteed destination — the promised, ultimate realization of gladness and joy where sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

A road exclusively provided for those who walk in the way.

We are on the Highway of Holiness.

That’s our lane. Our HOV lane. Our Hope Of Victory lane.

O weary pilgrim, stay in your lane. Keep on keepin’ on.

We’re not there yet, but we’re on the road.

We’re not home yet. But soon and very soon . . .

By His grace. For His glory.

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Bad Breath

Posted on September 10, 2025 by Pete

Judgment. It’s just what you’re going to encounter when you read the prophets.

Perhaps that’s why some avoid this part of their bibles. They want the God of steadfast love, abounding grace, and perpetual patience. They want the promises and the blessing. But they struggle with a God of judgment.

They want God on their terms when it comes to how much “faithfulness” to God is enough. They want His holy standards to align with their tolerance of sin. They want His grace to be great enough so that they are safe no matter how little regard is given for His greatness.

But read the prophets, have ears to hear the warning God still speaks to those who think their ways and their idols are the best ways and the best gods, and you’re gonna read of judgment. Very personal and up close judgment. Behold our God . . .

For a burning place has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it.

(Isaiah 30:33 ESV)

The breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it . . .

I read that and then, for some reason (a Holy Spirit reason?), I read it again and then read it again. And I think to myself, “Self, that’s some bad breath!”

Some have said that hell is simply the absence of God. But in the burning place pictured here, God is very much present — like breathing down someone’s neck present. And it stinks! The odor of sulfur. The smell of rotten eggs or burnt matches. The can’t-get-it-off-of-you stench of a skunk’s spray. That’s the breath that kindles the fire of judgment.

And I hover over this not because of any morbid satisfaction in the wicked getting their due in that day, but because it is such the antithesis of God’s desired default — a predisposition I read of just of a few verses earlier.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
       and therefore He exalts Himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
       blessed are all those who wait for Him.

(Isaiah 30:18 ESV)

God waits to be gracious. But He needs to be provoked to wrath (Jer. 25:6-7). He is “slow to anger” but “abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6) His heart is that none should perish, “but that all would reach repentance” (2Peter 3:9). He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:23, 33;11). Instead, His desire is that all would know the sweetness of His presence (Song 5:16), not the stench of bad breath.

Don’t much care for chewing on judgment. But I sure want a God who is a God of justice.

Don’t like to imagine sulfur breath, but how I worship the One who gave His last breath in order to take my place and pay the price for my sin that I could never pay.

When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit [literally, He gave up His breath].

(John 19:30 ESV)

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Behold our God.

Our God of amazing grace. Our God of all-deserving glory.

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A Delicacy Free Menu

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Pete

This morning, it’s a twice repeated warning in Proverbs that’s causing me to pause and noodle a bit.

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
       observe carefully what is before you,
and put a knife to your throat
       if you are given to appetite.
Do not desire his delicacies,
       for they are deceptive food.

Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
       do not desire his delicacies,
for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
       “Eat and drink!” he says to you,
       but his heart is not with you.

(Proverbs 23:1-3, 6-7 ESV)

Do not desire his delicacies . . . that’s what I’m chewing on. Actually, it’s what I am not to be chewing on.

His delicacies. Literally, his tasty or savory food. Hmm . . . reminds me of another guy who longed for some “savory food” (NKJV).

So, I go back to Genesis 27 and sure enough, it’s the same word — Jacob longed for some “delicious food” from Esau. He craved it to so much that this aged blind man would bribe his older son with a fatherly blessing for such delicacies. Lusting after it to such a degree that he allowed himself to be duped by his younger son. Though it was leveraged by a Sovereign God according to His purposes, desiring his delicacies ended up causing a lot of trauma and turmoil in Jacob’s home.

So, says the Teacher of Proverbs, do not desire his delicacies.

But who is the “his”?

Well, it’s two guys. One a man of means, another a guy who just seems to be mean. One whose hospitality is meant to impress, the other’s whose hospitality is an illusion. One whose menu is deceptive — a lie enticing those who would lust after it to gorge themselves to their own harm. The other’s menu is calculating — offering a stingy, just enough meal so that he might take advantage of any fast-food patron for his own evil purposes.

So, what’s the point? Is it just about being careful where you eat, how much you eat, and who you eat with? Kind of. But it’s the command “sandwiched” in the middle of these delicacies that I think might unlock their fuller meaning.

Do not toil to acquire wealth;
       be discerning enough to desist.
When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
       for suddenly it sprouts wings,
       flying like an eagle toward heaven.

(Proverbs 23:4-5 ESV)

Do not toil to acquire wealth . . . Seems to parallel do not desire his delicacies.

Don’t wear yourself out to get rich (CSB). Just don’t do it. Observe carefully what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite — it’s deceptive food.

Do not overwork to be rich (NKJV). Stop it! For it is inwardly calculating and its heart is not with you. It’s miserly and shallow and wants only to be your master. And you can’t serve two masters! You cannot . . . CANNOT . . . serve God and money (Matt. 6:24). So, do not desire his delicacies.

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

(1Timothy 6:6-10 ESV)

A delicacy free menu, that’s what we’re to order from.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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We Wait (2016 Remix)

Posted on September 8, 2025 by Pete

So often what gets me wrapped around the axle with prophecy is trying to lock down the “when.” When will that happen? In ancient Israel’s day? During Christ’s first advent? At His second advent? Presently, during this now but not yet kingdom age? During the millennial reign of Christ (if there is to be such a thing)? When the new heaven and earth come into being? And to be honest, for me at least, it can be kind of exhausting to try and figure out the “when.”

So this morning, I’m just chewing on the “what.” And then knowing that mine is to wait.

Hovering over a glorious promise in Isaiah 25:6-8 this morning. A day when, “on this mountain” the LORD of heaven’s armies will host an over-the-top feast for ALL PEOPLES of the earth. A day when He will swallow up “the covering that is cast over ALL PEOPLES, the veil that is spread over ALL NATIONS”–a day when “He will swallow up death forever.” And on that day He will “wipe away tears from ALL FACES” and all shame and disgrace will be taken away from ALL THE EARTH.

Noodle on that for a bit. A day when ALL PEOPLE will be liberated from the bondage of death. A day when ALL NATIONS will know what it is to freed from sin. A day when tears are a thing of the past for EVERYONE.

A promise for “that day” but a promise which, for those who walk by faith, is realized today in part though seen as in “a mirror dimly” (1Cor. 13:9-12). Knowing that Christ’s death on the cross paid the price for sin once for all–our reproach removed. Assured through faith that His resurrection evidenced His conquering power over death–the veil removed and death swallowed up forever. His abiding presence supplying all sufficient grace so that even the tears dry up for a time as they are displaced by an overriding joy when we come into various trials and temptations.

But we have yet to see the promise fulfilled in its entirety. Still wrestling with sin, though there is forgiveness and restoration through the blood of the Lamb (1John 1:9). Still battling death, though we know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2Cor. 5:8). Tears still slide down our cheeks though we know the touch of the God of all comfort (2Cor. 1:3) and the reality of the peace that passes all understanding (Php. 4:6-7).

And so, we wait.

Of that Isaiah prophecies as well:

It will be said on that day,
       “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him,
              that He might save us.
       This is the LORD; we have waited for Him;
              let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

(Isaiah 25:9 ESV)

We have waited . . .

We wait for that day when our salvation is complete. We wait for a day of feasting when gladness and rejoicing will be uninterrupted — a day when the shroud of death is forever gone, the reproach of sin no longer even a memory, and the tears of sorrow a thing of the distant past.

We wait in anticipation for that day when faith will give way to sight.

And we wait knowing that our salvation is “nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Rom. 13:11).

In the meantime, we desire to “work out our salvation” with fear and trembling, submitting to God’s work in us, “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Php. 2:12-13). In the meantime, we labor for His kingdom until He returns. In the meantime, we wait.

And in that day, we will proclaim,

“Behold, this is our God!
Behold, this is the LORD!
Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation!”

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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The Pompous Pride of All Glory

Posted on September 5, 2025 by Pete

Isaiah 23:17-18 hooks me. I’m intrigued by how God purposes to redeem the “merchandise and wages” of a prostitute and make them “holy to the LORD.” And so, I hover over Isaiah 23 for a bit this morning. I quickly skim through a couple of commentaries. And then as I re-read the chapter, a verse pops that sends a chill down my spine.

Isaiah 23 is “An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon.” Do a bit of background reading and these two cities represented economic power that beat all other economic powers of their day. Sounds like they were the Amazon of their time with widespread trade agreements throughout the ancient world and a fleet of mercantile ships able to move goods and cash in on those agreements. But though once a friend of God’s people (2Sam. 5:11, 1Ki. 5:1), eventually they showed themselves an enemy (Ezek. 26:2-3). Thus, Isaiah’s oracle. Isaiah’s oracle but God’s judgment. And it’s the “why” of God’s determination that caused me to shudder.

Who has purposed this
      against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
      whose traders were the honored of the earth?
The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
      to defile the pompous pride of all glory,
      to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

(Isaiah 23:8-9 ESV)

The pompous pride of all glory . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

I truly have no desire to “go political”, but the thought that flashed through my mind as I read and re-read this was, “O, the folly of MAGA.” Whatever short-term gain there might be in the pursuit of greatness and prosperity, of being at the top of the food chain when it comes to wealth and power, redemptive history shows it doesn’t end well. When pursuit of the gifts supersedes passion for the Giver of all good gifts (James 1:17) then, eventually, there’s a reckoning and God will defile the pompous pride of all glory. Literally, He will “pollute the excellency of all beauty” and “make light all the honored of earth” (YLT). Understandably, He will “bring low the pride of all glory” and “humble all who are renowned on the earth” (NIV).

Hover over Isaiah 23 and it’s clear that our God is not a catalyst for the spirit of “great again”, though He can choose to redeem it for His purposes (Isa. 23:17-18). Instead, God is a humbler of the haughty, opposed to the pompous pride of all glory.

And that’s not just an Old Testament thing.

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

(James 4:6, 1Peter 5:5 ESV)

Let us beware the platform and pursuit of greatness. Let us reject the pompous pride of all glory.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.

(1Peter 5:6 ESV)

Only by God’s grace. Only for God’s glory.

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The Blessing

Posted on September 4, 2025 by Pete

One of the things about early morning devos is that sometimes it can be a bit foggy between the ears when opening the Word. Times when that first cup of coffee is enough to open the eyes but not quite enough to have adequately lubricated the synapses firing in the brain. Creates a situation where though I am clearly reading my bible, I’m not always reading clearly my bible — if you know what I mean.

So, this morning as I take in one of my Old Testament readings — a reading that concerns Egypt — I immediately think of the exodus as I read of a great deliverance.

When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender and deliver them.
. . . and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

But then I do a double-take as I remember that I’m not reading in the book of Exodus but in the prophet Isaiah. The fog clears and I realize that this isn’t a promise about deliverance FROM Egypt, it is a promise about the deliverance OF Egypt.

In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, He will send them a savior and defender and deliver them. And the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and He will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them.

(Isaiah 19:19-22 ESV)

What a shock it must have been for Israel to have heard Isaiah’s prophecy. This prophetic word alone would have been enough for some (many?) to discredit him as a heretic. Egypt saved? Egypt delivered? Egypt healed? Egypt worshiping God? The LORD making Himself known to the enemies of God? Never!

But for those who knew the Word, for those with ears to hear, the fog clears, and they remember the promise made to their father, Abraham.

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

(Genesis 12:1-3 ESV)

You will be a blessing . . . in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed . . .

Egypt blessed? Yup. Oppressors shown mercy? Uh-huh. Those sick in sin healed? You got it. Enemies made family? Yeah, that’s the blessing; the blessing made available to all the families of the earth through the seed of Abraham, Jesus, the Son of God.

Deliverance from the tyranny of sin and the bondage of death offered to all through the finished work of the cross where Jesus the Redeemer offered Himself once-for-all and once-forever for our trespasses and transgressions against a holy God. Reconciliation made possible for all the nations with God our Maker (Isa. 17:7) because of the reality of an empty tomb and a risen Savior. That’s the blessing.

The blessing known by this guy. Once himself an enemy of God, shackled by sin, and with no real hope of defeating death. But this morning, even if a bit foggy between the ears, knowing God, worshiping in holiness (not his own, but Another’s), because he has been counted as a friend of God the Father, able to master sin through God the Spirit, even as he stands as more than a conqueror over death in God the Son.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

O, what grace! To God be the glory!

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Sharers in Christ

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Pete

Reminded this morning that there is a world of difference between being a spectator and being a participant. Between simply watching something and wholly sharing in it. Between the act of receiving a gift and the activity of engaging with that gift. Between “asking Jesus into our hearts” and actually partaking of Jesus with our whole lives. Yeah, there’s a difference — a big difference. A difference we are to attend to.

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

(Hebrews 3:12-15 ESV)

The complexities of the book of Hebrews aside, I just don’t think you’re going to go wrong giving heed to exhortations to the “brethren” (3:12 NKJV). The author of Hebrews is contending not just for the faith but also for the “faithful” — wanting all those who have “tasted the heavenly gift” (Heb. 6:4) to continue to feast on that heavenly gift.

So, to read and receive “take care” is a good word for me to consider this morning. To intentionally beware of any tendencies towards an “unbelieving heart” is prudent advice. To “exhort one another daily” to keep on keepin’ on is just smart thinking for the family of God. To hear afresh that I must resist the callousness caused by the “deceitfulness of sin” and repent at the first sign of a hardening heart evidenced by rebellion is needful. Because I know that every day I awake, it is to a fresh battle between the new man and the old (Gal. 5:16-17).

But beyond the sound counsel, it’s the reminder of an amazing truth that grabs me this morning and fills my soul with fresh awe and wonder. For we have come to share in Christ . . .

There’s a number of ways we might describe ourselves as believers, but how often do we refer to ourselves as those who have come to share in Christ? Or, as rendered in other translations, as “partakers of Christ” (NASB, NKJV)? As “participants in Christ” (CSB)? As “participators of Messiah” (WNT)? Not too often. But chew on it a bit . . .

Brethren! Sister-en! We are sharers in Christ! Partakers and participants of Jesus. Participators in all that the Son of God is (2Peter 1:4) and in all that the King of Kings is about (Hebrews 3:1). We are not lone wolves trying to gut out a righteous way of life, but we are “more than conquerors” through Him who loved us because nothing is able “to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:37-30). In Christ Jesus . . . did you see that? Did you catch that? How big is that? Pretty big! We are in Christ. We are partakers of Christ as we’ve come to be sharers in Christ. And nothing can separate us from that sharing dynamic.

Not mere spectators, but active participants. Not just receivers of a gift, but those who get to interact with that gift through His indwelling Spirit. Encounters of the divine kind being our normative state because “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

Sharers in Christ. Partaking of Him and participants in Him. That’s what awaits this day.

Bring it on!

By His grace. For His glory.

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A Conduit (2020 Rerun)

Posted on August 25, 2025 by Pete

It really was a big ask on Paul’s part. Receive back a runaway slave as a brother. No punishment, though it was due. No making him an example before the others slaves, though it would have been prudent. No demanding restitution for whatever monetary loss was incurred from his insurrection, though it would have been just. Nope, nothing owing. Just receive again into his house Onesimus. And that, as he would have received Paul himself — think guest room, hospitality, fellowship, drink, food, and fireside chats. Yup, Paul’s ask of Philemon was a really big ask.

And yet, Paul’s letter isn’t written with the tone of a “hail Mary pass.” Not just tossing up some outlandish idea in a last ditch, wishful effort to mediate reconciliation. Not desperately hoping that Philemon might pick up on what he’s trying to lay down. But writing with confidence, pretty sure that Philemon was going to run with his recommended, unprecedented behavior — pretty sure that Philemon would even exceed expectations (Phm. 1:21). And how come? Because Philemon had a reputation for being a conduit — a conduit for refreshing hearts.

For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you. . . . Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

(Philemon 1:7, 21 ESV)

Refresh. To give rest. To cause or permit one to cease from any movement or labor in order to recover and collect his strength. Thus, to refresh the heart is to set it at ease. To interrupt, if only temporarily, the inner turbulence of concern and anxiety. To provide respite for the weary soul. To intervene in such a way that the storm calms down and the raging sea becomes placid. Philemon loved the people of God, engaged the people of God, and in some manner brought rest, respite, and revitalization to the hearts of the people of God.

But what catches my attention this morning is that Philemon was not the source of refreshment, but the conduit. The hearts of the saints had been refreshed, not by him, but through him. Even as Paul anticipated being the recipient of such refreshing when Philemon graciously received Onesmius back as a brother. Paul knew that such respite of heart would come through Philemon in Christ.

Philemon had the means. And, he was willing. He opened his home, loved on the saints, even received back an AWOL bondservant. But the rest and revitalization realized by others, though it came through Philemon, was sourced in Christ. Philemon was but the conduit for refreshing hearts.

That’s why we’re told to “contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). So that Christ might provide some rest for revved up souls. It’s why we are exhorted to do good to everyone, “especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal. 6:10). So that the Good Shepherd might provide some still waters for weary sheep.

Sure, we benefit from being obedient to the ask. We eventually reap the reward of sowing seeds of good deeds (Gal. 6:9). But the reason we’re called to such acts of kindness is so that the Spirit of God might refresh the hearts of the people of God. Refueling running-on-empty tanks. Being used of God to renew the inner man, the inner woman, of other laboring sojourners.

A conduit of Christ. A pipeline of Holy Spirit power. Realized through our love for the saints. Possible by simply opening our hearts and homes to others. Not out of compulsion, but of our own free accord (Phm. 1:14).

Refreshing hearts in Christ. Christ refreshing hearts through us.

By His grace. For His glory.

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