We Can’t Do It

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Pete

It’s kind of a puzzling verse. Kind of “Debbie Downer”-esque. A bit of a wet blanket thrown on what should have been a motivational moment. But noodle on it a bit, and you know Joshua’s right when he says, in effect, “You can’t do it!”

The setting? The promised land is conquered, and the territories have been distributed. The initial phases of “Operation Land of Milk and Honey” are complete. All that’s left for fully enjoying the land gifted them, and for reaping the bounty promised them, is some clean up and some on-going maintenance. Oh, and one other thing, some fidelity. Some loyalty. Some devotion and constancy of commitment. And so, before heading back into the day-to-day routines of possessing the land, Joshua seeks to spur on God’s people.

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

(Joshua 24:14-15 ESV)

As you embark on a new life in a new land, says Joshua, toss the old stuff. “Fear GOD. Worship Him in total commitment. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped . . . As for me and my family, we’ll worship GOD!” (MSG). Great half-time encouragement for a team heading back into the game. What an inspiring invocation.

And the people respond as you’d want them to respond.

“We will also serve the LORD, for He is our God.”

(Joshua 24:18b ESV)

Great! Right answer! Everybody . . . hands in the middle . . . One! Two! Three! Break! Let’s go do this!

Uh, not so fast. That’s not quite what Joshua does. Cue Debbie Downer . . .

But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.”

(Joshua 24:19-20 ESV)

You are not able to serve the LORD . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

You might want to. You might plan to. You might try to. But you can’t do it. Not on your own at least.

Rather than heading back into the game haughty and overconfident, Joshua wanted to send them into the fray humbled and utterly dependent. For he knew that the enemy of sincerity and faithfulness was the hearts propensity towards idolatry and fickleness. Whether it be the temptation to serve the gods their fathers served, or the lure to be enamored with the foreign gods of the world they were settling into, Joshua knew that when it came to serving the LORD with a whole heart, it would be really hard.

No coasting. They would need to intentionally, and repeatedly, put away the foreign gods around them if they were going to faithfully serve the God whose presence was among them. And though they might have a holy determination to serve the LORD, they needed also the humble realization that apart from remaining in Him, they could do nothing (John 15:5).

Fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and faithfulness . . . We just can’t do it.

We should want to do it. We should make every effort to do it. We should confess and repent when we fail to do it. But, when all is said and done, we can’t do it on our own.

Praise God, we are not on our own. Praise God that we can, in fact, obey and work out our “own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Php. 2:12-13). Ours is to confess our frailty and to humble ourselves before the Lord (James 4:10). Then He will “exalt us” (ESV), “lift us up” (NKJV), and empower us to live in sincerity and faithfulness in the land.

By His ever-present, over-flowing, always sufficient grace.

For His all-deserving glory.

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Preparing the Soil

Posted on April 4, 2025 by Pete

A short thought on the Parable of the Sower and the Seed (Mark 4:1-20). A parable whose principle I think is still vital even for those of us well down the road on their walk with Jesus.

Jesus said that if His disciples didn’t understand this parable, how then could they understand others (4:13). Saying, in effect, that this parable was a 101 parable and that if they couldn’t get it, then the 201 and 301 classes could be out of reach. In a sense, it was an underhand pitch, meant to be a gimme in the economy of “heavenly stories with an earthly meaning.” That if they weren’t picking up what was being laid down here, how were they going to keep up with His more complex word pictures?

But I’ve always felt Jesus was saying something else, as well, because Jesus was always ready to explain the meaning of His stories for those who had ears to hear (4:9). I think Jesus led with this parable because this story was the key to getting all the other stories. Specifically, that understanding the importance of the soil is paramount to realizing a harvest from the seed. And that we’re always preparing the soil.

“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” ~ Jesus

(Mark 4:14-20 ESV)

Taken away . . . falls away . . . wastes away . . . bears fruit. Those are the options. Those are the four things which can result when the sower sows the word.

Those with ears to hear are aware of the scenarios which affect sown seed, and it comes down to how prepared and how tended to the soil is. Is it unprepared, hardened ground, suitable for walking on but not for working in? Then Satan takes the word away. A sweep here, a gust of wind there, and it’s gone — never got past the ear drum or the eyeball.

Then, there’s shallow soil. Ready enough to receive the seed, but not ready enough to really believe the seed. Enough soil to show signs of life but not enough to sustain it. So, when persecution arises on account of the word — and it’s gonna arise, count on it! — they fall away. No footing, no fruit.

And then there’s those who have done some real work in preparing soil with enough depth to sustain real growth, but they are careless with the weeding. The allow the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things to enter in. And the stress strangles what they heard, and nothing comes of it (4:19 MSG). FOMO results in NO MORE growth and the word proves unfruitful.

But then, there’s the good soil. The prepared soil. Soil watered from the heart with living water — the untethered, unhindered, abundant, free flowing Spirit of God (John 7:38-39). Soil broken up through contrition and repentance — the sort of ground where the Lord’s presence is found (Isa. 57:15). Soil weeded regularly through confession; the fertilizer of fresh forgiveness applied daily with mercies which are new every morning (1Jn. 1:9, Lam. 3:22-23). Good soil ready to receive the word — even when it’s a hard word, or a word that seems to be forcing them out of the ecclesiastical box they lived in for so long. Soft ground, rich ground, ground still ready to embrace the seed because it is the Sower’s seed. And they bear fruit.

Even for us seasoned saints, those who have done a lap or two in our pilgrim journey, we still need to be mindful that bearing fruit isn’t necessarily our default as long as the devil, the flesh, and the world are in play. That for us too, the seed can be taken away, or fall away, or waste away if the ground’s not good.

Yeah, we need to always be preparing the soil.

Amen?

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Joined to the Lord

Posted on April 3, 2025 by Pete

It’s a profound truth kind of buried in an exhortation against sordid behavior. But Paul’s supporting argument for why a follower of Jesus should flee sexual immorality has vast implications beyond being a deterrent from sin. For what it reminds those who have ears to hear is that we are not just followers of Christ but also one with Christ.

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. Flee from sexual immorality.

(1Corinthians 6:15-18a ESV)

Joined to the Lord . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Talk only about being a member of the body of Christ and there can still be a sense of separate-ness as we may think of ourselves as still individual parts, but all brought together under one Head. But talk about being joined to Christ? Hmm . . . that’s seems a little more connected. Even, as Paul says, somewhat intimate.

Joined. Literally, “glued together.” Cemented and fastened to something else. To cleave, as in the “biblical sense” — two becoming one flesh. And that’s the believer’s state — glued, cemented, fastened together with the Lord. Joined to such an extent that we become one spirit with Him.

Try and wrap your head around that!

How often have we heard someone say, or perhaps said to ourselves, “If only I could have encountered Jesus as did His disciples — in the flesh, face-to-face — how that would affect my walk with Jesus. How it would make it easier to really follow Jesus.” But, until the sending of the Spirit, the disciples’ proximity to Jesus back then pales in comparison with ours now. They were with the Lord, but we are joined to the Lord. In some supernatural sense, the risen Son of God, Creator and Sustainer of all things forever, is One with us, and we are one spirit with Him. Doesn’t get much more up close and personal and powerful than that!

So why, so often, the distance? Why, at times, do we feel alone? Why, far from being One with Him, do we just feel far from Him?

More to answering that question than fits into a morning devo, but what comes to mind immediately, as perhaps a partial answer, is our abundance of flesh and our absence of faith.

While we have been redeemed from slavery to the flesh, from having to concede to the old nature, we are not yet free from the flesh. In fact, every morning we rise, a low-level, ever-present skirmish (sometimes a full-blown battle) recommences between the “desires of the flesh” and “the desires of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:17). And part of that battle is going to be an internal disinformation campaign telling us we are far from Christ. That we are on our own. When, in fact, we are joined to the Lord.

And that’s where faith comes in. I need to not only know the truth of being joined with Christ, I need to believe that truth. Just as salvation past — the forgiveness of sins — was by faith, so too salvation present — the fighting against sin — is by faith. For without faith, it’s impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

So, this morning, by faith, I affirm the reality that I am in union with Christ. That I am joined to the Lord. That it really is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). That it is not about how is “me” going to get through this day, but about how are “we” going to do this.

Joined to the Lord. Worth meditating on, I think.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Avoid the Pride

Posted on March 31, 2025 by Pete

Let it go, Paul! It’s been four chapters already. Point made. Move on!

Of all the things that were hamstringing the Corinthian church, does division merit this much discussion? Evidently. How I need ears to hear.

If you’re familiar with the Corinth church you know that, while they were “not lacking in any gift” (1Cor. 1:7a), these beloved saints of the Lord were also not lacking in some pretty serious delusion and dysfunction. Tomorrow, I’m going to be reading about how they were proud of “graciously” allowing sexual immorality within their church family, “and that of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans” (1Cor. 5:1). Crazy! Right? But before getting to that — as a seemingly higher priority in dealing with their lack of church health — Paul’s gonna talk about the division in their midst . . . and talk . . . and talk . . . and talk.

The division in their church wasn’t theological and it wasn’t political. It was celebrity-ical. There was quarreling among them as each pledged their allegiance to a well-known preacher. Some followed Paul, some Apollos, and some Cephas, and some pledged faithfulness to just Jesus. And all were guilty of “cutting into pieces” (literal translation) Jesus (1Cor. 1:11-13a). Brothers and sisters hitching their carts to their chosen superstar and pulling apart the body of Christ. Each picking their preferred personality and pummeling the other for picking theirs. And it ends up at the top of Paul’s list to deal with because it was at the core of what would destroy the church’s witness.

And something I read in 1Corinthians 4 this morning sheds light on at the heart of division’s destructive dynamic.

After reiterating the preeminence of the cross preached and not the preachers preaching it; after rebuking the people for their infantile, spiritually immature posture towards proclaimers of the gospel; and after reinforcing that preaching the gospel, as shown by Paul and the other apostles, was about stewardship and not showmanship, Paul exposes the underlying motive of making much of others.

I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers [and sisters], that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.

(1Corinthians 4:6 ESV)

That none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another . . . that’s what I’m chewing this morning.

Here’s Wuest’s literal translation:

. . . to the end that you do not bear yourselves loftily, one on behalf of one individual as against another of a different character.

And here’s how Philips captures it, I think, most clearly:

. . . avoid the pride which comes from making one teacher more important than another.

Avoid the pride . . .

Paul knew that boasting in their favorite superstar was a prideful play to supercharge their own standing. That to be a follower of [pick your favorite preacher, teacher, or theologian] over [pick another exalted preacher, teacher, or theologian] was intended to say more about them as the follower than they as the celebrities.

That when saying, “I am of Apollos” or “I am of Paul” or “I am of Cephas” or “I am of Christ” (as more literally translated), the emphasis was not really on Apollos, Paul, or Cephas, or even Jesus, but on “I am.” On me. On the depth of my spirituality shown by the proclaiming of my allegiance. The intent behind separating celebrities one from another was really to separate their followers from the pack. Thus, causing division. Thus, “cutting into pieces” the body of Christ. Thus, being worthy of Paul’s priority attention and long-form rebuke.

Oh, the sin of pride. Manifest even as we pick a tribe led by our favorite gospel-proclaimer, as too often — if we’re honest with ourselves — we really just want to promote ourselves. And promoting ourselves only leads to division in the church. And division in the church hamstrings one of the greatest “proofs” for the gospel.

“By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ~ Jesus

(John 13:35 ESV)

Avoid the pride.

Okay, Paul. Four chapters. I think I get it. Oh, that I would get it.

By God’s grace.

For God’s glory.

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His Dove

Posted on March 27, 2025 by Pete

The church of God is a mighty church.

Ever heard that sentiment expressed in some manner? What about processing the promise that “we are more than conquerors” (Rom. 8:37)? Makes it sound like the bride of Christ is not to be messed with, doesn’t it? After all, Jesus said, “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16:18). Sounds like a pretty powerful people to me.

But something that popped in reading Psalm 74 has me re-thinking that proposition.

In Scripture, whether Old Testament or New Testament, the Spirit moves men to refer to the redeemed of God in various ways. They’re sheep. They’re a bride. They’re a congregation. They’re a holy temple. They’re sojourners. They’re saints. You get the idea . . . A lot of ways the people of God are described, each metaphor conveying some reality of those God has taken to be as His inheritance (another name for the people of God).

And this morning, I encountered one that I don’t think I’ve really had ears to hear before. Certainly not a word picture I’ve ever chewed on before.

Do not deliver the soul of Your dove to the wild beasts;
       do not forget the life of Your poor forever.

(Psalm 74:19 ESV)

Psalm 74 is another one of those “Where are You, God?” songs. A haunting melody overflowing with “We’re taking it in the teeth, LORD! How long?” lyrics. And so, the pleas to God: remember (v.1); direct Your steps (v. 3); have regard for Your promises (v. 20); arise and defend Your cause (v. 22). And do not deliver the soul of Your dove to the wild beasts.

Your dove . . . hmm, how’s that for a way to refer to the mighty people of God? And lest, we miss it’s intent, how about the parallel term following it to emphasize the point, Your poor?

Kind of comes across more meek than mighty. As more weak than wonderful. As more insipid than inspirational. More a sense of being . . . well, as the songwriter sings, poor than powerful.

Yeah. But “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3). Right?

We’re a dove. A timid, cooing bird amidst wild beasts. A poor and fragile people. Feeble against the flesh. Drooping against the devil. Weak against the world. So how is it the gates of hell shall not prevail against us? How is that we are, in reality, more than conquerors?

In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

(Romans 8:37 ESV)

Through Him who loved us . . . that’s how the gates of hell shall not prevail.

Not our might. Not our power. Not our advanced degrees of sanctification. Not our self-validating checklists used to prove our justification.

Rather, His dove will prevail against those beasts because their God has promised never to leave her nor forsake her (Deut. 31:8, Heb. 13:5). His power made perfect through her weakness as His grace is shown all-sufficient for her every sorrow, suffering, and sad situation — the power of Christ resting upon her (2Cor. 12:9).

For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you a people for Himself.

(1Samuel 12:22 ESV)

His dove. His frail, and frequently failing people. Yet, a people He is pleased to embrace as His own. Maybe not as mighty as we’d like to think of ourselves, but more loved than we can imagine.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Nothing to Brag About

Posted on March 26, 2025 by Pete

Continuing to read Paul’s opening words to the Corinth church. A church not “lacking in any gift” (1Cor. 1:7). Yet also a church not lacking in any drama, for “there is quarreling among you” (1Cor. 1:11). And that’s the just the beginning of the list of issues Paul’s going to address. I’ve read the letter enough times to know that, beyond the drama and division, we ain’t seen nothing yet! Buckle up! Dis church has a lot of dysfunction.

And so, Paul’s gonna have an exhortation or two along the way. Some to do’s which he will encourage the Corinthians to be doing — and some to stop doing. It’s the first of those “commands to obey” in this letter that causes me to pause this morning.

For consider your calling, brothers . . . (1Corinthians 1:26a ESV)

They were jockeying for position within their ecclesiastical food chain, and that based on who they followed. Quarreling about whether they were disciples of Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter) or – for the really spiritual among them — just Jesus. That somehow their Christian celebrity of choice should confer some prestige within their church of choice. To which Paul says, in effect, “You wanna take stock of where you’re at? Think about where you’ve come from.”

Consider your calling. Noodle on who you were. Remember how you ended up where you are.

I’m imagining this conversation . . .

       “Hello, I’d like to apply to be a child of God and a follower of Jesus.”

       “You can’t apply, you must be called.”

       “Okay then, I’m inquiring because I think I sense Him calling.”

       “Alright. Let’s see if you measure up. Would you be considered by this world to be among the brightest and best?”

       “Nope.”

       “How about influential?”

       “Not really.”

       “Do you at least come from a family of standing?”

       “Uh, not so much.”

       “Well then, would foolish, feeble, and/or forgotten by the world fit better with your resume?”

       “Yeah, that’s more like it.”

       “Good! You may be just what we’re looking for.”

God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

(1Corinthians 1:27-29 ESV)

Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.

(Agustus Toplady, Rock of Ages)

Consider your calling . . . Nothing to brag about.

Saved only by His grace. Saved only for His glory.

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Words

Posted on March 25, 2025 by Pete

Pause for a moment, and it really is kind of a shocking idea. Consider what’s being said and you can’t help but think to yourself, “Really? How can that be?” Think of the centrality of its place within the Christian experience and you gotta wonder, “Can it really be emptied of its power?”

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

(1Corinthians 1:17 ESV)

Lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Emptied of its power. Made of no effect (KJV, NASB). Voided. Rendered impotent. Trivialized. Emptied of its meaning.

Paul’s talking about the cross of Christ here. The finished work of the Lamb of God. The once for all and forever atoning sacrifice for our sins, “and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1Jn. 2:2). So think, what does it mean for the cross of Christ to be emptied of its power? Unthinkable!

But perhaps more astounding is to realize what could do such a thing? What could neutralize “the power of God” for salvation (1Cor. 1:18). What could void the very thing which mightily and miraculously justifies sinners making them saints?

Words.

Words of eloquent wisdom. Clever and eloquent speech (AMP). A lot of fancy rhetoric (MSG). Wanna turn off the power of the cross? It can happen. With words.

Amazing, isn’t it? The right thing proclaimed in the wrong way can empty that redeeming, reconciling, and regenerating thing of its power.

Not that those who preach the gospel shouldn’t prepare. Not that those who declare Christ shouldn’t engage in due consideration of what is said and how. Not that evangelists shouldn’t be engaging. But if our confidence in the cross’s power to bring life is placed in the ability and power of someone to “bring the message”, then we’ve swapped out Christ’s finished work for our polished words.

If only a “good sermon” is able to bring about a great salvation, then we void the very thing able to make a new creation new. If we think we need a TED Talk in order to deliver from the domain of darkness and transfer to the kingdom of light, then we’ve lost our way when it comes to the power of God for salvation. For then we rely not on the working of the Spirit to fuel the fire of faith but instead depend on the marketing of men to close the deal.

Words. Beware of putting too much weight on words of eloquent wisdom.

Lest the cross Christ be emptied of its power.

And we fail to realize how much, even in sharing the good news, we need His grace.

And we foolishly think that somehow, because of our gift of gab, we deserve some of the glory.

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Strengthened According to the Gospel

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Pete

Two passages from two different readings come together this morning to ignite praise, to prime the pump of gratitude.

O God, from my youth You have taught me,
       and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
       O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim Your might to another generation,
       Your power to all those to come.

(Psalm 71:17-18 ESV)

Old age and gray hairs . . . yup, I’m in that group! More years behind me than remain before me. Grandsons whom I address as “young man”, affectionately referring to me as “old man.” Cheaper haircuts.

Official occupation? Retired.

Unofficial preoccupation? Proclaiming Your might to another generation.

Yesterday was a pretty significant milestone in what’s been a two+ year journey. A journey where, by God’s gracious leading, this retiree found again his place in the body of Christ. A place where there’s opportunity for these gray hairs to help shepherd another generation, proclaiming God’s power to all those to come.

Okay. But where’s the power going to come from for this old man to proclaim His power? For this gray hair not to run out of gas?

Where’s the rest going to be found when the unavoidable weariness is felt? The comfort to be drawn on when undeniable mourning strikes because I’ve again come up short of not only my own expectations but of God’s as well? The sense of worth restored when –not if — I’m battered with feelings of worthlessness and wonder if God’s about done with me? The strength again felt when inescapable weakness is evident because of my failure?

Well, Paul reminds me that it will be found in the same place I need to go when, inevitably, I sin and need a Savior.

Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages . . . to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

(Romans 16:25, 27 ESV)

Strengthened according to the gospel. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

The gospel . . . it’s not just for getting into heaven.

Oh, the tragedy of thinking of the gospel as something I needed only for dealing with my past. Of thinking of grace as something needed primarily to become a Christian and not as something desperately required to be a Christian. Of thinking of the cross as something that but allowed me to enter the race and not as a daily (hourly?) needed detour to keep me in the race.

Oh, how this gray hair needs to remember that what begun by faith is sustained by faith. That what begun by responding to the Good News will only be finished by relying on the Good News. That what begun by the Spirit can only be completed by the Spirit (Gal 3:2-3).

While other things might fade because of old age, oh that I would not forget that the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). The power for salvation past, when my sin debt was paid. The power for salvation future, that time when I will be present with the Lord and sin’s presence will be no more. And the power for right now, for salvation today; when, by the Spirit, sin’s power is being weakened, the stranglehold of sin diminished, even as the propensity to sin is still covered by the blood of Christ and the finished work of the cross.

So, Lord, even in old age and gray hairs . . . may I proclaim Your might to another generation . . . strengthened according to the gospel.

That I might always drown in Your ocean of grace.

Even as I long to rise up and ascribe to You unending glory.

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Flourishing Through Favor

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Pete

If I’m picking up what the songwriter’s laying down — if I’m getting what the Spirit’s saying — then, if you wanna change the world, start by focusing on the church. As I hover over the first two verses of Psalm 67 this morning, I’m seeing that a flourishing church is a fruitful church, not necessarily because of the effort it puts forth but — and perhaps most importantly — because of the favor it flourishes under.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
       and make His face to shine upon us,           Selah
that Your way may be known on earth,
       Your saving power among all nations.

(Psalm 67:1-2 ESV)

The song begins with the application of an ancient text. Starts with a plea that a blessing commissioned by God’s prophet (Num. 6:24-26) would be a reality known by God’s people. That words intended by God to “put His name” upon them (Num. 6:27) would, in reality, be a blessing that would actually cover them.

But while the elements of the blessing are recognizable, the order of them has been changed up. And, I’m thinking, there’s something to chew on there.

May God be gracious to us . . . that’s where it starts.

If God’s people want to be a people who desire that God’s way may be known on the earth, if they want to be a magnifying glass which brings into view God’s saving power among all nations, then it starts with may God be gracious to us. It’s not going to be our goodness that makes Him known, but His grace.

Oh sure, we should be getting “good-er.” As the redeemed, we’re no longer slaves to sin. But there’s still something in us, even after decades of pilgrimage towards the promised land, which rears its ugly head and tries to turn us back to Egypt. Something in us which, though we know we are to be not like the nations around us, tempts us to worldly wishes and fleshly ways. There’s still something which, if we’re honest with ourselves, and repentant before our God, must cry out, “God be gracious to us!” And far from that something being our kryptonite, it’s actually our superpower.

A people which daily knows God’s grace are a people primed to daily reflect God’s grace. To the measure we experience afresh undeserved favor, so will be the measure to which we exhibit anew inexplicable flourishing — reflecting love, joy, peace, and patience regardless of the circumstance; kindness, goodness, and faithfulness in and out of season; gentleness and self-control even when the world around us is callous and harsh, agitated and chaotic. God be gracious to us . . . that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among the nations.

We need grace. And there’s no grace needed where there’s no sin present. If we’re not confessing, then how much are we receiving? If we’re not repenting and being forgiven, then what are we making known about God’s saving power?

May God be gracious to us . . .

Flourishing is found through favor.

Favor, only because of God’s grace.

Flourishing, only for God’s glory.

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Awesome?!?!

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Pete

Dissonance. A lack of agreement. A disconnect between what we think to be true and what actually may be true. Inconsistency between what’s heartfelt and what ends up being hard fact. A mingling of sounds that strike the ear harshly, a clashing of chords.

Dissonance. Kind of what I experienced hovering over Psalm 66 this morning.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
       sing the glory of His name;
       give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!

Come and see what God has done:
       He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
       they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in Him.

(Psalm 66:1-3a, 5-6 ESV)

Awesome deeds! Twice repeated. Stuff like turning a sea into dry land.

Come and see. Come and say, “How awesome are Your deeds!” I’m in!

Shout for joy! Give Him praise! Let’s do this! Bring on some more of those awesome deeds.

You brought us into the net;
       You laid a crushing burden on our backs;
You let men ride over our heads;
       we went through fire and through water;

(Psalm 66:11-12a ESV)

You brought us into the net? You laid a crushing burden on our backs? You let men ride over our heads? We went through fire and through water?

Clang! Crash! Does not compute! What’s so awesome about those deeds?

Talk about your disconnect. Talk about your inconsistency. Talk about a lack of agreement between what I think should be and what has (too often for my liking) actually been. Talk about some dissonance.

What are these “deeds” doing in a song about praising God for “awesome”?

Keep singing . . .

Bless our God, O peoples;
       let the sound of His praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
       and has not let our feet slip.
For You, O God, have tested us;
       You have tried us as silver is tried.

You have brought us out to a place of abundance.

(Psalm 66:8-9,12b ESV)

Brought us out to a place of abundance . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. And that’s awesome!

I’ve said it before, gonna say it again: God loves us just the way we are and loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Cue testing. Commence refining. And behold God as He bring us out to a place of abundance. Road-tested inside and out, taken to hell and back; finally He brings us to a well-watered place (MSG).

Awesome, huh? Yessir!

Awesome abundance as we come to know Him — like really know Him — in the fire. As we experience Him through the water. His steadfast love taking on a tangibility as it morphs from theory to experienced reality. His all-sufficient grace no longer just a platitude but an actualized, realized promise. The dissonance of whatever we may think “the good life” should be resolving itself with the symphonic delight of knowing what life in Christ can be.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
       and I will tell what He has done for my soul.

(Psalm 66:16 ESV)

And it’s awesome!

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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