Stage by Stage

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Pete

Moses — the guy did it all! Body surfing the Nile as a baby, he was educated at the U. of Egypt as a young man. Took up activism in his late 30’s, standing against the oppression his adoptive family so harshly promoted. And then ended up crossing a line, making him a fugitive and forcing him to flee into relative obscurity for a number of decades. Obscure decades but not uneventful decades. Took a wife, had some kids, learned to be a shepherd, stood before a burning bush, talked to God, was recruited to be a deliverer.

Back in Egypt, partnered with his brother who would become his spokesmen, learned some cool moves with his staff, and went head-to-head with Pharaoh. A few plagues later, and one unforgettable night that would not only stand out, but would “pass over” every other night, he would then lead a nation of slaves out of bondage and into freedom. Well, actually, he first led them up against a sea — but that was quickly remedied. And then — though not plan “A” — he led them for forty years in the wilderness, talking with God, interceding for the people, and performing a miracle every now and then. And oh, yeah, one more thing — he kept a diary.

These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.

(Numbers 33:1-2 ESV)

Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning. “Under GOD’s instruction Moses kept a log of every time they moved, camp by camp” (MSG).

Come on! With all the stuff that was already on his plate, with all the disputes he settled, with all the grumbling he heard, with all the opposition he incurred, with all the acts of rebellion that ended up in the death of dozens and hundreds and thousands, he kept a diary too? Evidently.

And it sparks a thought . . . while Moses wrote about the journey, he was but a co-author. After all, all Scripture is breathed out by God (2Tim. 3:16) and the prophets of old spoke (and I would think wrote) “as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet. 1:21). So, while Moses journaled in the wilderness, it was God who was keeping track.

Isn’t that just like our Father in heaven, the One who orders our steps (Ps. 37:23, Ps. 18:36), the One who numbers even the hairs on our head (Mt. 10:30), and the One who is so compassionately attentive that He collects our tears in a bottle (Ps. 56:8)? Yeah, that’s Him. The One who knows our starting places, stage by stage.

With all the setbacks Moses encountered along the way, I’m thinking God knew it was important for Moses to keep reminding himself that he was still making progress. To know afresh that, every time they set forth, God was with them, His presence always leading them, His glory always hovering over them. For a journey that seemed to take a lifetime (and it did), every time Moses wrote a starting place down on whatever he wrote it down on, he remembered that what God had delivered His people for, God would deliver His people to.

Our God is the God of the journey. The God of all our starting places. Of our going forth. Of our making progress. Even in those seasons when the trek seems to be marked by three-steps-forward-and-two-steps-back, He is the God who is tracking our journey, stage by stage, and wants us to track it too. For He is the God who has promised that the good work begun in us through deliverance, would be the good work completed in us through our Deliverer (Php. 1:6).

Stage by stage. Little by little. One day at a time.

God knows our way. God leads our way. God keeps track of our way. All along the way.

By His grace. For His glory.

He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
when, by Thy grace, the victory’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me;
by His own hand He leadeth me:
His faithful follower I would be,
for by His hand He leadeth me.

~ Joseph H. Gilmore

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A Banner

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Pete

I read this morning in Romans 8 how all of creation is groaning until that day when Jesus returns and thus, how groaning is part of our normative experience, too (Rom. 8:19-23). And yeah, while I believe that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18), it doesn’t change the fact that there are still the “sufferings of this present time.” So, what do we do in this present time? What do we do in the meantime until the end-time when Jesus receives us into His very presence for all time beyond time? David the lyricist provided some helpful coaching this morning.

You have made Your people see hard things;
       You have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
You have set up a banner for those who fear You,
       that they may flee to it from the bow.                      Selah

(Psalm 60:3-4 ESV)

If God is a sovereign God (and He is), then He is just as much the Author of hard things as He is the good things. Not only, as the southern gospel song goes, is He the God of the mountains, but He’s also God of the valleys. Or, as Isaiah puts it: He who forms light also creates darkness; He who makes well-being also creates calamity; for He is the LORD “who does all these things” (Isa. 45:7). But the One who serves up wine to drink that make us stagger, is also the One who has set up a banner to flee to.

And that’s what — I mean, who — I’m thinking on this morning. A Banner . . .

God revealed Himself to Moses as Jehovah-Nissi, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner (Ex. 17:15).

A banner for those who fear Him. Something lifted up. A standard raised. A rallying point lifted up for those who are taking it in the teeth and need a refuge to which to retreat. For those who need a defender to bring to bear a defense. For those who need a deliverer to bring deliverance. For those who need a conqueror to help them become more than conquerors.

God has set up a banner for when His people encounter hard things. The LORD Himself is our banner. Jesus is the banner lifted up.

Lifted up on cross, as was the serpent in the wilderness, that whoever flees to Him in faith may have eternal life (Jn. 3:14-15).

Lifted up from the earth — resurrected and ascended after dying on the cross — ready to draw all people to Himself (Jn. 12:32). Often drawing people to Himself through the hard things He’s made them see.

Our banner, set up for those ready to flee to Him.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

O, we can praise God for a banner! And even praise Him for the hard things that prompt us, and compel us, to know again the sweet refuge of fleeing to, and abiding in, His presence.

His banner over me is love (Song 2:4). And we know that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

A Banner.

The Son lifted up, the fountain of ever-flowing and over-flowing grace.

The Sovereign over all, worthy of ever-flowing and over-flowing glory.

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Jesus is the Man

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Pete

You never know when you’re going to see Jesus in the Scriptures. Well, that’s not true. If you’re reading the gospels, you kind of know. And, if you’re reading the epistles, you’re pretty sure He’s gonna show up there as well — like, a lot. So, maybe what I mean to say is . . . You never know when you’re going to see Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures. “Found Him” this morning just east of the promised land, on the other side of the Jordan.

The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

(Numbers 27:12-17 ESV)

Appoint a man over the congregation . . . that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Moses is going to see the promised land though he’s not going to enter it. But this one who was God’s deliverer from the bondage of Egypt has, for the past forty years, also been the people’s intercessor through the wilderness. (It would be interesting to go back and count how many times Moses went face down on behalf the grumbling, groaning, complaining people of God. Wouldn’t be surprised if he had a bit of a pug nose from it all. But I digress). And Moses intercedes to the end. Appoint a man over the congregation, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

He knew his congregation. He knew their weakness. He knew they were prone to wander. He knew they needed someone to lead them, that going it alone wouldn’t go well. That they were like sheep. That they needed a shepherd.

Me too. Us too. Appoint a man over the congregation, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

Behold the man, Jesus!

The One whose heart was attuned as was Moses’ so that “when He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt. 9:36). The One who knew that, ultimately, He had been appointed to be the man Moses pleaded for, proclaiming, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me” (Jn. 10:11, 14). The One who accepted the appointment as an eternal assignment, “for the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17).

Jesus, is the man.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

O’ to wonder afresh at the great Shepherd of the sheep who through His blood brought us into everlasting covenant (Heb. 13:20). To rest deeply as we, with confidence, abide with the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1Pet. 2:25). To labor and wait expectantly knowing that soon and very soon the chief Shepherd will appear (1Pet. 5:4).

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
       He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
       He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
       for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
       I will fear no evil,
       for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
       they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
       all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23, ESV)

O’ praise God for the Man appointed over the congregation!

Praise Him for His grace!

Praise Him for His glory!

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The Horns of the Wild Ox

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Pete

It’s one of those repeated phrases that arrests the attention. But this one, I’m pretty sure, for the first time.

I’m in Numbers and reading of Barak’s frustrating attempt to get Balaam, a well-known practitioner of divination, to curse God’s people. When reading this familiar account in the past, my attention has been captured by the wonder of God’s unpredictable ways as, far from condemning this fortune teller for hire, He partners with him — speaking with him twice and then sending His Spirit to come upon him. What?!? And in that “wow-ness” of reading this passage, I think I’ve tended to overlook the words given by God to be spoken by Balaam over Israel. And, like I said, it’s the repetition of some of those words, declared in two of his oracles over Israel, that I’m chewing on this morning.

Behold, I received a command to bless:
       [God] has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
       nor has He seen trouble in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them,
       and the shout of a king is among them.
God brings them out of Egypt
       and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

(Numbers 23:20-22 ESV)

Water shall flow from [Israel’s] buckets,
       and his seed shall be in many waters;
his king shall be higher than Agag,
       and his kingdom shall be exalted.
God brings him out of Egypt
       and is for him like the horns of the wild ox . . .

(Numbers 24:7-8a ESV)

Okay, some “full disclosure” . . . This is the only place you’re going to find this phrase in the OT and, it seems, it’s not a gimme to translate. The exact meaning of the word translated “wild ox” is not known — the old King James translated it “unicorn.” The horn on the head connection has others speculating it refers to an ancient, now extinct animal akin to a rhinoceros. Bottom line, think big, think fast, think powerful!

And who is “like the horns of the wild ox”? God the deliverer? Israel the delivered? You’ll find both. But, given that I’m reading the ESV, I’m going with the sense of what those translators thinks it conveys. So, I’m in awe this morning of the God who brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. The same God who brought me out of slavery, bondage, and death. The same God who is for me.

First, what I notice is the grace in Numbers 23 where God tells Balaam to tell Balak (and all who have ears to hear), “He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has He seen trouble in Israel.” Come on! God has “no bone to pick with Jacob, he sees nothing wrong with Israel” (MSG)? Has God not been reading Numbers? Is He not aware of why these guys are doing laps in the desert? O’, what grace! Yeah, they have been a rebellious people, but they are still God’s people. Thus, there’s a veil cast upon them where He counts them unconditionally as His own and commits to them unconditionally because of a promise.

And so, He brings them out of Egypt. The sense there is that He is bringing them out of Egypt. Yeah, they are wandering in the wilderness, but the tabernacle is still with them, the glory of God is still among them, the cloud and the pillar of fire still over them. And so, God’s going to bring them to the land He promised He’d bring them to. Because God is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

God is for His people. What God freed from Egypt He’s going to deliver to Canaan. What God started He’s going to finish. And if God is for them like the horns of the wild ox, then who can be against them? Sound familiar (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:31).

True for them? True for us! God is for His people, His church, the Redeemed! And He is bringing us out of Egypt and into a land of promise. As Calvin puts it, He is our “perpetual guardian.”

And He is bringing us out with a power beyond description, a power for which words are inadequate. A power sourced in Him, a power given to us (Col. 1:11). Such that, it is not a matter of if we will cross the Jordan into that land flowing with milk and honey, but only a matter of when. And all because God is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

(Romans 8:31 ESV)

For us always by His abundant, overflowing grace.

For us always that He might receive everlasting, all-deserving glory.

Amen?

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Keeping Count (2012 Remix)

Posted on March 4, 2025 by Pete

I know I stop and pause over these verses every year when I encounter them. Kind of surprised that the last time I wrote on them was 2012. Taking the thoughts from back then and touching them up a bit as I chew again in wonder of what God keeps count.

It’s kind of interesting to think about the things God counts. I work in a world where, if we care about it, we measure it, we track it, and we report it on a dashboard. Now, I don’t think God has a “dashboard” He updates with His latest numbers, but I have read about a book or two where He keeps track of stuff. And not the stuff I might track if I were the eternal Sovereign. In fact, there’s stuff I might keep track of which He blots out and forgets (Isa. 43:25) — even removing it far from us, as far as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12). No, instead, that which God counts, that which He keeps track of, is intended as a reminder of His constant care for us. And knowing what He keeps count of serves as a catalyst for a renewed determination to trust Him in all circumstance.

You have kept count of my tossings;
       put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your book?

(Psalm 56:8 ESV)

Psalm 56 is another one of those Psalms where David’s taking it in the teeth.

. . . for man tramples on me;
              all day long an attacker oppresses me” (v.1)

. . . all day long they injure my cause (v.5)

. . . they watch my steps,
              as they have waited for my life (v.6).

Relentless! It just doesn’t stop! The attacks keep coming. The oppression keeps squeezing the breath out of him. Desperation sets in.

And where does David turn when there’s nowhere else to turn?

Be gracious to me, O God . . . (v.1)

When I am afraid,
              I put my trust in You.
. . . in God I trust,
              I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? (v.3-4)

What can man do to me? (v.11)

David turns to the Lord with unwavering faith. Because David believes that God tracks every situation. That God records every detail. David knows that as he tosses through anxiety ridden, sleepless nights, that God is keeping count.

David felt like a ball in a pinball machine, getting bounced here and there. Tossed back and forth, at times he felt out of control as he aimlessly, it seemed, endured the gauntlet. But David knew that God knew. That his Deliverer was keeping track of each step. That his Refuge was intimately familiar with each staggering path he was taking. That his Fortress followed every unsure step and would keep his feet from falling (v.13a).

I don’t imagine David the warrior as a crier. But he must have shed a tear or two (or three) along the way for he believed that the God of Creation collected his tears and put them in a bottle. That the drops that fell from his eyes, and ran down his cheeks, were collected, counted, recorded in a book (along with the associated reason for their being shed, I’m thinkin’) and stored by a God who is big enough to notice and track the smallest details of our lives. And, as the Spirit interceded with David’s spirit, assuring Him of God’s divine collection and counting ministry, in the midst of the tempest, David could pen with confidence,

This I know, that God is for me. (v. 9b)

Paul, moved by the same Spirit that moved David, would pen the same sentiment centuries later.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

(Romans 8:31, 37 ESV)

Oh, to be reminded that God is intimately aware of the details of our lives — even keeping count of our tossings and of our tears.

. . . in God I trust,
              I shall not be afraid.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Broken Up

Posted on February 27, 2025 by Pete

It wasn’t long after coming to believe in Jesus that I started to hear emphasized the need to come “prepared” to worship Sunday mornings. What that meant, for the most part, was that I needed to be prayed up, studied up, and, in that day and age, dressed up. Not saying that was wrong but realizing more and more at this end of the journey, that the advice may have been a bit incomplete. This morning, as I hover over David’s song of confession, I’m reminded that, when it comes to worshiping God, it’s also appropriate to come broken up.

O Lord, open my lips,
       and my mouth will declare Your praise.
For You will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
       You will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
       a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

(Psalm 51:15-17 ESV)

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit . . .

Broken, maimed, crushed, wrecked . . . that’s the condition of spirit which, when offered to God, ascends as a sweet-smelling aroma.

A spirit shattered by the deep realization of the presence and power of sin in one’s life. A heart collapsed by the weight of openly confessed wrong-doing before a holy God. Such a spirit, such a heart, will God in no way regard with contempt. Far from such a condition of the soul preventing us from approaching the altar, it is actually a sacrifice God delights in and is pleased with. Far from it being our weakness, it is actually the secret sauce to knowing the fullness of God’s abundant mercy, His boundless grace, and His steadfast love.

Dane Ortlund, in his book, Deeper, Real Change for Real Sinners, says that our tendency is to want to feel better about ourselves and to minimize our “mistakes” because sin is like a disease where one of the symptoms is that we feel healthy (Deeper, p. 40). When, in fact, “we will not grow, not deeply anyway, except by going through the painful death of being honest about our own spiritual bankruptcy” (Deeper, p.44). When we’re broken up, then are we most ready to be built up.

When aware of our sin we confess with contrition and sing songs of salvation, then will our worship fill heaven with wonder. For it testifies afresh of a faith that truly believes that just as we were saved by grace alone, we are still being saved by grace alone. That though we falter, we believe still that the work is finished. That through we’ve blown it — again! — He remains “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn. 1:9).

I learned God-worship
       when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
       don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.

(Psalm 51:17 MSG)

So, there’s benefit in being broken up. It is the door which opens acceptable sacrifice and unfathomable blessing.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
       Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

Broken up. And thus, prepared to declare His praise.

This too, only by His grace.

This too, only for His glory.

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The Heart Behind Worship (2016 Remix)

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Pete

God is judge. He is the Mighty One, God the LORD, the final arbiter. He carries pure and just scales and will measure according to perfect holiness. And in Psalm 50, He comes calling (50:1-6).

The songwriter envisions God speaking and summoning the earth (v.1). The perfection of His beauty shines forth from Zion as He comes in a mighty tempest, calling to the heavens above and the earth below to “gather to Me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Gather them, says the Almighty, that I might judge My people.

And twice in this song of Asaph God reveals the measure with which He is glorified by His faithful ones. And, it would seem, it’s the heart behind worship.

“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
       and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon Me in the day of trouble;
       I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me. . . .

The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies Me;
       to one who orders his way rightly
       I will show the salvation of God!”

(Psalm 50:14-15, 23 ESV)

While God acknowledges their consistency in offering bulls and goats as burnt offerings, He says, in a sense, “What are they, in and of themselves, to Me? Every beast of the forest is already Mine. The cattle on a thousand hills belong to Me before you ever culled one out to bring as a sacrifice. The birds along with everything that moves in the field are mine. In fact, the entire world and its fullness are mine. So, it’s not just about offering an animal and giving to Me what I already own. It’s what’s behind it. The heart of worship matters.”

And so the songwriter pens a refrain, twice repeated, which acts as an invitation by the Almighty, “Offer thanksgiving!” for that is the heart I desire behind worship.

Going through the motions is meaningless apart from the motivation. Let the offering be accompanied with confession concerning the greatness of God. Let the smoke that rises from the sacrifice be infused with songs of praise declaring His mighty works on behalf of His people. Let the blood that is shed be fully acknowledged for the atonement it brings and let the worshiper respond by offering Himself as a living sacrifice, desiring to follow and obey–to perform their vows and order their way rightly–not as an act to gain favor, but as a loving response to the favor already received. And let it all be done with thanksgiving, with deep-seated, raw and emotional gratitude.

What’s behind the sacrifice is important to our God. What drives the worshiper is what makes the worship pleasing before the Almighty. It is with hearts turned by grace and tuned with thanksgiving that God is glorified. The heart behind the offering matters.

The blood makes way for the Holy One to dwell among His people, and for His people to draw near in assurance of faith, but it is the heart of thanksgiving and praise that honors Him in their midst. He is lifted up when His people gather and bring their offerings from souls that joyfully delight in His presence. He is exalted when faithful ones give freely and willingly to Him because they recognize how graciously and abundantly He has provided for them. A sacrifice of thanksgiving. Offerings born out of praise. Lives lived for Him compelled by hearts of overflowing gratefulness. That’s what glorifies our God.

And the song finishes with a wonderful promise.

“I will show the salvation of God!”

The fullness of salvation stretches beyond the forgiveness of sins secured by a substitutionary atonement–though, even if it didn’t, that would more than enough to fuel our praise for eternity. But beyond being rescued and redeemed, the Mighty One of Zion sent His Son that we might have life and “have it abundantly” (John 10:10b). So it is for the one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice, to the one who orders his way with praise, to the one whose heart is tuned toward glorifying His God — the fullness of salvation is shown and life to the full is known. And that, through the heart readied for worship.

       Come thou Fount of every blessing,
              tune my heart to sing Thy praise!

We hear Your call, O God. Receive our sacrifice of thanksgiving.

Sourced from Your abundant grace!

Offered for Your everlasting glory.

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No Giving Up

Posted on February 25, 2025 by Pete

Hovering over the “God gave them up” passage in Romans 1 this morning. And thinking that if we “cherry pick” it we may be missing out on some pretty humbling but extremely encouraging fruit.

Cherry picking. You know, selecting just the best from a group of things. Or, in this case, selectively presenting information in order to support a particular position.

The “God gave them up” passage. You know, that section in Romans 1 where Paul details the sorts of behavior that emerge within a people who refuse to acknowledge God (Romans 1:18-32). The passage that talks about God making known “His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature” through creation (1:20). The passage which says that despite that, people “did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him” but became “futile in their thinking” (1:21). And so, because they “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man” (1:23) and “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (1:25) . . .

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves . . . For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. . . . And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

(Romans 1:24, 26a, 28 ESV)

And way too often I’ve found myself using this as a proof text for God’s displeasure at those who are dishonoring their bodies or who enthusiastically exploit their dishonorable passions but fail to see the mirror presented by the behaviors associated with those of a debased mind.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

(Romans 1:28-31 ESV)

As I chew on that list of “to do”s which ought not to be done, some hit pretty close to home. Not that I give approval to them or seek to make a practice of them, but, if I’m honest with myself, I can so easily participate in them. How come? ‘Cause I have a debased mind? No, I’m a new creation in Christ with a mind which is being renewed and leading to a transformation where my behaviors increasingly fall in line with the will of God and “what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). But though I have a new mind, remnants of the old man still exist and, along with them, behaviors akin to a debased mind.

And so, while this passage can be used to point the finger at others, it can also be instructive when I see the fingers pointing back at me. When I see my new man tripped up participating in old ways. When I recognize the ways of a world which has rejected its Creator rearing their ugly head in the kingdom in which I live. Malice, envy, strife, and maliciousness. Gossiping, slandering, and boasting. Faithlessness, heartlessness, and ruthlessness. O, wretched man that I am! (Rom. 7:24).

But while my behaviors at times might be as those whom God has given over to themselves, for those who are His there’s no giving up. Bought with a price, redeemed through the cross, adopted as children of God, our failures only prove the gospel’s case — that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20b). That the blood of Christ cleanses us from ALL our sin — not just those sins up until “we first believed” but those sins, as well, that beset us even while we yet believe.

Though I may still do (way too often) what ought not to be done, on God’s part there’s no giving up those who are in Christ Jesus. Instead, His kindness leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4), and His grace points us again to the cross, and His steadfast love is conveyed again to our heart and soul.

To loosely quote Timothy Keller, I really am more sinful and flawed in myself than I want to believe, yet at the very same time I am more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than I could ever imagine or dare to hope.

Yeah, I lose out when I cherry pick this passage. Because then I miss the awe and wonder and joy of knowing that for those who are His — even when we sometimes act like those who aren’t — there’s no giving up.

And that’s good news! Amen?

What wondrous grace!

To God be the glory!

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Reason Frankly

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Pete

Working my way through Leviticus and, to be honest, there’s a lot of the commands-to-obey that don’t quite land with me. And I’m guessing it’s because they deal with the kind of stuff that was done in ancient Egypt, where the people of God used to live, or were practices they were to avoid in the ancient land of Canaan, where the people were gonna live. Don’t be like them, says the LORD (Lev. 18:1-3). Okay, that’s a principle I can noodle on.

But then, there are those commands-to-obey which do resonate. Commands with a direct line to where and how I live today. Especially those commands that deal with the people of God — commands relating to my people. Instructions on how God’s holy people are to be holy (Lev. 19:1-2). Commands pertaining to being one another’s brother, one another’s sister, one another’s neighbor (Lev. 19:9-18). And it’s one of those commands I’m chewing on this morning.

“You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

(Leviticus 19:17 ESV)

Reason frankly with your neighbor . . . That’s the command I’m hovering over.

Full disclosure . . . Of the translations I go to during morning devos, the ESV is the only translation which renders it this way. Most others render it “rebuke” or “reprove” your neighbor. Like the ESV, the NIV says it is to be done “frankly.” The NLT says, “Confront people directly.” Peterson feels the most ESV-esque with his rendering, “Get it out into the open” (MSG).

Reason or rebuke . . . confront or reprove . . . po-tay-to or po-tah-to . . . whatever the exact nuance, don’t hate in your heart. Don’t hold a grudge secretly. Don’t despise clandestinely. Instead, reason frankly. Get it out into the open.

The world around us is increasingly defined by nasty tribal allegiances. Tribes not defined just by what they’re for but just as much, if not more so, by what they’re against. Or, to employ a bit of hyperbole, defined by what they hate. And these worldly tribes have a tendency to hide behind social media posts spewing fractious rhetoric, rather than dealing with their differences out in the open, face to face, with frank reasoning.

And the world has a way of weaseling its way into the church, just as Egypt had shaped the Israelites and as Canaan would too, unless the people of God determined to act as the set apart people God had set them apart to be. That includes, I think, the world infiltrating the church with the leaven of tribalism and hidden animosity. Ways of Egypt unworthy of promised land living. Conduct in Canaan untenable for pilgrims looking for a city (Heb. 11:!4-16).

Instead, the people of God should be a people who are on guard against hidden heart bitterness and are marked as a people who reason frankly out in the open. Debating respectfully. Correcting gently. Living out conviction compassionately. Bearing ultimate allegiance to the kingdom of heaven only.

There shouldn’t be tribes among the people of God. And the absence of open discussion, the inability to have candid conversations, may be an indicator that we might be carrying more Egypt baggage than we should. That we’ve been more influenced by Canaan culture than is healthy for a holy people.

Instead, we should place a premium on loving one another, on being one with one another, as we seek to follow together the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Our unity not as a result of uniformity in thought or conviction, but as the fruit of the Spirit of God and as the evidence of the power of the gospel of grace. A unity manifest as we regard one another as brothers, as sisters, as neighbors and family. A oneness apparent, in part, because we’re people who can reason frankly.

Oh, to be such a people.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Seventy-Seven Times

Posted on February 17, 2025 by Pete

“I’ll take hard-to-obey commands of Jesus for $1,000, Alex.”

“Okay. And the answer is: On this one you’ll want to go with the ESV’s seventy-seven rather than the CSB’s seventy times seven. But in reality, you’re not gonna be crazy about going with either.”

“Hmm . . . Can I pick another hard-to-obey command?”

“Nope. Sorry.”

“Okay. (Sigh). What is the number of times a brother, or a sister, will sin against me and I will still forgive him or her?”

“Yessir. That is correct.”

—————————

Hovering over seventy-seven. Or, four-hundred-ninety, as the case may be. Chewing on what it would take to forgive the same person for harming me that many times.

If I’m honest with myself, far easier to relate to something I read in this psalms this morning than to think about multiples of seven.

But You, O LORD, be gracious to me,
       and raise me up, that I may repay them!

(Psalm 35:10 ESV)

Grace to repay. That seems to fit more easily than grace in order to grace in return. Especially when that grace in return is to be returned seventy-seven times. Unimaginably if it’s required seventy times seven times.

But that, according to Jesus, is what the fruit of abounding grace looks like. Grace which abounds in return. It’s what is to flow out when living waters are flowing within.

Jesus says so in a story he tells about the kingdom of heaven, comparing it to “a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants” (Matthew 18:23-35). Spoiler alert, the king chooses to settle accounts by forgiving accounts. When that debt is unpayable, he, effectively, chooses to pay it himself.

Unbelievably, he releases one particular servant who owes him so much that, practically, it’s almost beyond counting. An amount which would take multiple lifetimes to pay. An amount worthy of being thrown into a debtor’s prison and then, essentially, throwing away the key. And yet, the master determines to write, “Paid in Full” on his servant’s I.O.U. and sets him free.

But when it comes to this debt-free servant dealing with what a fellow servant man owes him, different story. His fellow servant owes him “only” a year’s wages. Not billions of dollars, yet still no small amount — kind of like seventy times seven, I think. And when his fellow servant can’t pay up right way, the debt-released servant has him thrown into prison until he comes ups with the dough.

“Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?'”

(Matthew 18:32-33 ESV)

Should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?

Yup. Grace received should beget grace in return. Abundant grace gotten should manifest itself in unimaginable grace given — like in forgiving a brother, or a sister, seventy-seven times. Or maybe even seventy times seven.

“O’ Lord,” I think to myself, “not sure I can do that.”

To which Jesus, through the Spirit, whispers in return, “Yeah Pete. I know you can’t. But we can.” A reminder that I have been crucified with Christ and that it’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20).

Mine is to be willing. Willing because of the gospel.

His is to enable. Enabling through the gospel.

Seventy-seven times — or seventy times seven times — if need be.

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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