. . . and I Make Four (2015 Remix)

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Pete

John presents kind of a simple argument in the first part of the fifth chapter of his first letter. Premise One: Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God (5:1a). Premise Two: Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world (5:4a). Thus, the victory that overcomes the world is what we believe in, our faith (5:4b). Pretty straight forward. Pretty incredible.

But really, is it that simple? With all that’s going on in our world . . . with the darkness around us that increasingly says that what’s wrong is right, and what’s right is wrong . . . with the spreading callousness which denies the Creator and thus the sanctity of His creation . . . with the increasing violence at home and abroad . . . can victory really be found in something as intangible as what we believe? Apparently!

For it’s not just that we have faith, but what our faith is in. Not just that we believe something, but that we believe in Someone . . . . Jesus the Christ . . . Jesus the Son of God. It’s not some faith of our own making . . . not some fanciful story of our own design. In fact, concerning the truth of who Christ is and what He has done there are three that bear witness.

This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that He has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.

(1John 5:6-10a ESV)

There is the witness of the water, Jesus’s baptism. His self-identification with those He came to rescue culminating in the heavenly declaration by the Father who sent Him. A thundering voice from heaven echoing over Him as He was lifted out of the Jordan, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

There is the witness of the blood. A divine reality which settled over the city as Jesus was crucified. The skies darkened as He who knew no sin became sin for us. And when the work was finished, when the blood, once shed for eternal redemption, flowed, the earth shook, the temple curtain was torn in two, graves were thrown open, and heaven’s declaration was uttered through a lone centurion, “Truly this was the Son of God.”

And there is the witness of the Spirit. The Third Person of the Godhead quietly, yet convincingly, bearing witness that Christ is the Son, that He came as the Lamb, and that He rose from the grave in triumphant declaration that sin and death had been defeated. “He is alive!”

The water, the blood, the Spirit. They all testify. They all agree. Jesus is the Son of God come to save the world.

But wait, there’s more . . .

Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself.

I have the testimony in me.

There are three that bear witness . . . and I make four.

Indwelt by the Spirit of revelation and illumination, I know, by God’s grace, these things to be true, as well. I may not be the most studied, nor the most learned, nor the most articulate, but I am most regenerated.

Though once I was an enemy, now I am a son. Though once I was blind, yet know I see. Though once I was content with darkness, now I hunger for marvelous light. Though once I was far off, yet now I draw near. Though once I knew nothing, now I abide in Him who knows everything–the Alpha and the Omega — and He in me!

You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.

There are three . . . and I make four.

By God’s grace . . . and for God’s glory!

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Don’t Let Me Miss the Glory

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Pete

Continuing to read in Ezekiel and it’s got me thinking about the temple. The bottom line is — after all the specs and details of how to build it, how to furnish it, and who can enter it — that the temple was meant to house the glory of God so that God could be in the midst of His people.

The temple’s predecessor, the tent of meeting, did just that. When the “pack-it-up-and-carry-it-with-you” mobile temple of the wilderness wanderings was set up, then the cloud would cover it and “the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Ex. 40:34-35). When Solomon built the “permanent” version David envisioned, upon its completion and consecration “a cloud filled the house of the LORD . . . for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1Kings 8:10-11). And, when the people’s rebellion and sin had fully tested God’s patience and provoked God’s wrath, the glory left the temple (Ezek. 10).

So, it shouldn’t be surprising that when God tells Ezekiel to prophecy of a future temple, it is so that the glory would again be present.

Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of His coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory. . . And I fell on my face. As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.

While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, and He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever.”

(Ezekiel 43:1-7a ESV)

Yeah, I think it’s pretty safe to say that where the temple is, the glory will be found. Not because of any intrinsic beauty or worth found in the temple itself, but because God has sovereignly and graciously determined the temple to be the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people.

Where the temple is, it will be filled with the glory of God. And where the glory of God is, God is in the midst. Noodle on that for a bit.

And then chew on this . . .

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

(Ephesians 4:19-22 ESV)

A holy temple . . . a dwelling place for God . . .

That, my friends, describes the household of God, it portrays the church.

Think about it. The church — the body of believers you gather with each Sunday — is the temple, a dwelling place for God. Not built with brick and mortar, but with living stones (1Peter 2:5) and the Holy Spirit. And as the temple it is filled with the glory of God.

Yeah . . . every Sunday . . . whether you recognize it or not . . . when you come together to worship — offering the sacrifice of praise, receiving the living word, and breaking the bread of holy remembrance — there glory is there. ‘Cause that’s what the temple of God does, it houses His glory, it is His dwelling place.

If we are not aware of God in the midst on a Sunday morning, it’s not because He’s not there, it’s because we don’t have eyes to see and ears to hear. If we just go through the motions then we’ve missed that it really is God moving. If we but “faithfully” endure that 90 minutes every week, then it’s because of our low expectations. If it’s boring, it’s because of our unbelief.

But if the church is the temple — and it is — then behold the glory as you gather. See His presence in Your midst through the fellowship, the prayer, the preaching, and the Lord’s Supper.

If the church is the temple — and it is — then ask God as you head to church on Sunday, “Don’t let me miss the glory.”

By the gift of His grace. For the glory of His praise.

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Buried, Bagged, and Blanketed

Posted on November 10, 2025 by Pete

It’s like Job has read Proverbs but not Ecclesiastes. He knows what should befall the righteous but doesn’t recognize the enigma of what actually happens “under the sun.” But even without those other pieces of “wisdom literature”, Job’s intuitive sense of justice tells him that life should go just a little bit better for those like him — those who by God’s own repeated declaration are blameless, upright, fear God, and turn away from evil (Job. 1:8, 2:3) — than for the wicked. But having lost everything and being baked in boils and condemned by “comforters”, Job’s kind of struggling.

And as I read Job continuing to verbally process the confusion around the “why” of his calamity, I also see that Job intuitively knows that “if God wanted to, God could.”

Even though Job is not aware of any sin which may have provoked God’s wrath to be poured out on him (’cause there really wasn’t any), he concludes that, theoretically, even if sin was present then, if God wanted to do something about it, He could.

If a man dies, shall he live again?
       All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.
You would call, and I would answer You;
       You would long for the work of Your hands.
For then You would number my steps;
       You would not keep watch over my sin;
my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,
       and You would cover over my iniquity.

(Job 14:14-17 ESV)

Job reasoned that if resurrection was a possibility, only the righteous could hope for it. He also knew the propensity of men and women to sin and that righteousness was only restored through sacrifice (Job 1:5). Thus, Job reasoned that, if God wanted to, when it came to men’s sin God could bury it, bag it, and blanket it.

If God wanted to, He could justly choose to not keep watch over my sin. He could bury it, removing it as far away as the east is from the west (Ps. 103:12) and thus rendering it out of sight.

If God wanted to, sin could be sealed up and bagged. Locked up and the key thrown away. If God wanted to, God could do what needs to be done to remember sin no more (Jer. 31:34).

And, if God wanted to, He could cover over my iniquity. Plaster over it. Blanket it, covering it with a robe of righteousness (Isa. 61:10).

If God wanted to, our sin could be buried, bagged, and blanketed.

Guess what? God wanted to.

And He did. It’s a done deal (Jn. 19:30).

By His grace. To the praise of His glory.

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The Word of God in our Hands, the Spirit of God in our Hearts

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Pete

This morning it’s the concluding verses of 1John 2 which grab my attention. Like, REALLY grab my attention! As in, “Don’t skim past this, Pete . . . This is profound! This is jaw-dropping! . . . Hover over it . . . Chew on it . . . Don’t walk away from it the same as you encountered it.”

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie —  just as it has taught you, abide in Him.

(1John 2:26-27 ESV)

Deceivers are gonna deceive. John writes to his beloved children, “Don’t let them do it!” They may have gone out from us, John says, but they’re not of us (1Jn. 2:19), they are trying to deceive you. But don’t let them, for you have no need that anyone should teach you. Because the anointing that you received from Jesus abides in you.

The anointing . . . aka The Spirit of God . . . Third Person of the Triune Godhead . . . God Himself. Where? In you.

Come on! Noodle on that for a bit and tell me that it doesn’t send the awe-o-meter off the scale.

Unless of course, we don’t really believe what we say we believe. That when the Son said that He would ask the Father to send to us the Spirit to be with us forever, dwelling with us and being in us (Jn. 4:16-17), He didn’t really mean it . But guess what? He did mean it. And we did get it (Eph. 1:13-14). And guess what, too? Jesus said the Spirit would teach us all things (Jn. 14:26).

The Truth-teller would expose fanciful tales. The Comforter would bring clarity to confusion. The Illuminator would dispel darkness. And from where? From inside us. Do we believe it? Lord I believe, help my unbelief.

And how does He do that? The Spirit of God in our hearts teaches us about everything through the word of God in our hands. Open the book and hear His voice. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, every time we open our bibles we should be anticipating an encounter of the divine kind. Word of God speak! Or, as the psalmist puts it:

Open my eyes, that I may behold
       wondrous things out of Your law

(Psalm 119:18 ESV)

Open my eyes . . . That’s Holy Spirit talk. That’s an ask of the Anointing. An ask we’ll only make if we really believe that His anointing teaches you about everything, and is true.

Like I said, chewing on this should be jaw-dropping. Mere mortals indwelt by the Mighty Maker. Our spirits supernaturally one with God the Spirit. Teeny, tiny brains somehow enlarged to grasp cosmic, eternal truths. All because we have received His anointing. All that we might abide in Him.

The word of God in our hands, the Spirit of God in our hearts.

What unfathomable grace. To God be the glory.

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A Staff of Reed (2019 Remix)

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Pete

You can take the redeemed out of Egypt, but man, seems it’s really hard to get Egypt out of the redeemed. That was Israel’s story. Even up to the end. Though the Chaldeans were about to crush them, God’s people refused to say, “Uncle”; instead, they determined to take a stand, and the walking stick they chose to lean on was Egypt. But Egypt, as always, proved again to be a staff of reed.

“And I will cast you [Egypt] out into the wilderness,
       you and all the fish of your streams;
you shall fall on the open field,
       and not be brought together or gathered.
To the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the heavens
       I give you as food.

Then all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the LORD. Because you have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel, when they grasped you with the hand, you broke and tore all their shoulders; and when they leaned on you, you broke and made all their loins to shake.”

(Ezekiel 29:5-7 ESV)

I’ve always understood Egypt to be a type of the world. That this ancient land of power and prosperity is a picture of the systems, values, and cultures that surround the people of God which really offer nothing more than bondage and slavery. And yet these systems, values, and cultures are so deceptively attractive, that though nothing substantive and lasting comes from Egypt, Egypt always seems to be the place to go back to when the going gets tough. That though it has a certain allure of being a good land of fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, and onions (Numbers 11:5) drawing the freed captive back to it, ultimately it is a distraction and detour from sojourning to a better land, the land of promise.

And you read the prophets and still God’s people had the propensity to look to Egypt for help in time of need. The place you’re tempted to go back to when you’re feeling cornered. Where you ask for help when you’re no longer seeking help from above. But it’s the place, when all is said and done, which is really of very little help and of no eternal value. Egypt, and the worldly systems it represents, are just a staff of reed.

“A flimsy reed crutch”, says the Message. Of no real help. Eventually breaking under the burden. Always a lousy substitute for real strength. That’s what the world is for God’s people.

Something appearing to be of substance, something advertising itself as having the answers, but hollow and with nothing of eternal value to offer. A straw walking stick. Woefully inadequate for the journey.

As if to emphasize the point, the Spirit adds an exclamation mark to this reminder with my reading in John’s letter.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life —  is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

(1John 2:15-17 ESV)

The world is passing away . . . So, for those of us journeying to a better land, “that is, a heavenly one” (Heb. 11:16a), who are looking forward to a city which actually “has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10), why would we hamstring ourselves with a flimsy crutch? Why go back to a land of bondage? Why seek aid from that which is, ultimately, of no help? Why pursue pleasures which, at best, are for a season, but which rob us of laying up treasures which last for eternity?

Do not love the world or the things in the world . . . Don’t be tempted, fooled, or compromised by a flimsy walking stick.

A staff of reed is a poor, sure to fail alternative. Trusting in Egypt, turning back to the world, only brings eventual disaster. How we need to resist the temptation to grasp a hollow cane when, instead, God invites us to “stand on the rock” (Ex. 33:21-22).

By the power of His grace. For the praise of His glory.

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No Scandal

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Pete

Sometimes, great truths can seem to be too simple. Not that simple is easy, necessarily, but it is . . . well, simple. Uncomplicated. Straightforward. Your basic “if this, then that.” Came across one of those great truths this morning as I was reading in John’s first epistle.

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.

(1John 2:10 ESV)

Love your brother? Abide in the light. Love your brother? No cause for stumbling? Simple. Right?

How do I know I’m abiding in Christ — something that’s pretty intangible? Seems I can gauge it pretty well by something very tangible — what’s my overall posture and relationship with other believers?

And I don’t think we’re talking just about those believers who I might consider to be in “my tribe”, but how do I regard those brothers and sisters who see things differently than I do? Do I love them? Do I feel a sincere affection for them? Am I able to extend toward them goodwill and esteem them better than myself? Do I love them? If yes, then I am abiding. If no, then I’m doing something less than living in the Vine and allowing the Vine to live through me.

Is it that simple? I’m thinking.

But what I’m really chewing on is part two of this simple (not easy) dynamic. Love my brother? Prize my sister? Then no cause for stumbling. Or, as the original puts it no scandal.

Scandalon . . . that’s the original word translated as stumbling.

No traps. No triggers. No snares. No scandal. There’s something about loving the family of God that makes navigating this world a little less treacherous; that reduces the likelihood of being disgraced, discredited, or dismissed.

Noodle on it a bit. Think back to a time when you stumbled, a situation where you ended up with mud on your face, disrepute before others, and awareness of sin in your heart. And tell me if there wasn’t an element of not loving others involved. I am guessing there could have been.

What if, in that situation, you had been loving that brother or esteeming that sister? What if, the love of Christ was the prevailing filter through which you viewed others because you were abiding in Christ? What if brotherly affection rather than bothered annoyance was your overall mood? No scandal, if that had been the case? I’m thinkin’ . . .

If I want to walk in a manner worthy of my calling (Eph. 4:1) — and that is what I want — then it seems that loving my brother, extending goodwill to my sister, is going to be a pretty big part of that walk. And, if I’m picking up what John is laying down, it’s that simple.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.

(1Corinthians 13:1-2, 7-8a ESV)

Seems like a pretty simple approach to ensuring no scandal.

Simple. Not easy.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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Metanoia

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Pete

A guy I used to work with said to me years ago, “Paranoia is just smart thinking when everyone’s against ya’.” Hard to argue with that. Well, this morning the Spirit’s reminding me that metanoia is just smart thinking when God’s for ya’.

“Jesus is coming again, you say. Really? So, where is He?” That was the voice of the scoffer in Peter’s day. The mocking mantra of those who were “following their own sinful desires” and sought to upset the exile’s apple cart, luring them off their pilgrim pathway with a detour of doubt (2Peter 3:3-4). To which Peter replied that the problem wasn’t with the Lord’s slackness but with the world’s sinfulness and that the Lord is waiting for metanoia.

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

(2Peter 3:8-9 ESV)

Reach repentance . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. The Greek word for repentance being . . . . you guessed it, metanoia.

Jesus isn’t slow in fulfilling His promise to come again (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20), “He s giving everyone space and time to change” (MSG). To change their mind. To reverse their course. As Moses put it, to “choose life . . . loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him” (Deut. 30:19-20). To do a 180, choosing the kingdom’s way of flourishing rather than the world’s way of futility. He wants all to reach repentance.

And if that were a thing for the non-Christian only, then I could skip these verses having checked that box some 48 years ago. But it ain’t just for the unsaved or the sins of my distant past — there’s the sins of yesterday to deal with. And so, metanoia is still smart thinking. Still required to stay on course in the exile’s pilgrimage. Still needed to battle the lure of “all that is in the world — the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life” (1John 2:16). Still the need to choose life and the way for flourishing over the way of futility.

And the Lord is still patient. But, says Paul, we are not to presume on His patience, or His forbearance, or His kindness. Instead, we are to remember “that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4). That His patience is meant to produce metanoia.

We cringe at repentance. We don’t like admitting we’ve failed again . . . and again . . . and again. It tastes like a bitter pill and so can become medicine we refuse to take. But if repentance is a place we end up at because of God’s kindness — and it is — then what offsets the bitterness? Can I suggest it’s the sweetness of coming to the Savior with our need and knowing afresh the joy of our salvation. It’s the respite found when we turn away from the world’s rat race and turn once more toward the Lord’s refuge. The refuge of the cross. The reminder that “God so loved the world” (John 3:16) The place where all striving ceases for “it is finished” (John 19:30). The place Jesus invites us to when He says, “Come to Me and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).

Reach repentance . . . Something I need to do while I’m still God’s work in progress (Php. 1:6). Something I want to do, so that I truly might be “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).

Yup! Metanoia is just smart thinking when God’s for ya’.

And if God is for us? . . . Well, you know the rest. (Rom. 8:31)

By the power of His grace. To the praise of His glory.

Amen?

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True Statement, Bad Counsel

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Pete

Hovering over Job 5 this morning, part 2 of Eliphaz’s initial response to Job’s lament back in chapter 3. While this “brother” came to Job to “show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job. 2:11), and though he was shocked beyond words at the physical toll of Job’s multiple calamities — so much so, that at first he “didn’t recognize him” (Job 2:12), he wasn’t ready for Job’s vehement verbal outburst, “Let the day perish on which I was born . . . Why did I not die at birth? . . . Why is light given to him who is in misery?” (Job 3:1, 11, 20) And so, Eliphaz’s mission of comfort morphed into correction. His desire to offer his suffering friend some respite somehow shifted to rebuke. And while during his rebuttal he may have made some true statements, ultimately, Eliphaz gave some bad counsel. Case in point? The “blessing” of God’s reproof.

“Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
       therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
For He wounds, but he binds up;
       He shatters, but His hands heal.
He will deliver you from six troubles;
       in seven no evil shall touch you.

(Job 5:17-19 ESV)

Despise not the discipline of the Almighty . . .

Okay, can I get an “amen” on that? That seems to line up with something I recall from Proverbs (Prov. 3:11), a thing in Proverbs that’s quoted again in Hebrews (Heb. 12:5). Don’t refuse the LORD’s correction, because blessed is the one whom God reproves . . . true statement.

And yet, as I chew on Eliphaz’s declaration, it leaves me a little disquieted. Something’s not quite right here. And I think it’s in the “blessing” that Eliphaz describes. Wounds are good cause you’ll know the relief of being bound up. Shattering might be painful but knowing the healing will be wonderful. The reward is in the relief. The prize is the deliverance from pain. So, suck it up buttercup and wait for the blessing of getting better. Eliphaz’s emphasis is kind of like Satan’s, “Skin for skin” (Job. 2:4). The blessing of God found in the healing of God. That’s just bad counsel.

Eliphaz’s focus on physical healing and material blessing isn’t what Proverbs talks about. It’s not what Hebrews explains. When Proverbs and Hebrews exhort us to “not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord”, it’s because the Lord disciplines “the one He loves” (Prov. 3:12, Heb. 12:6). We embrace suffering not because our goal is simply to get through it and get better, but first as a reminder in the suffering that we are beloved. That God is treating us as dear children, allowing the trial “for our good” (Heb. 12:7-10).

And “the good” isn’t, as Eliphaz describes it, having wounds bound up, or even shattered lives healed, ultimately it’s for a far greater and longer lasting “good”.

For [our earthly fathers] disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

(Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV)

The ultimate prize for Job’s endurance through the severe trials God permitted was so that Job might share God’s holiness. The best outcome Job could know from his sufferings — an outcome transcending his time on earth — was the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Or, to put it as Paul would to the Romans, “to be conformed to the image of God’s Son” (Rom. 8:29). That’s the “good” that “all things work together for” (Rom. 8:28). That’s the prize.

Knowing this doesn’t make the suffering any less or any easier. It certainly doesn’t dimiinish the need for comforters to come alongside to “weep with those who weep” (Rom. 12:15b), doesn’t excuse us from compassionately comforting others “with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2Cor. 1:4). But for those who are called to draw alongside and help bear our brother’s burden or help carry our sister’s heavy weight, knowing this does allow us to give good counsel when we make true statement that, truly, blessed is the one whom God reproves.

Blessed because He loves us as a Father loves His children. Blessed because He is transforming us, so that more and more we share His holiness. Though we desire relief, respite, and restoration, blessed because the ultimate blessing in God’s reproof is found in the harvest of the character of Christ, the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

And this, by His grace. And this, for His glory.

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It Will Be Performed

Posted on October 27, 2025 by Pete

I was naïve and he was being smug. It was the mid ’80’s, I was still pretty young in the faith, and I was eating up Josh McDowell’s “Evidence That Demands a Verdict.” Armed with all that “evidence”, I figured all I had to do was share the data with others and surely they’d believe too. So, I laid on him the fact that over 300 prophecies were fulfilled by Jesus’ earthly ministry and then I said something like, “If all that has come true in the past, then how likely is it that what Jesus predicted about His coming again will also happen?” To which his quick and sarcastic reply was something like, “Well, given that run of luck, I’d say the odds are against it.” Heavy sigh.

That wet blanket experience comes to mind this morning as a bit of repetition in Ezekiel reminds me that the fulfillment of prophecy isn’t a matter of the odds, it’s a matter of God.

Ezekiel prophesied among “the exiles” in Babylon (Ezek. 1:1-3). He spoke the word of the LORD concerning the impending and utter fall and destruction of Jerusalem (Ezek. 5). Yet, there were prophets back in Judah who were spinning a different story, saying something like “Nah, not gonna happen . . . the worst is over . . . there’s gonna be peace (Ezek. 13:10) . . . the odds are against it.” But as repeated three times this morning in my reading, it’s not about the odds.

“For there shall be no more any false vision or flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am the LORD; I will speak the word that I will speak, and it will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, but in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it, declares the Lord GOD.”

And the word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, ‘The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off.’ Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: None of My words will be delayed any longer, but the word that I speak will be performed, declares the Lord GOD.”

(Ezekiel 12:24-28 ESV)

Hear the echo of emphasis? The shout that, the word that I speak will be performed?

The determining factor as to the veracity and certainty of the things that are to be is that they are promises and prophecies spoken by God. That’s true north. That’s the “money in the bank”, the surety of what is to come. If it is God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16) then it is to be believed.

So, how I need to be a person of the Word. How I need to know God’s word in order to provide wisdom and discernment as I try and make sense of the signs of the time. How I need to know God’s precepts and principles in order to navigate this pilgrim pathway as a modern day exile in this wretched Babylon. How I need the assurance of God’s promises in order to have an anchor for the storm and a pilot light that ignites the flame of inner renewal in my weariness.

I need to know afresh that the word He speaks, it will be performed.

Word of God speak!

Not relying on the odds. Solely dependent upon my God.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Restore Us to Yourself

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Pete

It wasn’t a pretty sight . . . The collateral damage of sin never is.

Jerusalem was leveled. For the most part, the people were gone. For those who remained there were the painful memories of the past, the overwhelming reality of the present, and a lack of any real hope for the future. All because of sin. As the old Southern gospel song reminds those with ears to hear, “Sin will take you farther than you want to go; Slowly, but wholly, taking control; Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay; Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay.”

Like I said, not a pretty sight.

That’s been the landscape of my readings in Lamentations for the past few days. Heavy sigh.

This morning, as I wrap up Jeremiah’s lament, it’s his three-fold prayer that’s given me something to chew on.

Remember, O LORD, what has befallen us;
       look, and see our disgrace!

Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!
       Renew our days as of old—
unless You have utterly rejected us,
       and You remain exceedingly angry with us.

(Lamentations 5:1, 21-22 ESV)

Remember . . . Restore . . . Renew . . .

Seems to me — at least from my own experience — I’m quick to pray for the “renew” part. Though not at the level of eradication and exile, when my sin results in remorse and repentance I am most apt to pray, “Okay, sorry Lord. Now let’s get back to where we were before this mess.” But before renewal, it seems remembrance and restoration are kind of important.

Remember, O LORD . . . see our disgrace! Not something I think I’m naturally inclined to pray before a holy, holy, holy God. Amidst the wreckage, I want to move on as quickly as possible and forget my foolishness. But repentance starts with honesty. It requires transparency. It invites God to look at the pitiful reality of the mess I’m sitting in. And I do that not to invite His searing gaze to further accentuate my guilt and shame, but because I believe that the LORD is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Ex. 34:6). I believe that He is able to sympathize with my weakness and the results of my wretchedness because He too “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). So far from hiding from God, rather than sew my own fig leaves and try and cover my sin from His all-knowing gaze (Gen. 3:7-8), I can pray: Remember, O LORD, what has befallen me, look, and see my disgrace.

Okay, done. Now can we move on to renew our days as of old? Not so fast. Go there too quickly and you actually miss the best part (if I can refer to it like that) of repentance.

Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored!

Restore us to Yourself . . . There’s the prize. Literally, “Turn us back, O Jehovah, unto Thee” (YLT).

That’s the 180 we desire! That God would no longer be behind us as we’ve turned our back on Him through unbelief and idolatry — because we’ve ignored His word and sought things other than Himself — but that He would turn us toward Himself so that we would know again His face shining upon us and His countenance lifted toward us (Num. 6:24-26). That we would know, deeper than ever before, the reality of communion with Him. That out of the wreckage of our transgression, abiding in Him (Jn. 15:1-8) would be more desired, and that Christ living in me (Gal. 2:20) would be more real.

As much as we desire renewal — and we should — the real prize is Jesus. It’s always Jesus.

That we would know the fullness of His unmeasurable grace to the forever praise of His all-deserved glory.

Amen?

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