Stay In the Game (2024 Rerun)

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Pete

Too soon to rerun a 2024 post? Apparently not.

Blessed and encouraged by the remembrance of this 2024 conversation with a beloved, faithful brother. Blessed and encouraged also by this reminder from the Spirit this morning that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” But enter the kingdom of God we will. And so, we “continue in the faith.” By His grace. Into His glory.

Had lunch with a brother last week. The food was good, but the fellowship was great. Not much talk about the weather, didn’t dwell on sports, but our conversation touched on different aspects of the kingdom and our relatively small place in it (mine a lot smaller than his). We talked as “senior saints” might talk, drawing on experiences and lessons learned over many years of gaining experience and learning lessons. And something he said last week came to mind this morning as I read in Acts.

Honeymoon’s over for Paul in his gospel preaching ministry. Sure, many are still being saved but the opposition is growing. When Paul went into a new city or region with the good news, it seems it was not a matter of “if” but of “when” the local Jewish leaders would rise up against this Jesus proclaiming turncoat who was once a Pharisee of the Pharisees.

In Lystra, “Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead” (Acts 14:19). Ouch! Talk about your occupational hazard. Talk about your hostile work environment. Talk about a lack of a safe space. Talk about being in an unhealthy situation. Talk about the life of Paul and his faithfulness to his charge to “carry My name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” and “how much he must suffer for the sake of the Name” (Acts 9:15-16).

So, Paul escapes with his life and heads down the road to Derbe where he persists in preaching the good news which so often is provoking in some bad behavior. But then (what’s he thinkin’?), he returns to Lystra.

When [Paul & Co.] had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

(Acts 14:21-22 ESV)

Continue in the faith. That’s what sparked the memory of my friend’s story of the advice he once gave to a young man looking for the secret sauce for ministry. His counsel? “Stay in the game!”

Continue in the faith. Remain in; persevere in; hold fast to; be true to; abide in the call you’ve heard from Jesus and in what you know He has said about following Him. As Peterson puts it in The Message, stick with what you have begun to believe and don’t quit. Stay in the game.

The way of Jesus is the way of the cross (Mt. 10:38, 16:24). The way of the cross is the way of opposition, hardship, pain, and suffering. Don’t let anyone try and tell us the journey will be, or must be, otherwise. For, through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

So, how do you prepare for the many tribulations? How do you get ready for the hardships? How do you go through whatever you’re gonna need to go through? Continue in the faith. Stay in the game.

Not in our own strength. Not by our own self-discipline or through our own self-determination — those are gonna fail at some point. But through the power of the risen Christ who dwells within us through the promise of the resident Spirit. By abiding in Him and He in us.

“Keep on keepin’ on” is how another friend of years gone by would always say it. “Stay in the game” according to my friend during lunch last week. Continue in the faith says the Spirit through the eternal word of God.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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I Will Go Down with You

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Pete

It was the right decision, but it wasn’t an easy decision. For, even though it was the right decision, it was the wrong direction.

This was not the first time famine had forced the hand of his family. Both Abraham, his grandfather, and Isaac, his dad, had known what it was to wrestle with what to do when the cupboard was bare and the ground was as hard as dried out clay. But a precedent had been set, the message of his God had been clear to his father, “Do not go down to Egypt; dwell in the land of which I shall tell you. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you” (Gen. 26:1-3). Don’t go down to Egypt.

But here he was, packing up and heading south. Not because he had cried, “Uncle,” to the famine’s force, but because he had been invited by his son. The son who he thought had perished. The son who was now the Number Two of Egypt. The son who managed the world’s food source. It was that son who had sent for his father. Like I said, right decision. But it was still the wrong direction.

And what grabs me this morning is God’s promise to Jacob.

So Israel took his journey [to Egypt] with all that he had and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”

(Genesis 46:1-4 ESV)

I will go down with you . . . Those are the words I’m chewing on this morning.

Yarad is the Hebrew word for “to go down.” Thus, I guess you could say that our God is Jehovah-Yarad, the God who descends, the God who goes down.

The God who, according to His providence, in order to fulfill His promises, assures of His presence — even when we find ourselves going down to Egypt.

And not just when going down is the right decision. He is still Jehovah-Yarad when we decide to head back into the world we were delivered from for less than the right reasons. Idolatrous reasons. Covetous reasons. Lustful reasons. Even then, the God of steadfast love and boundless mercy purposes, “I myself will go down with you.”

We know this because God sent His Son to go down. His Son would be called Immanuel, “God with Us” (Mt. 1:23). “For He, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to His privileges as God’s equal, but stripped Himself of every advantage by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born a man” (Php. 2:6-7 Phillips Translation).

Jesus went down so that He might be a faithful high priest, able to sympathize with our weaknesses and wanderings — yet without sin (Heb. 4:14-15). He went down so that, as our Advocate, He could always make intercession for us thus saving us to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). He went down, so that after He was raised up, through His Spirit He might be the Father’s agent fulfilling the Father’s promise, “I will also bring you up again.”

Hear afresh His words:

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 28:20b ESV)

Whether in our faithfulness, or in our wanderings, He is the God who will go down with you.

So that we would know too that He is the God who will also bring you up again.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Sleep of Jesus

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Pete

Scenario 1. Your name is Peter and you’re in a boat . Not a very big boat. Big enough for you and a few friends; not big enough to do well in “a great storm on the sea.” Oh yeah, imagine that too — you’re in a not very big boat in a severe storm. And the waves are crashing, the boat is “being swamped”, and it looks like you’re going to go under. Oh, one more detail I forgot to mention . . . In the boat with you is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things (including raging seas and crashing waves and not so big boats and such). And what’s He doing?

He was asleep.      (Matthew 8:23 ESV)

Huh.

Scenario 2. You go to the next reading in your reading plan, and your name is still Peter but now you’re in a prison. You’ve been arrested by an unpredictable, despot king who has an unprecedented, deranged ego. Arrested in order to be executed (because the last execution was received really well and your popularity increased in the polls because it “pleased the Jews”). So, you’re in prison. And you’re sandwiched between two prison guards. And you’re bound with not one but two chains. And, just in case you try anything (after all you are a fisherman by trade), there’s two more sentries guarding the door. So, what are you doing?

Peter was sleeping.      (Acts 12:6 ESV)

Hmm . . .

This morning two readings intersect to create one take away thought, those who believe are able to sleep the sleep of Jesus.

Though Jesus was asleep in the boat in the raging sea, Peter wasn’t. Peter was bailing. Peter was anxious. Peter was fearful. So, Peter desperately woke Jesus up, saying “Save us, Lord; we are perishing” (Mt. 8:25). And Jesus “awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm” (Lk. 8:24). And then Jesus turned to Peter and the others in the boat . . .

And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?”

(Matthew 8:26 ESV)

So how come, maybe ten years later, Peter’s now able to sleep on death row? Maybe because Peter’s faith had grown.

Faith founded on going through a raging sea or two with Jesus and seeing firsthand that “even winds and sea obey Him” (Mt. 8:27). Faith fostered by standing before the cross of Jesus and then inspecting His empty tomb and then seeing Him enter a closed room and eating breakfast with Him on a sandy shore. Faith fueled by the poured-out Spirit of God. Faith fed by every person Peter had seen who had believed the gospel and had been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of heaven.

Peter slept that night in that prison tucked between those guards by faith. And so, Peter could sleep the sleep of Jesus.

I’ve knelt before the blood-stained cross. I’m convinced of the empty tomb. I’ve been through a storm or two and know what it is to cry out in fear. I’ve also known the storm calmed — at least within my soul — and have known the peace that passes understanding. I’m indwelt with His Spirit. I’ve witnessed the power of the gospel to rescue, redeem, and restore. I have faith.

I believe. Lord, help my unbelief (Mk. 9:24). So that I too would sleep the sleep of Jesus.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Added to the Lord

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Pete

It’s the second time I’ve encountered the phrase as I’ve been reading through Acts, but this morning it popped.

There were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

(Acts 11:20-24 ESV)

Added to the Lord . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. That’s what’s sourcing some awe (and some joy and some encouragement) within this soul.

This isn’t the first “report card” found in Acts. Luke has repeatedly provided “status updates” concerning the growth of the church as the gospel is preached, people believe, and the gatherings of Christ followers get bigger. Back in Acts 2, as a result of the Spirit’s falling and Peter’s preaching, at Pentecost “there were added that day about three thousand souls” (Acts 2:41). And as those who were added to the number of disciples continued together as the church, “the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

But the nature of the “math” changes in Acts 5 and here in Acts 11. In these updates the addition is not just to a group of people. Rather, “more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women” (Acts 5:14) as a great many people were added to the Lord.

Added to — literally “put to” or “joined to. And not just to a roster, not just to a roll, but added to the risen, reigning, one day returning Lord of creation.

Put to Christ. Joined to Jesus. Tell me that doesn’t have a “next level” ring to it. Sure, it’s great when someone joins the church. But it is wondrous to think of someone being joined to the Lord.

Added to the Lord so that, because He is a Son and we are added to Him, His sonship becomes our adoption. Added to the Lord, so that we are made members of His body. Added to the Lord, so that His righteousness becomes our righteousness. Added to the Lord so that His life becomes our life and our life is hidden in His.

Added to the Lord, so that our union with Christ changes everything and makes everything new. A new identity in Him and new possibilities through Him — even the promise of being conformed to His likeness. Added to the Lord, so that “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

This morning, this guy, despite his weariness, his weakness, and sometimes feelings of worthlessness . . . apart from any past merit . . . independent of any on-going performance . . . is part of the divine addition only and wholly by God’s loving, gracious, and patient determination.

Rejoice, O saint, in your salvation.

Be in awe of the addition.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Even on the Gentiles

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Pete

The words pop from the page. And almost immediately I’m struck with a thought of how little I am able to really enter into the jaw-dropping amazement of what happened in that house on that day. But as I pause over those words, and chew on those words, I start to get an inkling of the awe Peter and his cohort of Christ-followers experienced as they came to more fully realize what it really meant that “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34).

Peter’s been called to the house of a centurion of the Italian Cohort (Acts 10:1, 5, 17-21). Maybe Peter was relieved that he was not being called before the Jewish Council again (Acts 5), but he was also a little disoriented — missing lunch, falling into a trance, and participating in a heavenly vision can do that to a guy (Acts 10:9-16). And though Italians weren’t normally the folks he’d hang with (like never and not at all), God had shown him that he “should not call any person common or unclean” (Acts 10:29). And so, Peter goes to the Italian’s house. And so, the Italian and his family gather. And so, the gospel is preached (Acts 10:34-43).

And then . . .

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.

(Acts 10:44-45 ESV)

Even on the Gentiles . . . those are the words that popped.

The Holy Spirit fell just as He had descended with tongues of fire back in Acts 2. Just as He had with that company of Jews (a somewhat “expected unexpected”), so came the Spirit of God upon this family of Gentiles (a definitely unimagined unexpected).

And those who were witness to this mini-Pentecost were amazed. They were besides themselves. Astounded. Their minds blown. Almost unable to believe what their eyes and ears were taking in. Because the Holy Spirit — the guarantee and seal of God’s steadfast love and eternal favor (Eph. 1:13) — was poured out. Even on the Gentiles.

Even on a people thought to be outside the promises (though they never were, as God’s covenant with Abraham had always promised “and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3b)). Even on the least of these and those thought to be the last of these. Even on those who didn’t look like them, talk like them, or by default think like them. Even on those without any background nor any standing within their circles. Even on those with no hope and those finding hope in the wrong things.

Oh, to perceive — and believe, like really believe! — that God shows NO PARTIALITY. That He is no “respecter of persons” (KJV). That God plays no favorites (MSG).

That when Jesus says, “God so loved the world” (Jn. 3:16), that God really does love THE WORLD. That when Jesus pleads, “Come to me all who are heavy and labor” (Matt. 11:28), that Jesus really means ALL who are burdened.

Oh, that the people of God might exhibit the broad heart of God towards not only their church but even to their community. Not only to their tribe but even to those who would test their tribe. Not only to their race or to their countrymen, but even to the rest and to those created in the image of God. That we would show no partiality to people, but that we would believe in the fullness of the gospel as the only power of God for saving EVERYONE who believes (Rom. 1:16).

The Holy Spirit was poured out . . . even on the Gentiles.

Fall afresh, O God! Fall afresh.

By Your grace. For Your glory.

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Strike Four, You’re Out! Maybe Not.

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

(Genesis 37:26-27 ESV)

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

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

And then, he deconstructs.

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

(Genesis 38:1-2 ESV)

Judah went down . . .

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

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

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

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

(Genesis 38:13-16 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kind of amazing? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Amazing grace! Amazing God!

O’ what a Savior!

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Fear and Comfort

Posted on January 13, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

(Acts 9:31b ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Truth in the Heart

Posted on January 12, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

(Psalm 15:1-2 ESV)

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

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

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

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

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

He who does these things shall never be moved.

(Psalm 15:5b ESV)

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

Only by Your grace. Always for Your glory.

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Not of Man

Posted on January 8, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

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

(Acts 5:38-39 ESV)

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

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

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

Guess what? Not of man!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not of man.

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

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Thanx Lord, I Needed That

Posted on January 7, 2026 by Pete

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

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

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

Thanx Lord. I needed that!

Here are those thoughts . . .

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

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

(Psalm 8:3-4 NKJV)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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